The Agency

4 - Monique

From information gleaned by Richard and a detailed accounting of facts the Agency had already assembled, Peter Killdrew was exposed to the foundation's board and effectively shoehorned out of the operation.

The identification of his personal contacts led to a renewed vetting and in turn conversion or removal. The Agency surreptitiously took over the rebuilding of the foundation activities. The work that had been done promoting Whycliffe to the world as a respected, transparent humanitarian needed to be preserved for all concerned.

The news of Peter's perfidy left Dalton defeated and disillusioned and his daughter institutionalized, he retreated into a private existence, leaving the public face of the foundation to his board of directors. Desmond White chose to leave as well; his promoting of Richard sat heavily on his conscience.

Richard, meanwhile had no idea what had happened and Nathan had seen to it that he did not find out, avoiding any disruption to his assigned task.  It was some time before he learned the fates of Dalton and Cora or Peter Killdrew. 

He angrily braced Nathan on one of their debriefing meetings about keeping the news of Cora's breakdown from him, going on to include his position as a facilitator in fraudulent money transactions. He was supposed to be serving his country, doing the right thing for the world. He was sick of the system and what it was making him do.

Richard felt regret for the life he'd accepted.

Nathan listened carefully and then in his parental manner, eased the conversation around to the fact that Richard's activities were serving his country. He was assuring the steady flow of necessary funding to mount the more aggressive operations the Agency was taking on around the globe.

Things like aiding the democratic freedoms of suppressed peoples and putting down hard line governments that ignored human rights.

"Bullshit!" was Richard's response.

Nathan took him to dinner in an expensive hotel, laying on the best of everything while he sweet-talked his protégé. The original departure from protocol those many days ago weighed heavily on Nathan. He genuinely liked Richard but there was a thin coat of uncertainty that kept him in the Agency's concern column.

The dinner meeting was a move to shift Richard into a position the Agency could manage more easily while still employing his natural skills and at the same time placating his patriotic doubts.

"We've decided you have successfully established stability in our European operation and want to offer you a more suitable position in its management."

"Offer me. Like I have a choice?"

"We want you to take over the vetting and oversight of newly recruited distributors. Your first interview will be with your replacement."

"Culling the field again, Nathan? Ridding the basket of rotting apples?"

"We have found it prudent to rotate the crops, to continue your analogy."

"And that includes me." Richard sipped his drink and gazed about the elaborate dining room. "Tell me, Nathan, how come you remain immune to these prudent moves?"

The response was a mirthless smile.

"The person we are looking at is Monique St. Croix. We want your opinion of her . . . qualifications."

"What is she doing now?"

"Same as you, only in a different sector."

"What is her background?"

"She was an event planner for a large agency in Italy- conferences, weddings, retreats, that sort of thing. She had a partner whom we recruited some time ago. He uh, was a casualty in the purge of Peter's contacts."