Eve - Iris Johansen [74]
Joe leaned forward, his face close to Queen’s. “Do you know what you’ll lose if you don’t talk?” he said softly. “I’ll cut off your dick and stuff it where the sun doesn’t shine.”
“Joe, don’t bother your head with little things,” Catherine said, straight-faced. “I have a friend in Hong Kong who taught me much more sophisticated methods to get what we need.”
“Don’t get involved in this, Catherine,” Queen said. “Gallo is our problem. We’ll deal with him.”
“You didn’t deal with him,” Joe said. “Now it’s up to us.”
“Where is he?” Catherine asked softly.
“I don’t think he’ll hurt her.”
“But you don’t know.”
“He’s been interested enough to insist we give him reports on her.” He added quickly, “But he never made a move.”
“Until now,” Joe bit out. “You said he was crazy. What made you think he wouldn’t be volatile as hell?”
“Our psych people think that he’s keeping it under control these days. Though they say he has signs of dissociative identity disorder—a split personality.” He stared at Catherine accusingly. “Why couldn’t you leave it alone?”
“Where is he, Queen? You mentioned Utah. A lie?”
He shook his head. “I was thinking about turning you loose on him. I thought maybe I could convince my superiors to let you at him. I’m sick to death of Gallo.”
“Where in Utah?”
Queen didn’t answer.
“You will tell me, Queen,” Joe said softly. “You’ll tell me where he is, how to get to him, and everything else you know. You’ll either tell me now or later. You’ll be a lot clearer and more coherent if you choose now.”
Queen glanced at Catherine. “Stop him, or I’ll make things so hot for you that the CIA will throw your ass out so fast your head will spin.”
“Eve’s my friend, Queen.” She held his gaze. “You made a mistake. Correct it, and you’ll get out of this without too much damage. Where is Gallo?”
His glance shifted from her face to Joe’s. Then he looked away. “Oh, what the hell. What do I care? I’m not going to take any more punishment to protect that bastard. Gallo has a place in Mazkal, Utah. A big compound in the mountains. If he has Eve Duncan, he probably took her there. I’ll give you the address, but it’s guarded as tight as Fort Knox. You’re not going to get in.”
“I want to know everything you can tell me about access,” Catherine said. “We’ll get in.”
“And you’re going to tell Gallo that I told you?”
He was afraid, Catherine realized. Queen wasn’t a coward. Gallo must be formidable. The knowledge was making her uneasy. “It may not be necessary.”
“No, you can’t kill him,” Queen said. “He has to stay alive. We’re safe as long as he’s alive.”
“Meaning your branch of Army Intelligence?” Joe asked. “Then you may all start having to live on the edge.” He took a step back from Queen. “I want an address, a map, and anything else I can use against Gallo.” He picked up the robe on the floor and threw it to Queen. “Start moving.”
“I have to go to my office downstairs.” Queen shrugged into his robe. “I have a map we made of his compound about a year ago. At least what we knew about it. He’s a secretive bastard.”
“Now why would you want to go to that trouble?” Catherine said. “Planning a raid? Or were you going for extermination.” She followed him as he left the bedroom. “I’d say a raid. Gallo must have something on you. You’d want to get in and make sure the evidence wasn’t left carelessly about if something unforeseen happened to him.” She glanced over her shoulder. Joe was going through the drawers on the nightstand. Smart move. Queen might want to keep anything of importance close to him. She followed Queen down the stairs. “What does he have on you?”
“Screw you. I’m giving you what you want. That’s all you’ll get from me.” He turned on the light in the office. “I can still get out of this if I work it right. And who knows, Gallo may kill you.”
“You can always hope.” She watched him go over to the desk and unlock the drawers. “But you’d better hope Eve is still alive when we get there. Otherwise, Joe is going to explode, and no one may come out alive. He’ll go nuts.”
“Another