Phantom Prospect - Alex Archer [49]
And then she bolted for the door.
Annja shook her head and watched as Jax came crawling up, aimed the gun and started to squeeze off a shot. Annja lunged at her gun hand and the sudden shot went awry, the bullet burying itself in the wood paneling across the room.
“Annja! Dammit!” Jax punched her again in the stomach and Annja dropped. She tried to raise her sword. Jax stomped on her arm. Annja groaned in pain. When she tried to roll over with the sword, Jax pointed the gun right into her face.
“Drop that sword!”
Annja released the blade, her fingers clutching reflexively, not wanting to let go of her only protection.
Jax cast a look sideways at the door and frowned. She looked back at Annja. “I told you to stay out of this. Now I’ve lost her.”
“You’re the traitor,” Annja said. “I guess I should have seen through the tough-gal demeanor.”
Jax sighed and helped Annja to her feet. “No, you idiot. I’m Garin’s operative on this boat. That one is the real problem. She’s with Henderson.”
Annja shook her head. “She just got through telling me all about Henderson and his organization.”
“She just finished bullshitting you.”
“Why should I believe you?”
Jax checked the slide on her pistol. “Because Garin told me you’d ask that question.”
“And did he give you an answer for me, as well?”
“No, but he did tell me that if you gave me any trouble, I should just beat the crap out of you and be done with it.”
Annja sniffed. “Sure sounds like him.”
“He also told me that you were the one who billed your trip to Japan on his credit card.”
“You could have found that out by hacking into a computer and getting his credit report. Give me something else.”
“Antarctica. Sound familiar?”
“What about it?”
“You were surprised to find him there, right?”
“Maybe.”
“And do you remember Bali? What you told him after you’d had a few too many glasses of wine?”
Annja frowned. She was sure no one else on the planet knew that. And Annja desperately wished she hadn’t said what she had that night. But it couldn’t be helped now.
Apparently.
Annja sighed. “So, who is she?”
“Sheila? Don’t know if that’s her real name or not, but she works for Henderson. She’s one of his top people. Her specialty is acting like she’s an amateur when, in fact, she’s not. And she can turn people against each other. Us included.”
“I nearly killed you.”
Jax shrugged. “I try not to take things like that personally. It tends to happen a fair amount, and if I held a grudge every time it did happen, I wouldn’t be the pleasant lass I am.”
Annja smiled. “Pleasant lass?”
“It’s a personality makeover as suggested by our mutual friend.”
“I see. Did he pluck you out of obscurity, too, in order to train you to be his superspy?”
Jax frowned. “Do I look like I need any training other than what I got in the school of hard knocks? Garin can kiss my ass if he thinks he knows something I can’t teach myself.”
Annja chuckled. “I’d love to see his reaction to that comment.”
“As long as he pays me, we get along fine. I know what side my bread is buttered on. You don’t need to worry about me.”
“But we do need to worry about Sheila.”
Jax shrugged. “She can’t go far. I broke her wrist.”
“I heard it.”
“She’s probably gone running back to her room. There aren’t a lot of other places she can go right now, are there? That’s one of the benefits to being out on the ocean.”
“A cornered rabbit can still put up a fight,” Annja said. “What if she’s got a weapon in there with her?”
“Like what? A pistol?” Jax shrugged. “She can use it on herself, if she wants. When the time comes to go in there and get her, I’ll be happy to wrest it from her dead hands.”
“I was thinking more in terms of explosives. She could blow up the boat.”
Jax shook her head. “I already sent Dave to root through her junk. He knows what to look for and I don’t.”
“Is he clear?”
Jax nodded. “I trust him.”
“All right, we’ve got to get to Hunter and Cole with this information. They need to know what’s going on.”
“Agreed.”
Jax and