The Intercom Conspiracy by Eric Ambler Read Free Book Online Page A

more furtive paper mills – those, for instance, which specialised in the manufacture of false intelligence documents – were businesses run for profit. Since the output of the paper mills had always to be evaluated – the kind of misinformation being propagated by an opponent could sometimes give an indication of his true intentions – the work load they created was a perennial source of inconvenience to intelligence agencies.
    ‘This Theodore Carter,’ said Jost, ‘where did he come from? Is he one of the paper-mill hacks?’
    ‘Not exactly. His predecessor at
Intercom
was certainly one ofthose. Felix Kortan, you may remember him. An American-educated Hungarian who operated after the war in Vienna. Called himself a Russian expert. Even Novak saw through his faking eventually. Carter is a little better than that, I think. I have seen a fairly thorough report on him.’
    ‘I would like to see that report, if possible.’
    ‘I can tell you the essentials now.’ Brand half closed his eyes. ‘Theodore Carter. No middle name. Aged fifty-five, a Canadian citizen born in Montreal. Educated there and in France. Married a French woman from whom he is now divorced. A daughter, Valerie, aged twenty-three, lives with him and is an assistant librarian employed at the University of Geneva. Carter has spent most of his adult life as a working journalist, mainly in French-speaking countries. He is a French-English bilingual and proficient in German and Italian. His best period – by “best” I mean the period when he behaved more or less as an educated man of his age should, and when he drank least – was the six years prior to the break-up of his marriage. He worked in the Paris office of a British news agency for four of them, and then in the news department there of an American radio and television network.’
    ‘Is he an alcoholic?’
    ‘He has what our American friends call a drinking problem. Not an alcoholic, but certainly a heavy drinker. The report describes him as being flawed, a man of undoubted ability who takes pleasure in misusing it.’
    ‘And so, while wallowing in self-pity, drinks. I see. Is he himself an extreme anti-communist?’
    ‘The judgment is that he is capable of being extremely anti-anything, as long as the pay is good. It proved impossible to discover whether or not he had private political convictions different from those of his employer. Since Novak appears to have trusted him completely, he is undoubtedly capable of putting on a convincing act when it suits him to do so.’
    ‘Has anyone ever attempted to recruit this man?’
    ‘I suppose the CIA looked him over when he worked for the American radio people in Paris. They would do so normally.Probably the drinking put them off. There was nothing in the report.’ Brand paused. ‘Is your part of the operation ready?’
    ‘It can soon be made ready, but I will have to move quickly.’ Jost stared ahead. They were approaching the pier at Ouchy-Lausanne now, and in a few minutes he would have to leave. ‘I think I may stay in this area for a further twenty-four hours,’ he said.
    ‘And visit Geneva?’
    ‘I would like to see things for myself.’ Jost hesitated. ‘This is going to be a little dangerous for Carter,’ he said.
    Brand pursed his lips. ‘Well, yes. A
little
dangerous perhaps. But that was always an implicit side-effect.’
    ‘Implicit, yes, but we have never discussed the problem.’
    ‘What is there to discuss?’ Having said all that he had come there to say, Brand was tiring now. ‘Once your
démarche
begins there will be dangerous moments for Carter. We must accept that. We cannot protect him.’
    ‘No, of course not. It would be ill-advised to try. We might perhaps, though, warn him.’
    ‘Impossible. A man like that? He would just leave. The whole operation would be aborted.’ Brand drew breath. ‘No, it is all a calculated risk. He must take his chance. It may be unpleasant for him, but it will not be so for