Iris Johansen - Deadlock

He was hurting. She could sense the pain behind that tough facade. He and this Karif had been close, and his friend had been taken from him. "Staunton tortured him?"

"Oh, yes. And he wouldn't have broken unless it had gotten- Staunton evidently is exceptionally talented in that direction."

"Yes, he is." She drew a deep, shaky breath. "Joel…"

"I don't want to talk about your Joel. I don't want to talk about Karif. I want to talk about Staunton. I've been trying to be consider¬ate, trying to let the memories dull, trying to keep you from going off the deep end. I thought we had time to let you heal." He gazed di¬rectly in her eyes. "That's over. Time's up. Start thinking. Start re¬membering. If it hurts, it hurts. I want details. I want clues. Staunton never expected you to get out of those mountains alive, so he probably wasn't as discreet as he might have been. Did he talk to you?"

"Sometimes. But it was usually… He talked about what he was doing to Joel."

"Bastard. But he could have interspersed other information. Sift through it."

Hard. Sharp. Merciless. This was the Garrett she had seen those first moments in that tent, when he had killed Ali. All darkness, all lethal skill.

It shouldn't disturb her like this. It was that darkness and skill that she had wanted, what she had embraced. "I'll try to do what you want me to do."

"If you need help, I'll give it to you. I'll probe, I'll ask questions."

She gazed at him in shock.

"Gloves are off," he repeated. "You help me, I help you. None of it will be pretty."

"But in the end, we'll find Staunton." "That's not good enough." "What?"

"We'll find Staunton. We'll find the man who hired Staunton. And I'll kill them both." He added softly. "I'm hungry. I want it all."

Emily had not thought beyond Staunton. He had completely filled her horizon for so long that everything else connected to him was blurred. Yet wicked as Staunton was, that evil had been bought and paid for by someone just as evil.

"And you want it all, too," Garrett said. "You've just been so wounded that you've refused to think about it. I'd bet that within two days of ridding the world of Staunton you'd be going after the man who hired him." He smiled faintly. "But you'd be much better going after the lure that would gather them both in at once."

"Zelov's hammer."

He nodded. "You were ready to go after it to find Staunton. It's still the best game in town." It s no game.

His smile faded. "No, it's not. But you'll find sometimes it's better to pretend it is. Too much intensity can cause you to make mistakes." His gaze shifted to the window. "We'll be in Athens soon. It's not safe to stay there. We'll take care of Irana, then take off."

"Where?"

"That's up to Dardon. He came up with a few answers tonight be¬fore I got the call from Staunton. It's pretty weird, but it's all we've got. We'll see if he can pull anything else from his sources."

"About Staunton?"

"No, about Zelov." He shook his head. "Later. I don't know enough myself right now. We'll talk about it after we reach Athens."

GARRETT'S PHONE RANG THREE minutes after he set the heli¬copter down at a small airport just outside of Athens.

"Where are you?" Dardon asked. "Irana's on the rampage. One of her friends on the island called her and asked her if she was all right. An explosion?"

"Staunton blew up the hospital. We're in Athens. Are you still at the dock?"

"No, Irana called the Mother Superior of St. Cecelia's Hospital where she used to work, and the patients are on their way there now. We're in an ambulance." He spoke to someone in the background. "She wants to talk to you."

"We should not have left you," Irana said when she came on the line. "Are you hurt?"

"No, and neither is Emily. You did exactly what you should have done." He paused. "The hospital is gone. I'll build you another one, Irana."

"If God wills. He might have had a reason for taking this one away."

"I don't think God had anything to do with it."

"You don't know. Maybe he wanted you to have a reason to build me another one with a better diagnostic unit. I've been thinking per¬haps I needed one." She paused. "There's nothing left?"

"I didn't get a close look. But I'd bet Staunton was very thorough."

"Sad." She was silent. "I want to see Emily. I'm not sure what this will do to her."

"Neither am I. She'll just have to survive it. She seems to be coping." "I want to see her. I'm going to St. Cecelia. Will you meet me there?"

"Yes, but not for long. It's not going to be safe for you or us, Irana."

"We'll talk when you get there." She hung up.

Garrett looked at Emily as he pressed the disconnect. "She's wor¬ried about you. She's regarding the destroying of the hospital as an act of God, but she wants to make sure you're okay."

"Cosset," Emily said. "She wants to cosset me." The words brought back the memory of that day on the beach. The sun on the water, Irana's radiant smile. For the first time that night she felt an easing, a lessening of the darkness. "And she's not forgiven you for giving her those old Jane Austen books."

He smiled. "It was really funny until she caught on. It was like lis¬tening to someone out of Pride and Prejudice."

"I would have found a way to pay you back."

"Oh, she did. I'll tell you about it sometime." His smile faded. "But in the meantime you can concentrate on convincing Irana she can't stay here with her patients. She wasn't about to commit."

"I'LL BE WITH YOU IN A MINUTE," Irana said as she strode down the hospital hall beside an old man on a gurney. She was hold¬ing his hand and smiling down at him. "As soon as I get Andros set¬tled. Strange places are always a little scary, aren't they, Andros?"

Not with Irana beside you, Emily thought as she watched Irana disappear into a room at the end of the corridor. The woman's hair was tousled, her clothing rumpled, but she still exuded the energy and confidence that made everyone sure that everything was going to be okay. "She seems to have taken charge."

"Yes, what did you expect?" Dardon asked as he came out of the admittance room. "Irana is a law unto herself. The hospital didn't want to take in her patients, but Irana wouldn't hear of them turning her down. She said she knew they'd get the best care here." He looked at Garrett. "And it may be hard to pry her away from them."

"Hard or easy. She can't stay here. She'd be a weapon in Staunton's hands. I won't tolerate that." His gaze went to the door through which Irana had disappeared. "Find a place that's safe for her. I want her so sur¬rounded by guards that she'll stumble over them if she turns around."

"Anything else?"

"Zelov. Earlier tonight you said you had something on him."

He nodded. "I'll give you the report as soon as I get to a printer." His eyes were shining. "Things have started to escalate, haven't they?"

"You might say that," Garrett said dryly. "That should please you."

Dardon grimaced. "I don't mean to be insensitive. It's just that I have a low boredom threshold."

"I know. So does Ferguson. He almost nailed you because of it. Bored or not, you stay close to Irana until you get her secured."

"Will Emily be with her?"

"No way." Emily shook her head. "I won't be sent away with Irana. No more hiding."

"Moderate hiding," Garrett said. "Unless you want the paparazzi to camp on our doorstep." He watched Irana walking toward them down the hall. "Now let's see how Irana is going to react. The explosion at the hospital might be minor in comparison." He raised his voice as Irana approached. "Everyone all settled?"

"As well as could be expected. The sick don't take well to change," Irana said. "Their bodies are already in turmoil. But the sisters here will take good care of them."