Cliff Ryder - Black Widow

Kate nodded. "She knows she can't protect them."

"That's what I was thinking, too," Samantha replied. "She's setting herself up as a target."

"Or going to MI-6 for help."

"I don't think that has happened."

"MI-6 could provide a bodyguard or take her parents into protective custody," Kate said.

"You and I both know bodyguards only raise the cost of an action. They can't negate it over the long run. Taking her parents into protective custody would reveal what she does."

"Which her parents don't know."

"Correct."

Kate thought about that. "Obviously she's comfortable in her skills to protect herself."

"And she's convinced that whoever is after her is after her alone. She's curious."

"Curiosity killed the cat."

"True. But now we're curious. We knew she would eventually spot the tails we put on her, but we thought she might go to MI-6. She's quite confident in acting independently. That's a quality we value, given the nature of the assignment we're going to ask her to take on," Samantha said.

Kate leaned back in her chair. "She's used to keeping secrets. Her parents don't know what she does. They didn't know what her brother did."

"She's trying to keep it that way."

"Why?" Kate trusted Samantha's judgment when it came to understanding young women.

"She wants a home," Samantha said. "Someplace inviolate where her work doesn't overshadow everything."

Kate opened Ajza ManaeVs computer file and flipped through the images she had of the young woman. Most of them were around the family shop or at corporate functions where she maintained her cover. She looked happy and outgoing. Judging from the pictures, she and her brother were close to each other and to their parents.

"Keeping secrets makes for a hard life," Kate said.

"Especially when you're keeping them from those you love," Samantha agreed. "Ajza told the MI-5 operative that whoever sent him has until ten tomorrow morning my time to contact her."

"How are you supposed to contact her?" Kate asked.

"Through a chat room at an Internet porn site."

"Lovely."

"I thought so. But those sites are heavily protected. After all, most of their clients can't afford to be found out."

"And traffic will be high on those sites."

"Yes. With lots of linkers and people getting off and on — no pun intended."

"She'll use a cyber cafe, of course," Kate said.

"Of course. I would."

"I can put some of our techs onto the site. They can try to ferret her out for you," Kate said.

"Do it. I want to know how good she is."

"We need to know how good she is."

"I'll talk with her, then get back to you," Samantha said.

"Do that." Kate said goodbye and broke the connection.

Kate drummed her fingers on her desktop. "I'm beginning to think Ajza Manaev is too good at what she does," she muttered to herself.

Leicester

Ajza leaned into the phone booth at the rail station. The building trapped the noise of conversations and the arriving and departing trains. She glanced at the digital clock over the entranceway to the boarding area and matched it against her watch.

Surely it wasn't too early. Trevor had had hours to work with the information she'd given him. Less than four hours remained before she was supposed to be contacted.

She dropped coins into the slot, punched in a number she'd memorized when she'd first called Trevor, and waited. He picked up on the first ring.

Ajza took solace in Trevor's familiar voice. He was a childhood friend of both her and Ilyas. For a time he'd lived in Leicester, then migrated to London with them when they all attended university. Where Ilyas had majored in history and art, and Ajza had majored in business, Trevor had gotten a degree in computer programming.

Incredibly bright and talented, with the most inquisitive nature Ajza had ever seen, Trevor could have taught the classes he'd taken. Only the constant scams and pranks he'd performed at university had kept him there. He'd become the bane of the computer department because he'd been so intelligent and enjoyed the rivalry and competition as they'd struggled to find some way to expel him.

On more than one occasion, he'd admitted his friendship with Ilyas and Ajza had barely lifted the university experience up to tolerable levels.

"You are making do, I trust?" he asked.

"Yes."

"No lurkers or other dreadfuls about?"

Ajza scanned the passengers who filled the station. "Not unless they're very skilled," she replied.

Neither she nor Ilyas had told Trevor that they worked for MI-6. But he'd kept watch over them and knew they were more than they let on. Besides being very talented with computers, Trevor was a keen observer of people. He'd known exactly when Ilyas and Ajza had decided to keep secrets from him.

Sometimes she felt guilty for not telling Trevor. She knew, when it came to secrets, Trevor could keep quiet better than anyone.

"Let's hope that they're not," Trevor said.

"I haven't much time," Ajza apologized.

"No problem, love. I've got the information you requested."

"Was he really MI-5?"

"Yes. I hacked into their network and confirmed the ID. I also went back through his files and matched up details with news stories. He's the real deal."

Ajza let out a breath. That wasn't a surprise, but it was off-putting all the same.

"So what have you done to raise the ire of MI-5?"

"I don't know."

"Love," Trevor said more quietly and with less-boyish enthusiasm than before, "if you're in trouble with this lot, it can be quite bad."

"I'm not in any trouble that I know of."

"Then why are these blokes interested in you?"

"I don't know." Ajza changed the subject. "What about my parents?"

"They're fine. I broke into the security cameras there. Your pop has already opened the store. He's still a workaholic, I see."

Some of the tension in Ajza's stomach eased. "Keep an eye on them for me, please," she said.

"Of course. You know, if you need a hole to drop out of sight in, I've got a couple."

Not all of Trevor's business interests were exactly legitimate. He sometimes ran computer scams.

"Thank you. That's very generous. I'll keep it in mind. But at the moment I prefer to work this out alone."

"As you wish, love. But do look before you leap. I haven't got many friends, and I should hate to lose another."

"You won't lose me."

"Didn't think we'd lose Ilyas, love, but he was gone before we knew it."

Ajza didn't say anything.

"Sorry, love," Trevor whispered. "I didn't want to have to point that out."

"It's all right. But I think I'm better off out here alone right now."

From the moment they'd learned of Ilyas's death, Trevor had scoured the Internet for information regarding his murder. Trevor had invaded government databases and almost brought disaster upon himself. In the end, he'd had to admit defeat. That was something he didn't easily do.

Ajza checked the time. "I've got to go."

"All right, love. But if there's anything else you need, call me."

"I will." She thanked him and hung up the phone, then walked to the boarding area. Her mind raced. She had to trust that her message had been received. At least, for the moment, her parents were being left out of whatever mess she was in.

* * *

London

Ajza stepped off the train at St Pancras station and glanced around warily. Although she felt somewhat secure in the crowd of people rushing to work, Ajza's paranoia ticked steadily inside her. She discovered it was easier to be on her guard while undercover than at home with her parents.

In Istanbul, everyone she'd met had been a potential enemy. None of the terrain had looked overly familiar. That had been true of several assignments she'd drawn while working for MI-6.