by the Intelligence men, filled her with self loathing. She felt dirty, tainted.
And now they'd decided not to go through with their original plan. 'Why?' she heard herself asking Don. 'Why don't they want her to defect? Didn't you tell them it's working, that she's almost certainly going to come over to us?' Maria could feel a lump rising ill her throat. After last night I m sure she'll do whatever I tell her.”
'It's not as simple as that any more. Let me explain. First of all, they've established beyond reasonable doubt that Eva is perfecting the RPM. Secondly, they're certain she's the only person in the world capable of doing such a thing.
'Now, with Eva permanently on our side, the West will have a fantastic superiority over the Communists. Hence your original mission. But Headquarters suggested that if she's unpredictable if she'll defect to us out of an attraction to another woman, how can we be sure she won't be unstable enough to go back to the East when the infatuation wears off? Or at any rate, refuse to continue to work for us?
'And that's not all. WI1at we're doing is undercover work. Officially, no one knows about these espionage intrigues. But when It s made public, as it will have to be, that. Eva is now working for us, the Communists would have every incentive to start a nuclear war. They'd have nothing to lose, you see? For them the Radar-Proof Missile would be lost for ever and that means their hopes of world domination as well.'
He went on, grimly: 'At the very least, they'd call our bluff, threaten to send their missiles unless we surrendered Miss Harnecz. I can see their point. The situation is simply too explosive to risk. The West is ahead of the East in the missile race at the moment. So the simplest thing to do is remove Eva from the scene altogether. As long as they can't prove that our agents did it, we're all back to square once again.
'They should have thought of all this before they sent you after her, Maria,' he said softly. 'It's a lousy bloody trick. But you can see what's at stake can't you? We've got to kill Eva!'
Maria could feel the tears starting from her eyes. 'Isn't there anything else we can do?' she asked brokenly. 'Please, Don… Anything at all?'
Don shook his head slowly and regretfully. “I’m afraid not.' The first rays of the sun caught at something metallic in his hand. Maria looked at it. He was holding a gun as inconspicuously as possible at his side. So it was all over, she thought. Eva's life was out of her hands now. She could do nothing.
Chapter 9
Maria caught her breath and thought again. There was something she could do. She could defect to the Communists and go back to Hungary with Eva. The idea stunned her and overwhelmed her at the same time, but she dare not let Don see the sudden change.
'Wait here. Maria.' Don told her. 'I'll make it as quick as possible. She's still asleep, isn't she?'
Maria nodded. He stepped past her moving swiftly towards the tent. There was no time to analyze her feelings. It was now or never!
She tensed her fingers straightening them in the karate position. Then she leaped forward, chopping the man viciously across the back of his neck as he stooped to move into the tent. He fell forward against the canvas sliding off it to the ground unconscious before his body slumped into the sand.
Quickly, Maria stepped over him. Eva and Sandra were awake staring at her as she entered and began to dress. Ignoring Sandra. Maria said: 'Get your clothes on, Eva. I'm taking you back to Hungary. They're going to kill you and we haven't much time!'
The urgency was communicated to Eva and the girl hurriedly dressed, shooting frightened glances at Maria. When they were both ready, Maria snatched up their bags and grabbed Eva's hand.
'When Don comes to tell him I'm sorry!' she said to Sandra. “He won't understand, but tell him they can't treat people as if they were puppets… not all the time, not the way they've treated me.'
Against her better judgment and all common sense, Maria had landed in Nice to pick up Magda, Eva's maid. True, it was the last place Don would think of looking for them, but it was running a tremendous risk of discovery. Still, Eva said she couldn't leave the girl alone. Magda was probably being questioned (or even tortured) by the other Communist bodyguards who would suspect that the girl had something to do with the plot to kidnap her mistress.
And so they had taken a cab to Eva's hotel managing to get to the room Eva shared with Magda without incident. Eva went in first and Maria heard her give a loud sigh of relief. She put her head cautiously around the door. Eva and Magda were embracing and the room seemed to be empty apart from the two girls.
Maria sidled in, being careful to lock the door behind her. From her smattering of Hungarian, she could make out that Magda had been questioned by the security agents, but they had accepted her story that she knew nothing about Eva's disappearance.
Eva introduced them and Maria took Magda's hand and clasped it warmly. The girl was very attractive, she thought, appraising Magda's full, young figure. And she felt a moment's jealousy as she realized that Eva had, of course, known the girl very intimately.
“We must go,' she said brusquely. “We can't waste tune. The plane will be re-fueled and ready to go by the time we get back to the airport.'
Eva was listening to Magda who had begun to whisper quickly in her ear. She met Maria's eyes, looking rather mysterious. “Darling Maria,' she said. I’m sure another hour won't make any difference. You see, Magda tells me that she has finished making a costume for me. I want so much to try it on!'
Maria stared at her in disbelief. “You can't be serious!' she exclaimed. 'Every minute counts, yet you want to try on a damned dress!' She almost stamped her foot with impatience. “And you want to take a whole hour over it! You must be crazy! Come on, we've got to leave right now!'
“Oh, please, Maria!' Eva was like a child, pleading to be allowed to stay up late. A husky, little-girl tone crept into her voice. “It's something very special, something I've been looking forward to for so long! And it isn't exactly a dress, you know? It's much more exciting than that.'
Maria could see that Eva was extremely anxious to show her the “something very special,' and despite herself her own curiosity was aroused. 'All right, then,' she relented. “But please hurry up. Just try it on and then take it off again, We can't afford to waste time.'
Excitedly, Eva hurried into the bedroom with Magda. Two minutes passed. Maria fidgeted nervously, glancing at her watch every few moments. At last the girls emerged again-and the garment Eva had been so eager to try on took her breath away.
It was a completely transparent piece of stretch nylon which fitted the beautiful girl's body so tightly that every part of her was visible. Yet the material fastened snugly around her neck and covered her entire body, coming like a body-stocking over her legs to end in stockings so sheer that her toe-nails and even the faint beauty spot just below her knee could be seen plainly.
Eva looked ravishing! Maria's eyes traveled slowly up and down the girl, taking in the sexy outlines of her crotch and breasts. Everywhere, from her toes to her neck, the material hugged her otherwise naked body with possessive, tingling tightness. Eva posed provocatively for her, turning so that Maria could admire her rear view; where the rounded cheeks of her buttocks were set off to perfection by the clinging tan hued material.
Magda stood proudly in the background, her eyes going from her mistress to Maria. She had worked hard to complete the bizarre costume for Eva and this was her reward-to see how adorable the girl looked in it.
'Come and feel it,' Eva invited. 'Come close to me, darling. Put your arms around me and touch me… touch me all over!'
Maria felt herself moving as if entranced towards the nylon-encased girl. Her hands went out and she passed them around Eva, feeling a shock of sudden, electric excitement as her fingers stroked the sheer material. She ran her hands slowly up and down Eva's body, realizing that her buttocks were even more alluring and sexy with their coating of sleeky nylon.
Eva stood quite passively, hands at her side, while Maria caressed her. Her eyes felt heavy and she let them close. Everywhere, the garment encompassed her. It pressed into her crotch, drawn up tightly into the lips of her cunt. It swathed her breasts like a second skin, making her baby-nipples perk as stiff as they were able. It hugged her buttocks, constricting the cheeks with a lifting, constraining pressure that made them feel very precious and prominent.
