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Stone had a fitful night and woke up Wednesday morning sore and tired.

It didn’t get any better when he stepped into the bathroom and saw a faint but unmistakable bruise on the right side of his jaw.

He touched it and winced.

“Great,” he grumbled.

After a shower and breakfast in his room, he was feeling a bit better, and thought as long as he didn’t get into a shouting match today, he should be okay.

He’d just finished getting ready when Dino called.

“How’s the patient?”

“Walking and talking.”

“Glad to hear it. Does this mean the trip to England is still on?”

“I didn’t realize it was in question.”

“Given your visit to the ER, I thought it prudent to double-check.”

“I have no intention of disappointing Dame Felicity. Wheels up Friday, ten a.m. Would you like a ride there?”

“I’ll be coming from headquarters, so I’ll have my driver bring me.”

“Offer still stands if things change. Any progress on the men from last night?”

“We have the images our sketch artist created with Fred, but no IDs yet.”

“If you find Ramona and Sofia, I bet they could point you in the right direction.”

“Ah, yes. The damsels in distress.”

“Technically, one damsel in distress and her friend.”

“Technically, zero damsels in distress and two con artists who baited you into a trap.”

“I can’t argue with that.”

“We worked up a couple of sketches of them, too, but no hits yet. I’ll let you know if that changes.”

“Thanks, Dino.”

Stone barely had the opportunity to straighten his tie when his phone rang again.

This time, it was Viv.

“I understand your England trip is still on,” she said.

“Dino could have just passed you the phone.”

“He could have if I was home, but I’m not. He texted me.”

“That’s right. Barcelona.”

“That was yesterday. I’m sitting in the lounge in Dubai now, waiting for a connection to Bangkok.”

“I thought you were going to Sydney.”

“That’s Friday. And speaking of Friday, your trip?”

“Yes, the trip is still on.”

“In that case, I’m wondering if you could do me a favor.”

“If it is within my purview.”

“Will there be an open seat?”

“A few, actually.”

“Perfect. Tamlyn has a few things she needs to take care of in London, and I was thinking she could catch a ride over with you.”

“She would be most welcome. We will be leaving Teterboro at ten a.m., so she should be there by nine-thirty.”

“I’ll let her know.”

Stone wished her safe travels, then went downstairs to his office suite.

Joan looked up from her desk as he entered, and her smile quickly morphed into a wince.

“What happened to you?”

“Nothing. Why do you ask?”

She pointed at the same spot on her chin where the bruise was on Stone’s.

“My face had an unfortunate collision with a fist. Twice, I believe.”

“Come here,” she said as she opened one of her desk drawers and rummaged through it.

“Here it is.” She held up a glass tube of makeup, which he recognized as concealer, one that perfectly matched his skin tone.

She had purchased it for a previous incident.

Stone frowned and tried to wave her away.

“I don’t need that.”

“We can’t have you going out of the office looking like you were in a bar fight. Unless it was a bar fight.”

“It was not a bar fight. And what do you mean going out of the office? Have I forgotten something?”

“Fred will be out front to take you to Teterboro in”—she looked at her watch—“ten minutes. You’re flying to Martha’s Vineyard with Mike Freeman this morning, remember?”

“I was involved in an incident last night.”

“Your not-a-bar fight. You mentioned that already. Now come. This will only take a minute.”

Once she had covered his bruise, he started toward the door of his office.

“Where are you going?”

He stopped.

“To get a few things together for the trip.”

“You forgot about something else, didn’t you?”

He thought for a moment.

“Not to my knowledge.”

“Ashton Williamson?”

“Is that a new client?”

She sighed, then rose from her desk and looked down the hall.

In a raised voice, she called, “Ash, can you come here for a moment?”

“Ash?” Stone said.

“It’s what he likes to be called.”

A young man exited one of the smaller offices, in the middle of pulling on his suit jacket.

He jerked in surprise when he realized Joan and Stone were watching him, then plastered on a smile and hurried over.

“Mr. Barrington,” he said, holding out his hand.

“It’s an honor to meet you. I recognize you from your pictures. I’m looking forward to working with you.”

Stone glanced at Joan as he shook Ash’s hand.

“Working with me?”

“Ash is your new associate. Bill Eggers sent us an email about it.”

Stone vaguely remembered something concerning that.

He’d been through a series of associates since Carly Riggs had left.

She was Woodman & Weld’s brightest attorney and had been recruited to the firm by Stone himself.

She’d served as his associate for a short period of time— and unofficially at that—prior to taking a leave of absence to attend a training camp for would-be CIA agents.

She had promised to consult with Stone before deciding whether to accept any job offer.

She had, however, extended her absence for several more months so that she could attend the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California.

None of the associates Stone had tried out since had lived up to the unrealistically high bar Carly had set.

“Ash, is it?” Stone said.

“Yes, Mr. Barrington.”

“Welcome, and you can save Mr. Barrington for client meetings. Here at the office, call me Stone.”

Ash looked uncomfortable.

“I’m not sure I can do that, sir. You’re Stone Barrington. I’ve read all about you.”

“Joan, give Ash the Sara Hirschy files.” Stone would deal with the name issue later.

To Ash, he said, “Sara’s a new client, so it would be good to get you involved right away.” He glanced at Joan.

“Give Herb a call and let him know that if he needs any help with Sara’s divorce, he should contact Ash.”

Fred entered the office.

“The car’s out front whenever you’re ready, Mr. Barrington.”

“Give me two minutes,” Stone said, then looked at Joan again.

“And call Bob Cantor. If he has anything for me yet, see if he can meet me after I get back this afternoon.”

“And, Ashton,” Joan said.

“Since it has to do with Sara.”

“Right. Ashton, you’ll be in that meeting, too.”

“Who’s Bob Cantor?” Ash asked.

“Joan can fill you in.”

Joan patted Ash on the back.

“Come on, new guy. Best not to get in the way when he’s in a hurry.”