Alisa could remember that smile as well as everything else about Sasha that day. The grace, the strength, the wariness, as she strove desperately to keep everyone at bay, to keep Alisa at bay…
And that memory of Sasha was giving Alisa the reason she needed to ignore everything else around her as unimportant. Just as she had known it would, as it always did.
Then her lids flicked open and she was swinging her legs to the floor. The next instant she was on her feet and heading for the door she assumed led to the bathroom. She would take a quick shower, and after she finished she would spend more time thinking about Korgan. There must be something she could offer him to ensure that he would give her what she had to have from him…
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.”