Crater speaks. "Jamie Fields, at that point, had no immediate contact with Bobby Hughes. At that juncture we thought you were safe."
"Jamie Fields works for a counterintelligence organization that has infiltrated Mr. Hughes' organization," Palakon says. "At the time you were sent, we had no idea this was happening. We didn't know until you disappeared from London what the situation was." He pauses. "Until it was too late."
"But they met a long time ago," I mutter. "Jamie told me she'd met Bobby years ago, that they were hanging out for years."
"They had met, this was confirmed," Palakon allows, nodding. "But Bobby Hughes meets a lot of people. Not all of them tend to work for him. Not all of them end up being recruited."
Pause. "What about the hat you asked me to bring?" I ask.
Palakon sighs. "The hat I asked you to bring was intended for the group that Jamie Fields works for." A long pause suggests that this is an answer.
"So... Jamie Fields doesn't work for Bobby Hughes?" I ask.
"No, she doesn't, Mr. Ward," Palakon says. "Jamie Fields works for the United States government."
"What was... in the hat?" I ask tentatively.
Chapter Eighteen
All around: heavy sighs, a smattering of flinches, men repositioning themselves. Palakon glances over at Crater, who nods, resigned. I'm on the verge of placing where I first met the Interpol inspector but Russell distracts me by lighting a cigarette. There's no relief in knowing Jamie doesn't work for Bobby, because I don't believe it.
"In the seams of the hat," Palakon starts, "was a prototype for a new form of plastic explosive."
I turn ice cold, chills wash over my body in one enormous wave and veins freeze up, start tingling. I'm writhing in my chair, unable to sit still.
"We were uncertain of how detectable it was," Palakon says. "We needed a carrier. We needed someone no one would suspect. Someone who could transfer this sample to Europe."
"But once you boarded the QE2, Victor, you had obviously been spotted," Crater says. "Something got leaked. We're not sure how."
"I'm not... really clear on this," I manage to say.