Payback

“All right. They’re dumping the envelope numbers down to you now. You can just hit the function keys and you’ll see them,” said Karr.

“Look at this,” Lia said to Fernandez, pointing to the lower left-hand corner of her computer screen. “My battery’s starting to wear down. This is just not my day. I’m down to sixty percent, and we’ve got a ways to go. I’m going to have to plug in.”

She rose and got the power cord from the briefcase.

“There are no outlets in the safe,” said Fernandez.

“Oh.” Lia feigned surprise. “Can we bring in another extension cord?”

“I’ll see.”

As soon as he was gone, Lia pulled out her notebook and jotted down the numbers, just in case something was wrong with the machine. Then she rose to get the envelope she needed.

As she did, Lia nearly knocked one of the UN women over. Surprised that she was so close, Lia shivered involuntarily. The woman followed her over to the boxes, so close she could feel the woman’s breath on her neck.

As Lia began to search for the envelope, her fingers began to tremble.

She wasn’t scared — she shouldn’t be scared — but…

But what?

“I’m sorry. I’m really sorry,” she told the woman standing next to her in Spanish. “But could you like, just give me a few feet? Sometimes I get claustrophobic.”

The woman blinked at her but didn’t move back.

I’m not going to get all twelve cards, Lia thought to herself. I’ll be lucky to get even one.

The woman stayed within six inches of her as Lia walked back to the laptop. Sitting down, she suddenly felt light-headed and then doubly spooked — first, somehow unnerved by the woman’s proximity, and second, unnerved that she had been unnerved. This sort of thing never happened to her.

Lia slit open the envelope, cutting through the tamper-evident tape. Her mind blanked. She couldn’t remember which of the several numbers that flashed on her computer screen were the ones that told her the chip’s serial number.

First step, find which of the three cards she needed. Second step, swap it. Third step, leave.

“Please give me a little space,” she told the UN observer. “You’re as close as my shadow.”

If the woman moved, it was less than an inch.

One and out, Lia told herself. Just get the card and go.

The number was at the bottom of the screen, in the corner, right there.

Tommy was outside, and Dean was nearby. If she needed something, all she had to do was say so.

Lia pushed the card in. It wasn’t the right one. She pulled it out, arranged it on top of the table next to the envelope. Would the next card be right?

No.

That made it easier, didn’t it? Card three.

She turned to the UN monitor, standing over her shoulder.

“Did you want to see how this works?” Lia asked her.

The woman didn’t respond.

“Do you not speak Spanish?”

“I do,” said the woman.

“Well, could you move back then?”

The woman took a baby step backward.

“Thank you,” said Lia sarcastically.

Her heart revved as she slipped her left hand to her belt and unhooked the replacement. She pulled the envelope into her lap, starting to hunch over so she could pretend to drop the envelope to the ground. Lia felt a pain in her throat, a sharp, stabbing pain, and for a moment her whole body was paralyzed.

The envelope teetered on her lap. Just then, Fernandez came into the vault. She turned to glance at him and saw the monitor’s head had turned as well. In an instant, Lia had the cards swapped and was tucking the suspect one under the belt clasp.

Her heart raced as she sealed the envelope with the new tape and sticker. Everything around her seemed tinged with a dull red light.

“You know what? I think we’re done for today,” she said, rising slowly. She handed Fernandez the envelope. “I’m starting to get some jet lag.”

“Not a problem.”

“Wait,” said one of the UN observers as Lia started for the door.

A fresh wave of anxiety froze Lia in her place.

“You didn’t sign out on our form,” said the monitor. “You signed in. Now you have to sign out.”

“Of course,” said Lia, hoping no one else noticed her hand was shaking.

9

“The post office attack was a success,” Keros told General Tucume. “Most successful. The government is being ridiculed.”

“Excellent,” Tucume told him.

“Four more car bombs will go off in Lima tonight. In Pisco—”

“I do not believe we need any more car bombs.”

Keros looked stricken.

“The plan,” said Keros. “As you outlined—”

“Yes, I know. But too many attacks will not help us. We have the effect we need. To go too far may damage us more than help.”

So far, twelve people had been killed in the various car bomb attacks in Lima blamed on Sendero Nuevo, the New Path guerrillas; another dozen or so had died in similar incidents in other cities. Tucume regretted this, as necessary as it was. Even though the bombs had been exploded in areas that belonged to the descendants of the conquistadors, there was no way to guarantee that they alone were the victims. He had ruled out attacks in areas heavily populated by natives and especially in Cusco and similar cities, where Inca blood remained strong.

The takeover of the Lima post office — orchestrated by Keros with the help of a few sympathetic police officers and hand-picked men from Tucume’s division who posed as the terrorists — seemed an apt climax of this phase of the campaign. It had gone perfectly, with no injuries among the hostages. A congressional member of Aznar’s party had “negotiated” their release, as well as the surrender of the guerrillas; this was mentioned prominently in all of the stories.

The next phase of Tucume’s plan to install Aznar would be even more dramatic. There was no need for more bombings.

“I will cancel the attacks, General,” said Keros.

“You’ve done well. I have every confidence in you. When our time comes, you will be richly rewarded. Your ancestors would be proud.”

Keros bowed his head rather quaintly and backed away a few steps before turning to leave the general’s hotel suite. Tucume had a very modest office at the army building in the city. It was bugged, so he never did real work there, certainly nothing requiring secrecy. Instead, he commandeered hotel suites and even whole floors when he had business in the city.

Tucume turned his attention back to the weather report he had received before Keros came in. Heavy rains were anticipated tomorrow in the area where Tucume’s military unit patrolled; beyond that the forecasts were unsettled. If heavy rains did come, some of the precarious mountain roads in the area would be washed out — including the road to the village where he had originally intended to “discover” the rebels’ secret weapon.

He reached down for his briefcase and took out a topographical map of the region. There were not many roads in the area to begin with, and so his choices were limited. He looked again at his favored target on the