The Fellowship by William Tyree Page A

learned over time that insisting on the correctness of his recollections only led to needless arguments. And disclosing his hyperthymesia inevitably generated countless questions, in the form of pop quizzes. What did you have for lunch on March 2? What is the fourth paragraph on page 27 of War and Peace ?
    Better not to go there. He could never change the fact that the entire world suffered from mild amnesia, nor did it do any good to rub people’s noses in it. It was easier just to change the subject. 
    “Haley,” he said, “I’m trying to apologize. The reason I didn’t call you was because of Hector. When we ran into each other, you’d just broken it off with him. He was crushed. I was trying to be sensitive.”
    “ How is not calling me being sensitive?”
    “ If I’d contacted you, it would have led to dinner, drinks, etcetera. I couldn’t do that to my friend.”
    Ellis leaned forward, looking him dead in the eye. “ Etcetera ? I wasn’t calling you for a hook up, jerk. I was calling to ask about Hector.” She unbuckled her seatbelt, stood, and stomped off to the plane’s lavatory.
    Well that was awkward, Carver thought. Had he really misread the situation that badly? Ellis hadn’t been interested in him at all, and the four contacts within five days – none of which had mentioned Hector at all – were really just out of compassion for the guy she’d unceremoniously dumped? He thought not.
    The buzz of Carver’s phone broke his concentration . It was a message from Roth with a link to a live video feed. He clicked it.
    The video showed FBI Director Chad Fordham standing at a podium. The ticket beneath the video read BREAKING NEWS: Senator Rand Preston confirmed dead after tragic home fire.
    “ We have very few details ,” Fordham began. “ The preliminary investigation into this tragedy indicates that the fire began within the senator’s D.C. residence. I repeat that we have no reason at this time to suspect that the fire was arson. I can tell you that the senator’s immediately family was safely in their home in Texas at the time of the fire. We are still investigating whether anyone else might have been home .”
    Carver closed his eyes and leaned back against the headrest. It was only a matter of time before the conspiracy theorists were out in force on this one.  The quicker he could find the killers, the better chance they would have of containing it.  If they could solve this in a matter of days, there might even be time to set the record straight.
    Their objective was clear . Discover who killed Senator Preston and Sir Gish. Find out why they killed him. And obliterate them before they can act again.

SIS Building
    London
     
    Their contact was waiting for them in the lobby of the building Carver knew as Legoland. MI6 headquarters had been built along the Thames River, and from afar, resembled something that had been constructed with toy-like building blocks. Others knew it as Babylon, due to its ziggurat-like shape. 
    Their man in London introduced himself as Sam Prichard. He wore a wrinkled blue suit that looked far too big for him. He quickly handed them visitor badges gestured toward the elevators. “Come on, then. You were expected upstairs a half-hour ago.”
    Carver waited to speak until the elevator doors closed. “Has anyone claimed responsibility?”
    “ Ten bloody hours, and still nothing.”
    When they reached the building’s top floor, Prichard was the first off the elevator. He breezed them past a reception area and through two enormous white doors. “These are the Americans,” he announced as he showed them into the next room. The office was a large cube constructed of white steel and glass, with an unusually high ceiling and an unobstructed view of the Thames. Despite the breathtaking grandeur of the architecture, Carver couldn’t help but feel let down. This was his first time in Legoland, and despite its modern exterior, he was hoping that the inside would be