Ada realised that Zina was in some other world, not listening to the logical words of others but only to her own. Had she suffered some kind of breakdown brought on by the realisation that her world was slipping away from her?
Ada began to tremble. Would Zina suddenly stop talking and start shooting without warning? She could see in Alex's eyes that he was thinking the same. She also saw something else in those brown eyes. An understanding of her position? An acceptance of why she had acted alone? She couldn't be sure. They had to talk, and soon.
She saw Alex glance quickly at her grandfather, who nodded in return. Alex placed his gun on the chair beside the door.
'I agree to stop my reporting on Argentum,' he said.
Ada caught his eye again and she knew he was lying. He had no other choice. Zina had to be pacified for the moment.
'I want a public retraction of all your accusations,' she said. 'I want a forum to defend myself.'
'Whatever you want,' Alex said. 'Just release Ada and leave. Then this will all be over.'
Zina appeared uncertain, and Ada sensed the heightened stress they were all feeling. Zina lowered her guns, then raised them. Ada's heart began to race.
A strong voice from behind them broke the tension. 'Stay where you are!'
Ada swung around. Ralph stood at the end of the platform holding a pistol at the ready, accompanied by a grey-bearded man in battle fatigues, waving a gun in the air. Tony stood behind them with his camera on his shoulder, filming.
'Hand over your guns, Zina,' said Alex. 'You're outnumbered, front and back.'
Zina stood firm and made no effort to turn around to face the newcomers. 'You'll have to take them from me,' she said coldly.
Ada's heart continued to thump in her chest.
'No more violence,' Alex said. 'Put away your weapons so we can talk.'
Zina paused for a moment, then slid the guns into her jacket pockets and turned around briskly. 'Introduce me to our guests.'
'Meet my father Ralph,' Alex said, 'and his friend Zac. You probably know my cameraman Tony Dash.'
Zac raised his arm in a friendly greeting. 'Anyone need first aid?'
Ralph lowered his gun. 'We saw a body in the tunnel some distance past the door.'
'My colleague Mr Twist,' said Zina. 'Accidentally killed. Most distressing.'
'And under the blanket?' said Ralph.
'A business associate, Mr Tursunov. Killed in combat with your son. His taste for violence exceeded his good sense.'
'Any more bodies we should know about?'
'None. What's your business here?'
'I came here to help my son. You'll have more visitors soon. There's plenty of action outside. A driver must have reported Twist's body.'
Ada moved closer to Alex and took his arm. He hesitated for a moment, then put an arm around her shoulders and she leaned against him wearily. This was not the time for words, but words weren't needed. She would still have some explaining to do, but the warmth of his hug told her all she needed to know.
'I'm about to call the police, Zina,' said Alex. 'It's all over.'
'Not yet, Marlowe. I intend to consult my lawyers. The police, if they bother to question me, will see my side when they understand the seriousness of your assault on my reputation. I welcome their scrutiny.'
Ada knew that Alex was aware his words were not getting through. Zina seemed to be speaking from a parallel universe where the same pattern of events had happened but where she was the victim.
'If you turn over your guns it will go better for you with the police,' Alex said.
Zina ignored him and took Ada's hand. 'You have a special mind, my dear. You belong in my world. I've always known it. The door is still open. Follow me and I’ll show you the way to the kind of power that few women ever know.'
Ada wanted to cry with sadness and with fear. This was not the woman she'd known as a child. This was someone else, someone at once her friend but at the same time dangerous and unpredictable.
'Goodbye, Zina,' she said.
For an instant Ada saw a flicker of something in Zina's eyes, a spark of recognition or a memory that had suddenly surfaced. Then it was gone.
Zina released her hand, turned away and walked calmly past the group at the end of the platform and down the stairway. She crossed the track to the engineers' ladder that led up through the tunnel ceiling into the darkness and began to climb. Within seconds she was out of sight.
'Where the hell does that go?' said Zac.
'Ground level,' said Tony while continuing to film. 'Engineers use it. She'll be out in ten minutes. I saw a limo parked beside the cafe. I'll bet that's where she's headed.'
Ada was overcome with relief and flung herself into her grandfather's arms. She couldn't stop the tears. 'Look what I've put you through,' she blubbered. 'It's all been my fault.'
'We all know whose fault this was, Ada. Alex has told me what's been happening. You did the right thing in standing up to Zina. You had no way of knowing how she might respond. I think she's lost her mind.'
'But you've been imprisoned in this awful place, this dungeon.'
He laughed. 'It didn't take you long to figure out where I was. Smart girl. I knew you would. And I've only been here less than a day. The facilities are bearable. Tursunov was a violent man but he didn't harm me. All I need is a good sleep and I'll be over it.'
Ralph and the others joined them on the platform. Tony moved around, continuing to film.
'It's not over yet,' Alex said. 'Zina is a real danger, to herself and to anyone who gets in her way. We've got to stop her before she gets away. Ada said she left her yacht down at the Quay. That's where she's going. Once she surrounds herself with her lawyers and her friendly politicians it'll be years before she faces the courts. And who knows how much more damage she'll do by then?'
'She's disturbed,' said Ada, still teary.
Alex took her hand. 'We can't use that as an excuse to let her go. If she needs help, she'll get it when she's in custody.'
'Still chasing the story?'
He smiled. 'No such luck. After the news of what happened here tonight gets out, every journalist in the country will be chasing the Argentum story. I won't have it to myself any more. You'll become public property.'
Ralph held out a set of keys to Alex. 'The SUV is parked outside the entrance. After you leave I'll go outside and call the police. And the newsroom. Then we'll wait.'
'By the way,' Alex said, 'thanks for finally arriving.'
Ralph grinned. 'I'm not known for my punctuality.'
Zac held out another set of keys. 'I used my speedboat to get here. It's tied up not far from Zina's yacht. White with blue trimmings. Use it if you need to.'
Alex placed the Colt pistol into his rucksack and strapped it on. 'Tony, get as much vision as you can before the police come, then go outside and send it to the cloud.'
Tony gave him a thumbs-up.
Ada kissed her grandfather quickly. 'Don't worry about me,' she said. 'We'll talk later.'
'I'll never worry about you when you're with him,' he said, nodding to Alex.
'We'll talk about him later, as well,' she said quietly.
'Let's go,' Alex said. 'If we can catch Zina maybe we can persuade her to give herself up. Or at least stop her from doing something crazy.'
Ada walked with him down the platform steps and onto the tracks. Past the bend she stopped at the tunnel door where she'd entered earlier with Zina.
'Do you realise it's only been twenty-four hours since we first met?' she said.
'Our anniversary?'
She laughed and leaned against his chest as he held her.
'I'm sorry I didn't trust you,' he said. 'When I woke up and found that you'd gone I was confused, and then angry. I thought what had happened in the past with someone else was happening again. But I understand now you were trying to protect me. What made me angry was the thought that I'd lost you, so soon after finding you.'
'And I'm sorry I
didn't trust you enough to let you in on my plan. But I was afraid you'd stop me, and I was so convinced that I was doing the right thing.'
'That's past us,' he said. 'I know what I want now. I know who I want.'
She looked up at him. 'Tell me.'
'I want the woman I love. You.'
Ada almost couldn't believe the words. They seemed so out of place in their surroundings yet still seemed so right. They were the words she wanted to hear and the words she wanted to speak.
'And you're the man I love,' she said.
She felt his lips on hers, a soft kiss with an underlying sense of urgency that heightened the thrill. Their differences—his desire for a good story and her desire for secrecy—had forced them apart, then brought them together, and now promised them a future.
'Let's find Zina and try to help her. Despite what she's done, we owe her that much for what she means to your past.'
Ada nodded. 'Let's hurry.'
Alex took out his media card and swung the door open. She followed him along the narrow pathway and up the metal stairway onto the platform. She saw no one on the tracks but several station staff in orange jackets stared at them as they came into view. No one challenged them. At the turnstiles they passed unhindered through a throng of orange jackets and out into the night.
In the street outside Alex found the SUV and they got in quickly. The parking area beside the cafe was empty.
'The limousine is gone,' said Ada. 'She'll be down at the Quay by now. We've got to hurry.'
Alex's phone rang. He listened for ten seconds. 'That was Ralph,' he said. 'This place will be swarming with police in minutes. He's told them about Zina. They'll be heading for the Quay too. Put your seat belt on.'
CHAPTER 12
Ada held on tightly as Alex pushed the SUV in a wide circle and accelerated down Elizabeth Street toward Circular Quay.
'She'll probably head back to Rushcutters Bay,' he said. 'I remember from my research that she has a storage depot there, and security staff. They'll protect her and take her back to Silver Springs. She knows that when we report all this to the police she’ll be investigated. She needs to get rid of incriminating evidence, like the code.'
'But we have copies.'
'I thought you gave them to her,' Alex said, surprised.
'And she gave them to Twist. He put them in his wallet. They'll still be on his body. We have to tell the police later.'
'If the authorities can't find any other evidence at Silver Springs to support our claims, she can say that your code was faked to cause her trouble. She can make up all kinds of lies and hire all kinds of lawyers to come out clean. You can bet she's planned for this possibility. Remember, she’s a brilliant woman. Somewhere along the way she went off the rails but she still knows how to outsmart everyone. Except you. You're the reason she's losing this battle, and she knows it. She's been afraid of you all along, that’s why she was constantly trying to win you over to her side. That was one part of her that wasn’t so smart. She didn't understand you.'
'And you do?'
'More than you know.'
Ada looked at his handsome profile in the dashboard lights. If he hadn't been driving she would have thrown her arms around him and kissed him.
Down at the Quay Alex ran the vehicle up onto an empty walkway and parked. He opened his rucksack and took out the Colt.
Ada touched his hand. 'Don't take it. It'll only mean another death. I'm willing to take the chance that Zina won't harm me.'
Alex hesitated. 'I hope to hell you're right.'
He locked the SUV and started off toward the western sea wall. Ada hurried to keep up. She saw a police car parked under streetlights at the far end of the promenade. Officers answering the Zina alert, or just a normal patrol? Either way, it was comforting to see them.
'Down there,' she shouted, pointing to the steps she'd climbed with Zina and Twist only a few hours earlier. She could see the cabin of the Radiance swaying in the water. The harbour was clear of moving craft except for a pair of tugs working alongside the Morning Princess ocean liner and two incoming cruise yachts blazing with lights and crowded with partygoers. The lights from the nearby ferry wharves cast an orange glow across the water.
Ada caught up with Alex at the sea wall as the Radiance began to move off. She could see Zina in the wheelhouse, waiting for a clear path as the cruise yachts approached. The rumble of the motors was clear in the air and the propellers churned the water into a grey foam.
'Let's take the speedboat,' Alex said, pointing to Zac's six-metre white craft moored at the far end of the steps. 'We need to get up beside Zina and convince her to let us on board.'
Alex found the keys Zac had given him, jumped in and started the motor. Ada stepped in quickly beside him and the boat swayed and bucked as Alex moved it into the waves. He followed the sea wall for some distance before moving out toward the Radiance, which was still holding steady as Zina waited for the first of the incoming cruise yachts to pass.
Alex pointed toward a blue and white launch passing the Opera House several hundred metres off and approaching steadily. 'Water police,' he shouted.
Ada knew that Zina had also seen the launch. She was gunning the motors, impatient to move away from the yacht full of partygoers blocking her way.
The longer she waited the more trapped she became between the partygoers on the right, the tug boats turning on her left and the police launch advancing in the centre.
Alex manoeuvred the speedboat to the left of the Radiance and rode the swirling water to a boarding ladder at the rear of the deck.
'Take the wheel,' he shouted. 'Hold it steady!'
Ada took a deep breath and for the first time in her life tried to control a motorboat in rough water. She gripped the wheel with her left hand and nudged the throttle with her right to keep the craft stable. Alex threw the boat's mooring line over the handrails and tied it around the boarding ladder to secure it. He clambered up the ladder and leaped over the rails onto the deck.
'Shut down the motor!' he shouted, pointing to the button beside the throttle lever. Ada pressed the button and the boat immediately stalled and began to drift. She grabbed the ladder and managed to scramble onto the steps before Alex leaned down and hauled her aboard.
'Well done,' he said, holding her lightly beside him. 'Keep one hand on the rails.'
She followed him along the deck edge toward the wheelhouse where Zina sat calmly in the pilot's chair, both hands on the wheel to keep the yacht stable, waiting for a gap to open up. With her concentration to the front, Ada realised Zina had noticed none of the action behind her. Her silvery grey suit was remarkably unsoiled from her climb up the tunnel ladder to the surface, and her platinum blonde hair looked as though it had only recently been brushed. Not for the first time, Ada was amazed by Zina's ability to perform under pressure.
She looked at Alex. 'What do we do?'
'We have to tell her to give herself up. Police launches will follow her wherever she goes. She can't escape. Maybe she'll listen to you.'
As the yacht continued to sway, Ada stepped cautiously into the wheelhouse and sat in the copilot's chair. 'It's all over Zina,' she said. 'Argentum is finished. The authorities will shut down your operations there.'
Zina appeared to pay no attention at first, and then she turned and smiled sweetly. 'Ada. How wonderful to see you. Are you coming with me after all?'
Ada shook her head, unsettled at Zina's lack of surprise at her sudden appearance. 'No,' she said. 'I've come to help you get through this. You're only moments away from being arrested.' She pointed to the police launch less than a hundred metres away, holding steady in the water waiting for the first cruise yacht to pass. Ada could see an officer on the deck with a pair of binoculars trained on the Radiance.
'Ring your lawyer,' Ada said, 'then take this yacht back to its mooring. I'll stay with you.'
The two Glock pistols that Zina had carried from the tunnel in her jacket pockets now lay on the console
ledge.
'Get rid of these,' Ada said. 'Hide them, or throw them overboard. If the police see them you'll be in more trouble.'
Zina shook her head stubbornly. 'They're my protection. My enemies are everywhere.'
Ada turned to Alex with a desperate look. He pointed to the cruise yacht now only metres away off to the right as it headed for its berth farther along the sea wall. Ada could see the pilot staring at Zina from his cabin with an anxious look on his face. The crowd of partygoers on the lower level were mostly unaware of the drama beyond their windows. Some stood on the outside deck taking photographs, not realising the increasing danger of a collision. The Radiance was pitching now in the wash from the passing cruise yacht. Ada gripped the arms of her chair for support.
'I see you've brought your new lover,' Zina said, still completely calm. 'You know he's not welcome here.'
'We want to help you, Zina, but you're making it difficult. Watch out!'
Zina woke from her dreamlike state and was suddenly aware of the closeness of the passing yacht. She spun the wheel but the movement was too violent. The rear sections of both yachts collided with a loud thud and Zina was jerked from her chair. She scrambled upright, grabbed the wheel and managed to stabilise the Radiance. Ada heard screams from passengers on the rear deck of the cruise yacht as it passed by out of range, apparently undamaged. The second cruise yacht had halted some distance off, the partygoers unaware of the nearby drama.
Ada felt a warm hand on her shoulder. She turned. Alex was standing directly behind her. He pointed to the police launch now approaching slowly. The officer on deck had replaced his binoculars with a megaphone but his words were unclear in the stiff sea breeze that had sprung up. Two other officers were crouched behind cover with guns drawn, obviously expecting trouble.
Alex pointed to Zina's guns lying on the console. He gestured to Ada to pick them up and pass them over. Ada moved forward but Zina turned suddenly and caught her eye. She snatched up both guns, slid one into a jacket pocket and pointed the other at Alex, glaring defiantly.
Unwelcome Protector Page 14