Carpathian (58 page)

“I’m not following,” Vajic said as he finally looked away from Zallas.

“It means the situation is fast deteriorating and that castle could come tumbling down the mountain like Humpty Dumpty.”

Janos turned and looked Zallas. A light came on behind his eyes and he felt as if his blood had frozen in his veins.

“The Interior Ministry? Our partner, Kenly Václav, that is why you brought him in on the deal because you had to bribe him to keep the geology report away from the state,” he said as everything dawned brightly as if the sun sprang from the dark clouds. “Otherwise the deal with NATO never would have been approved and the valley never would have been opened up for lease.”

Zallas smiled and then looked over at their newest partner, Ben-Nevin, who was watching the turmoil with mild interest.

“Jesus, it took you long enough to grasp the reality of your partnerships, Janos.”

“Then it’s true?”

“The original report was, yes, but the updated report from a better engineering firm covered that which we needed covered.” Zallas took a few steps forward and then touched Sarah on the cheek, which brought Jack to full attention. “No, the castle will not fall. Even our engineers acknowledged that the pilings were driven through a fault, but they say the fault is strong and the anchors will secure the two halves and thus make the castle’s foundations as safe as if they had been grown into the mountain.”

“You idiot, that is what I’m saying, there is another element at work here, whether it’s a natural degradation of the anchor steel inside the mountain or the rock around the pins are loosening.—whatever the reason the entire facing of that mountain is loosening.”

“That is quite enough. The castle is on far safer earth than the ground down here. I have been assured of that,” Zallas said as he placed his arm around Janos and walked him to the door. “Now, I will worry about the mountain and the castle, and you worry about the resort.”

“Gina is missing and I don’t know where she is,” Janos blurted.

Zallas stopped as he opened the door. He placed his small girlish hand on Janos and then smiled.

“I am sure she is out and about, you’ll no doubt find her soon.”

With a worried look at the Americans, Janos Vajic left the suite. Zallas closed the door and then faced Jack, but it was Ryan who took a menacing step toward the Russian.

“If you hurt that girl, I’ll—”

One of his Romanian brutes cuffed Ryan in the back of the neck and the naval aviator went down to his knees. Jack swung out and caught the man’s hand in midair before he could bring down the weapon a second time onto Ryan’s head. Collins twisted the small Uzi from the thug’s hand and expertly ejected the ammunition clip, and then with one hand ejected the round that had been chambered and then tossed the weapon to Dmitri Zallas, who caught it with his eyes wide.

“Don’t ever touch one of my people again,” Jack said, not looking at the offender but instead straight at Zallas, who shook his head when the disarmed man turned to face Collins. The man backed away and then caught the Uzi as Zallas tossed it back to him.

“Next time, the colonel here has permission to rip out your throat.” Zallas took a menacing step toward the five Romanians. “Without any recriminations from me.”

“What did you do with Gina?” Ryan asked as he was helped to his feet by Jack and Pete and was vigorously rubbing his neck where the Uzi had connected solidly.

“Her employment was terminated.” Zallas smiled as he took in Collins. “After all, she is not NATO and will not be missed.”

“If you hurt her, I’ll—”

Zallas had already turned for the door as he waved his men out.

“Hurt? My young friend, she is very much dead. My mercy and understanding of the world clearly has its limits.” He turned and looked at Colonel Ben-Nevin.

Ben-Nevin caught the drift of the threat and knew when the time came Dmitri Zallas would have to be dealt with. But until that time he had to satisfy the Russian.

“I need to know what information these Americans have on the temple complex,” Zallas said. “If they know where it is, taking this Marko Korvesky would be a moot point, we wouldn’t need him to learn the location of the temple.” Zallas again looked at Ben-Nevin and shook his head.

“The people that live on that mountain are far more adaptive than you could know,” Ben-Nevin said. “I imagine since they have been defending this mountain for three thousand years they can do it rather efficiently if the need arose. Are you following?”

“They are nothing but peasants.”

“Yes, but then again it was nothing but peasants that fought off everyone from the Hittites, Visigoths, the Romans, and then finally Vlad the Impaler, not counting the entire Ottoman Empire, but yes, they are nothing but peasants,” Jack said, trying his best to irritate the two men.

Zallas and Ben-Nevin turned and looked at a smiling Collins.

“As a matter of fact, I would think it would be wise to stock up on silver bullets if you’re going up there.” His smile grew as he studied the two.

“What in the hell are you talking about?” Zallas asked as he was confused by what Collins just said. He was hoping it wasn’t a reference to the nonexistent wolves of the mountain again.

“Mr. Zallas said we will have enough men and firepower to get anything off that mountain if we so choose. I don’t think old legends will frighten this man,” Ben-Nevin said with hope.

Zallas looked from Ben-Nevin to Collins and then shook his head.

“I will take your suggestion and think about it,” Zallas said, smiling wide at what he thought was an attempt by the American to get him to second-guess his action against the villagers. He opened the door to the suite.

“Wait!”

Zallas and his men, along with Ben-Nevin, turned and looked at Ryan, who was still in the process of rubbing the pain from where he had been struck on the neck.

“Out of professional courtesy, and for later reference, just who was it who killed Ms. Louvinski?” Ryan asked as he moved closer to the men and Jack allowed Jason to play out whatever he had in mind. He normally wouldn’t but he could see that the reported death of Gina Louvinski had affected the Navy man. And Zallas’s business associate was also stricken by the news.

“If you must know, little man, it was me,” said the big Romanian from the night before, the one who had manhandled Pete and the waitress. He stepped forward with a broad smile on his bearded face. Ryan allowed his eyes to flick toward Collins and he didn’t read any dissent there.

“Good, I thought it would have been you,” Ryan said as he moved so fast no one could stop him. The right hand went from the back of his neck and out to cross the bridge of the Romanian mobster’s nose. The hit was so hard that the man froze in place and his features went slack almost immediately. The palm of Ryan’s hand had hit the nose so hard that an explosive combination of bone and gristle was sent directly into the man’s brain pan. The mobster’s face turned white and then went slack. He went to both knees and then slowly fell forward onto his face—dead. Ryan rubbed his hand and waited for the bullet that would kill him. One of the Romanians saw his friend and raised an Uzi up but Zallas stayed the move.

Zallas looked down at his dead guest and again shook his head as he nodded to the gunman to collect his fallen leader.

“Now that was impressive,” he said and looked back at Ryan. “I will allow you that one.” He grinned. “But just that one.” He turned and left after demonstrating how cheaply he valued human life.

Ben-Nevin also shook his head as he stepped over the dead body as his friends were trying to lift him. The door closed and then Ryan turned to face Jack. He was still rubbing his hand from the trick of death that Jack had taught him more than five years before.

“I never killed a man like that,” Ryan said as his eyes never left the closed door.

“You don’t get used to it,” Jack said as he assisted Ryan over to the center of the large suite. “But if anyone here needed killing, it was him.”

“She didn’t deserve to be murdered,” Jason said as he finally sat down at the large table as Collins went back to the door and tried the lock. It wouldn’t move. Sarah for her part walked over and placed a hand on Jason’s shoulder.

“Calm down, Mr. Ryan,” Jack said. “It was me who got Ms. Louvinski in trouble, not you.” He turned and faced Jason. “I think we may want to find a way out of here. Zallas said he won’t kill us, he’s lying. We’re a backup plan if the questioning of Marko Korvesky doesn’t go as planned.”

“Plan for what?” Pete asked.

“I have a sneaking suspicion that they’re going to try to take the temple built inside the mountain.”

As Sarah turned and looked out the large plate glass window she saw the swirling colors of blue and purple as they played off the stone of Dracula’s Castle.

“Alice’s little adventure has suddenly taken a turn for the surreal,” Sarah said as she watched the swirling spotlights that illuminated the castle.

They all heard Ryan chuckle. It was almost a sad sound, especially coming from a man who never had a bad word to say about anyone.

“When has one of our missions not turned out to be surreal?”

Jack chuckled as well, a sound that made them all nervous.

“But then again, that’s what we do, people. Now let’s start thinking about how to get the hell out of here and up to that mountain.”

16

PATINAS

Carl sat with Will Mendenhall and Anya inside the relative calm of her grandmother’s front yard. The small picket fence wasn’t much of a defense against the onslaught of well-wishers and anyone else who just wanted to smile at Anya and say hello, but the villagers seemed to be respecting the separation of the small wooden pickets.

As the hour grew late the men and women of Patinas and the other six villages of the mountain started gathering their sleeping children, who were long since worn down from the excitement that so seldom came to Patinas. The children had gone to sleep knowing that things would be better now that brother and sister were together again.

Anya waved good night to several of the families and then smiled at Carl, who sat on the small one-step stoop of the cottage. A fire slowly burned behind them in the fireplace and warmed their backs. Mendenhall slowly stood and stretched and then nodded his head at Everett and then Anya.

“Well, we better get the shelter up or we’ll be swimming in dew by morning. I guess we’ll see if these Airborne boys know how to set up a camp.”

“I’ll be along as soon as the director and the others return,” Carl said as he stood.

“If you place your camp closest to the barn you will find that the morning sun will wake you.” Anya looked from Mendenhall to Everett and smiled. “One of the more pleasant experiences about living in Patinas.”

“Will do, ma’am, and good night, Captain.” Mendenhall gave Carl a two-fingered salute and slowly moved off while refusing more food from one of the older women who waited just outside the gate.

“You and he are close?” Anya asked as Carl watched Mendenhall smile, nod, and refuse yet more food from yet more women.

“Yes, the lieutenant and I are very close. That kid has worked his way out of some tough times to make something out of himself,” Everett said as he slowly sat back down on the small stoop next to Anya. Carl stretched his legs and then looked up at the stars that seemed far closer than he had ever seen them. “Talk about a place getting a bum rap from Hollywood, this is it. I’ve never seen such a beautiful spot.” He looked over at Anya, who watched Carl as he spoke.

“You are troubled about me,” Anya said, looking away as Everett turned again to face her as he realized it was a statement and not a question.

“From Patinas to the Mossad, that’s quite a stretch. And also quite industrious on your part, to spy on an organization that prides itself on never having an agent penetrate their organization.”

Anya shook her head. “My grandmother set me on my odyssey. She has not, and never will, tell me everything. I made connections inside the Mossad that I should not have been able to make. I was noticed in training by all the right people, chosen for just the right assignments to move up in rank. No, very little about my Mossad history was brought on by me. My grandmother needs to tell me the truth of what she is doing.”

“I don’t mind saying you have totally lost me,” Everett said, shaking his head and looking away.

Anya reached out and placed a hand on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Everett felt her touch and for the first time in a while felt as if a flock of birds was let loose inside his stomach.

“May I see your hand?”

“Are you going to tell my fortune?” he asked and then immediately regretted it.

“That is not a politically correct thing to say.” She cocked her head to the right. “I believe you are laughing at us Gypsies, Captain,” she said as she pulled her hand away from Everett’s in a mockingly insulted way.

The blond American kept his hand in place. Anya again took his and turned the palm up.

“Besides, I don’t tell fortunes, Mr. Everett, that’s my grandmother.” She smiled and then closed Carl’s hand and wrapped her small fingers around his. “I will look into your past.”

“My past?” Everett said as he was tempted to pull his hand away.

“Yes, all of us Gypsies are strange like that.”

“You mean all you Jeddah?” Carl asked, watching her closely.

Instead of answering Anya closed her hand more tightly around Everett’s. “I don’t actually tell you anything about the past, you tell me and I don’t hear, I see. The mind is powerful as I am sure you have learned in your many travels. But two minds linked is something that is powerful beyond description.”

“I’m not a big believer in prophecy or the foretelling of bad things.”

“You Americans are always so narcissistic. You only believe in yourselves and in nothing else. The world has many things to offer, and the ancient world has
even
more than the heavens could ever supply in words and stories. I want to show you what the world, my world can offer you.”

Carl felt the heat of her touch and he closed his eyes as he kept her face etched in his mind. He felt Anya raise his closed fist to her lips and then he felt the warmth of her soft breath as she blew on his hand. He felt as if water was oozing though his clenched fingers and the sensation made him chill with excitement. He felt himself floating for a moment.