Circle of Scorpions

by Nick Carter

  "I would prefer Amsterdam. Brussels is very dangerous right now."

  "Then we will need a certificate."

  He nodded. "You will take delivery personally?"

  "Yes."

  "Very well. Now… payment."

  "Half on contract, half on delivery. The first half through Swiss accounts, the second half in cash."

  "Swiss francs?"

  "If you so desire."

  "I do," Kashmir said, uncoiling from his chair and coming around the desk. "It will take about an hour to get a reply. In the meantime, why don't you rejoin the party?"

  Carlotta stood and walked with him to the door.

  "My chauffeur tells me that you brought down your bags with you."

  "Wasn't that your suggestion?… That I stay the night?"

  "Of course. I'm just rather surprised that you have decided to do so. The last time we met, I must say you were rather cold toward my… suggestions."

  He had stopped, turning her body to his. Now he was slowly running his hands up and down her back and gently moving his lower body against hers.

  Carlotta felt a shudder of revulsion begin its surge through her from his touch, and suppressed it.

  "That was last time, Ali. This is this time."

  His dark eyes flashed. "I am elated. With a client so beautiful, it will be a joy to mix a bit of pleasure with business."

  She met his gaze evenly. "Just don't forget that the primary purpose of this visit is business."

  "Of course. Perhaps later, once our little transaction is concluded, we could indulge in a little moonlight swim?… Nude, of course."

  "Hardly," she said with a chuckle. "I don't make a spectacle of myself, and I'm not interested in orgies."

  "You mean the other guests?"

  "Yes."

  Kashmir laughed. "There is a simple solution to that. My little party will break up early, and they will all be sent home."

  Carlotta forced herself not to let the relief register on her face. If everything went according to plan in the wee hours of the morning, it was imperative that there be no innocent, legitimate people around to muddy up the waters.

  "Well?"

  "I think a midnight swim — nude, of course — would be exciting."

  "Excellent!"

  He let her out the door and quickly walked back to the wall behind his desk. A deft twist of a small piece of molding, and a panel in the wall slid open just wide enough to let him pass through.

  The room was small, just large enough for a computer, a desk, and a telephone setup.

  Kashmir activated the machine, and when it was warmed up sufficiently, dialed the special Manhattan number. When the modem clicked in, he began to send.

  * * *

  Naomi Bartinelli rarely drank. By the light from the lamp on her night table, she saw that she had already consumed half of the bottle of sherry next to it.

  It had been four nights since she had wantonly given herself to the tall, handsome man she had met in the Oak Room of the Plaza Hotel. He had departed the next morning, saying that he wouldn't be able to see her for at least a few weeks, some flimsy excuse of a business trip.

  She knew it was a lie. She would never see him again. It was the story of her life.

  Oddly, she wondered if the almost two million dollars in her accounts would have impressed him as much as her body had obviously impressed him. Bodies were transitory; money was solid.

  No, she would never see him again, and it was a shame. He had been a wonderful lover. But perhaps it was just as well. How would she ever explain to him the source of her wealth?

  That was why Naomi had dipped so deeply into the bottle of sherry. Once again she was envisioning herself as a lonely, rich old lady one day.

  She clicked the tiny, concealed switch on the light that would trip the breaker so the bulb would stay lit and moved through the living room to her office.

  It took her a couple of minutes longer than usual to work the locks. Her eyes didn't seem to want to focus.

  At last she was in the room and the equipment was humming. Seated, she typed in a "GO AHEAD," and the word «JASMINE» appeared on one of the screens.

  Ali the codes and security passwords of her various clients had long ago been thoroughly memorized, so even in her slightly befogged state, Naomi was immediately able to reply.

  "ALPHA ZONE."

  "ACKNOWLEDGE… ORDER… JASMINE TO OAKHURST."

  "PASSWORD?"

  "DECIBEL."

  "GO AHEAD»

  A long series of numbers and more coded words appeared on the screen, ending with the plain language "PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE ONE HOUR."

  "AGREE."

  The screen went blank, and Naomi reached for the telephone to gain access to a transatlantic line.

  * * *

  For the second time that evening, Carlotta walked up the stairs. Behind her, the party was already breaking up. With any luck, all the guests would be off the grounds in less than a half hour's time.

  "Come in, my dear."

  Carlotta eased herself into the same high-backed leather chair and accepted the light he offered.

  "The merchandise is available. Half of the L39AIs you requested. I can fill out the order with Parker-Hales."

  "Good. And delivery?"

  This is Monday. Shall we say Friday? In Amsterdam?"

  "Fine. How will the contact be made?"

  "Come, come, my dear. You know I can't give you that information until you are there and the money has been transferred."

  "Of course." She smiled, mashing out her cigarette. "And now the price."

  Two hundred and twenty thousand. That includes the end-use certificate and delivery to your point of departure."

  "Very well," Cariotta replied, standing. "I'll contact our people in Switzerland in the morning."

  Kashmir moved in close to her, sliding his arms around her waist and cupping her buttocks in his hands. "I'll send off the verification and meet you by the pool in a half hour. That is, if you haven't changed your mind…"

  Cariotta allowed her body to melt against his as Carter's words ran through her mind:

  Stay with him, Cariotta… from the time you send the go, stay with him. He's surely got a way out of there for emergencies. Stay glued to him and make sure he doesn't slip us. The entire operation depends on nailing Kashmir so he can't show up later and ruin everything. If something happens when we go in that warns him, make sure he doesn't get away!

  His lips covered hers, and Cariotta didn't jerk away when his tongue began to probe inside her mouth.

  "We will be beautiful together, don't you think, my dear?"

  "Yes. beautiful."

  "The pool? A half hour?"

  "A half hour," she said, turning and walking quickly toward the door.

  Three

  The pool was octagonal in shape and enclosed in a bubble dome. There were muted lights glowing beneath its surface. Since the patio lights and most of the lights in the rear rooms of the mansion had been extinguished, the only illumination was from the pool itself.

  Kashmir was already there, standing on the low board at the far end, his tail, well-muscled body suitless.

  Cariotta waved and approached the edge of the pool. Her long, black hair was braided and wrapped around her head. She wore a black silk robe that hugged her body and ended mid-thigh to reveal the astonishing length of her statuesque limbs. A small black clutch bag was in her right hand. Inside the bag was a package of cigarettes and a lighter.

  Built into the base of the lighter was a tiny homing device that, when activated, would send a lone signal approximately one mile.

  "It's a beautiful evening," Ali called, looking up through the dome at the dark, star-dotted sky.

  "Yes. it is. Is everything settled for Friday?"

  "Quite. Our business is completed."

  He arced from the board and cut the water cleanly. As he swam toward her, Cariotta put a cigarette between her lips and thumbed the lighter. Just befo
re she placed it, and the bag, on a poolside table, she twisted the lighter's base, activating the beeper.

  Ali's head surfaced just beneath her. His teeth gleamed in a broad smile, and his eyes searched the robe for a telltale sign that she was wearing a bathing suit beneath it.

  "Are you coming in?"

  "Of course." Carlotta tugged at the belt. The robe parted, and with a shrug of her shoulders it shimmied downward to puddle at her feet.

  "Beautiful," Ali sighed.

  The pool lights sifting through the water created dancing shadows on the supple curves and hollows of her nude body. Her buttocks were firm and rounded, her waist slim, and her thighs sleek. She sported an all-over tan, and when she moved to toss the cigarette away, her skin in the light took on a golden glow.

  "We will go slowly," Ali said. "I want to enjoy you leisurely."

  "Yes, let's take a very long time, Ali."

  Carlotta slipped into the water, keeping her face a bland mask as his arms went around her.

  * * *

  Carter bounded back up to the deck. "Ted, Marko… it's a go!"

  The three men moved aft. Within seconds, they had buckled webbed belts around their middles. Attached to the belts were Fairbairn commando knives and two waterproof bags with silenced pistols and spare clips.

  Hopefully, a knife and a handgun would be all they would need. Everything had to happen close and quiet.

  Carter lifted the radio from his belt and barked into it. "Hadley?"

  "Yo!"

  "It's a go. You know the time sequence."

  "Right."

  "Barzoni?… Hal?"

  "Here."

  "On."

  "Come on down to the fence line. You'll know the power's off when the lights go."

  "Check."

  Carter killed the radio and stored it inside the wet suit jumper before turning to the men beside him. "All right, let's go."

  The three of them slipped off the fantail of the launch, one veering right, one left, and Carter heading straight into the dock.

  * * *

  The Ford sedan stopped just outside the gates. The headlights blinked out, leaving only the parking lights as the driver's door opened and a man in a loud sport shirt got out.

  The guard slipped his hand inside his jacket and moved to the center of the gates.

  "I think my buddy and I are lost. Do you know the right road to Midvail?"

  "Never heard of it," the guard replied.

  "It's right here on this map, but I can't find the right road running to it."

  A hand holding a map was thrust through the grillwork. Instinctively, the guard reached for it. His fingers had barely folded over the paper when the other man's hand was at his throat.

  He struggled for a count of three before his body went limp.

  The guard had barely crumpled to the drive before the second man was out of the car and on its roof. Like a gymnast, he leaped to the hood and from there to the top of the gates. Effortlessly, he flipped upward. For a split second his body was outlined against the night sky, and then his soft-soled sneakers crunched on the gravel inside the gate.

  Seconds later, the guard's body had been dragged to the side and the gates were swinging open.

  Without a sound, both men faded into the trees and moved toward the house. By the time they had rejoined in a clump of trees across from the wide front veranda, two roving sentries had met the same fate as the gate guard.

  * * *

  Carter surfaced beneath the pier and made his way along its length to the boathouse. As he came up the ladder, he heard voices. The door was cracked against the night's humid heat, revealing two men inside. They were at a table, pushing checkers back and forth across a board.

  As he moved to the door, Carter tugged Wilhelmina, his 9mm Luger, from the waterproof bag on his belt. Deftly, he checked the silencer and levered a shell into the chamber.

  Both men got instant owl eyes as he kicked the door the rest of the way open and stepped inside, the Luger up and at arm's length in both hands in front of his face.

  "Don't make a sound or a move or it's your last."

  There was a two-second stunned pause, and then the one on the right moved. His hand flew to his belt, and then the arm came up in an arc.

  He was incredibly fast. The Fairbairn in his hand was just like the one in Carter's belt, and from the way the arm was cocked, Carter knew he was accurate.

  The throwing arm was just cocked, a millisecond before release, when the Killmaster pumped two slugs into his chest from the Luger. Crimson spots appeared two inches apart on his T-shirt, and his body flew backward from the impact of the 9mm slugs.

  Number two was just as brave and just as quick.

  He started coming in on the front side, his hamlike hands curled for a kill, and then sidestepped to Carter's right.

  Carter got off one shot that bloodied his ear before impact. He felt one of the big hands chop his wrist, sending the Luger flying from his grasp to land on the floor in the comer.

  A chop came up with sledgehammer power toward Carter's head. It glanced off his temple without claiming full force as the Killmaster rolled with the swing to duck away. Carter made a full swinging turn away and then brought the back of his forearm around in a wide arc, completing the circle and connecting with a thudding sound against the man's face and head.

  Bone snapped in the man's cheek, and his eyes popped wide in sudden surprise. He fell back, smashing hard against the wall, his splintered jaw moving but no sound coming from his throat.

  "Quit now," Carter rasped, "and you'll still be breathing tomorrow."

  No way.

  He came back like a bull. Carter ducked under the rush and brought a knee hard up into the other's groin. The blow was met with a gagging groan of pain, and the body bent forward to stumble in a tight circle.

  Carter stepped away and chopped the side of his hand down across the back of the man's neck.

  He went down like wheat under a scythe.

  Carter checked the first one. He was dead, and the other one would be out for hours. Even if he did wake up sooner than that, he would have a hard time navigating. And it would be too late anyway.

  Outside, Carter dropped from the pier to the beach and moved up to the low stone breaker wall. He vaulted it and, shunning the path, moved up the hill through the formal gardens that vied evenly with lawn from the rear of the house to the water.

  Fifty yards up, Marko came in from his right.

  "Two in the boathouse," Carter said. "You?"

  "I got mine."

  "Let's go."

  Another twenty-five yards brought them to a small steel shed. The door was unlocked. Carter darted in, the other agent at his heels already fanning a penlight around the interior.

  Carter explained in quick, staccato sentences.

  "This is the main-line power box. Kill this switch, jam your shorter here, then turn the power back on. After the blackout comes, the emergency generator will kick on in about thirty seconds."

  "Got it."

  "You kill the emergency here. You'd better jam it, too, just in case someone gets by us."

  "Roger."

  Carter moved out and started the rest of the way up the hill toward the house.

  By now, Hadley and Chris would be through the gate and ready in front. Marko had got the inside perimeter guard on the right and was in the power shed. Ted would hopefully have cleared the inside of the fence on the left and, like Carter, would be moving toward the house.

  With any luck, Barzoni and Hal would have dropped the outside sentries, and were already setting up with sniper rifles on the high ground commanding the rear all the way to the water.

  Their orders: If anybody breaks free from the house, drop them.

  Carter skirted the pool with a quick glance. He saw the two dark heads bobbing on the surface near the shallow end and grinned to himself.

  Good girl. Carlotta was sticking close to Kashmir.

  Idly, he wondere
d how close.

  Across from the service entrance, he dropped into a crouch and pulled a pair of night goggles over his eyes.

  With any luck, it would all be over in another fifteen minutes.

  * * *

  The back of her neck and shoulders were out of the water. Carlotta could feel perspiration beading that part of her body.

  How much longer? she wondered.

  She knew she couldn't deny Kashmir's lust much more. She could feel the evidence of it straining on her thigh.

  He was like an octopus, all hands and fingers, clutching at her breasts and buttocks, groping between her thighs.

  "Do you tease me for pleasure, Carlotta?"

  "Of course not," she replied, managing a coy smile. "I do it to heighten the anticipation."

  "My anticipation is heightened enough," he hissed, pushing her hard against the edge of the pool.

  He used his own knees to pry hers apart. Carlotta found his hips with her hands and managed to tug him toward her yet push him away at the last second.

  "You are a bitch."

  "Of course I am. It adds to the excitement."

  "Damn you," he growled, then lunged forward, breaking her grip.

  She tightened her muscles as she felt his attempted entrance, but she knew that it was only a matter of seconds.

  And then everything went dark.

  Kashmir's body tensed. For a second Carlotta thought he would leave her and climb from the pool. She curled one hand around his neck and brought the other to the light coil of her hair, just in case.

  "What happened"

  "A power failure," he replied.

  Suddenly the lights came back on, but for only a flicker, and again the pool was plunged into darkness.

  Above her, Carlotta could see Kashmir's eyes narrow in the moonlight and a tense expectation enter his features.

  For the moment, he had forgotten his lust.

  "The emergency generator should come on soon."

  The words had barely left his lips when once again illumination filtered up through the water.

  His lips curved in a leering smile. "Now, you beautiful bitch, I'll have you."