door at the end of the corridor, turned left, and darted down the next corridor.
Kitchen.
They tore toward the door across the room.
'THERE THEY ARE,' FERGUSON said, exultant, as he caught sight of Garrett and Emily disappearing back into the house. 'I knew we'd get them.' He jumped out of the car and ran toward the front door. 'Moore, you come with me. Dietrich, you go around back.'
Ferguson drew his gun as he ran through the front door. 'Garrett, come out. You can't get-' His gaze froze on the two bodies on the li¬brary floor. 'Holy shit.'
'STAY BEHIND ME.' GARRETT ran down the steps, and Emily followed close behind. 'Ferguson will have sent someone-' He caught sight of Dietrich as he came around the corner of the house and ran toward him. 'Keep going.'
Dietrich was drawing his gun.
Emily stopped, then started to follow Garrett.
Garrett braced and went low, tackling Dietrich. He gave the CIA man a karate chop to the neck and leapt to his feet as the agent went limp.
'I told you to go on.' He grabbed her hand and half pulled her with him as he ran out of the back courtyard into the street. 'Run.' They ran. Down the block. Turned right, then turned left.
'Can't we double back to the car?' Emily asked, her breath com¬ing in gasps.
'Too risky. Ferguson might have left someone there in case we did.' 'Only one man?'
'Yes, but he'd be good. I might have to kill him. I don't think you want that to happen.'
She remembered the vicious violence he'd used on the man in the courtyard. 'No. But we're on foot. Ferguson must be after us by now in his car.'
'Probably.' He saw the gleam of headlights as a car turned the cor¬ner three blocks down. 'Definitely.' He pulled her into the deep alcove of a shop and pressed her into the shadows against the wall with his body. 'Not a word,' he whispered. 'He's moving slow.'
She couldn't speak if she wanted to do it. She was holding her breath. Her heart was racing. Slow? It was taking that car forever to cover those three blocks.
Then out of the corner of her eye she saw a beam of light.
Would they catch sight of them? Would the car stop?
The car was alongside them now, only several feet away.
Lord, they were creeping.
Then the car passed them, and Emily saw the red taillights as it moved down the street.
Her breath escaped in a rush of relief.
Garrett shook his head and put his finger to his lips.
She nodded.
A moment later he took a step back. 'They turned at the next cor¬ner. We'll double back and make our way down to the market on the cross street.'
'Is it safe?'
'No, Ferguson will be searching the entire city, and if he turns the locals loose, it will be worse. But we need to get to somewhere safe, and I know someone who runs a jewelry shop in the market. That's as close to safe as we're going to get.' He started down the street. 'Move.'
She was already half-running to keep up with him. 'Should we be running away? It's Ferguson. He's CIA. He should be able to help us.'
'If he chooses to do it,' Garrett said. 'And if he gets his hands on us, he doesn't have to make a choice. He'll be in charge.' They'd reached the corner, and Garrett turned right. 'We'll have to make sure that doesn't happen. Ferguson likes control, and he's not above sacrific¬ing a few scruples to get it. Believe me, I know. I've seen him operate, and it's not pretty. He once abandoned me to the mercies of drug run¬ners in the jungle in Colombia when he knew the chances of my getting out were slim to none. He didn't even try to save me.'
'So what are we going to do? You said I could be accused of the murders.' She still felt the same shock she had when Garrett had said those words in the library. 'There has to be some way that-'
'There is a way,' Garrett said, his pace increasing. 'But not until I get to a place where I can make a safe call. And it has to be fast. Fer¬guson is going to have to make a decision soon, and we have to get in under the wire.'
'WE NEED TO MAKE A DEAL,' Garrett said when Ferguson picked up the phone an hour later.
Ferguson felt a swift surge of satisfaction. 'I don't have to do a damn thing. I've got you, Garrett.' He made a motion to Moore to trace the call.
'You haven't got me, or I wouldn't be calling you. And you may not want to have me if it means that you're going to have to bring Emily into this. So let's talk deal. Providing you still have anything with which to deal. Have you informed the Afghan government about Nemid's death?'
'Not yet.'
'I didn't think you'd be in a hurry. First, you'd send a team back to make sure that there isn't anything interesting lying around there that could be of interest to the Company. You didn't find anything, did you?'
'I'll have to get a report. It's early yet. What were you after, Gar¬rett?'
'I was after whatever the person who killed Nemid was after.' 'And did you get it?'
'Maybe.' He paused. 'But I don't know what it is yet. I have to have time to find out.'
'You're not going to have time. I'm going to have your ass, Garrett. None of this bullshit about deals. I'm on top now.'
Moore was shaking his head. No trace.
Ferguson muttered a curse.
'Irritated?' Garrett said. 'That must mean you've found out you're not going to be able to trace me. I took the trouble to relay the call several times around the world. It made me a little nervous taking the time, but I knew it was necessary. Now let's talk deal. You don't want to pull Emily into this.'
'I do if she shot Nemid. I figure she was pissed at having been sent up to those mountains by Nemid and decided to blow his head off. She was unstable and took revenge on an innocent man.'
'Only he wasn't innocent. He was dirty as hell. He wouldn't have been killed if he hadn't been in on the raid. Staunton killed him to keep his mouth shut and to get something he was holding.'
'Staunton?'
'The man who killed Levy.'
'Why are you telling me about him now?'
'Because I'm very much afraid we have to be partners. Extremely limited partners.' He paused. 'You don't want them to go after Emily. We both know how that would look for you. You told everyone she was ill and in seclusion and that it was you who put her there. Any way you look at it, you're going to look bad if she turns out to be a killer. Either she's a victim who should have had treatment and didn't receive it. Or she killed her friend's murderer because she couldn't get any satisfaction from the authorities, namely you, and had to do the job herself. Either way, you're not going to look good.'
'I can work around it.'
'Even if Emily tells the media that you told her that killing Ne¬mid was the only way she'd get justice? The Afghan council doesn't trust the CIA anyway. They'd just assume you had your own agenda and used her to kill off Nemid because he was causing you problems.'
No, Emily Hudson could give him headaches galore if Garrett primed her to cause him trouble, Ferguson thought bitterly. He might have to deal. 'You didn't kill Nemid?'
'They were dead when we got there. And Nemid must have known his assailant, or the guard wouldn't have let him into the house.'
'He would have known Emily Hudson.'
'True. But he would have been on the alert since he'd be afraid she suspected him.' He paused. 'She didn't kill him, Ferguson. The son of a bitch deserved it, but she didn't do it. Neither did I. It was Staunton or one of his men.'
'Why?'
'I don't know yet. I'll find out. But I need time, and I can't do anything if you or the Afghans come after me.'
