Page 156 of The Last Kingdom

“I’ll think on it,” he said.

“You do that.”

* * *

COTTON SAT INSIDE A BUSY RESTAURANT NOT FAR FROM THEMarienplatz, a place that specialized in roasted pork knuckles. In fact, according to the server, they’d been roasting pigs here for the last four hundred years. The time was a little after 6:00P.M.The olden-style dining room was packed with a lively dinner crowd. Outside, beyond the plate glass windows, the sidewalks were thick with people enjoying the nightly Christmas market.

He was headed back to Copenhagen after spending yesterday with Luke, Koger, Trinity Dorner, and Toni Sims, debriefing the American ambassador to Germany so he could deal with Berlin. The BND had flexed its muscle after the discovery of the two dead senior members of the House of Wittelsbach. But Dorner had handled them expertly. Koger had told him about what she’d done before they appeared in the grotto.

And he could sympathize.

The first time pulling the trigger was tough.

Marc Fenn had disappeared back to his castle, sworn to secrecy about all that happened on pain of prosecution. Fenn had committed a litany of crimes and seemed to understand his precarious legal position. Dorner had likewise secured from Fenn a nondisclosure agreement that contained a waiver as to any statute of limitations.

So the threat of his prosecution would continue indefinitely.

He’d given his order to the server and was enjoying a little solitude among the crowd. He ate a lot of his meals alone, so dining solo was nothing unusual.

“May I intrude?”

He returned from his thoughts and saw Trinity Dorner standing before him.

He smiled and motioned. “Of course. Have a seat.”

He wondered how she’d found him, but realized this was a person of resources. She handed him a cell phone. His had been destroyed a couple of days ago.

“It’s Magellan Billet–issued,” she said. “I had it sent yesterday.” She provided him the new number. “I don’t have to ask if you’ll remember that, right?”

He grinned and nodded. “Thank you.”

“The least we could do.”

The phone buzzed on the tabletop.

He stared at Dorner, whose face remained like granite. Then he glanced down at the screen and sawAnswer itas the caller ID. He debated whether to ignore the call but decided not to be that arrogant. He lifted the phone and answered, using the noise and commotion around him as a privacy shield.

“No need to speak,” Warner Fox said. “Just listen.”

He stared at Dorner, who offered nothing back.

“I was wrong, Malone. I made a big mistake in Poland and lost a friend. You were right. I was wrong.”

He said nothing.

“I was wrong on Stephanie Nell too. I’ve ordered everything stopped regarding her termination and the Magellan Billet reinstated. And that’s not because of any deals. I was wrong and I’m willing to admit that to you.”

His mother once told him to “forgive and forget, not revenge and gloat.” The president of the United States was admitting he’d been wrong.

Let it go.

“We’re good,” he said.

“That’s all I ask. I’ve also lifted the order on not using you by our agencies.”

“I appreciate that.”

“You did good here. We were headed for a vise that would have been difficult to get out of. How about you and I forget the past and move forward. Who knows? I might need you.”