the woman suffers.'
Jason sighed his resignation. 'Let her go and I'll tell you what you want.'
'Do you take me for a fool, Mr. Peters? I let the woman loose and the place swarms with police like angry bees defending a hive.'
'You don't let her go and she dies here after you've learned what you want.'
Eglov shrugged. 'She lives; she dies. It is a matter of your choice.'
'Yours, not mine.'
'You are not in a place to argue, Mr. Peters. The degree of her suffering is in your hands. Now, why are you here?'
Jason had no illusions that either he or Maria was going to walk out of this house.
Unless…
'Look, leave her alone. The information you want-it's all on the BlackBerry.' Jason was pointing.
Eglov stepped over to the table, picked the device up, and handed it to Jason. 'Summon the data you say is here.'
Jason punched a series of keys and scrolled up the beginning of a paragraph before handing it back.
Eglov scowled. 'It is encrypted! Do not play games with me, Mr. Peters. You will have ample time to regret it.'
Jason pointed again. 'Those coins that came out of my pocket. One of them has the decoding key.'
Alternating quick glances at Jason, the Russian used the hand not holding the Colt to sort through a dozen coins. 'The American quarter?'
'That's it.' Jason held out his hand. 'Let me have it.'
Once he held the twenty-five-cent piece, Jason turned it heads up, offered the closest thing to a prayer he had said in years, and pressed Washington's head. Pretending to concentrate, he said, 'Look closely at the screen now.'
Eglov brought the BlackBerry nearer to his eyes. 'I see nothing but-'
What happened next was a phenomenon Jason knew well from combat: the brain's slowing things down to better comprehend what was happening. It was like watching a film in slow motion, where every movement was as deliberate and sluggish as though performed underwater, and there were one hundred twenty seconds to the minute.
With more of a whoosh than an explosion, a sound like a stove's gas ring catching, the BlackBerry erupted. A single yellow flame blew the front of the device into Eglov's face.
Between the detonation and the Russian's howl of pain, Jason had the SIG Sauer in his hand.
Mustache never had a chance.
Before the man could let go of Maria's bra and raise the rifle, Jason fired off two shots close enough to sound like one. The AK-47 flew across the room as though levitating on its own as Mustache slammed into the wall. He stood openmouthed before his head bent down as if he were contemplating the two bright red splotches that were blooming on his shirt.
He muttered something and fell face-forward to the accompaniment of Maria's terrified screams.
The other man had a chance but not enough of one. A third shot from the SIG Sauer doubled him over. No longer interested in combat, he staggered outside.
Less than a second had passed since the BlackBerry had blown up. Jason whirled to take care of Eglov. The machine gun, along with a puddle of blood on the floor, was all that remained. Other than Jason and Maria, the room was empty of life.
Jason dove through the open door into the darkness outside rather than present an illuminated target. Even before his eyes became completely adjusted to the dark, he heard hurried feet moving unevenly on the pebbles of the driveway and saw a form moving at a staggering run away from him.
He took two quick steps in pursuit and stopped. There was no way to know how many others might be out there, nor whether there would be another attempt made on Maria and him that night. He wanted little more than a chance to finish Eglov then and there, but prudence told him getting out of the area was the wiser move.
But where?
Chapter Twenty-one
Autostrada A18
Between Taormina and Messina
Thirty minutes later
Maria had said nothing since Jason had draped a blouse from the closet around her bare midriff and bundled her into the Explorer. Tears she made no effort to wipe away coursed freely down her face, leaving trails that glistened in the light from the dashboard. Jason had been primarily occupied with the rearview mirror, making sure they were not followed, but the only traffic at this hour of night was trucks availing themselves of the deserted four-lane to make good time to their next destination.
He had left the house occupied by Mustache's body and whatever other evidence the police might find. Sanitizing the scene would have taken more time than he was willing to risk in case Eglov had others nearby. Leaving additional firepower behind was contrary to any training Jason had, but he elected to leave the AK-47 where it had fallen. Should he be stopped, he wanted no part of explaining to authorities, who would take a dim view indeed of an unregistered, fully automatic weapon in the hands of an American traveling under a false name.
For the first time, he noticed that Maria was shivering in the warm Sicilian night. A chill or the onset of shock? Reaching an arm around her shoulder, he gently pulled her against him, sharing body heat. She made no effort to resist, nor gave any acknowledgment of the gesture.
'You okay?' he asked.
She gave the bare minimum of a nod and snuggled closer.
He was slowing down for one of the numerous automated tollbooths when she finally spoke. 'Where are we going?'
'For the moment, as far from Taormina as I can get. The ferry from Messina to Calabria runs twenty-four hours a day.'
'And then?'
'I'll surprise you.'
'In other words, you do not know.'
'Let's say only that I'm not yet sure.'
She pulled away to sit up straight. 'I think I want to go back to my office and volcanoes.'
Jason pulled out to pass a lumbering truck. 'I wouldn't recommend it. You saw what those guys were willing to do to you.'
She turned in the seat to face him. 'You are saying I need to stay where you can protect me? I am not helpless, you know.'
Jason simply gave her a wordless look.
'Okay, okay, so we stay together for a while. I will call in to take leave.'
She put her head back on his shoulder. In minutes she was snoring gently.
JOURNAL OF SEVERENUS TACTUS
Gulf of Naples
Campania, Italy
The sun was beginning to set behind the mountains to the west when I reined my horse in at the top of a hill. The Bay of Baia shimmered gold in the setting sun. Even though the town at the bottom of the hill was only a
