Smokescreen

by Iris Johansen

Gideon nodded. “Dobran assigned him quarters near the gallery. I told you that was his main duty to Dobran. Care and security for his treasures.”

  “Yes, you did.” His gaze was raking the house plans. “And yet there’s something missing…”

  “What?”

  Joe didn’t answer, his gaze still on the plans. “You can get us to the house, but after that, we’re on our own?”

  “I can do better than that. I hijacked the Internet info of the company who installed his security system and got one of Novak’s experts to figure out the codes to both the exterior and interior. I can disable the alarms, video cameras, and the motion sensors to everything but the gallery. That’s on a separate circuit and code. The security there is foolproof against fire, theft, earthquake, and acts of God or Satan. Dobran doesn’t want anyone touching his treasures.”

  “But we can get to Sebak’s quarters?”

  “If we can get past the guard stationed near the French doors in the library.” Gideon’s eyes were narrowed with interest on Joe’s face. “Look, we can have Herb Nassem, the operator Novak set up as backup, drop us off and pick us up at the château. And I can manage to get us into the place. But all this would be difficult. If you still want Sebak, why not let me set up a meeting with him in the city instead?”

  “I don’t want to waste the time,” Joe said curtly. “I want it all. I want Sebak. I want Dobran. I want answers. And I want it all to go down tonight.” His lips tightened. “And since you’ve done such good prep work, we might be able to pull it off.”

  Gideon blinked. “If we don’t get killed. You were right, I don’t understand the word impatience as you define it.” Then he smiled slowly. “Go for the entire jackpot? It’s very appealing. Providing you have a plan?” When Joe just looked at him, he said, “You don’t have a plan.”

  “Not yet.” Joe went back to flipping through the photos on Gideon’s phone. He added absently, “I’ll get there. We have all day. But the first order of business is that we’ve both got to memorize this floor plan. Now tell me about Dobran and his drug addiction. He obviously has to keep it under control, or he wouldn’t be this successful. What does he use?”

  “Opium pipe. He started off on pills, but after he came back to Cairo, he found himself an antique pipe that I’m sure made him feel like a caliph. But you’re right, he keeps control. He likes money too much to do anything else. Sebak said he locks himself in his suite at night and goes into never-never land. But during business hours, he’s not a user.”

  “That could be bad or good. Do you know his typical schedule? We need him coherent but not troublesome…”

  * * *

  Robaku

  2:45 P.M.

  “You’ve got your red voodoo markers in place,” Jill said as she handed Eve a bottle of water. “Don’t argue. Drink it and take a deep breath. You’ve been racing nonstop all day.” She tilted her head critically as she gazed back at the reconstruction. “Now he looks more like a ghoul than ever. Does it bother you?”

  “No.” Eve took a drink of water and leaned back. “That’s a necessary process that leads to a successful conclusion. Why should it bother me?”

  “You said you weren’t looking forward to working on a man like Varak. Just checking.” She made a face. “And I suppose I shouldn’t have even mentioned it. It’s my damned curiosity again. I’m glad that he’s not putting his mojo on you.”

  “If he were, it would be because I let him. If evil lingers, it could be because we invite it into our minds.” She took another drink of water and looked directly into the skull’s gaping eyes. She hadn’t realized until this moment that she had not done that since she had started working. Well, why should she? she thought defensively. She’d been doing depth measurements. It wasn’t because she’d been afraid. “The trick is to concentrate on the work and not give in to imagination.” She was speaking as much to herself as to Jill. “I’ve probably blown Varak’s mystique out of all proportion because of what I’ve learned from reading and hearing about him.” And the horrible nightmares. The machete glittering in the darkness of the schoolroom. She forced herself to keep her gaze on the skull. “Do you realize I don’t even know what he looks like? That’s not a bad thing since I avoid it anyway. But I only saw a couple photos of him on Google, and none of them were close-ups. I wasn’t interested in him, only the children. I just got a vague impression that he was very big and had dark hair. Then when I came here and saw what he’d done in that schoolroom, I didn’t want to look at him. He’s not even a human being to me any longer. He’s a Hitler or Bin Laden.”

  “Close,” Jill said. “But you have to add a little Jeffrey Dahmer to be exact.”

  “You should know.” She tore her gaze from the skull. “I’m sure you’ve researched him ad nauseam, just as you did me.”

  “As much as I could. He was a big part of the story of what happened here in Maldara, and I had to try to understand him.” Her lips twisted. “I never succeeded. I felt like one of those FBI profilers trying to see into the mind of a serial killer. There has to come a time when there is no answer but the fact that Varak was a monster.” She paused. “But I think you should know about Varak. Because he didn’t look like a monster. He was quite good-looking in a Slavic kind of way, and he’s over six-five and very powerfully built. Strong. Exceptionally strong, and he liked to break things…and people.” She moistened her lips. “And everyone around him sensed that he did, and it gave him power over them. He loved power from the day he was born. He searched for it in violence, sex, money, or anything else that gave him the same thrill.”

  “You seem to know him better than you thought you did,” Eve said slowly.

  “Maybe I wanted to be like you and close my eyes to the monster. But I’m not allowed to do that because I have to tell the story. And now you don’t get to do it either because I brought you into this. You have to get to know him. I’ll try to make it as brief as possible.” She paused. “Varak grew up in the slums of Johannesburg and was the first of three children born to Marta Varak, a worker in a local clothing factory. His father was a soldier who deserted Marta after eight years, and she became a whore to support her children. She treated them all well enough, but she was besotted with Nils. She spoiled him rotten, and he might have been the reason her husband deserted her. Nils didn’t like the competition, and there’s no telling what he did to push his father out the door. There was no doubt he was the perfect sociopath and was as smart as he had to be in every category. He had temper tantrums until he learned it didn’t get him what he wanted, then he became devious. But he had all the signs of a psychopath from the time he was a toddler. There were rumors that were never proved that he killed small neighborhood animals. Then, when he was nine years old, his eleven-month-old baby sister suffocated in her crib when he was supposed to be taking care of her. It was said to be accidental. His mother said the poor boy was devastated even though he always complained about her crying. The only family member Nils got along with was his younger brother, Oscar, because he let Nils totally dominate him. When he was fifteen, he took Oscar with him to Venezuela when he joined a rebel group as a mercenary. But when Nils formed his own army two years later, Oscar took off and went back to Johannesburg. He was evidently tired of being his brother’s punching bag.” Jill paused a moment. “You know the rest. Varak has been building his reputation country by country and one massacre at a time. Only the massacres and the butchery kept getting worse and worse. Maldara was just the last in the line of his bloodbaths.”

  Eve looked back at the skull. “I hope this is Varak. Somehow we have to put an end to him, Jill.”

  Jill nodded, her gaze on the reconstruction. “You’re working very quickly, aren’t you? As I said, you’re on fire. But you said three days…”

  “I said maybe three days, he’s going very fast.” She took another drink of water. “But it may slow down as I do the fill-in. I have to be very careful.”

  Jill was studying her expression.
“But you don’t believe it will slow down, do you?”

  Eve didn’t answer for a moment. “No, sometimes a work just takes off and leaves me far behind. I can’t seem to do anything wrong. This could be one of them.”

  “So how long?”

  Eve shook her head. “I have no idea. Right now it’s a fever. But sometimes a fever breaks.” She finished her water. “And I won’t know if I don’t get back to work.”

  “I’m dismissed?” Jill asked. “When am I allowed to disturb you again?”

  Eve started to put on another depth marker.

  “When?” Jill persisted. “Next on my list is a cup of beef soup. I have to keep you strong. Give in, and the interruption will go faster. Tell me when it will be convenient.”

  Jill obviously wasn’t going to surrender, Eve thought resignedly. “Before I begin the final sculpting.”

  Jill’s eyes widened. “Shit. You’re going to finish tonight.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  “But you are, aren’t you?”

  “Perhaps. More likely tomorrow.”

  “I think…tonight.” Jill’s gaze went to the reconstruction. “What did you say about sometimes a work’s just taking off?” She murmured, “Maybe we’re not the only ones who are impatient…”

  * * *

  Asarti

  1:40 A.M.

  “You’re sure the kitchen entrance is the safest?” Joe asked as he went down the path after Gideon. “I’ve always found less obvious—”

  “Have I been wrong yet?” Gideon interrupted. “Face it, I’ve been bloody perfect. After Nassem dropped us off down the road, I led us right past those sentries, didn’t I? You shouldn’t mess with perfection, Quinn.” He’d reached the kitchen alcove, and his fingers were racing over the security panel. “Particularly since I’m not at all sure that I’m not the only perfect thing about this venture.”

  “Perfection is overrated,” Joe said. “It doesn’t leave room for innovation.” Yet he couldn’t argue that Gideon had fulfilled every need. He had been a constant surprise to Joe. And this door was opening silently with no alarm. “Okay, you’re awe-inspiring. Meet me at Sebak’s quarters. I’ll go take out the guard in the library.”

  “I’ll do it,” Gideon said as he moved down the hall. “The guard will be easy. I’ll let you handle Sebak. You want him alive, and my impression is that he’s very edgy. I bet he has a gun in his bedside table.”

  He probably knew Sebak did, Joe thought as he turned in the opposite direction and made his way through the darkness toward Sebak’s suite.

  Sebak’s door was locked. Definitely edgy.

  It took Joe two minutes to silently pick the lock. Then he was inside.

  More darkness.

  But Joe’s eyes were accustomed to it now, and he could make out a bed across the large room.

  Joe moved silently toward it.

  Movement!

  The bedcovers were suddenly thrown aside, and the man who had done it was lunging toward the bedside table.

  Joe was across the room in seconds, and his hand came down in a karate chop on Sebak’s wrist as he fumbled to get the drawer open.

  Sebak cursed in pain as he turned and launched himself upward at Joe. “Son of a bitch. What are you doing? One scream, and I’ll have guards all over the place.” He struck out blindly and hit Joe in the chin. “They’ll kill you.”

  Enough.

  Joe’s hand cut down on Sebak’s neck in a karate chop and put him out.

  He went limp.

  Three or four minutes maximum before he’d regain consciousness, Joe thought. Get ready.

  He flicked on the bedside light, checked to make sure the man was indeed Sebak, and removed the .38 revolver from the drawer of the bedside table. Then he took out his handcuffs and snapped them on Sebak’s wrists.

  “No trouble at all?” Gideon was at the doorway, his gaze on Sebak. “I admit I’m disappointed. I wasn’t aiming for serious, but a few minor problems would have made me feel better about having to be so wary around you. I don’t like not feeling totally in control of the situation.”

  “Then you shouldn’t have told me that he’d go for that gun.” Joe took a small roll of duct tape out of his jacket pocket. “Did you take down the guard?”

  Gideon nodded as he watched him tape Sebak’s mouth. “Complete with the duct tape. I did a neater job than you.” He closed the door and walked toward him. “I think he’s coming around. Maybe you’d better be the first one he sees. You’re more threatening. I concentrated on being intelligent and charming when I was trying to lure him to our side. That’s not the impression we need right now.” He stepped out of Sebak’s field of vision. “So be intimidating, Quinn.”

  “I will,” Joe said grimly as he moved forward and jerked Sebak’s head back. Sebak’s eyes flew open, and he gazed up at Joe in alarm. He tried desperately to open his lips and speak.

  “I’ll let you talk soon,” Joe said harshly, “when I’m sure you understand what will happen to you if you scream or cause me any trouble. Nod if you understand.”

  Sebak nodded but then tried to lift his arms and strike out. When he saw the handcuffs, he began to struggle frantically.

  “Helpless,” Joe said. “I can do anything I wish to you, and you won’t be able to stop me. And you might be able to get out of this alive if you don’t make me angry.” His voice lowered. “But it’s going to be very easy to make me angry. I need information, and you’ve been playing games with my friend. Do you know there’s a pressure point I can press here on your neck that can make you very sorry that you did that?” He reached down, and his thumb and forefinger found the exact place. “Ah, there it is.”

  Sebak opened his lips, trying to scream as pain jagged through him.

  “But I never play games, Sebak. I just make certain the pain keeps coming and coming until I get what I want. I want this information very much because without it, someone I care about is going to suffer.” He pressed the cord again and watched Sebak’s face as it twisted in agony. “I won’t permit that to happen. I’ll do anything I have to do to keep it from happening. But I don’t care if you suffer at all. I believe you understand that now, don’t you?”

  Sebak nodded frantically.

  “Good. Then you won’t try to escape, and you’ll cooperate with everything I ask of you. Is that true?”

  Sebak nodded again.

  Joe leaned forward. “Then I’m going to take off the tape, and we’ll begin.” He stared deep into his eyes. “But you’ll have to remember that if I see any sign of trickery, I won’t hesitate. You’re expendable, Sebak. And, if I don’t get what I want, then I’ll have no hesitation about showing you that.” His fingers moved gently on Sebak’s neck, and he could feel the muscles tense. “You’re in my way. It’s up to you to prove that I should keep you alive.” He suddenly reached up and ripped off the tape with one motion. “Are you going to scream, Sebak?”

  “No!” His gaze was holding Joe’s. “I promise. I won’t—” He stopped. “I want to live. Tell me how I can do that.”

  “I fully intend to do that.” He said over his shoulder to Gideon, “It’s over. Come out, come out, wherever you are. Sebak isn’t going to have any trouble believing that I’ll do anything I have to do now.”

  “I can see that.” Gideon moved forward. “Intimidating, indeed. Is that how you treat the prisoners at your precinct when you’re interrogating them?”

  “No, that’s my job, and there are rules. This is Eve, and there are no rules.” He looked back at Sebak and gestured to Gideon. “You’ll remember him, he was going to give you a great deal of money. But now you’ve decided that’s not necessary, haven’t you?”

  “I remember him.” Sebak’s tone was surly. “We can still deal. I’ll get you in to see Dobran. You didn’t have to hurt me.”

  “Yes, I did,” Joe said. “I don’t have time to do anything else tonight. But I could learn to enjoy it if you don’t cooperate.” He took a step close
r to Sebak. “And we will pay a visit to your boss, but I think you know a good deal, and that will save me time. Gideon tells me that he indulges in his favorite opium pipe in the evening and might be a bit bleary when I wake him.”

  Sebak hesitated. “Gideon said that he wanted info about some DNA project Dobran was doing. I don’t know anything about his business.” He looked suddenly alarmed as he met Joe’s eyes. “Well, maybe a little. But you’d do better to talk to him.”

  “I think you’d know about this,” Joe said softly. “It was a very big job, perhaps the biggest Dobran has ever done. It would have been very difficult for him not to call in all the help he could get to keep himself safe and the work secret. You’re his errand boy, and he trusts you. You might not know anything about the lab work, but you’d be drawn into the job itself.”

  “He doesn’t trust anyone that much.”

  “I thought we had an understanding,” Joe said. “Now I’m going to ask questions, and you’re going to answer quickly and fully. Or we go back to the moment before I ripped off that tape. Do you want that, Sebak?”

  “No! I just—” He was breathing hard. “He knows bad people. He could have them kill me.”

  “That’s your problem, but you have a bigger one with me.” Joe smiled. “Don’t you?”

  “Yes.”

  “Then we go forward. What do you know about that DNA job Dobran took on several months ago?”

  He was silent, then said reluctantly, “He didn’t want to do it. From what I overheard when he was talking on the phone, the money was more than he’d ever been offered before, but he said it was too dangerous. He said that he had plenty of money and didn’t need to run that kind of risk to get more.”

  “And who was on the phone?”

  Sebak shrugged. “I don’t know. Somebody important. Dobran said something about not caring how big they were, it was nothing to him. He had enough business, and he wasn’t going to run the risk.”

  “But evidently he did run it.”

  Sebak’s lips twisted as he nodded. “Dobran was offered a price he couldn’t refuse. A box was delivered here a few days later, and he sent me to take it to Caladon that same day.”