Iris Johansen - Silent Thunder

Hannah slowly nodded. "I know the U.S. fighter pilots' identities are often kept secret."

"Of course. Otherwise, a country's enemies could cripple it with just a few strike teams to assassinate the most critical personnel. Vladzar was a name that was on the Silent Thunder command logs for years, but he never existed. I'm surprised they bothered to create a biography and history for him, but that may have been a late addition for the benefit of your museumgoers. The last thing they'd want to reveal is that the sub's real commander left in such disgrace."

"In disgrace?"

"Everything else I told you is the truth. But Pavski had the GRU on my heels from the moment I escaped. I managed to stage my death in a boating accident trying to escape the Shore Patrol in Belarus." He made a face. "Naturally, my body was never recovered."

"Ivanov," she prompted.

"I wanted to try to get my stepbrother out of Russia and tracked him down. He was wounded by GRU agents while we were on the run and later died. Later I took his identity. I don't know how the hell they found out that the real Ivanov was dead." His gaze narrowed. "Or maybe I do. Pavski may have tipped them. It would make sense that he'd want to stir up as much trouble for me with the CIA as he could."

"He knows who you are?"

"He didn't know right away, but I did a good job of cleaving my way through a number of his associates and goon squad. He might have gotten a description of me at some point and put two and two together. He probably did. I'm good, but I'm not the invisible man." He smiled. "And I'm sorry I'm not the father figure you imagined."

There was no one who looked less phantomlike than the man standing before her, and he was definitely not fatherly. "It's true? You're not bullshitting me?"

"I'm not bullshitting." He looked down at the navigational drawings. "You gave to me. I gave to you." He turned to leave. "Good night, Hannah."

"Wait." She paused. "All those books in the cabin. They were your books, right? That wasn't a lie."

"They were my books." He lifted his brows. "Why?"

"I just wondered. Good night, Kirov."

He didn't move, his gaze on her face. "Ah, you're still trying to identify me with the type of captain you wanted to command Silent Thunder ."

"Perhaps. I found a photo of a woman in one of those books. Mira?"

He nodded. "She gave me a new photo every time I put to sea. She said if I was going to go off with her greatest rival, she needed to show me a face of infinite variety."

"She was beautiful."

"Inside and out. I didn't deserve her." He opened the door. "And for an arrogant bastard like me to admit that is a tribute in itself."

She sat there staring thoughtfully at the door after it had closed behind him. He probably was as arrogant as he claimed. Command required a certain amount of ego and arrogance, and Kirov would have been a great leader. He had drive and intelligence and the ability to make smart decisions quickly.

And his ego hadn't gotten in the way when she'd designated him to support status on the LISA , she remembered. He hadn't liked it, but he'd accepted the best course and stepped down.

It was strange thinking of him as captain of that sub. She had a sudden memory of the expression on his face as he stood in the control room. Passion. Nostalgia. Power. Hell, perhaps his wife had a right to be jealous of Silent Thunder .

And she shouldn't be sitting here analyzing the mystery of Kirov. The evening had been exhausting and emotional, and she had learned more about the man than she wanted to know. She needed to keep him at a distance, and it would be difficult to do that now that she was beginning to realize how he thought, what made him tick. She stood up and moved toward the bathroom. A shower and then bed. Call Cathy?

No, she had phoned her before they had started for Florida, and it was better to call with a fait accompli than a progress report. Of course, she could tell her about Niler's pretty necklace, and that would really freak her out.

Just go to bed and forget Kirov and Cathy and everything else for a few hours, she thought wearily. Being with Kirov was like living in an exotic third-world country where nothing was comfortable or predictable. Just when she thought she was on solid ground, he pulled the rug out from under her as he had tonight.

But tomorrow, she'd be cool and steady and ready for anything he had in store for her.

Tomorrow…

I haven't found out anything yet, Kirov," Eugenia said when she answered the call Kirov made when he got back to his room. "Don't bother me."

"I'm not nagging. I'm going to send you a picture on my phone. I'm circling the symbol I want you to trace. The rest are navigational symbols."

"And this one isn't?"

"No. I'm not sure what it is yet."

"And I'm supposed to find out." Eugenia sighed. "Now I'm a decoder?"

"At least try to point me in the right direction. No news?"

"I managed to find out that Pavski's contact in the GRU is Danzyl. He's clever, money-hungry, and lethal. He's looking for a statue."

"Statue?"

"I thought it was pretty weird. But that's what he's been researching in his computer. I tapped it, and so far he's coming up with nothing. I'm wondering if maybe Pavski found a picture of Heiser in front of a statue. What do you think?"

"It's possible."

"It's my best guess so far. This afternoon Danzyl went to Heiser's old apartment building. No statue."

"The symbol will reach you a few minutes after I hang up." He paused. "We're running out of time."

"Okay. Okay. I'll work on it." She paused. "It's strange being here this time, Kirov. Lately, when I've come to Moscow, it's been as a high-powered businesswoman. This time I feel… déjà vu." She chuckled. "Of course, I have been here before and doing these same things. But it seems like another life. At first, I was a little uneasy."

"And now?"

"I'm beginning to like it. It's exhilarating. I thought I was done with the old life, but there's something about walking on the edge…"

"Not too close to the edge, Eugenia."

"Never. I like living too much." She added briskly, "Now hang up, and I'll study your pretty little symbol. It probably only takes a keen eye and a brilliant mind like mine to make sense of it."

Kirov smiled as he hung up the phone. Eugenia would probably be up half the night puzzling over the symbol once she saw it. She was curious as a cat.

His smile faded as he looked down at the piece of stationery. He half expected there to be tears on the paper. Hannah's tears.

Stop brooding. He'd done what he'd had to do, dammit. Now get the symbol to Eugenia and try to make the reason for those tears have meaning.

PANAMA CITY

9:00 P.M .

I've logged my fair share of time in car backseats along these beaches." Niler smiled. "I far prefer that activity to doing this."

"Taking a phone call from a mass murderer?" Hannah asked. "I'd say anything would be preferable."

They were sitting in the rental car on a lonely stretch of beach as Kirov tested the connection between Niler's cell phone and the three-way splitter he had bought at Radio Shack that afternoon. Niler sat in back, setting up the proxy server connection on Kirov's laptop. He wore a telephone headset, while Kirov and Hannah sat in front wearing simple stereo headphones.

"Remember, Pavski said he may call," Niler said. "Koppel wouldn't give me any guarantees."

"For your sake, I hope he comes through," Kirov said.

"Was that a threat?"

"Only in an economic sense. The bonus I promised you is riding on it."

"No guarantees." Niler leaned back in his seat. "And I should tell you that I may be moving away after we conclude our business this weekend. You can count me out."