Iris Johansen - Stalemate

She frowned. "What are you saying? You agreed to make arrangements for us."

"And I would have done it. If there had been no other way." He grimaced. "But I was going to try to persuade you to stay and help me."

"What?"

"I have the reconstruction and that will be pretty convincing. The shock value will be enormous. But a man in denial like Armandariz needs more than a jolt. Three days ago I sent him your dossier. It's impressive. Your honesty and professional ethics are above reproach. I gave him time to check you out on his own."

"And what if he throws my dossier in the trash without even looking at it?"

"He hasn't done it. I still have friends among the rebels and they say he read it. If he did his own check, he'll know that you're credible."

"A person in denial believes everyone lies."

"That's why I want you to come along to his camp."

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "What?"

"I want you to explain the process as you did with me. I want you to tell him how you did it. How you never look at a photo before the end."

"And he's supposed to believe me?"

"It's my best chance. You're an honest woman, Eve. It shines out of you. I'm probably the most skeptical bastard on the face of the earth and the first time I met you, I'd have believed you if you'd told me black was white."

"You didn't part with him on good terms. If you push him, he might shoot both of us."

"He'll know that I wouldn't come into camp without backup in the area." He paused. "But we'll have to go in alone."

"I don't have to go anywhere."

"No, you don't. You've done what I asked you. I'm sure Soldono would say that you should let the vermin destroy each other."

"Yes, he would."

"I don't think you'd go along with that philosophy now. You have a vested interest in Nalia and what happened to her." He stared her directly in the eye. "You want her father to know he was wrong about her. You want justice for Nalia."

"And you equate justice with revenge."

"Yes, and so do you. In your heart of hearts." He added, "And that would have been my argument before I knew Quinn had gone. Now the situation has changed."

"You mean, you have an ace in the hole." She smiled sardonically. "Are you sure you didn't tell Miguel to let Joe escape?"

"No, but he reads me well. I'm feeling some guilt," he said. "Yes, you do have more reason now."

"How quickly will Armandariz act if he decides that Diaz has been betraying him all these years?"

"I don't know. I'd like to tell you that he'll rush out and start burning down coca fields but I can't do that. Armandariz is an emotional man but he's a soldier and he'll do what's best for his troops and his cause."

"Then I may be taking a risk for nothing."

"It won't be for nothing. But I have to be honest with you. There's a chance it may not help Quinn."

"Jesus." She felt the panic rush through her. She had two choices. She could sit here and wait for Miguel to find out something about Joe. Or she could take an action that might be totally futile. "I'll have to think about it."

"I'm setting up a meeting for tomorrow afternoon. Think fast." He went into the house.

Nothing like applying a little pressure, she thought bitterly. There was one other option she could check before she made that decision. She followed Montalvo into the house and went to find Soldono. He was coming down the hall from the library.

"Can Venable or you find a way to locate Joe and get him away from here?" she demanded.

"I'll call Venable but the situation would be… delicate."

"You're the CIA. You should be able to do something."

"We walk a tight line between the military and Diaz."

"You mean you play both sides on occasion. Sweet."

"We can't take overt action."

"It sounds like you can't take any action."

"I know you're upset but you have to understand that the CIA today relies a good deal on negotiation."

"Heaven forbid you'd make an enemy of Diaz by saving Joe." She pushed past him and headed toward the library. "Forget I asked."

"You're going with him to Armandariz?" Soldono asked. "It's not a good move, Eve."

"At least I'm going to make a move. I'm not just spinning my wheels and hoping everything is going to be fine."

"That's not fair," he said quietly. "I'm doing everything I can."

"I don't feel like being fair. I feel like getting Joe back in one piece."

Montalvo was carefully placing the reconstruction into the leather box when she came into the room. He looked up and then stopped in midmotion. "Well?"

"I'm going. What else can I do? It's the only positive response I can make in this mess."

"Good." He closed the lid of the box and fastened it. "Then I'll call Armandariz's camp and set up a meeting."

"We've located the car that picked Jane MacGuire up in that parking garage," Nekmon said. "It was spotted at a grocery parking lot this morning in Tucson and the driver was a man in his late forties."

"Did they follow him?" Diaz asked.

Nekmon nodded. "Of course. We think we've found the safe house. The driver of the car went to a house in the Sunset View subdivision and unloaded a few sacks of groceries."

"'Think' isn't good enough. Has anyone seen her?"

"Not yet. But the house seems well-guarded and the chances are good she's there. I told them to get close enough to confirm her presence but not to risk getting caught. We don't want to blow our hand."

"I want men ready to move in the minute I say the word. No mistakes, Nekmon."

"With all due respect, I seldom make mistakes."

"Once is too much. I need to-" The ringing of his phone interrupted him and he picked it up. "Diaz." He listened for a few moments and then hung up. "She's finished the reconstruction and Montalvo has it."

"Should we move on the girl?"

He thought about it. "Not yet. There's another possibility emerging now that may be quicker and more effective."

"That's the third checkpoint," Eve said as Montalvo started the jeep again. "Armandariz certainly doesn't play around with security."

"That's why we arranged a formal meeting and didn't try to infiltrate his lines," Montalvo said. "He may be a bullheaded father, but he's a damn good soldier or he wouldn't have lasted this many years."

"How far away from the camp are we?"

"Five minutes." He glanced at her. "Nervous?"

"Of course I'm nervous. I'm supposed to talk a neurotic man into the fact that he's betrayed his daughter and his cause at one and the same time. Even if he believes me it doesn't mean that he'll admit it."

"We have a decent chance. He's going to be surrounded by men who knew Nalia most of her life. A few of them were like brothers to her. They'll recognize her from the reconstruction and they may carry Armandariz along with them."

"Did she have any brothers?"

"No, that's why Armandariz raised her like a son. He needed someone to share his dream and Nalia was his only family."

"But she violated the dream."

"So he thinks." His lips tightened. "She died for his damn dream. She believed in it as much as he did and was trying to protect it from being betrayed." He pulled over to the side of the road. "We walk from here." He got out of the jeep and grabbed the leather box. "Let's go."

She got out of the jeep. "Give me the box."

"Why?"

"If I'm here to do a job, I'll do it my way. Armandariz resents you. The minute he sees you carrying the box he's going to get defensive. You may get some pleasure out of opening the box and saying 'I told you so,' but it's not going to be productive."

"I wouldn't do that."

"Not in so many words. The moment you show up with the box, it's an immediate implication."

He hesitated. "True." He handed her the box. "But I do the initial explanation."