The Watchman by Adrian Magson

Bogotá.’
    â€˜That was unplanned. But like that.’
    â€˜Up close?’
    â€˜Not always. Some situations don’t allow it. I prefer to work at a distance.’ His expression told me he knew what I was saying. Staying back, I get to see more of what’s going on around a target. It’s easier to intervene that way. Sneaky, too.
    â€˜Anywhere?’
    â€˜I travel wherever a client needs me and I rarely stay anywhere for long, unless it’s to recover from a hot situation, which happens from time to time. Actors call it “resting”.’
    â€˜So you’re a kind of watchman. With attitude.’
    â€˜Yes.’
    He gave a hint of a smile. ‘Was that what you were doing down in Tijuana?’

Fourteen
    F orget about Vale being a fantasist; he knew too much. ‘How do you know about Tijuana?’
    â€˜I lied a moment ago. Occupational hazard, I’m afraid. James Beckwith told us as much as he could without betraying state or departmental secrets.’
    â€˜Us? You mean Mr Black?’ The guy with sunburn in the SUV.
    â€˜Yes, I’m sorry about that. He’s an analyst from our Washington office. He was the nearest man I could use in a hurry.’
    I let it go. Vale was merely doing his job.
    â€˜Beckwith was very unhappy,’ he continued in a chatty manner, ‘about the Tijuana situation.’
    â€˜Professional embarrassment,’ I said. ‘One of his men went rogue.’
    â€˜That explains it. He was impressed with you, however; said you did an excellent job.’
    â€˜I try to please.’ Beckwith hadn’t said anything to me at the time, but he’d pounced on the telephone directory readily enough. I was guessing the late Senor Achevar had found a simple way of passing along information if anything were to happen to him. If you want to highlight names and phone numbers, what better way than to place discreet dots against each one in a telephone directory?
    â€˜He mentioned some collateral damage. A certain Mexican group isn’t too happy about the results, apparently. They lost an employee and a number of others are now under surveillance.’
    â€˜Yes.’
    He chewed that over for a moment, then asked, ‘What’s your current situation? Are you under contract?’
    â€˜Not right this minute.’ I was between jobs. It got that way sometimes.
    â€˜Good. Are there any places you won’t work?’
    â€˜Not many.’ This was beginning to feel like an interview. ‘Do I need to write out a resumé?’
    â€˜No. I think I have all the information I need.’
    â€˜Who else spoke about me?’ I wasn’t too bothered, but in my business, loose talk can definitely cost lives.
    â€˜I’m not at liberty to mention any names. But they both gave you a clean bill of health.’
    They. ‘Government agencies?’
    He smiled. ‘All good people, I promise.’
    I had to be satisfied with that. ‘So what are you looking for?’
    â€˜Earlier, you called yourself a shadow. That’s exactly what I need. A shadow. Someone adept at staying in the background.’
    â€˜Go on.’
    â€˜I need you to accompany two of our people on an assignment.’
    â€˜Our people?’
    â€˜I’ll come to that later. I need your agreement first.’
    He was being very cautious. ‘Is this in hostile territory?’
    â€˜Very.’
    â€˜Where?’
    â€˜I’ll come to that, too. Hopefully, it won’t come to anything, but I need you to make sure nothing impacts on our people.’
    Impact. A word used often in my business, and rarely with pleasant consequences.
    â€˜Don’t you Brits have specialists for that kind of operation – the Increment or whatever you currently call them?’ Most governments have specialist teams for delicate operations. Some are part of the military but not always current serving personnel. The US Navy