Silent Thunder

'The devil it is. It's nothing. And you won't even tell me your name.'

'I'll tell you if it will make you feel better.' He opened the door. 'Dimitri Ivanov.'

Ivanov.

She stared at the door after it closed behind him.

The name was familiar. She had heard it or read it…

Ivanov.

Bradworth was standing on the dock when they reached Gloucester. 'This was a mistake,' he said as he helped Hannah from the boat. 'You should have discussed this with me before you came here.'

She pulled away from him. 'So that you could lie or talk me out of it?'

'So that I could keep you from running unnecessary risks.' He glanced at Kirov. 'You were wise to bring her back and turn her over to us. We won't tolerate your-'

'I'm not turning her over to you,' Kirov said. 'I told you she was mine, and nothing has changed. All I'm doing is letting her vent some anger and try to get a few answers from a source she has at least a minimal trust in. But I'm not letting you drown her in red tape or get her killed because you're inept. You had your chance.' He turned to Hannah. 'I'll be here until tomorrow night if you want to see me.' He went down the hatch.

'Son of a bitch.' Bradworth was staring after him. 'Bastard.'

He was afraid of Kirov, Hannah realized in shock. It was there in his expression-anger and frustration and fear.

'I'm sure he is,' Hannah said as she turned away and strode down the pier. 'And so are you, Bradworth. Let's get out of here. I'm going back to Boston. Follow me and meet me at my condo.'

'I'll have one of my men drive your car back. We can talk on the way.'

'I don't want to be in the same car with you for that long.'

'I can understand your resentment, but I only did my duty as I saw-'

'You can't understand. Damn your duty. Damn you.' She opened the driver's door of her car. 'Meet me at my condo.'

He hesitated, then as she started her car, he turned and hurried toward his vehicle.

Draw a deep breath. She had to get to Boston, and she didn't want to pile up against a tree because she was so angry she couldn't see straight. That would be a victory for those bastards who'd killed Conner.

Pavski. She had a name now. Not much more, but it was a start.

And she had another name.

Ivanov.

EIGHT

'Come in, Bradworth,' she said curtly as she turned away from the door. 'How much of it is true? Did this Pavski kill my brother?'

'We… suspect it.'

'And you didn't tell me?'

'It's sensitive, classified information.'

'Screw your classified information. Don't give me that. My brother is dead.'

'I would have discussed it with you when I could.'

When hell froze over, she thought bitterly. Go on to something else. 'What do you know about Dimitri Ivanov?'

He went still. 'What?' A multitude of expressions flitted over his face. 'I beg your pardon?'

'Kirov. Ivanov. Whatever you want to call him.'

'He told you-' He stopped and was silent a moment. 'I wasn't expecting him to do that.'

'Obviously.' She went to the window and stared out into the darkness. 'Why not?'

'What did he tell you?' he asked warily.

'His name. But he must have known I'd ask you questions about him. He knew I'd read those Silent Thunder dossiers, didn't he?'

'Yes.'

'I thought so.' Her lips twisted. 'He was privy to everything that went on from the time we were hired. Right?'

'Yes.'

'Dimitri Ivanov. Second officer on the Silent Thunder. Killed in an explosion at the Black Sea shipyard in 1994. He's very spry for a corpse.'

'A veritable Frankenstein's monster,' Bradworth said sarcastically. 'I've often wished he'd meet the same fate.'

'But you're clearly on the same team now.'

'He doesn't think so. Ivanov's not a team player.'

'And you hate his guts.'

'I believe he's dangerous to the mission.'

'And you hate his guts.'

He shrugged. 'I have a right to my opinion. I disapproved of recruiting him, and nothing that's happened since has altered my view. He's a wild card and too volatile for my taste.'

'Recruited? You staged his death, and he defected?'

'He had information that was invaluable to us at the time, and he was willing to dedicate himself to further investigation.'

'What kind of investigation?'

'During the period after the Cold War ceased, there were so many players in Moscow we didn't know whom to trust. Pavski was in a position of power and trying to climb higher on the ladder. He might have made it, but we thought it wise to remove him and his cohorts from the scene.'

'Why?'

'He was from the old school and was eliminating his competition one by one.'

'You mean he was killing them?'

He nodded. 'Totally ruthless. We thought we might have another Stalin on our hands if he gained power. It was decided that he and his friends should disappear from the political scene.'

'Oh, you were going to convince him to retire to the country?' she asked sarcastically.

'I'm trying to be honest with you.'

'That's a first. And Ivanov was helping you make them 'disappear'?'

'He had the background. He had the motivation. It's not as if we forced him to defect and go after Pavski. He came to us with some information we could use to discredit Pavski, then offered us a deal.'

She remembered her first impression of Kirov. 'No, I doubt if you could force him to do anything.'

'He's not invincible. It just wasn't worth our while.'

'Then why are you afraid of him?'

He bristled. 'I'm not afraid. You just have to be careful when you're dealing with that kind of volatility.'

He was lying. 'Why did he want to go after Pavski?'

He was silent a moment. 'He blamed him for what happened to the captain on the Silent Thunder. Did you read the dossier on Ivanov?'

'Yes, but at the time I didn't pay much attention. I wasn't interested in anyone but the captain and the first mate.'

'Ivanov grew up in Sevastopol. Strike a bell?'

She thought about it. 'That's the town where Captain Vladzar retired.'

'Where he supposedly retired. The details are sketchy, but the captain disappeared as soon as he made port in the Silent Thunder's last voyage.'

'You're saying he was killed?'

'We don't know. I'm saying he disappeared and was never heard from again. But Ivanov thinks he was