The Curse of Medusa

A wave of ice-cold panic rushed over Reznik as he realized the Colonel was turning to stone, and was now nothing more than a statue. It had happened right before his eyes, but the realization that the same thing was happening to him, mercifully, came too late, and his world came to an end before he knew that he too had turned to stone.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Lea checked into the Radisson Blu Royal Hotel on Dublin’s Golden Lane. She had friends in the city, but they weren’t part of this side of her life, and her remaining family was distant and scattered along the west coast.

She flicked the TV to a news channel and watched the terrible news flooding out of America. It looked like the attacks were restricted to Washington DC, which was a small mercy, but they still had no idea where the President was — or even if he was dead or alive. She knew Jack Brooke would be up to his neck in it and she hoped Alex Reeve was safe. For now, at least, there was nothing else she could do.

She glanced at her phone — no messages. She considered calling Hawke. Where was he in the world? She had no idea. She picked up the phone and began to dial his number, but then thought better of it. He hadn’t called her, after all. She put the phone down and watched people trundling up and down the street beneath their umbrellas.

The light was beginning to fade now, and the night approached. It was all very familiar. Every time she returned to Ireland it was like she’d never been away, but at the same time she felt like she was a little more different every time she came back. She glanced at her watch and saw it was almost time to meet Devlin.

When Eden had told her about McNamara’s murder, she knew she’d need help when she got back to Ireland. Daniel Devlin was her old commanding officer from the Army Ranger Wing. He was a good man but a better soldier, and these days he spent his time propping up the bar in Flynn’s on Harry Street.

She hadn’t seen him for more years than she could remember, and she wondered what she was about to walk into. She’d heard stories about his fall from grace, but taken them with a good pinch of salt. Now she was about to see him face to face her concerns grew stronger, but she had nowhere else to run. He was the only person she could trust to help her, and she just hoped that he was going to be up to it.

She made the short walk to the pub in less than ten minutes and as expected, the former commandant was halfway through a Guinness and regaling the half-empty room with his old army exploits. She wondered if he could stand, let alone help her track down McNamara’s killers… but then she stopped herself. Men like Devlin were hardened Special Operations military men and she had watched him do whatever it took on missions from Somalia to Kosovo. She was certain he could handle anything thrown at him tonight.

She approached him from behind, looking up at the muted TV set bringing the punters yet more news of the chaos unfolding in Washington DC.

“So how many’s that you’ve sunk, Danny?”

Devlin turned and his face lit up. “So you really did make it back home, Mrs Bale?”

“Sure I did… someone had to drag you out of here, you know. You drink too much — you know that, don’t you, Danny?”

Devlin shrugged his shoulders. “I drink to hide from myself, Lea.”

“Does it work?”

“No. I’m too good at finding things.”

“Same old tosspot, I see — and it’s not Mrs Bale anymore… we divorced.”

“Am I sorry to hear it?”

“No.”

Devlin laughed and clapped his hand on her shoulder. He ordered two more pints of Guinness up at the bar while Lea secured a table in the corner. She watched him at the bar, recalling the night they had spent together all those years ago in this very city.

He walked over to her, a drink in each hand and smiled warmly at her as he sat down.

“So what have you been up to, Lea — saving the world, if I made my best guess?”

She looked at him for a second and took a sip of the stout. “Something like that, Danny.”

He chuckled and shook his head from side to side. “I bet you are, too. Tell me though, why are you bothering me tonight? By the looks of that tan I’d say you’re not spending too much time in Galway…”

“I need your help,” she said, ignoring the fishing expedition to find out where she lived. “No other reason for me to get in touch with such an ugly bastard, is there now?”

He laughed, and glanced at her, his face growing more serious. “Nothing too nasty, I hope?”

She sat for a long time and said nothing. She knew the silence wouldn’t bother Devlin, and she was right. He sipped his drink and occasionally scratched at the silver stubble on his chin. Then she spoke.

“It’s about Dad.”

“Your father?”

She nodded. “You remember what I told you about him, right?”

He nodded. “He died when you were a girl… I remember. Very sad.”

Another pause. “You know, they told me I was crazy when I said I thought someone murdered him.”

“I remember, Lea.”

“But now it looks like I might be able to prove it.”