Third Half (34 page)

             
The other two men took a clearly shaken Eduardo away in
their car while Marshal Todd guided Liane into the airport office. 
"Okay now.  I know you have many things you want to know."  He
ran his fingers roughly through his brown hair.

             
"Yes.  Like where's Jack!"

             
"Wish I knew," the man sighed as he rubbed his bearded face
in a weary fashion.  "I had Eduardo right where I wanted him.  He was
so scared up there he was ready to piss himself!"  Marsh looked at her
and shrugged.  "Sorry about that."

             
"You know by now that doesn't bother me.  Just get to the
point," she said impatiently.

             
"You were right about Tingo Maria.  The directions he had for
us would have taken us right to Valenquez's ranch.  We'd have found
the head man.  The leader of the rebel forces."

             
"But you said that one named Suarez was the leader."

             
"As a fighter, he was their leader.  Valenquez was the brains
behind everything.  We almost had him."

             
"Almost . . .but what . . ."

             
"Jack and I were to make it look like we were holding out on
them.  Wanting a bigger cut for ourselves.  We were going to ask to
deal only with the Top Dog."

             
Liane remembered his insistence on seeing the leader.  "But
Jack disappeared."

             
"We had to hurry things because you were planning to go
down to the mission.  Jack didn't want to risk your getting in the
middle of everything.  So we stepped up the pace. 

             
"We worked separately.  We wanted everyone to think he was
staying close to the stuff until we got what we demanded.  I was to
meet with the boss and then contact Jack so we could complete our
delivery."

             
"In reality Jack was going down too, to cover me when I went
in," Marsh continued.  "I was going to lead him and the government
troops to the leader's headquarters."

             
"But you knew Jack disappeared."

             
Marsh nodded.  "We were supposed to meet in his agent's
office.  He called me the night before to set it up."

             
"Where was he then?"  she asked, remembering going to Jack's
home looking for him.

             
"With the stuff, wherever he'd hidden it," Marsh looked at her. 
"Considering everything, do you think you could tell me, now, where
that is?"

             
"A secret room in Jack's house.  Which means he must have
been there the first time we were looking for him."

             
"First time?"  Marsh was the one puzzled now.

             
Liane blushed.  "At the time we didn't know we were supposed
to stay out of it.  When we found out, we were already too deeply
involved." 

             
She frowned, shaking her head.  "What I don't understand is,
why he used us to keep his secret about the room.  Why not any of the
other agents?"

             
"We aren't the kind of agents you may think.  We do things
that an ordinary agent can't.  Some slightly illegal things.  If we got caught, we were on our own.  We were as guilty as the bad guys.  We
were
the bad guys."

             
"But Agents Knight and Steele said they were working with
you."

             
Marsh nodded.  "They were told to keep an eye on you and
your sister, that was all.  Until Jack turned up missing.  Then they
were filled in on what was happening."

             
Liane remembered her brother's note.  "And you answered to
someone called Morello."

             
"That's where we got our initial orders.  After that, we were on
our own.  We had to play it by ear."

             
"Okay, I can understand that . . .I think.  But what about
Jack?"

             
"Eduardo finally admitted that they didn't have him.  They
were bluffing so we'd make the delivery."

             
"That explains why they seemed to stop worrying about the
shipment you'd hidden."

             
Marsh nodded.

             
"So who then, has Jack?  The mob?"

             
"At first we thought maybe they did.  But now we know they
tie too closely with Valenquez.  He'd have known and been able to use
it to his advantage.  We played right into their hands. 

             
"After the crash we literally landed right in the leader's lap. 
He could have held you instead of Jack.  That would have been more
to his benefit.  Jack would have been released and forced to complete
the job as we originally were supposed to do it.  We'd have lost our
leverage."

             
"I don't know . . .I think I understand, but . . ."  She frowned,
rubbing her temples.  "It's so mixed up."

             
"For all of us.  We want to get Jack back, but don't have any
idea where or how to do it."

             
"Then he could be . . ." She looked away as tears clouded her
eyes.  "Dead."

             
Marsh came to stand beside her.  He gently stroked her cheek. 
"Look, we don't know that.  And until we do we'll keep trying to find
him.  So why not go to a hotel and rest?  You're beat.  Tomorrow
book a flight home to New York.  I'll contact you there as soon as we
know anything."

             
"But I want to help."

             
"Right now there's nothing any of us can do.  We have to see if
the people holding Jack try to get a ransom or something.  I'm not
giving up.  I promise."

             
"You sound like it's a one man crusade."

             
He frowned.  "It is.  M.C., I was a loner until your brother
became my partner on this case.  I did some of my best work alone. 
And that's how I'll do this too."

             
She knew she was being dismissed.  Not just from the case,
but from his life.  As the taxi pulled away, she watched the bearded
man standing by the doorway to his office. 
His good-bye sounded so
final.  And I never did explain who I really am.

I

             
The shot gun remained pointed on the red-haired man as his
abductor squeezed the cell phone in his hand.

             
"So what do we do now?"  the woman asked, turning panic-stricken blue eyes toward Jack.  "He knows who I am?"

             
Jack sized up his guard, realized the little bit of a woman
before him may as well be the size of Conan the Barbarian as long as
she held the weapon in her hand.  Besides, he hadn't been able to
loosen the ropes that bound his hands behind his back.

             
"Okay . . .Tonight." She nodded as she ended her conversation.

             
"Is it safe to say there's been a change of plans?"  Jack said
calmly, having observed this woman enough during the last several
days to know she was on edge.  It wouldn't take much to trip her
already short fuse. 

             
She had admitted enough of their plan to reveal they hadn't
thought it through very thoroughly before taking action.  He didn't
even think they planned on shooting Devereaux. 
If only he hadn't
gotten so brazen and pulled his gun.

             
"Only temporarily," the woman replied. 

             
Jack knew immediately his abductor's were amateurs.  They
reacted too instinctively, out of panic.  Instead of thinking things
through.  He knew that by their plan to hold him for ransom.  Their
scheme probably complicated everything for his partner. 

             
Again, as he had so often during the past days, Jack wondered
how everything was going with Marsh.  They had worked so hard on
this case.  He hoped all was not lost because of his disappearance.

I

             
Liane tossed and turned on her hotel bed, plagued by all the
events that had taken place.  Everything Marshal Todd had told her
kept going through her mind.  She knew she'd have to call Mary Catherine in the morning with some kind of explanation.  But how,
when even to her, none of it still seemed believable?

             
Most of all she wished she had something solid to tell her
sister about Jack. 
I know M.C. must be worried, probably doubly so,
wondering what's happened to me.  Yet, how do I explain that we're
back to square one?

             
"Square one," she said, remembering how it had all started. 
And how she had begun her search for her brother.

             
Suddenly eyes wide, she knew what she had to do.  It was
simple.  First thing in the morning she would set out again, trying to
find her brother.  This time alone.

             
Her decision made, Liane could finally sleep, waking
refreshed and determined once again.  Her first priority was to
purchase some suitable clothing.  Then, to return to Devereaux's
office.

             
She reached into her bag of belongings and pulled out her
sister's Bible.  Inside she got her blue plastic debit card and smiled. 
At least if she didn't have enough money to purchase the necessary
clothing, she still had this.

I

             
She went up the stairs to the third floor wondering if luck
would be on her side, and she'd find someone to let her into Ralph
Devereaux's office.  As she approached the doorway, she saw that it
was already open. 
My lucky day
. 

             
A frown slowly creased her brow.  If there were any lessons
Liane had learned in the past weeks, one was that things aren't always
what they seem.

             
Carefully she listened to the sounds coming from inside the
office.  The sounds of footsteps were followed by the opening and
closing of metal file cabinets.

             
Hoping it was the agent's secretary, she peeped round the
corner for a better look, freezing at the sight.  Even from the back she
recognized the familiar brown flight jacket covering the broad
shouldered man.  He too, must have come to search the office for
clues.

             
Part of her wanted to turn and run, spare herself any more
pain.  But instead, she stepped further into the room. 

             
"So we had the same idea," she said as he turned to look at her
in disbelief.  "Yes, Marsh.  It's me."

             
"M.C., I thought I told you to fly back to New York," he said
angrily.  "Do you ever listen?"

             
"Not to senseless orders."

             
"Senseless?  What was senseless about that?"

             
"I still may be able to help.  That's why I came here."

             
"And how did you come up with that idea?"

             
"I . . .I could do what you're doing.  See if anything in these
files reminds me of something."