Iris Johansen - Dark Summer

"We have to hedge our bets. Marrok is clever. There's a remote possibility he could still come out on top." His smile faded. "And he's unpredictable. Just when you think he's cornered, he manages to slip away and strike like a snake. He proved that in Ethiopia."

"Ethiopia? What are you talking about?"

"All I asked of Marrok was that he do a simple job. After all, he owed it to us."

She remembered something Marrok had said. "Your pound of flesh?"

"What a gory phrase."

"No more gory than what you'd inflict on those dogs."

"I told you, I'd try to be humane."

"How hard would you try? As hard as Marrok?"

"I'm afraid not. One has to be objective, and Marrok is all emotion and no objectivity."

She had a sudden memory of Ned gazing up at her with eyes that were full of love and sadness and strange wisdom. She said curtly, "Screw your objectivity."

"That's what I would expect of a woman of your background. But in the end I'm sure you'll see the light. It's the only sensible method to secure a valuable commodity like-" He broke off, his head lifting. "I think I hear the chopper. I'm afraid our little discussion is at an end. But it was enlightening for both of us, wasn't it? It's always good to have an understanding."

"Yes, I do understand you, Lincoln."

He nodded. "Then I'll say good night. Tell Marrok I'll see him in the morning. Since my job is to stand by, I'll stand by here and await developments."

"Why not tell him yourself?"

"It won't be news to him. We spoke while you were taking your nap. He wants me to go, but that's not an option now that there's a chance that Danner may take the dogs."

"And by staying here you're hoping to find the location of the other dogs."

"There's always that possibility. Or there's sometimes a break in the ranks, and I may get a little help." He turned away. "But I'm not going to get that help from you, am I?"

"Not one iota of help."

He sighed. "Too bad. But it's not unexpected. You damned animal lovers have been a great source of disappointment to me in this trying situation." The screen door closed behind him.

My God, what a conniving son of a bitch. She could see why Bridget had said Marrok was used to walking tightropes when even his supposed ally was waiting for his chance to slip in the knife. Even Lincoln's frankness had been aimed in only one direction. He had been testing the waters, observing her reactions, trying to find a weakness.

"Devon."

She turned to see Marrok crossing the paddock toward her. She felt a rush of relief. She hadn't known she had felt uneasy about his absence. It couldn't be because she was worried about him. It was just that he seemed to be the center of all this madness swirling about her, then he was suddenly gone. She started down the stairs. "I was just going down to the bunkhouse." She bent down to pet Ned, who had run to her. "Hello, boy, want to go down and see Gracie?"

"I'm sure he does. I'll go with you."

She straightened. "So that your guards won't have to stop me?"

He smiled. "I have to protect them. You threatened to deck them."

She had forgotten that threat. It seemed a long time ago. "I don't see them anywhere around."

"They're on watch. I told them to keep a low profile." He paused. "I saw Lincoln go into the house."

"Yes. He told me you'd probably gone to check up on the dogs. Are they okay?"

"Fine. I just had to hand out a warning that I'd be moving the dogs and see if their caretakers wanted to back out of the job."

"Did they?"

"No, they're crazy about the dogs. They wouldn't desert them." He paused. "I imagine Lincoln was talking about more than my trip. No matter what he promises, don't trust him, Devon."

"What do you think he promised me?"

"I don't know. To get you away from here, to put you in a witness protection program."

"He didn't promise me anything. He just talked about you and your total inability to take charge of the panacea." She looked straight ahead. "It seems you have no code and are completely uncivilized. You don't play by the rules."

"That's right."

"What happened in Ethiopia?"

"What did he tell you happened?"

"Nothing. He just mentioned it. But he was very pissed."

Marrok smiled with satisfaction. "Good."

"Are you going to tell me?"

"Why not? It will just give you another example of how Lincoln is right about me not playing the game properly. Two years ago, Lincoln sent me and Ned to Ethiopia on a nasty little job. It wasn't the first time, but this one was particularly ugly."

"Lincoln's pound of flesh?"

"That covers it. Even after MI6 came on board and agreed to shelter us, I knew that there would be a price. The prospect of taking over the panacea was too vague. They wanted immediate gratification. Ned was a valuable commodity and should be used to the hilt."

"How?"

"Sometimes the balance of power in a country rests on a particular person or event. In Ethiopia, MI6 was backing and promoting Zafur Carmak to eventually take over the country. He was a bandit whose primary income came from stealing food supplies donated by various countries and charity organizations and selling them on the black market. Some of the other things he did made Idi Amin look like a saint. But MI6 thought they could control him, and that it would be the way to control the flow of terrorists using Ethiopia as a training ground."

"Dear God." She had seen photos of the starving children of Ethiopia. "What kind of a trade-off is that?"

"Not an unusual one." His lips hardened. "But this time Lincoln had the bright idea of bringing Ned and me in to lend a little assistance."

"Why?"

"Zafur was dying. He had AIDS. He wasn't going to last another two weeks. Lincoln and his team would have had to find and groom another scumbag to use. He flew us into the country and had us driven to Zafur's palace. Ned and I spent the night in his room."

"Ned cured him?"

"Zafur was on his feet and spitting out orders to his men when I left. It was dawn, and Lincoln's men drove me over those parched cracked plains to the helicopter. It was a mistake. In the daylight, you could see the hundreds of huddled families by the roadside. Skin and bones. Malnourished children with swollen bellies. Flies everywhere. I made the van stop once to let Ned and me out and we walked among them. I thought maybe it would help a little. But Lincoln's men hustled us back into the van after twenty minutes. That's not what we'd been brought in the country for, and they wanted to get us out." He leaned down and stroked Ned's silky, black head. "You wanted to stay, didn't you, boy? I did, too. I looked at those people, and I remembered Zafur and how Ned had been used to probably put him back in action so that he could steal more food. It made me angry. Very, very, angry."

"What did you do?"

"Nothing. I got on the plane and left the country."

She stared at him in disbelief.

He shrugged. "There was nothing to do then. It would have been an exercise in futility. I took Ned back to Bridget."

"That wouldn't have made Lincoln pissed at you."

He smiled. "I waited two weeks, then I went back to Ethiopia. I stalked Zafur like the hyena he was and killed the son of a bitch. What Ned and I had given, I took away. Poor Lincoln, I blew all his plans for Zafur to hell. He was a bit upset with me."

"What did he do?"

"Raved and ranted. I listened until he stopped sputtering, then I asked him to tell me which one of us was the real savage." He stopped as they reached the bunkhouse. "He's sent us out on other jobs since then, but he's been very careful at choosing them."

"And never stopped hating your guts."

"There was a certain amount of humiliation connected with the fiasco. Lincoln doesn't like to be humiliated." His gazed shifted to her face. "And I don't like the dogs or the shi'i'go to be misused. Ethiopia reinforced my skepticism at the idea that it was safe to trust anyone else with them."