Chapter
2
Interesting.” Korgan turned off the recorder. “I don’t suppose you were able to trace the call?”
Vogel shook his head. “Burner. And the call only lasted a few minutes.” He paused. “But the signal was satellite and issued somewhere in the Szarnar Jungle.”
“Even more interesting. A confederate in place exactly where I’d wish her to be located. Margaret…Possibly a fellow CIA operative stationed in that area?”
“No last name. I’ve been combing through the personnel records, but I can’t find a Margaret working for the Company except in London.”
“Then do you suppose our Alisa Flynn set up the call to make sure I’d fall for the bait?” he mused.
“I’d suppose that she’s a very clever woman and capable of almost anything.” Vogel scowled. “And I believe you’re enjoying this a little too much. I could see that she intrigued you from the moment you saw her. Hell, the entire situation intrigued you. You’ve been bored lately, and the unusual always makes you curious.”
“But you heard what she said on the phone.” His eyes were suddenly twinkling. “She’s going to give me whatever I want if I just go along with her. How could I resist an offer like that? She’s totally gorgeous. I should at least test the limits.”
“You’re not talking about having sex with her. I’d feel a hell of a lot more comfortable if you were. You’re not sure if she’s trying to con you or if she might actually be of use to get you Masenak.” His lips thinned. “Either way, you don’t need her. We were always going to bring in that special forces team to take care of the problem. Enough to wipe out Masenak’s entire camp, if necessary. All you have to do is be patient until you get the location. We can handle it ourselves. You can tell just by looking at her that she’s trouble.”
“True.” Korgan shrugged. “But that doesn’t mean that she might not be worth the trouble. Every invention I’ve ever created caused me a hell of a lot of trouble because it was new and different, and everyone said it couldn’t be done.” Then all hint of a smile vanished as his face hardened. “And I’m fresh out of patience. I’m not going to wait until Masenak manages to slip away again. I’ll do whatever I have to do to get him.”
Vogel could see the recklessness, that brilliant mind ticking, that restlessness that was almost palpable. He’d seen Korgan like this before but never with quite such an explosive depth of feeling. He supposed he should have expected it when he’d seen the frustration and anger Korgan had shown when he’d been told that any hunt for Masenak was on hold. He’d been working ceaselessly on all fronts since he’d set up these headquarters in Morocco after he’d flown here from Washington. “Think about it. This Flynn woman could be full of bullshit. And even if she’s not, she might be brimming with altruistic good intentions that could be dangerous for us. She could get in your way.”
“I am thinking about it. If she can get me Masenak’s location, she could also pave the way. She’s very clever. She managed to open that XV-10 lock in less than one minute. Plus, she hacked my computer, and you know all the experts I pulled in to test those firewalls.”
“Which would appeal to you and scare the piss out of me.”
“There’s no more dangerous weapon than a fine mind. And the fact that weapon is pointed at Jorge Masenak does encourage me to take a closer look at her.”
Vogel sighed. He’d known it was a losing battle. “You’re going to call Daniel Zabron.”
Korgan was smiling again. “Yes, please. And I’m sure you won’t let me talk to him without giving me a complete background dossier on him so that I’ll be able to make accurate judgments about his veracity.”
“You’re damn right, I will,” Vogel said grimly as he turned away. “I started the minute I came back downstairs. Give me thirty minutes.”
* * *
“Gabe Korgan?” Daniel Zabron was silent and then started to laugh. “Since I’m sure not many people get phone calls from you in the middle of the night, you must be phoning me because Alisa Flynn told you to. She’s the only person who would feel free to tell anyone to wake me at this hour.”
“She did tell me to mention her name.”
“Even more interesting. Has she done anything reprehensible?”
“It depends on how you look at it,” Korgan said. “Let’s just say she made an impact that won’t be soon forgotten. I felt the need to explore the facets of that impact, and she gave me your name and told me you know her best.”
“She’s right, I suppose I do. And if she sent you to me, then she won’t want me to lie or con you.” He laughed again. “But I’m curious about what she did to get perhaps the finest mind of our century upset enough to come knocking on my door.”
“But not curious enough to be worried about her?” he asked dryly. “I thought you might lie because you were her partner. I see that wasn’t a problem.”
“I’d lie if she asked me. She didn’t ask me. So she must want me to tell you the truth. And Alisa doesn’t have partners. She knows partners can be a danger and she’s always careful. That’s why she’s such an excellent agent.”
“I suppose you should know. I understand you’re the one who recruited her when she was only thirteen.”
“Ah, of course you’d investigate me.” He didn’t speak for a moment. “What little nuggets did you find out?”
“That you’re a brilliant operative who’s been with the CIA for over twenty-five years. You’re practically a legend. The fact that you’re also totally ruthless, drink too much, and don’t stick to the rules in any investigation kept you from climbing higher in the Company.” He paused. “And the fact that you did recruit an orphan off the streets of Caracas didn’t meet with any degree of enthusiasm.”
“No, but after I trained her, they changed their tune.” His voice roughened. “Yeah, I heard all the bullshit about putting a little street kid to work with the CIA when she was barely a teenager. They even thought I was some kind of pervert because I wouldn’t back down. Why not find some social service agency to give the girl a decent life? Only at that time Caracas was teeming with starving kids just trying to survive, and I didn’t want to lose this one. It’s not as if I was particularly warmhearted. God knows, no one ever accused me of that. I managed quite well ignoring all those other kids I’d see out there in the gutters.” He paused. “Until I ran across Alisa. She wouldn’t let me ignore her. She was always there on the street outside the hotel. Skinny. Dirty. Running errands. Selling information. Watching everything. Fierce as a tiger. When I first saw her, she couldn’t have been more than nine or ten. I did my best to not pay any attention to her. But I found myself counting the bruises, wondering if she’d had to sleep out in the rain the night before, trying to judge if she’d lost weight again. Finally, I started to talk to her.” He was silent a moment. “And that’s when I knew she had me. I could have withstood all that schmaltzy sweetness-and-light crap, but she was probably the most intelligent person I’d ever run across. She took my breath away. I couldn’t let that go. I knew I could train her into something extraordinary.”
“And did you? I notice she’s extremely good at picking a lock.”
“It was one of the many directions I pointed her in. That’s all I ever had to do. Did you know she has a photographic memory? Show her the way and she’d take off and run with it. Failure was never an option. She learned some rough lessons on the street, and she never forgot them.” He chuckled. “She regarded your alarms as a challenge. I believe she had a bit of a crush on you after she started delving into your work. She said you were fantastic. She couldn’t wait for the XV-17 to come out.”
“Wonderful,” he said sarcastically. “But I didn’t call you to delve into her talent at safe breaking. I was more interested in asking you if I could trust her word.” He paused. “And what do you know about Jorge Masenak.”
“You can trust her word if she gives it. Otherwise you have to realize that she’s into survival.” He was sile
nt a moment. “Jorge Masenak? I’m not going to talk about him. I thought that might be why you were calling me. She came to me first and asked me to help her and I turned her down. I told you, I’m neither warm nor sentimental, and I’m also into survival. But I won’t try to turn you against going after him. She believes in what she’s doing. For some reason, those kids he’s holding matter to her. Maybe she identifies with them.” He paused. “No, there’s no way she could identify with those little princesses in that school. I don’t know what’s driving her. All I know is that she wants it so bad, she might be able to pull it off.”
“She says she has excellent sources in the Szarnar Jungle and southern Maldara—better than mine. Is it true?”
“It could be. I’m always surprised how many contacts she’s developed over the years. Alisa knows the value of working every angle, and she’s taught herself how to use people to do it.”
“Or were you the one who taught her?”
“Maybe. Do I detect a hint of protectiveness in your tone? Be careful, that’s how it started with me.” Then he said softly, “Our relationship has always been complicated. Let’s just say that once we got together, we taught each other a good many things and, bad or good, neither of us regretted learning them.” He added, “And I should remind you that it was Alisa who came to me and stood outside that hotel in Caracas until she wore me down. Determination like that is mind-boggling. You should really consider if she’s been using me all these years.”
“I believe you could take care of yourself,” Korgan said dryly.
“Oh, I can. I just didn’t want you to underestimate her. That would be an insult to all her hard work and my invaluable guidance. Is there anything else you wish to know?”
“We’ve discussed her skills in safecracking. What other talents does she possess that could be of use to me?”
“Oh, now this is beginning to read like an employee application. It depends on what you need her to be for the job. She’ll do what she has to do to get the mission accomplished. If you want to know what formal training she’s acquired since I took her under my wing?” He paused, thinking. “Data science, cryptology, cyber analysis and hacking, tracking, technology, weapons application, EMT training, and she’s fluent in nine languages. But those are only the formal training skills the CIA knows about. I taught her much more that she adapted on her own.”
“Then why the hell did you turn her down when she asked for help?”
“I told you, it was too dangerous. She’s a superb agent, but it could have turned out to be a suicide mission. I wasn’t about to risk my neck,” he said curtly. “If she’d been able to find a way to get the Company to go after Masenak, I might have agreed. But I always told her she couldn’t count on me unless she could prove a project would be a success. She shouldn’t have even asked me.” He added, “It’s interesting she moved on to you. What are you going to get out of this?”
“I don’t think I’ll answer that question. And if I decide to go forward with the project, I’ll ask your old friend Alisa not to confide in you, either. We have a different work philosophy. If I commit to a project, I don’t demand absolute proof that it will succeed, only that every single effort will be made. That allows for a change of course that might lead to a different but equally successful outcome. Thank you for answering my questions, Zabron. It’s been illuminating.”
“I agree.” Zabron chuckled. “But remember when I said I knew the moment when Alisa had me? For me it was the time when she actually started to speak to me, and I could gauge what she could become. But I think you’ve already gone past that point. Good luck, Korgan. I hope you get what you want from her.” He cut the connection.
“What do you think?” Vogel asked Korgan from across the room. “No one could say that he wasn’t brutally frank about her.”
“He also said that she probably has the sources she promised. It could cut down the time I have to wait to go after Masenak. That’s important. The longer he’s in that damn jungle, the more likely I might lose him.” He added, “And he said she’d keep her word.”
“If you could get her to swear to do it.”
“People swear and make promises to me all the time to get what they want,” he said wearily. “I’d just have to make sure she’ll be forced to do it.”
Vogel was studying him. “He annoyed the hell out of you, didn’t he?”
“Perhaps.”
“Yet you’re already talking as if it’s a done deal,” he said sourly. “Don’t tell me. You have a hunch.”
“It’s not a done deal. I’ll talk to her and see what she can offer me to get those students away from that bastard.” He looked down at the photo of Alisa Flynn on the dossier on the desk in front of him. Truly exceptional, he thought absently. Dark hair, high cheekbones, arched brows, and those slightly slanted green eyes. It was those wide, intense, almost fierce eyes staring at him that had caught his attention from the minute he had caught sight of her across the study tonight.
Wariness and ferocity.
And after he’d listened to Zabron’s description of the child Alisa, he could imagine she had not changed all that much.
Fierce as a tiger.
Vogel got to his feet. “I’m going to bed. I think Zabron was right. I think she’s got to you. Tell me in the morning if I’m wrong.”
Korgan watched him leave the room before his gaze returned to the photo. Decision time. If Vogel was correct, then it had better be for a damn good reason. It wouldn’t be because the woman had intrigued him or that he had a hunch that she could work out for them.
He opened the dossier and started to study everything it could tell him about Alisa Flynn.
* * *
9:05 A.M.
Alisa could see Korgan sitting in the study at his desk drinking a cup of coffee as she paused near the bottom of the staircase. She braced herself and then went down the last three steps. “Have you been there all night?” she asked as she entered the study. “Even Zabron doesn’t know enough stories about me to keep you that entertained.”
“Actually, my conversation with Zabron was relatively short. I told you I would never trust a single source. But I did find him interesting, as I did all the other information I found about you.” He smiled. “But you flatter yourself if you believe I’d sit here all night poring over your résumé.”
“I think you spent a good portion of it doing that.” Her gaze was narrowed on his face, trying to read him. Dammit, he was as ultra-complicated as one of his inventions. Yet she thought she could see something…“Be honest with me. I think honesty is going to be very important to both of us.”
His smile faded. “You’re absolutely right. I did my due diligence, but not all night. I took a two-hour nap, showered, and then came down here to wait and see when you’d break out of that bedroom.” He gestured to the thermal coffeepot on the desk. “I even ordered coffee for us. Would you like a cup?”
“Not right now,” she said absently. “I’d rather you talked to me. I’ve been waiting all night.”
“You shouldn’t reveal eagerness. It’s bad strategy.”
“Not with you. You don’t give a damn about strategy. You just gather all the facts and then decide what you’re going to do with them. Besides, I think you’ve already made up your mind.”
“Perhaps. Providing I can receive reasonable assurance that I’ll get what I want from you.” He took a sip of coffee. “What took you so long to get down here if you were so anxious?”
“I was waiting for Vogel to come and get me. I didn’t want to strike a wrong note by breaking out of the room if the decision was still up in the air.” She added impatiently, “But he didn’t come, and I didn’t know if it was amusing you to rig some kind of test about the damn lock, so I thought, What the hell.”
He chuckled. “Indeed. What the hell?”
“Now stop talking about things that aren’t important. I’ve already given you all the assurances I can. What else can I do?”
“I’m about to tell you.” He leaned back in his chair. “You see, the entire problem is that I’m such a cynical bastard. I don’t trust you. It takes me a long time to have faith in anyone, and your breaking into my study wasn’t destined to inspire me to do it. You need to erase that mistake.”
“And how am I supposed to do that?”
“Proof of intent,” he said softly. “You keep talking about an exchange of services, but I’m obviously going to have to perform first to avoid having those students slaughtered. Correct?”
She nodded. “I knew you’d have to trust me.” She moistened her lips. “I thought you’d want some kind of bond to seal the deal. I told you I’d be willing to do anything.”
“So you did,” he said ironically. “I believe even Masenak’s head was mentioned at one point.”
She stiffened. “Is that what you want?”
“Not initially. You’ve told me that he couldn’t be lured into a trap by your people. And even if you could find his camp, he’s exceptionally well guarded. If you attacked him, he’d go into automatic, kill those students, and then go on the run himself. Which was exactly what I don’t want to happen.”
“I told you I’d track him down for you.”
“And so you will. My research affirmed that you weren’t lying about your tracking skills. Homeland Security gave you expert status after your training in the Arizona desert.”
“These days I’m even better than those reports say.”
He chuckled. “And so modest, too.”
“I don’t want you to change your mind,” she said. “You can’t do that, Korgan. I can’t let it happen. What was that you were saying about proof of intent?”
“I sat here for a long time last night thinking about what would make me trust that you’d keep your promise after I gave you what you wanted.”
She sat there, tense, staring at him.
He smiled. “Leo Baldwin. I’m sure you’ve heard of him.”
“Of course I have.” She frowned as she tried to remember every detail. “One of Masenak’s sergeants in his army. Murderer, rapist, scum of the earth.” She paused and then added slowly, “And Masenak’s lover.” Her eyes widened. “You want me to kill him?”
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