'But you're alive. You won't remain that way long if you don't fulfill our bargain.'
'I got those files for you. Even that was a risk. People are very cautious about dealing with you these days. What you did to the
'You're supposed to give
'It has to be the cradle. I remember how furious you were with us when Heiser's father was killed before you could get to him. You'd do anything to get it.'
'Yes, I would. That should cause you to be more careful in trying to gouge me, Danzyl.'
'Fair is fair. I'm not asking for a percentage, just a little more money to pay the rent.'
'How much more?'
'Double.'
'Done.'
He was silent. 'No argument?'
'Oh, I'll give you a big argument if you don't come through. And for that money you'll have to do more than research. I want answers now. Get your ass moving.' He hung up.
Slimy bastard. Danzyl had surprised him. He had thought he was a drone like Koppel. Smarter, more lethal, but not capable of facing up to him. It didn't matter. After he got what he needed from Danzyl, he'd remove him from the scene in the most painful manner possible.
Very perceptive, Danzyl.
He could remember his mother taking him to the Vitaka River and sitting there with him while she told him about the cradle and how he must reclaim it for the family.
'You're the one the legend talks about, Igor,' she would whisper as she stroked his hair. 'When I married your father, I had no love for him. He wanted my body, and I wanted his name. And I knew he would give me a special child. I
He would nod in agreement, but even then he'd scarcely been aware of her ambitions. He'd been lost in the dreams of glory of what he was to become.
What he was still to become.
His mother would never realize her ambitions. She had died before he had become fleet commander. He had barely noticed her death and been too busy to go to the funeral. He was starting to make plans to go after the cradle.
And then came the disaster on the
But it had only been a temporary setback, and he had been strong enough to put it behind him. Now all he needed was the cradle, and he'd be able to start his climb again. Nothing could stop him.
He got up and moved across the room to stand before the plates. He reached out and touched the unidentified symbol with his finger-tips, tracing the cross within the circle. It felt curiously warm beneath his touch. Was it a sign? 'I'll have it soon, Heiser,' he murmured. 'You and your clever tricks are nothing. You can't keep it from me much longer. Just a few days more…'
May I come in?' Kirov asked as they stopped in front of Hannah's door. 'I promise I won't keep you long.'
A quickie? Where had that thought come from, Hannah wondered as she unlocked the door. Any favor Kirov wanted from her would not involve sex. 'I'd bust your head if you just walked away without telling me what you want.' She unlocked her door. 'I hate a tease.'
'So do I.' He followed her into the room. 'I'd never tease you, Hannah. It's not in my dour nature. Unless you told me that you-Never mind.' He turned on the light. 'It's late, and I want your head clear.' He went over to the desk, drew out several sheets of hotel stationery, and jotted down a series of Samsovian symbols.
'What are you writing?'
'I'm providing some lunar coordinates that will give some information as to the time of year. This should match closely to the sub's final voyage six years ago.' He slid a sheaf of stationery over to her. 'The favor.'
'What?'
'Will you write down everything you can remember from those bulkhead plates. Can you do that for me?'
She had known it was coming. She was surprised he hadn't asked before. 'Why do you need it?'
'I have to be certain that Pavski doesn't have all the plates. We're assuming he doesn't by his actions, but maybe he's not certain himself. He's no expert. I have to know if there's another plate floating around out there.'
She moistened her lips. 'It won't be easy. I can't just call it up like a computer file. I need to concentrate to bring back the sights, sounds, smells, the feelings of that night.'
'The night your brother died.'
'It's not an experience I'm eager to revisit,' she said unevenly.
'Will you do it?'
No, she wanted to tell him. Hell, no. She could feel her stomach clench at the thought. Okay, get over it. She'd been a coward for too long. It was time to brace herself and face that night and all its horror.
She didn't reply for a moment, then nodded jerkily. 'Yeah, I'll do it.' She sat down on the couch and placed the sheet of stationery on the coffee table in front of her. 'Let's get it over with.'
He handed her his pencil and several sheets of paper. 'Anything else?'
'Just be quiet.' She rested her hands on the desk and closed her eyes. She breathed slowly and deeply, trying to release the tension that had consumed her in the past several days. Ever since that awful night…
Conner's voice.
Not quite, she realized. It sounded lower and more hollow. Was she already forgetting what he sounded like?
Better. That was Conner. He'd called out to her as she was squinting through her camera viewfinder. At what? The recessed area behind the antiquated submarine navigational computer, she remembered. She could see the cracked insulation on the wires…
He wore the gray sweater, jeans, brown tennis shoes, and the cologne he wore whenever they were on or near the ocean. He liked the way that the salt air interacted with it.
Conner, in his last moments on earth.
Christ.
She looked at the plate but saw nothing engraved on its surface.
Damn.
She and Conner unscrewed the last two bolts. She'd teased him and he'd smiled.
God, Conner…
She rested the plate on the floor. The work lights hit it and-
Pay dirt.
She froze the image in her mind and scribbled furiously on the piece of stationery in front of her.
'Incredible,' Kirov murmured.
'Shut up.'
She wrote faster, as if the image in her mind might evaporate at any moment.
Triangle, straight line, triangle, circle…
She filled the entire page with symbols she didn't understand. She reached the bottom, tossed it aside, and
