the small bottle from her waistband, thrusting it at him. 'Here.'
He took it out of her hand and examined the label. 'Valium. And what, I wonder, were you planning to do with this?'
'Since shoving them up your ass isn't an option, I think you have a pretty good idea where they would have gone,' Maggie said.
'Of course.' Carlos flagged down a server and gave him the bottle, explaining that they should be returned to the old couple eating at the far end of the car.
Maggie crossed her arms to keep from trembling with fear and anger. 'Your kindness knows no bounds.'
He ignored her jibe. 'I wish you hadn't tried such a desperate ploy. Now I may have to restrain you. Come on, let's eat before everything is gone.'
She simply nodded, and they got back in line again. Once they had full plates and found two empty seats, Maggie stood up again. 'I'd like to get some Parmesan cheese from the table, and I promise I won't do anything foolish.'
He eyed her speculatively for a moment, then nodded. 'Yes, the primavera is rather bland. I'll be watching, however, and would appreciate it if you didn't bother trying anything.'
'I'll be right back.' She got up and turned to walk to the buffet table, slipping out the pack of individually sealed, foil-wrapped capsules that she had also taken from the old woman, and punching them all out into her hand, holding them in her fist as she approached the table. Don't look back, she admonished herself, knowing he'd interpret it as a sign that she was up to something, which, of course, she was.
A server was clearing things at the now nearly deserted table, and she was able to pick up the small container of shredded cheese, which was almost empty.
'Could you please bring some more out?' she asked, sending the waiter scurrying into the next car. While she waited, she picked up a napkin and emptied the capsules into it, her eyes flicking left and right to make sure no one was taking too much interest in what she was doing.
When the waiter returned, she took the small covered container from him. 'Thank you.'
He turned to finish his work, and she immediately dumped the powdered drug into the dish, careful to keep it all on one side of the container. As she'd hoped, the white granules were indistinguishable from the finely shredded cheese. She only hoped it didn't have an odd taste.
As she brought the dish back to their section, she stirred a bit of the Parmesan over the powder to conceal it. She set it down, and sat, helping herself to some on the untainted side of the small bowl. She offered the spoon to Carlos. 'Here you go — it does improve the flavor somewhat.'
He sniffed as he reached for it. 'Yes, I had expected better from Eurotrain. Ah, well, you forced me to sit in the second-class compartment, after all. Perhaps we'll take first class on the way back.'
Maggie tried not to look too eager as he scooped out two heaping spoonfuls of the cheese and sprinkled it on his pasta, then mixed it into the meal. She sipped the sparkling water that a server had brought around, grimacing at its metallic taste. She concentrated on her meal, but couldn't help sneaking a glance at Carlos from time to time, wondering if he had ingested enough of whatever medicine she had stolen to affect him, and how long it would be before it took effect.
God, I hope I didn't just give him some kind of vitamin supplement, she prayed. She knew he'd be suspicious of her clumsiness with the old woman's medications, which was why she had given up the Valium so easily. Whatever these other pills were, she hoped they would make him sick, or affect his normal bodily functions adversely enough to incapacitate him. The biggest problem now was that she didn't know what was going to happen.
They finished their meals, and Maggie saw with disappointment that he had eaten only about half of his pasta. They left the dishes to be cleared, and headed back to their seats.
As she walked, Maggie felt strangely light-headed, and the floor in front of her blurred as she walked forward. She felt Carlos's guiding hand on her arm again. 'You don't look so good, my dear. We're almost to our seats. Perhaps a nap will clear your head.'
Oh, shit! He drugged me! She had been so preoccupied with enacting her plan that she had forgotten the first rule of being a prisoner — trust nothing supplied by her captors. 'You…son of a bitch…That's…why the water… tasted funny.'
'I'm afraid so. You have a penchant for wriggling out of these kinds of situations, and I simply cannot return to my company without you in tow. Here we are. Just sit down.'
Everything around her seemed to be floating away, receding down a long, gray tunnel, and Maggie was absurdly grateful for the hand that guided her to her soft, comfortable seat. She fought to stay awake, knowing it was very important that she do so, but suddenly unable to remember why. All she wanted to do was lay her head back on the seat cushion and sleep. Her eyes drooped closed and the last thing she heard was Carlos's voice again.
'You rest your head and get some sleep, and I just might entertain myself with seeing what goodies you have on your computer.'
Ha. .ha…the joke's on you, she thought wearily. You don't have the password for that file. Even I don't have the password for that file right now…It was her last conscious thought before blackness overwhelmed her.
19
Anthony drove like a man possessed, weaving in and out of the afternoon traffic as he headed for the English coast.
Once he and Carl had gotten out of the train yard, they had scaled the tall fence and vanished into the crowd on the other side. After calling Liam to pick them up, Anthony slid behind the wheel and took the route out of the city. Now they were on a direct course to Dover, where they would hire, hijack or buy a boat to get them across the Channel to Calais, where he hoped to pick up her trail again.
Liam muttered into his cell phone, confirming the schedules of the daily ferry, and Anthony had assigned Carl to pose as an American tourist and see what private vessels might be available for a quick jaunt. When the lanky American had asked why they didn't use company vehicles, Anthony had snapped, 'Because by the time we got to the airport and got cleared, up and back down, she'd be a hundred kilometers from the train, that's fucking why.' In truth, he hadn't wanted to bring in any more Mercury personnel than necessary — it was already embarrassing enough that she had gotten away not once, but twice now, and he was going to make sure she didn't succeed a third time.
The opening bars of 'Werewolves of London' sounded in his ear, and Anthony hit the receiver. 'Go for Team One.'
'Where are you right now?'
It was his handler. Like you don't know, he thought. Every company vehicle was equipped with a GPS tracker that personnel followed back at headquarters. 'I'm heading to Dover.' No need to give him any more information than necessary.
'Really? Last I'd heard, our quarry was at the St. Pancras train station, so I cannot imagine what awaits you at the seaside.'
'Last I'd heard, our quarry got through the net at the station, and was on the Chunnel train to Calais.'
'Ah, yes, I had heard that, as well. Curiously, I didn't find this out from you. One can only suppose that there was cellular interference that rendered you unable to call.'
'Yeah, those sunspots can get pretty bad this time of year,' Anthony said.
Anthony heard a noise that might have been an amused snicker from the man on the other end, or he might have been clearing his throat. 'I have confirmation that our target is on the train, but I got it from Aleix, who is also on that very same train.'
Anthony's jaw tightened at the news, but he didn't let up on the accelerator. 'He's there? He's got her?' He was aware of every head in the SUV turning toward him, but he kept his eyes on the road.
'He sent me a picture from his cell phone of her out cold in front of him, sleeping as pretty as you please. The poor dear must be simply exhausted.' There was no trace of warmth in his tone. 'Once they arrive, he'll have her on the first return trip back, and she'll be here in about six hours, tops. So you might as well pack it in and return
