They called me THE PUPPETEER 1 (The Puppets of Washington Book 7)

Chapter 3

Chapter 3Yet, there were other influential parties, or pawns I should say, to consider on the chess board. Thanks to a couple of camera devices I had placed in the main actors’ hotel suites, I was all ears and eyes when I heard a knock at the door of Khalid’s room. I watched the scene from my laptop.

“James. Please come in,” Khalid said when he opened the door to James Flaubert, the President of Carmine and a good friend of Khalid. “I’m almost packed and I’ll be ready to leave in a few minutes.”

James’s lanky frame, his keen eyes and his amiable demeanor hid the strength of a man who had fought many battles and whose integrity had never been put into question. “Have you seen her this morning?”

“No, James. She has refused to see me since it happened. And I think this time it’s final. She couldn’t cope with my betrayal.” Khalid led James to the living room of his suite where they both sat down in chairs opposite each other.

“You shouldn’t blame yourself for anything. Especially for having ‘betrayed’ anyone. No one could have known there was someone waiting on the rocks.”

“I should have known, James. Everyone knew that Hassan was hiding at the embassy house and that he was Osnoir’s next target. I should have known that a killer would be waiting for him. Actually, Talya should be dead, too. They were sitting side by side on the beach but the shooter wasn’t fast enough and he was probably interrupted when Mark arrived on the scene.”

“But why is Talya behaving like this? She should be grateful...”

Khalid shook his head. “Oh no! She won’t be grateful. She needed my presence and my assistance until yesterday, but now she needs nothing from me. She has used me and I was blind because I love her.”

“I can’t believe that. I believe that you love her – don’t misunderstand me – but I won’t believe that she ‘used you’ as you say. She may be resentful of your actions because she’s hurting, but ‘used you’. No, Khalid, not Talya.”

“So, if it is only resentment that she feels, why doesn’t she want to see me? Her eyes are full of anger, James. I thought I knew how to get through to her, but I guess now that my usefulness has come to an end, she doesn’t need my support any more.”

“You know, Khalid, I have a lot of respect for you. I have always admired your straightforward manner and your insightful nature, but today I am disappointed. You don’t need to pack and go back to Paris, you need to go across the hall and knock on her door. I may be an old fool, but I believe Talya loves you, and I thought you knew that. She needs you now more than ever...”

“James, I don’t think...”

“No, Khalid, you’ve got to impose your presence on her, right now.”

I switched my computer off.