Page 7 - Brokenclaw - John Gardner

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‘Professor Allardyce?’ There were two young men, dressed casually in

slacks and linen jackets, standing at the front door, their car parked on the
gravel sweep in front of the house.
The professor nodded, ‘What can I do for you?’
James Bond OO7 - printing disablede taller of the duo spoke, and they both lifted their hands to show James Bond OO7 - printing disabled
‘SIS.’ Th
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the laminated cards that identified them as members of the Canadian Security
& Intelligence Service.
The professor nodded again; he had reason to know these people, though he
had never set eyes on this pair of agents before. ‘Well, what can I do for you?’

he repeated.
‘There’re a couple of problems. The recent business about LORDS . . .’
Allardyce lifted his eyebrows and pursed his lips.
‘Oh, it is okay, sir. We’re both LORDS cleared,’ the other agent said quickly.
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‘I sincerely hope so,’ the professor frowned. ‘So what’s happened now?’
‘The chief would like to see you,’ said the taller of the two.
‘At the local office,’ the other added. ‘He flew in this morning. Sends his
compliments, and asks if you’d do him the honour.’

There was a pause during which Professor Allardyce continued to frown
and the two agents shuffled their feet, the taller of the pair undoing the one
button on his linen jacket.
‘You mind if I call your local office?’ Allardyce began to turn away as he

said it, clearly indicating that he was going to make the call whether they liked
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it or not.
‘Not a good idea, Prof . . .’ The taller agent stepped forward, spinning the
elderly man around while the other man secured his wrists. ‘You’d best just

come along with us, right?’
The professor was a thin, somewhat gangling man but he lashed out with
arms and legs so that it took both of the younger men considerable strength to
subdue him. Allardyce tried to shout and the taller agent slammed his hand

over their captive’s mouth, at which the professor promptly bit him.
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‘Like trying to wrestle an anaconda,’ one grunted.
‘A sackful of anacondas,’ replied the other.
But, gradually, they had their victim under control, dragging him, still

kicking, to the car where the bigger agent pushed Allardyce into the rear,
chopping the back of his neck viciously with the edge of his hand. The
professor folded, slumping into a corner, while his captor climbed in,

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