easier than fighting an offensive one. The attacker always led with strength. Once that strength was exposed, weaknesses were also revealed. That was where the defender struck.
The woman passed below a streetlight. This^was the first time Seronga saw her face. She looked to be in her mid-
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thirties. She did not appear to be anxious. She also did not appear to have any backup. Perhaps the woman did not expect to find trouble here.
Or maybe she's smarter than I gave her credit for, Seronga thought.
The woman stopped and looked at the handwritten card propped in the box-office window. She glanced at her watch. She was acting as if she were waiting for someone to show up.
To take her to a movie, Seronga realized.
The woman had only seen one deacon. She must have seen both of them in the taxi. Maybe she was waiting for the second to arrive. Or maybe she was going to wait until people began arriving for the film before she went into the alley.
In either case, Seronga did not have the time to wait for her. Sometimes even a cautious soldier had to take the offensive.
Keeping the knife concealed behind his back, Seronga stepped from the doorway and strode toward the alley.
FORTY-THREE
Maun, Botswana Friday, 5:31 P.M.
Maria Corneja had been with Interpol long enough to know when she was being set up.
Back on the highway, Maria had heard the conversation between Paris Lebbard and the other taxi driver. When it was over, Lebbard filled her in on what the other driver had been asking. Maria knew two things then. First, that the two 'deacons' were going somewhere and did not want to be followed. And second, that they would be watching her.
When Maria reached Maun, she became even more convinced that the men had a very specific plan for her. Over the years, Maria had attended dozens of Interpol seminars on profiling. She had started when it was still a nascent science called 'psychological evaluation studies.' People who committed crimes, or feared they were suspected of crimes, did not present themselves to potential captors. Not unless they were sociopaths who yearned for a confrontation. Watching them at the airport, these men did not seem to be unusually aggressive or careless, yet the deacon had made a point of staring at her as he crossed the street. That could only mean one thing. The man wanted her to see him. He wanted her to follow him. And that could only mean one thing.
The deacons wanted her out of the way. The fact that the men did not stay hidden, watching her, suggested that they did not have a lot of time to waste. Their actions told Maria how to react. She would quickly reconnoiter and then kill time. That would force them into the open.
Obviously, the deacon wanted to see if she woald follow him down the street beside the movie theater. A truck was
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parked well down the road there. Perhaps it was their truck. Or perhaps they were meeting other people inside the theater. The man who had walked in front of the taxi was not Leon Seronga. That was probably the man who was watching from across the street. It was clear to her that these men did not think she was a seasoned intelligence officer.
Maria decided to wait in front of the theater. That way, she could watch both the alley and the man in the doorway across the street. But there was a time limit. She had checked the schedule in the box office. People would be arriving soon to open the theater. The laws in Maun were strict about women loitering. If nothing happened by six o'clock, she would have to go into the alley and hope she wouldn't be seen there. She did not want to risk being confronted by police. If the deacons tried to slip away, she would not be able to follow them.
Fortunately, Maria did not have to wait until six o'clock.
The man standing in the doorway suddenly came toward her. There was blood on his sleeve. As the man passed under a streetlight, she knew for certain that it was Leon Seronga.
Seronga walked purposefully, his eyes on her. Maria could tell at once that he had a weapon. The man's arm was held stiffly at his side instead of swinging. She did not know if it was a gun or knife.
Maria waited by the movie theater. She pretended to pay the man no attention. If she walked toward him, he might feel challenged. That could provoke him. Perhaps he was not certain she was interested in him at all. Maybe his determined approach was a way of testing her.
If so, Maria had a surprise for the man. It had nothing to do with the small can of pepper spray she had palmed. If necessary, using the spray would help to protect her. But it would not get Maria what she came for. She had to lead Seronga carefully and precisely to the point she wanted. He had to trust her with the location of Father Bradbury.
Seronga slowed as a truck clattered by. It was followed by two men on bicycles. The deacon continued forward as the traffic passed.
Maria looked toward the alley. As far as she could tell, no
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one was standing there. That was important. She did not want to find herself being approached from two sides. For all she knew, these people had one or more accomplices waiting in another building or down another side
