Blood Trust - Eric van Lustbader [68]
“Then you hide your terror well.”
“I’ve had a lot of practice, believe me.” As if realizing she had possibly revealed too much, she launched into another topic before he could respond. “What were you doing up in the Tetovo area?”
Thatë stared straight ahead. “I was sent by the people who trained me. Russians. Grupperovka.” His eyes cut to her briefly. When she gave no visible reaction, he said, “You know that word?”
Alli nodded. “Yeah. Mobsters, whole families of ’em.”
He appeared somewhat surprised. His eyes reflected the dim lighting of the jet’s interior, turning them as glassy as marbles.
“I’ve been to Moscow,” she said. “Why did the grupperovka send you here?”
“To train with Xhafa’s freedom fighters.”
Alli was aware of the slight hesitation; she didn’t need to see his face to know that he was lying.
* * *
PAULL SHOOK his head. “What gives me pause is why you and I aren’t on the same page.”
“I have a feeling about him, Dennis.”
“Jack, he’s the fucking enemy.”
“If you believe that, then kill him. Right here. Shoot him in the back of the head like the Russians do. If he’s the enemy surely he deserves nothing less.”
The two men stood toe to toe, their eyes locked, their wills silently battling. The spangled sword was gone. In its place was a sky compressed into layers of low cloud. A chill wind whipped through the trees, causing a great rustling, as if an armada of insects was moving through them. Paull had flicked off the pen flash. There was almost no light. The thick air made it seem as if they were on the ocean floor. Somewhere, not far off, an owl hooted.
“I’m not giving in, Jack. And I’m not going to kill him,” Paull said. “We’ll let him go when we get back here. Until then, the pilot and crew are more than qualified to keep him under wraps.”
Jack took a step closer, his voice lowered. “You said you trust me. Well, I have a feeling about him, Dennis. I think he can help us get to Xhafa.”
“That’s why we have a geotech department.”
“Has any one of them been to Macedonia, let alone anywhere near Tetovo?”
“Not necessary,” Paull snapped. “They have computers—”
Jack leaned in. “Dennis, don’t you get it? Computers don’t mean shit out here. This is the wilderness, this is a zone that’s redder than red. Don’t you think the SKOPES unit relied on computer-compiled data?”
Paull’s mouth was a stubborn line. “I can’t hear you.”
“You haven’t been in the field for years, so don’t be a fool, Dennis. Fate has given us an edge the SKOPES unit never even dreamed of, and you want to ignore it?”
Paull’s mouth opened to reply, then he shut it with a snap. He let out his breath slowly and deliberately, as if he were mentally counting to ten to calm himself down.
“This is so fucked, Jack.”
“Maybe it is, maybe it isn’t.”
Paull looked as if he wanted to hit Jack. “We follow my route. Period.”
“You’re not thinking straight, Dennis.”
“He stays right here with the plane.”
Jack read the stubbornness on Paull’s face and understood that his boss needed to feel in charge. This was his first field mission in a number of years; he was understandably nervous. He’d worked hard on the details of his chosen plan; deviating from it now would seem rash and dangerous to him. He couldn’t win this fight. Pushing Paull further now would only damage their relationship.
“Whatever you say.”
Paull’s finger pressed against Jack’s chest. “This is on you. If he steps out of line, my men have orders to subdue him but not to harm him, because you’re the one who’s going to put a bullet in the back of his head.” He glared into Jack’s face. “Are we clear?”
“Absolutely, but Alli is coming with us.”
Paull hooked his thumb over his shoulder. “Do you really think I’d risk the life of my friend’s daughter?”
“She’ll be a help to us,” Jack said. “She brings unique—”
“No.”
“She can take care of herself.”
“So we’ve seen.”
Jack thought a moment. “How about this. If she can take you off your feet, she comes with us. If you put her down, she stays.”
Paull snorted. “You can’t be serious. She’s only a wisp of a thing.”
“You’re not afraid, are