“No.”
“Me neither. But those zombies didn’t just come out of nowhere. And the mole wouldn’t have known they’d be needed until after the first attack.”
“I agree. Therefore, they must have set up quite an imperceptible means of communication.”
“I’ll ask Bergman about it. Maybe he’ll have some ideas.”
That proved difficult, however, since the semi, and then the apartment building, provided hardly any privacy. And when we did split up to sleep, we’d gone boy-girl, so Cassandra and I shared a room with Grace. Her wound had turned out to be superficial. Where was the fair in that?
Exhausted from our battles and a long night on the road with hardly any shut-eye, we’d slept until two, when Dave had mustered his troops and my crew. The exception, of course, was Vayl. He remained in his light-impervious tent, which he’d pitched on top of an ornate, gold-rimmed bed upholstered in blue and white fabric that looked to have been designed for a queen. Or, um, a king. Who happened to be a vampire. Anyway.
For the past hour we’d taken turns showering and eating, each of us finally wandering into the high-ceilinged living room, which had been plastered and painted a cheery buttercup. Recessed lights pinpointed a modern fireplace, forget the mantel, and a chocolate-brown floor with a large triangular inlay that was probably cheaper than it looked. In this room the rugs had been hung on the walls, with thinly cushioned chairs lined up underneath like hotel lobby afterthoughts. The center of the room had been left empty in case, I don’t know, we wanted to play a quick game of shuffleboard?
“Cassandra,” I said to my friend, who was pretending not to notice Dave was pretending not to notice her. Ick. “This room sucks. Let us lay some rearrangement on it, shall we?”
She nodded hard enough to make her braids bounce, making me realize this little mutual crush between her and my brother might actually have its humorous points, and we set to work. With six bored guys only too willing to jump in and help, we turned the place into a passable representation of an American family room in no time. Of course, we had to steal some rugs off the floors of other rooms. And a couch out of the guys’ bedroom. But we felt a lot more comfortable afterward.
Cassandra, Cole, and I landed on the couch with me in the middle, facing the fireplace and David. Bergman took one of the two chairs to our left. Cam and Jet, who absolutely refused to hate me, took the next-largest piece of furniture, which we’d placed across from the chairs. A love-seat-sized brown leather piece that had been stuffed until it looked ready to pop, it held five white furred pillows that turned out to be quite popular with the guys.
Natch, who’d kept up a dialogue with Bergman during the entire semi trip that ran the gamut from night-vision equipment to deep-sea diving, took the chair to Bergman’s left. At the moment he was entertaining Miles with a story that seemed to involve Harleys and topless biker chicks. Grace hung to the back of the room. I didn’t like that I couldn’t keep an eye on her, but I noticed Bergman glancing at her every so often. For once, I thanked my lucky stars for his natural paranoia.
Dave launched into his speech. It was supposed to be a morale booster. We needed it after losing four guys and our medic. So it was a real shame I missed the vast majority of it. About all I caught was “The good news is Ricardo, Terry, Ash, and Boom are going to be fine. As soon as this mission is over we’re headed back to Germany. Yeah, we’ll be training like new recruits during the week, but the weekends will be ours. And we won’t leave that country until our unit is whole again.”
It had come on me without warning. And, really, what would I have done if I’d felt queasy? Or faint? Are you kidding? Surrounded by some of the toughest people on the planet? I’d have probably sat right in that spot if a meteorite had burst through the ceiling and landed on my lap. And that’s what my body did. Sat there, breathing, blinking, looking like it gave a crap about Dave’s message while the Magistrate sucked my soul straight to hell.
Dave had nearly finished talking when I returned. His audience looked somewhat cheered. Except for me. I seemed pale. Slightly blue around the lips. Cassandra had begun to look at me with concern. Time to dive in.
I managed not to yell. Just barely. Couldn’t help sucking in my breath though. I buried my fingernails in my thighs. God, it felt like all my organs had jumped a foot. And, folks, those puppies are not meant to riverdance.
Cassandra leaned toward me, reaching out, whispering, “Are you all right?”
“Don’t —” I hissed.
Too late. Her hand landed on mine, just a moment, before it jerked away. Wide, horrified eyes stared into mine. I imagine I looked a little peeved. I wanted to jump up and down, toddler-style, and yell, “Stop touching me!”
Dave was too good a commander to interrupt his speech to confront us just then, though his glance told us we’d been had. “So let’s review the plan,” he continued. “As soon as it’s dark we’ll scout the location. Remember not to speak to anyone. With Otto gone, only Cole knows Farsi well enough to pass for a native. And even disguised, he looks foreign enough that most folks won’t be fooled.”
“Are you kidding me?” Cam interjected, motioning at Cole with mock disgust. “He looks like his high school drama teacher went nuts with the spirit gum and the sheep wool!”
“I’ll have you know this is the real deal!” Cole said, tugging at his beard. Then he grinned. “I do look like I should be selling pot out of the back of my love van, don’t I?”
Even Dave laughed at that one. “If you are cornered,” he went on, “remember you’re Canadian students with relatives living in Tehran. You all have your passports and ID papers to prove it. Don’t lose them. Natch, is your camera ready?”
Natchez patted the pocket of his brown plaid shirt. “Yeah.”
“Good. We’ll want as many pictures as possible. We’ll be recreating the interior of the location on one of the upper floors so we can practice the takeout when we get back.” He didn’t need to tell them they’d only have one chance at this. They couldn’t make any mistakes. However, with a mole in the unit, he also couldn’t tell them they’d be scouting a false location and practicing the wrong moves for a bogus meeting. Only Dave, Vayl, and I knew the real time, date, and spot of the Wizard’s rendezvous with destiny. If we unearthed the mole before that time, Dave’s unit would join our hunt. If not, Vayl and I would be on our own.
Chapter Eight
Once the meeting disbanded, I gave Dave and my crew the come-hither nod and they followed me to the bedroom where Vayl slumbered. Without breathing. Helluva trick, yeah? One of the reasons I find him so fascinating.
Before anyone could talk I held up my right hand, pointed my left at Bergman. He pulled his wallet from his pocket, slid an item the size of a credit card from it, and replaced the wallet. Holding the card flat in one hand, he
