Deadlock

FIVE

'YOU DID VERY WELL,' GARRETT said as he left the cockpit af¬ter the helicopter was airborne. He sat down beside Emily. 'The video was just right. Sincere and fragile as hell. Very convincing.'

'I didn't mean to appear fragile. I only meant to be as truthful as I could be under the circumstances. I hate lies.'

'You are fragile right now. That was no lie.' He held up his hand as she opened her lips. 'Think about it. Your instinct is to deny it, but you have to admit your weakness if you're going to overcome it.'

'Easy to say. Have you ever admitted weakness, Garrett?'

'Once. That's how I know you have to work through it to get strong again.'

But he wasn't going to reveal the nature of that weakness, she re¬alized. Well, she had no right to probe when she had no intention of telling him anything more than he had to know right now. 'Where are we going?'

'Pakistan. I have some contacts that will keep us below the radar. From there we'll go to Greece.' She frowned. 'Why?'

'Because I told you that you have to lie low for a while. I have a house in a small village on an island in Greece that would be perfect for you.'

'How long?'

'A couple weeks.'

She shook her head emphatically. 'That's too long.'

'You made the choice. That's the deal. You do what I say.' He paused. 'And you lie low as long as I tell you to do it.'

'It's not necessary. I made that video for Ferguson. That's enough.'

'Tell me that after you watch the TV coverage and go through all the newspaper stories about your disappearance. You created a stir, and it's going to take time for the ripples to die down.' He added, 'And it will take time for me to find Staunton. Dardon has only started the pre¬liminary search.'

'Someone has to know him. If they met him, they'd remember him. He's a monster.'

'And does he look like Frankenstein's monster?' 'No.'

'Ugly? Threatening?' 'Not on the surface.'

'Then at the moment he's only a monster to you. To a next-door neighbor he might appear perfectly ordinary.'

She supposed he was right, but it seemed impossible supreme evil would not be instantly obvious. 'How long will it take?'

He shrugged. 'I don't know. All I can promise is that I will find him.' He paused. 'It would help if you could tell me why Staunton hijacked your trucks. Can you talk about it?'

Blood running from under the truck.

Joel screaming in agony.

'It's okay.' Garrett's gaze was fastened on her face. 'We'll talk about it later.'

'No.' Try not to think of anything but the question. She mois¬tened her lips. 'They were looking for a hammer. Staunton called it Zelov's hammer. He said there was some kind of Russian artifact hid¬den in the handle. He'd been told it was at that museum. He thought I knew where it was, that I'd hidden it away.'

'Did you?'

'God, no. I kept telling him, but he didn't believe me. We didn't see any hammer. I kept telling him. I swore on my father's grave that I didn't know anything about it.' Her nails dug into the palms of her hands. 'Over and over. I kept telling him. He wouldn't believe me. I kept telling-'

'Emily.' He gathered her hands in both of his. 'Don't talk. I don't need to know anything more.' His voice roughened. 'I should have known better than to put you through this. You're nowhere near ready to face it yet.'

'I have to face it,' she said unevenly. 'I can't live with myself if I hide from the truth. I don't have the right. It's just… hard.' She drew a shaky breath. 'I should have thought of the hammer. God knows, it's always with me. Sometimes I even dream about it. It's the way to catch him, isn't it? He wants Zelov's hammer. He'll be looking for it. If we find it first, then we may be able to set a trap for him. Why didn't I think of that before?'

'I'd say it's understandable that you're not acting with crystal-clear logic at the moment,' he said dryly. 'You start to shake every time the conversation gets anywhere near Staunton.'

'I don't-' But she would be trembling if he wasn't holding her hands, giving her his strength. 'It's not because I'm afraid of him.'

'I know that. It's because the son of a bitch traumatized you. That's why it's a good idea to let yourself heal for a while, so that you'll be able to function in top form.'

'I'd be fine if we could go-'

'No,' he said firmly. 'I'm not going to chance you shattering ei¬ther before or after we get rid of Staunton. I told you, I got you away from him, and I have pride in my work. You're going to remain fully intact, mentally and physically, for the next hundred years or so.'

Her brows rose. 'A hundred years?'

'Why not? The world is changing, evolving every second. I believe in the future. Now, you work on treasures of the past and know that a thousand years is only a blink of the eye. We just look at things in a dif¬ferent way.' He released her hands. 'I'm going to go up to the cockpit and tell Dardon to dump your info about Zelov's hammer into the mix and try to come up with something. Will you be okay?'

'Yes.' She watched him turn and leave her. She would be okay, but she would have been better if he'd kept holding her hands. It was terrible to feel this vulnerable and alone when she'd always been strong and inde¬pendent. It would go away. She just had to be patient, and she would be herself again.

But was that true? Would she ever be the Emily Hudson she had been before she had met Staunton?

Yes, dammit, she would not let Staunton twist her soul as he had her emotions. That would be a victory for him, and she would not give him any triumph.

So she needed to start learning to compartmentalize, keep the pain away, and use her mind and memory as weapons in the battle. The next time she talked to Garrett, she had to be prepared. She must not lean on him again.

'SHE'S NOT BEING HELD B Y the CIA,' Borg said. 'Ferguson just issued a statement that he'd sent her into seclusion to recover from her ordeal.'

'Bullshit,' Staunton said. 'He's trying to save his ass. That bitch wouldn't let anyone send her anywhere. She's flown the coop.' He frowned. 'Maybe it wasn't the CIA who took her back from me. I was wondering how they suddenly managed to find us after blundering around those mountains for weeks.'

'Who else?'

He shrugged. 'I've no idea. But someone must know. Whoever raided the camp had to have been given detailed information by some¬one who lives in these mountains. All we have to do is find that infor¬mant and ask him a few questions.'

'We may not be welcome in the mountains,' Borg said. 'It's hard to quiet rumors among the tribes. After what you did to Shafir Ali's men that was-'

'Why, I don't know what you mean.' Staunton raised his brows. 'It was the CIA who blew up that hut. These mountain tribes stick together. It shouldn't be too hard to fan the flames and make it very uncomfortable for anyone who helped that to happen. We'll get some¬one to point the finger.' Staunton smiled. 'That's all I need.'

Mykala Island, Greece

'IT'S BEAUTIFUL,' EMILY WHISPERED. 'I don't think I've ever seen a place this beautiful or peaceful.'

'It's the light,' Garrett said as he helped her out of the helicopter. 'The light here in Greece is like pure gold, and it seems particularly brilliant here on Mykala.'

It could be the light or the intense blue of the sea surrounding the island or the shimmering white sands. Whatever the components, the overall effect was like being enveloped in a golden haze, Emily thought. 'It's such a small village.'

'Yes.' He smiled. 'Mercifully. One priest, two teachers, and one magistrate. We all get along just fine.'

'Where is your house?'

Garrett nodded at a white stucco house on the hill that they were passing. 'That's mine.' He gestured to a