'Drakov must have got a hold of him somehow,' said Delaney. 'We're blown. Ransome must have told him about the entire operation.'
'I don't believe it,' Larson said. 'Paul would never break.' 'The hell he wouldn't,' Delaney said. 'Be realistic. Anyone can be deprogrammed. How else could we have been blown?' 'It might have been Rizzo,' Andre said.
'Rizzo's missing, too?' said Larson.
Andre nodded. 'I showed up to relieve him and there was no sign of him. I found his pushcart abandoned in the street. No one even had a chance to steal it yet.'
'And Drakov made a try for Linda,' Christine Brant said. 'She got off a shot at him, but he was too quick.'
'Jesus, — Larson said 'tie's picking us off one at a time!'
'Which is exactly why I don't want everyone spread out now,' Steiger said. 'We've got to pull in and regroup. And the sooner we're out of here, the better.'
The door opened and Paul Ransome walked in.
'What's going on?' he said.
'Ransome!' Steiger said. 'Where the hell have you been?' 'Checking out the estates on our list, as I was supposed to be doing,' he said.
'You missed your check-in by four hours!' said Delaney.
'Yes, sir, I know,' said Ransome. 'I'm sorry, but I discovered something and I wanted to make sure before I pushed the button.'
'What are you talking about?' said Steiger.
'I found Drakov's base of operations, — Ransome said. 'He's at an estate in Richmond Hill.'
The sprawling Victorian mansion stood atop the hill overlooking the Thames Valley in Richmond, Surrey. The furnishings were all still in place and the pantry was fully stocked, as was the wine cellar. Otherwise, the house was empty. If there had been any servants employed in the mansion, they were gone now. There was nothing to indicate that anyone from another time had been present in the house and. for that matter, the mansion didn't even look abandoned. It simply looked as if no one was home, but the clothes closets were all empty and toilet articles were missing from the bathrooms. On closer examination, they found where the security systems had been concealed and then hastily removed.
'That's it,' said Steiger. He glanced at Ransome and nodded. 'Drakov was here, all right, but he apparently cleared out in a hurry.'
'Sir,' said Larson, 'take a look at this.- He showed Steiger a sheaf of newspaper clippings about the killings in Whitechapel. 'They were lying on a table in the library. Along with this.' He handed Steiger a handsome first edition of Dracula. by Bram Stoker. A book that Stoker hadn't even written yet.
'Cute,' said Steiger. 'Obviously left behind for us to find. He's awful goddamn sure of himself.'
'It may not be safe for us to stay here,' Andre said.
'You think Drakov would booby-trap this place?' Delaney said. 'That's not his style. Much too impersonal.'
'Maybe, but I wouldn't want to bet on that,' said Steiger. 'Be careful what you touch.'
'So it was Rizzo, then.' Andre said.
Steiger nodded. 'It had to be. He's the only one left unaccounted for. We can probably assume he's dead by now. We'd better get someone down to the crime lab at Scotland Yard to warn Neilson. He'll be getting off duty there soon and I don't want him going back to the Metropole.'
'What do we do about a new base-ops'?' Andre said. 'If Rizzo's talked. we can't use any of our fallback safehouses.' 'I've been thinking about that,' Steiger said, 'and I have an idea. Probably the last place Drakov would expect us to use. And maybe it would let us kill two birds with one stone.'
Ransome coughed and sagged against a doorframe.
'Ransome,' said Delaney. 'are you all right'!'
He nodded. 'Yes. sir. I'm just tired, I guess. I'll be okay.' 'You look a little pale.'
'Nothing to worry about, sir, I'm fine, really.'
'We're all tired' Andre said. 'And we're not getting anyplace. At this rate, we'll all be asleep on our feet soon. We need another safehouse. What did you have in mind, Creed?'
'Number 7 Mornington Place.' said Steiger.
'But that's H. G. Wells' house!' said Christine Brant. Steiger nodded.
'Wells is the only really solid lead we've got. He's become the primary focus of temporal interference in this scenario. Forrester was right. We're going right back to square one. Moreau must have had a reason for abducting Wells. He's got to be in this with Drakov and they must have a plan for using Wells somehow,'
'But if Rizzo's been wrung dry, then Drakov knows we've been keeping Wells under surveillance,' Brant said.
'And he also knows we've lost him,' Steiger said. 'He'll expect us to continue watching Wells' house and we won't disappoint him. Drakov won't expect us to be using a house we're keeping under surveillance.'
'What about Amy Robbins?' Brant said.
— We'll have to keep her prisoner inside thehouse,' said Steiger.
'But what are we going to tell her?' said Christine. 'We don't tell her anything.'
'I don't think that's wise, Creed,' Delaney said. 'I see what Christine's getting at. The poor woman will be terrified enough, it'll beeven worse if she has no idea what's going on. It would be easier if we could get her cooperation. If we get Wells back, he's going to have to be debriefed anyway and we can have her debriefed at the same time. And if we don't get him back. Amy Robbins will be the least of our problems.'
'All right,' said Steiger reluctantly, 'but she doesn't leave the house for even a second. And she's to be watched every moment. 'Sounds like you're taking yourself off command post duty.' Andre said.
“You got that right,' Steiger said. 'We've lost two people and I'm not losing anymore. Brant, as of right now, you're in charge of logistics at the new command post. 'Sir,' she said, 'with all due respect, regulations specify that the senior officer-'
'Screw regulations. I'm tired of sitting on my hands. Besides, since you're so concerned about Amy Robbins, you can babysit her. You're in charge and that's a direct order.'
'Yes, sir.'
'All right, Larson and Craven, you get to Scotland Yard and brief Neilson.
I'm pulling him out of there. If we're blown, then so is he. Wait till its dark and then get over to Wells' house. Make sure nobody sees you going in. We'll meet you there.'
'What about Conan Doyle?' said Andre.
'I'm tempted to pull all surveillance off him,' Steiger said. 'We're spread too thin as it is. But if Drakov knows we've been watching him, he might decide to take advantage of our cancelling surveillance on him. No, it's too risky. And I want someone on Bram Stoker from now on, as well.'
'I can handle that, sir,' said Linda Craven.
'All right. You'll work shifts with Neilson,' Steiger said. 'Larson, cover as much ground as you can on your own and keep in close touch with Grayson. Andre, you cover Conan Doyle. Ransome will relieve you. Ransome, I want you to get some rest first. You look dead. Between the rest of us, we'll cover Wells' house, the docks and Whitechapel.'
'That's a lot of territory to cover,' said Delaney.
'We've got no choice.' said Steiger. 'We were counting on the advantage of surprise, but Drakov's turned it around on us. Damn it, I wish to hell we could get some reinforcements.' He took a deep breath. -Hell, it's worth a try. I'm going to clock back to base and see Forrester. We've got to have more manpower. In the meantime, if anyone catches sight of Hesketh, take him. Alive, if possible. The same goes for Moreau, but if you can't take him, burn him. As for Drakov and any of his creatures, they're to be killed on sight, regardless of the risk. Any questions?'
There were none.
'All right. Let's move out. We'll rendezvous at Wells' house.'
Something was happening. Jasmine had no idea what it was, but something was clearly happening. She was far from ignorant of her grandfather's activities, the ones that had nothing to do with running the apothecary shop. Lin Tao was the head of the Green Dragon tong, a secret society of overseas Chinese which he had founded shortly
