It's healthy for you.'
'Healthy?'
'At least, it hints at emotional involvement. Better an obsession with a dead man than a nuclear reactor.'
'I'm not obsessed with him.' She took a drink of coffee. 'I'm… interested. And you're talking as if my sex life was nonexistent.'
'How many relationships have you had since you gave Ken his walking papers?'
She was silent. 'A few.'
'A few rolls in the hay maybe.'
'And I didn't give Ken his walking papers. He found someone else.'
'And you breathed a sigh of relief that you didn't have to feel guilty about leaving him. The marriage still wouldn't have lasted another six months even if you hadn't walked in and found him sleeping with another woman.'
'Possibly.' She looked away from him. 'I did love him once, Conner.'
'You loved the sex. I don't know if you even knew him. He sure as hell didn't seem to know what you were all about. He did everything wrong.'
'I made mistakes, too. I left him for months at a time when I was off on a job.'
'And if he was smart, he'd have known how to keep you home or how to trail along with you.'
'He was an advertising executive. He couldn't just hop on a plane whenever I had to go somewhere. And he didn't do everything wrong.' She paused. 'He gave me Jordan. Even if it was only for a few weeks, he gave me my baby.'
'And then flitted off and left you to go through your pregnancy alone.'
'Our marriage was over by that time. There's no way I would have wanted him to stick around out of a sense of duty.'
'I still think I'd vote for the panda solution over your Ken.'
'He's not my-Why am I arguing about this? It's over.'
'You have to examine your mistakes so that you don't repeat them.'
'My, it must be wonderful to be so knowledgeable about the frailty of human nature.'
'Hell, yes.' He grinned. 'I'm glad you appreciate my expertise.'
'Pompous ass.'
'I guess that means you want me to stay out of your business? Okay, I'll drop it for now. But don't expect a permanent reprieve. Fixating on a dead man is all right in the short term, but I regard it as my duty to someday guide you into a permanent and enriching relationship.'
'Cripes, I may be sick. I can't take any more of this.' She stood up. 'Now I'm going back to my 'fixation' and finish checking through those books to make sure that I haven't missed anything. Then I'm going to take that cabin apart and put a seal on it. Tomorrow I'll be ready to help you in the control room.'
'Then I take it we're going to put in a late night?'
'I am.' She packed her cup and plate in the basket. 'You can quit early and go back to the inn if you like.'
'Since you consider a twelve-hour day as quitting early, I'm not impressed by your generosity.' He got to his feet. 'So I might as well stay until you're ready to leave. Although I intend to take a break and call Cathy when I'm sure the kids are all home.'
'What a surprise.'
'Predictability is one of my charms. Solid and steady, and everyone always knows where they are with me. Cathy likes it like that.'
'So do I.' She smiled. 'I wouldn't have you any other way.'
'I know.' He closed the picnic basket. 'It's kind of nice knowing I'm the anchor for two of the most powerful women I've ever met. Makes me feel worthwhile.' He started toward the sub. 'But you'd better get that cabin done by midnight, or I'll give up on the control room and come down and drag you out.'
She's headed back to the inn,' Koppel said when Pavski picked up. 'She and her brother have been in there since early morning. Cox left around seven this evening, but they stayed on the sub until after midnight.'
'Doing what?'
'How should I know? It's a sub. You told me not to get near enough to be seen, and I can't just blunder down the hatch like a-'
'I don't want excuses. I told you what I need. I have to know what's going on in that sub.'
Silence. 'They may not find anything. We couldn't.'
'We didn't have time in Helsinki. They have all the time in the world, and she's an expert.'
'It may not even be-'
'We have to know.'
'If we get too close, Bradworth's men might see us.'
'You know where they're stationed. Use a distraction.'
'What if it doesn't work? It may be necessary to get rid of them. Is that okay?'
'No, it's not okay. I don't want Feds all over this harbor because you thought killing those agents is easier. Use your brain, dammit. You don't tip our hand until I tell you it's worthwhile to do it.' He hung up the phone.
Christ, Koppel was dense, Pavski thought as he leaned back in his deck chair. It was annoying that he couldn't risk staying close enough to the sub to gather the reins into his own hands. As long as Koppel received detailed instructions, he was efficient enough, but he couldn't think for himself, and that was dangerous in a situation where Kirov might pop up at any moment.
Kirov…
His gaze lifted to the horizon, and he felt a tingle of excitement. Kirov was here. He could feel it. Over the years, Kirov had been like a shadow hovering over him. He'd come close a number of times, but he'd chosen other targets.
Now he, Pavski, was the target.
And, by God, Pavski was ready for him. He was almost willing to sacrifice Koppel and the others just for the chance of facing Kirov at last.
Almost.
The stakes were too high, the prize too tempting not to delay that final confrontation, he thought regretfully. There would be time later to kill Kirov very slowly and painfully when he had the leisure to enjoy it. Kirov wouldn't be going anywhere. He'd be waiting like a dark angel, spreading his wings over that sub in hopes of scooping up Pavski. He didn't realize that he was up against a much more formidable foe than those other fools on the committee he had killed so easily.
Yes, Pavski could afford to wait and go after Hannah Bryson first.
Kirov's hands tightened on the infrared binoculars as he saw the movement on the pier.
A man in a black scuba suit pulled himself from the water and was gliding toward the hatch of
'Okay,' he murmured beneath his breath. 'First move, Pavski.'
The man disappeared down the hatch.
'Yes!' It was what he'd expected, what he'd hoped would happen. He scanned the horizon, but he didn't expect to see anything. Pavski wouldn't have sent in a scuba operative if he'd intended an all-out assault. His purpose was evident, and it filled Kirov with infinite satisfaction.
Should he call Bradworth? This move would never have been completed if his sentries hadn't been circumvented in some way.
He'd decide later. He and Bradworth were walking different paths right now, and he might want to keep him in ignorance.
Then he had a sudden memory of the strange kinship he'd felt toward Hannah Bryson when he'd watched her sitting on the pier that first evening. He'd thought her vulnerable then, but now that Pavski had made his first foray, her vulnerability had increased a hundredfold. It might be more to his advantage to keep Bradworth in ignorance, but the woman could die if Bradworth wasn't warned.
A calculated risk?
He was very good at calculating risks and was usually coldly efficient at balancing the odds. It was just a little
