“So? You’ve paid him, and the money can be traced.”
“There is no money. The accounts have been terminated.”
“But he checked them!”
“Electronically. Better that he did it in person. I collected on a small political favor that was long overdue.”
“If he finds out he’ll come after all of us.”
“He won’t live to find out. There is going to be a premature shutdown of the portal during operations, a minimum of five seconds before detonation. It will be much sooner than that if the operation goes too smoothly. In any case, our mercenary colleagues will not be returning to serve as witnesses against us. The blame for the entire operation, in fact, will be theirs.”
“Their government will deny any involvement.”
“Let them. Any hearings will show they have indirectly supported mercenary operations in the past. They are not friends of ours. It will be another challenge for the new president to show the people who our true friends are.”
The others were now silent. Watt detected discomfort. “You all knew there were risks from the beginning. Have you lost faith in me?”
“I would feel better if we were far away on other business when the operation commences. I don’t see why any one of us has to be there. Even you, Dario.”
It was the same man, Elias Trent, who continued to question the plan. The others remained silent. Watt wondered if the man acted alone, or as a spokesman for the other four.
“I must be there to order portal closure, and you will be there to concur with my decision. There will be no operation without the presence of all of us. Two days from now—at eight—prep bay. If you are not there I will send someone after you, and you will never miss a meeting again. Am I being clear?”
A pause, then, “Yes, but you need not threaten us, Dario. We became involved to rid ourselves of a president who works to give away our sovereignty, and we will see it through.”
“Thank you, Elias. That is reassuring. I’ll see you in two days, gentlemen. Try to relax until the moment is upon us. We are making history.”
The other men nodded silently, stood, and followed him out of the room. They went their separate ways, Watt taking an escalator up one floor to his Ministry office, the others descending in elevators to the street level below.
Or so he thought at the time.
* * * * * * *
Across the street from the Ministry building, five men huddled around a corner table and sipped tea.
“What do we do now? He’s crazy. There will be war over this. The president will dig out the truth and be a hero,” said one man.
“The president has more than a few enemies. We can expose the star craft project without destroying it, and then the threat will be real. We can win in the polls, but if we kill people we’ll lose,” said another.
Elias Trent leaned closer and said, “I can warn them about the attack, give them the time and strategy so they can be ready for it. I have an old friend stationed at the base, and he will believe what I say. If you agree, I’ll send the message today.”
“The mercenaries might succeed anyway.”
“It will be up to the Americans. The best we can do is warn them. It’s really the only thing we can do,” said Elias.
“Then do it,” said one of the conspirators. “It could mean our lives when we’re at the mercy of the court.”
“Our president might be more forgiving than we think,” said Elias. “Our lives will be in more danger when the operation begins, but we must be there for it. At the first sign of trouble I’m running. Follow me if you wish, or not.”
The other men left Elias at the table, and hurried away. Elias made a call on his headphone, then typed a message on his pocket computer and loaded it on disk. A few minutes later a man came across the street from the Ministry Building. He wore the cap and coveralls of a stevedore who worked portal shipments. He came straight to Elias’ table and sat down. Elias handed the disk to him.
“Wear your IR when you go through. Locate any cloaked guard and tell him this is for Commander’s eyes only, and urgent. If you can’t deliver it, get right back to me so I can try another way.”
Elias handed the man several folded credit notes. “For your trouble,” he said.
The man said nothing, pocketed money and disk, and went away.
Elias sat for a few seconds, and then made another call.
“The time for the attack has been set, and I just sent them a warning. I’ll have to be there, otherwise Watt will call it off and my usefulness will be over. Yes, the others have agreed, but they’re scared to death of the consequences. I think a show of mercy might be politically wise if we live through this.”
Elias listened a moment, then, “I appreciate that, sir. It’s my job, and I knew the risks when I started it. Maybe I’ll get lucky. Goodbye, sir, and thank you for the opportunity to serve you.”
He broke the connection, and felt the sting of tears in his eyes.
His president had been sobbing while he praised what Elias had done for him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CONFESSIONS
The guard smiled and waved Eric through the gate. Clouds had moved in and were threatening rain, and that meant lightning. Tires squealed as Eric negotiated the hairpin curves up to the summit of Nataly’s butte. He’d offered to pick up something for the meal, and stopped by Safeway for a quart of peppermint ice cream, which was her favorite. She had given cook and houseboy the night off, so they would be alone. They hadn’t seen each other in two weeks. Eric felt a terrible apprehension. As much as he loved her, as much as he wanted her, there were things that had to be said.
He parked by the pool. By the time he reached the front door the first raindrops were falling and there was a distant rumble from the south. The nearby spires of Cathedral Rocks were already shrouded in mist. Nataly opened the door, and her smile was enough to brighten the sky. She slid into his arms as he stepped inside, looked up at him and said, “Hi, stranger,” very softly.
Eric kissed her cheek, her lips. “Sorry I’ve been so busy.”
“Me too.” There was a sudden gust of wind, Nataly reached out and closed the door behind them.
Eric handed her the little bag containing the ice cream. “Your favorite.”
That smile again. A table had been set by the balcony window, and candles were lit. “I had to bring everything inside,” she said.
Lightning flashed outside, and the beamed ceiling trembled. “Good thing,” said Eric.
Nataly put the ice cream in the freezer, came back and took his hand and led him to the big sofa in the front room. A CD was playing, some kind of chants, very deep. “What’s that?” Eric asked.
“Tibetan throat singing,” she said, “very relaxing.”
They sat. Nataly leaned her head against his shoulder. “I’ve missed you.”
“Me too,” he said. The vibrations of the singing seemed to resonate with something deep inside him.
“I have a roast cooking. It’ll be half an hour until dinner. What should we do until then?”
Eric looked down at her. Her lips were parted, and her eyes sparkled playfully. A wonderful feeling started in his heart and worked its way across his chest. He sighed, and stroked her lower lip softly with a finger.
“I have a suggestion, but it might take longer than half an hour.”
“Oooo,” she said, and snuggled closer.
“Better not. Dinner will get burned.”
“Let it.”
Eric leaned over and kissed her softly. “Can’t resist a good roast, and I can’t resist you. I’m in love with you, Nataly.”
“I love you too,” she murmured. “What are we going to do about it?”
“I don’t know.”
“You don’t know? You still don’t know?”
How easily the lies came to him. “The job is uncertain. Leon is visiting the corporate center in Phoenix to plead our case. We might have to close the office here.�
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Nataly frowned. “So what happens? You move to Phoenix?”
“Maybe.”
“A two hour drive. There are people here who work in the valley, but live here. They come home weekends, or work from home.”
“The company is expanding, going more international. I’d be gone all the time.” Eric had a hard time looking at her when he said it; her gaze was so intense. Sudden anger was there.
“So quit, retire, whatever you want to call it. A job should never interfere with the rest of your life, Eric, unless the job is your life. I want to think that isn’t true for you anymore.”
“You have a business. You work long hours.”
“But I leave it behind when I come home to this big, empty house.”
Nataly reached up and folded her arms around his neck. “I want to come home to you, Eric. Live with me.”
For one second, the room seemed to spin around him. “Nataly, I—”
“I’m not asking you to marry me, unless you really want to. I just want to be with you, all the time. Be my business partner, my life partner. Life can be grand for us here, Eric. It’s where we belong.”
“I don’t know where I belong.”
“You belong with me. I don’t know where else I could find someone like you, and I’m not letting you go. You said you love me.”
“I do.” Tears blurred Eric’s eyes. Nataly’s arms were tight around his neck, her breath hot on his face. “But if you really knew me you wouldn’t talk like this, you’d run for your life.” I can’t tell her. I’ll lose her. I’m living a lie.
Nataly’s eyes darkened. “You can’t live a lie with me, Eric Price. I know exactly who and what you are, and have been, and it makes no difference to me. I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”
Eric grasped her shoulders and held her at arms’ length. “What? Just what do you think you know about me?” An intuitive, that’s what she is. She’s guessing.
“I know everything: the agency you work for, your history with it, the people you’ve killed, everything you’re doing at the base. I helped you do it. I helped to give you the information you needed. I’m part of it, Eric, and I’ve been living a lie too. I know about your John Coulter. He is an enemy of the entire human race. He tried to kidnap me to intimidate you, but he failed. My friends protected me, and they’ve protected you. I’ve known the man you call Mister Brown since I was a little girl. It’s nearly over, Eric, and then you’ll be gone. I won’t let it happen. I won’t!”
Nataly grimaced. “Ouch! You’re hurting me.”
Eric’s fingers were digging into her shoulders. Everything was coming apart. She was a plant, a way to get to him from the very beginning. The quiet dinner, the vision of her body glowing, the golden man, that’s when it had begun. She had burrowed into his mind like a mole, and programmed him for her masters.
“It’s all been a setup from the start. You didn’t have to say you loved me. You had me hooked good, lady. I’d kill you right now, except it looks like you’re working for the good guys. So who are they? Where are they from? You must be a sleeper, planted here at birth.” Eric shook her for emphasis. Tears were streaming down her face.
Nataly closed her eyes as tears gushed. “Oh Eric, I do love you, I really do. Now I’ve ruined everything. When you started making excuses again I just lost it. I shouldn’t have said what I said. Oh God, the Council will be furious. Vasyl will be furious.”
“The people you’re working for?”
When she opened her eyes they were blazing green. “I’m not working for anyone. I’m working with my own people, your own people, trying to help the human race reach the stars.”
“What?”
“Let go of me!” she shrieked with a fury that shocked him, and he released her.
Nataly put her head in her hands, and sobbed. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this. I was never supposed to fall in love with you, but even that first night I saw the part of you that is like me, and—and, well, I have a human heart, too. It was so easy to give it up.”
She was talking in riddles, he thought. “If this is supposed to make me feel sorry it isn’t working. So you’re an agent for the good guys on my side, whoever they are. You’ve been a conduit for information I needed. You didn’t have to make me get crazy about you. You mind-fucked me, Nataly. That isn’t the first time a woman has done it to me, but I sure never expected it from you!”
Eric’s voice cracked, and tears burned his eyes. Nataly looked at him and broke into hysterical sobs. Eric watched her helplessly, was embarrassed by his own tears.
“Don’t worry, I’ll get over it. Over the years I’ve built up some good armor plate in my head. And when the pressure gets too bad I can always go out and kill someone. That’s who I really am.”
Nataly shrieked, and fled from the room. A door slammed.
“Well, I think it’s safe to say that dinner is off.” Eric stood up, took a deep breath and let it out slowly. He wiped his eyes with a hand. “That’s what I get for thinking things could be different.”
Coldness spread across his chest, but it felt like his heart was being cut in half. “Don’t bother!” he shouted. “I’ll let myself out!”
Eric left the room with the table set with delicate china and illuminated by candlelight. The odor of nicely cooked meat wafted from the kitchen, and there was the distant sound of sobbing from behind a closed door. The tears that gushed again made him furious, and he slammed the door so hard behind him it sounded like something fell off the wall and hit the floor inside the house.
The guard at the gate saw him coming and opened the gate quickly, leaned out of the kiosk to wave at him but jerked back inside as Eric roared past in his car. He ran two stop signs and a light getting home. He pulled the telephone cable from the wall, had two beers for dinner, and cleaned his guns. The smell of Breakfree and powder solvent was somehow calming to him, as if he were preparing for a firefight.
He went to bed early and fell exhausted into sleep. There were no dreams about starships, Nataly or a golden man this time.
He was alone again.
* * * * * * *
Nataly heard the front door slam so hard it shook the house. Her instinct was to run after him, but her body refused to move. She hurt all over, and the pillow’s surface at her cheek was soaked. She lay there for a long time, wanting to think it was all a bad dream and soon she would wake up. The real Natasha was not capable of such foolishness, but could imagine it.
Reality returned, and with it the consequences. In a moment of blind frustration she had not only lost a love she would never find again, she had jeopardized a project her people and her father had worked long and hard for. Yes, it was Eric’s fault, in a way. She sensed his love, but also his reluctance to commit, always leaving a door open so he could flee from a relationship. It was like a switch had been thrown, and suddenly she’d lost all patience, had an emotional meltdown she hadn’t even imagined before. This was not Natasha. But who was it?
Natasha returned to her at that instant. She couldn’t change what was done, but she could warn others about it. She rolled off the bed, snatched the telephone from the nightstand and dialed.
Thank God he was there. “Vasyl, something horrible has happened.”
She told him everything, with every detail.
“Oh Natasha,” said Vasyl. “This couldn’t have happened at a worse time. I should never have gotten you involved. Don’t try to contact Eric again until after the flight. I’ll do what I can.”
Vasyl hung up on her before she could reply.
She went out to the kitchen and found the roast still cooking and beginning to burn. A small voice urged her to throw it in the trash. She ignored it, wrapped up the meat in aluminum foil and put it in the refrigerator.
She went to the living room, blew out the candles on the table, but left the table settings where they were. The storm outside was breaking, and the clouds to the southwest were beautifully tinged red.
She turned the pillow over, and soaked it again.
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
THUNDER IN THE BAY
There had been many emotional experiences in his life, but sitting home alone for a day and a night after the fight with Nataly now ranked among the worst of them. Eric had reconnected the phone the morning after, but no calls had come in. He was crazy to think she might call. It was all a sham, a ruse to accomplish the tasks of the people running her. Naming Vasyl had possibly been a slip. A Russian name. She was undoubtedly a sleeper, probably trained in Siberia before she was an adult. They would have done well to keep up her psychological profile. She was still young, and lonely. Maybe she really had fallen for him, and in doing so made a mess of things. Her masters might think Eric would now be so distraught he couldn’t do his job. I will not give them that satisfaction, he thought, but a secret part of him also knew he would be protecting Nataly.
He survived the day by taking two five mile morning and evening runs in the back country, penetrating so far into the wilderness area that he spooked a javelina that ran squealing from him. Once, he had to leap high over a rattlesnake basking in the morning sun. The exercise left him catatonic for part of the day, and that night he slept like a dead man.
Next morning the usual van arrived for him at five, and by six he was taking the elevator down to Sparrow’s bay.
The doors opened, and four guards were standing there. “Emergency, sir,” said one of them. “We’ll walk you to the bay.”
The guards walked on either side of him the few yards left to the personnel door of Sparrow’s bay. Four more guards were standing there at port arms, looking grim.
“What’s the problem?” asked Eric. “I have a flight coming up in the morning.”
“Sorry, sir, it’s been scrubbed. Sergeant Nutt will explain when he gets here.”
“What?” Eric’s face flushed with anger. Hell, she told someone what happened, and now they’re going to pull me out of the assignment. How stupid can things get?
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