David Lindsey - The Rules of Silence

“The first order of business for us, ”he said, standing at the end of the table, the windows overlooking the dark orchard behind him, “is to find out how many people Luquin actually has working with him on this operation. In setting up this meeting, they'll have to put their communications and security people into play. We'll watch and count. That's all.”

He took another drink of water and a deep breath. He looked at his watch and went on.

“We're at a huge disadvantage here, ”he said. “We can't lose sight of that. And we only have one shot at getting this count-”

“Explain the disadvantage, ”Rita interrupted.

Burden looked at her. Titus thought he could see him swallowing his irritation. Then he nodded.

“This is a kind of operation that Luquin has refined over years of experience, ”he said. “His people have probably been here several weeks doing advance work, which is how your house got its electronic surveillance. His operational point man is probably Jorge Macias, a former intelligence officer in the Mexican Federal Directorate of National Security. For years Macias secretly informed on intelligence matters to Luquin. And Macias has connections in the U.S. He's probably got four or five teams on this operation, all compartmentalized, all perfectly used to Macias's style of doing business. His people are rested, well rehearsed, and wired.

“Now, here's the way our side looks: I've been brought in at the last minute and have no intelligence on the ground. I'm having to build two crews, literally overnight, by flying people in here from half a dozen different cities, and I'm working against the clock. My people are excellent, but there are only a few of them. They're stretched as thin as it's possible to stretch. They've had to lose sleep to get here, and they won't be able to slow down or stop until this is finished. They're working under intense pressure that Luquin's people don't have to contend with because Luquin's the one who's creating the pressure. He's dictated the rules-as we've discussed, ”he said again to Titus, “and he's set a schedule. If you, and therefore we, don't keep to his schedule, there'll be consequences. We've already seen a tragic example of that.”

All of this was laid out in a smooth, clipped monologue, and although he was polite, Titus could see Burden's impatience at being asked to spell it out.

Titus glanced at Rita, who was sitting halfway down the table. A glass of Scotch sat on a magazine in front of her. She was tense and concentrating on Burden as if she were reading his mind and if she let up even a little bit, she'd lose the link.

Burden looked at her. He was waiting to see if his response had satisfied her, but Titus thought he saw more than that, too. He remembered the portraits of women in Burden's study. The man appreciated women, and that sensibility didn't go away, apparently, because of a little stress and danger. Titus glanced at Rita. She understood what was happening. Handsome women learned to understand that look from early girlhood.

“Let's talk about what's going to happen in the next few hours, ”Burden said. “When you leave here, Titus, you'll be pretty much on your own. Obviously we can't afford to wire you. No use to bug the Rover, they're going to separate you from that. And even though our chase cars will be with you every moment, they're going to be giving you a wide berth. They won't risk detection, even if they lose sight of you.”

“What? ”Rita gasped. “You can't send him to this meeting like that.”

“We have to, ”Burden said calmly, and then looked at Titus for help in dealing with her.

Rita was looking at Titus, too, her eyes flashing with anger and a kind of fear that she wasn't even admitting to herself.

“Think about it, Rita, ”Titus said. “Luquin wants the money. I control the money. Believe me, I'm in no danger from Luquin. In fact, I may be the only person not in danger. My safety's not an issue here.”

“Then what the hell is the issue?”

“Avoiding detection, ”Burden said. “We can not be discovered. The only-I repeat-the only slight advantage we have in this operation is that they don't know we're here. They have no idea that anyone's on to them.”

Rita stared at him. “I understand the rationale, ”she said evenly, “but this isn't a tactical exercise to me. This is my husband meeting alone with a killer.”

Burden bent his head and wiped his sweaty forehead on the shoulder of his shirtsleeve.

“Mrs. Cain”-he locked his eyes on her for emphasis-“to be brutally honest, sooner or later you're more likely to be in danger than your husband.”

“We've talked about her going away, a safe house somewhere, ”Titus interjected, “and-”

“And it's a stupid suggestion, ”Rita interrupted, cutting her eyes at Burden. “And I wouldn't do it in a thousand years. Or sooner or later. Forget it.”

“Look, ”Burden said, “I know that this seems… outrageously risky to you, Mrs. Cain, I know that. But think of this: Everything you see during the next few days is going to be startling to you. This is a world you've never even imagined before, but it's the world I live in. I'm intimate with it. I see it differently from you. I read the developing events from an entirely different perspective. ”He paused. “To be frank, Mrs. Cain, you have to trust me. You really don't have any other choice.”

“I don't know if I believe that, ”she said quickly.

“Rita, Garcia and I have already been through this, ”Titus said. “In detail. This is the way we're going. It's too late, and far, far too risky-in terms of other people's lives-for us to change courses now.”

“In detail, ”she said. “That's great. ”She turned to Burden. “And what happens if your people are spotted? What kind of a position does that put Titus in then? What preparations have you made to deal with something like that? You've just spent the last twenty minutes explaining to us how you're at a huge disadvantage in… in this… operation, and now you're wanting me to believe that Titus is going to go off somewhere and talk with this… insane killer, and you want me to believe that he… that he's not in danger? Do you think I'm an idiot?”

Titus studied Rita closely. He could tell that she had reached a point where it was difficult for her to distinguish between her anger and her fear. It seemed that the two emotions were now so closely intertwined within her that they had become an entirely new and hybrid passion. Even as strongminded and self-confident as she was, she had always trusted his judgment in most high-stakes situations. But it seemed that she was finding this one hard to go along with.

Fighting tears, she took another drink, but Titus could tell that she was swallowing a lot more than Scotch.

In the silence that followed, Burden ran his fingers through his hair, gave the moment an opportunity to settle. To give him credit, he seemed genuinely empathetic to her predicament.

“I can't undo your misfortune, Mrs. Cain, ”he said. “I can't make the danger go away or disarm the evil you're encountering. It would be cruel for me to pretend otherwise.”

Rita looked away, and Burden glanced at Titus for direction. Titus nodded for him to go on.

“You need to understand, ”Burden said, addressing Titus, “that even if we lose visual contact with you, we're going to know where you are at every moment. It's not like you're dropping off the edge of the earth.”

Standing, he pulled a small plastic packet of breath fresheners out of his pocket and came down the other side of the table from Rita. He sat next to Titus, putting the plastic packet on the table in front of him.

“Just before I came in here, ”he said, looking at both of them, “we pretty much confirmed where Luquin is staying.”