Read Online The Spoilers / Juggernaut by Desmond Bagley - Free Book Online Page A

putting back the pieces.’ His voice hardened. ‘My advice to you is that if Dr Warren wants to talk to you, then you pin back your hairy ears and listen.’
    Follet took a deep breath and blew out his cheeks. ‘All right, Steve; I’ll sort this out,’ he said to the man next to him. ‘But stick around—I might need you fast.’ The man nodded and returned to his position against the wall.
    ‘Let’s all have a nice, soothing drink,’ suggested Tozier.
    ‘I don’t get any of this,’ protested Follet. ‘Why are you pushing me, Warren? I’ve never done anything to you.’
    ‘And you won’t, either,’ observed Warren. ‘In particular you won’t say anything about this to Kostas because if anything happens to me all my information goes directly to the places where it will do most good.’
    Tozier said, ‘I don’t know what this is all about, but if anything happens to Dr Warren then a certain Johnny Follet will wish he’d never been born, whatever else happens to him.’
    ‘What the hell are you ganging up on me for?’ said Follet desperately.
    ‘I don’t know,’ said Tozier. ‘Why are we ganging up on him, Doc?’
    ‘All you have to do is to take a holiday, Johnny,’ said Warren. ‘You come with me to the Middle East, help me out on a job, and then come back here. And everything will be as it was. Personally, I don’t care how much money you loot from Argentinian millionaires. I just want to get a job done.’
    ‘But why pick on me?’ demanded Follet.
    ‘I didn’t pick on you,’ said Warren wearily. ‘You’re all I’ve got, damn it! I have an idea I can use a man of your peculiar talents, so you’re elected. And you don’t have much say about it, either—you daren’t take the chance of being pushed back to the States. You’re a gambler, but not that much of a gambler.’
    ‘Okay, so you’ve whipsawed me,’ said Follet sourly. ‘What’s the deal?’
    ‘I’m running this on the “need to know” principle. You don’t have to know, you just have to do—and I’ll tell you when to do it.’
    ‘Now, wait a goddam minute…’
    ‘That’s the way it is,’ said Warren flatly.
    Follet shook his head in bewilderment. ‘This is the screwiest thing that ever happened to me.’
    ‘If it’s any comfort, brother Jonathan, I don’t know what’s going on, either,’ said Tozier. He eyed Warren thoughtfully. ‘But Doc here is showing unmistakable signs of acting like a boss, so I suppose he is the boss.’
    ‘Then I’ll give you an order,’ said Warren with a tired grin. ‘For God’s sake, stop calling me “Doc”. It could be important in the future.’
    ‘Okay, boss,’ said Tozier with a poker face,
V
    Warren did not have to go out to find Mike Abbot because Mike Abbot came to him. He was leaving his rooms after a particularly hard day when he found Abbot on his doorstep. ‘Anything to tell me, Doctor?’ asked Abbot.
    ‘Not particularly,’ said Warren. ‘What are you looking for?’
    ‘Just the usual—all the dirt on the drug scene.’ Abbot fell into step beside Warren. ‘For instance, what about Hellier’s girl?’
    ‘Whose girl?’ said Warren with a blank face.
    ‘Sir Robert Hellier, the film mogul—and don’t go all pofaced. You know who I mean. The inquest was bloody uninformative—the old boy had slammed down the lid and screwed it tight. It’s amazing what you can do if you have a few million quid. Was it accidental or suicide—or was she pushed?’
    ‘Why ask me?’ said Warren. ‘You’re the hotshot reporter.’
    Abbot grinned. ‘All I know is what I write for the papers—but I have to get it from somewhere or someone. This time the someone is you.’
    ‘Sorry, Mike—no comment.’
    ‘Oh well; I tried,’ said Abbot philosophically. ‘Why are we passing this pub? Come in and I’ll buy you a drink.’
    ‘All right,’ said Warren. ‘I could do with one. I’ve had a hard day.’
    As they pushed open the door Abbot said, ‘All your days