FICTION

THE LIST – Part 2

(Continued from TVia 83)

Winnie-NY-8-B FPE

The leaves were beginning to fall from the big oak tree outside his office window. Harry Cooper watched them swirl in the wind, deep in thought. He had a problem. There had been a sudden influx of "attachees" to one of the East European embassies. He-needed a good agent to keep tabs on them. Someone like Ted Brewer. Dammit, why was Brewer taking so long to lift that mailing list from a bunch of stupid weirdos? He had hoped that job would be done in three months, four at the most. But, here it was, five and a half months after he had dispatched Brewer on the errand, and still no certainty of success.

Oh yes, Harry had received regular coded reports from Ted, indicating considerable progress. He had supplied an additional set of false ID papers in the name of "Cynthia Foster" when Ted had telegraphed an urgent request for such documents. But after every optimistic report, some new obstacle always seemed to appear. Well, in two weeks, Ted should be back, with or without the list. But in two weeks, those Commies could have made all their contacts and then simply lie low for months on end. Harry's thoughts were interrupted by Kathy's voice over the intercom.

"Call from the guardhouse on line three, boss."

He punched the button and picked up the phone. "Cooper speaking.

"Sergeant Carter here, sir. There's a girl waiting at the gate. Claims to be one of our agents working under your orders. And she does have an Agency ID card with the name Theodore Brewer. But the picture doesn't look anything like this girl, of course."

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