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He pulled the flight stick and headed west toward the border.
***
Royal Palace
Coudara Airport
Congo
“You fool.” Bohdan whirled on George Chiswick in a fury. “Did you actually let this Seth Caleb leave the country? What good are you? I told you that I wanted to make an example of him. Fear is the only thing that’s keeping the troops in line right now. I won’t have someone else stepping up and pushing me aside when I’m this close to taking over the entire country.”
“No one would do that,” Chiswick said quickly. “They’re all afraid of you. I’ve sent a troop to Savgard Airport and one to the border. I’m sure we’ll locate him soon.”
“How? We didn’t even know the bastard was in the country before he managed to get close enough to the general to take him down. Who the hell is he?”
“We found out a few details from Zeller before we killed him. Caleb was a special agent from MI6. Very special. They only send him on assignments that require a certain skill and expertise. He moves in like a ghost, stalks the prey, and then takes him down. Then he’s gone again. He never misses and has a good many other talents that are unusual. I’m afraid we wouldn’t have known even that much if Zeller hadn’t been identified as MI6 by one of our men. We were able to catch him and force him to reveal Caleb’s mission.” He added apologetically, “I would have learned more, but you were so furious with Zeller that you wanted him dead. I didn’t have time for any other questions. I do know he was working with Agents Jennings and Pasternak. I’ll access my contacts and find out more for you.”
“See that you do.” He scowled. “Caleb’s like a ghost? I’ll make a ghost out of him all right. I can’t wait to bring him back and show everyone how I treat a son of a bitch who has the nerve to get in my way.”
“One more question,” Chiswick said. “What do I do with Diehl, the helicopter pilot? He’s a good man and valuable to you.”
“What do you think you should do? He let Caleb escape. Kill the asshole.” He turned on his heel. “Now get busy. Find Caleb. I want to know everything about him.”
***
MacDuff’s Run
9:40P.M.
“Dammit, why are you being so quiet, MacDuff?” Jane leaned back in her dining chair, her gaze narrowed on him. “Is something wrong?” She made a face. “Besides the fact that I was so rude to Fergus and won’t sell you that sketch. I’ve already apologized to him, and I may still let you have the blasted sketch. It was just that she looked so familiar to me that it…bothered me. Did you ask Fergus if he recognized any children in the village who looked like that kid in my mystery sketch?”
“Of course I did.” MacDuff took a sip of his wine. “Do you think I’d give up anything I wanted so easily? He didn’t recognize the child in the photo, so I had him go down to the village this afternoon to talk to his neighbors and the vicar.” He sighed. “I’m afraid that mystery child must be a true figment of your imagination, because no one has claimed her. Can you blame me for being depressed? I truly wanted to have a reason to make you give up that sketch to me.”
Jane threw back her head and laughed. “Bullshit. You’re being a little too dramatic, aren’t you? I was just guessing, but now I really want to know why you’re being so moody.” Her smile ebbed. “Talk to me. Am I being an annoyance you don’t want to deal with?”
“If you were, I’d toss you in the sea,” he said lightly. “We’ve never been shy about expressing our true feelings to each other. You know you’re always welcome here. Aren’t I allowed to have an occasional period of introspection?”
She was silent, studying him. “Yes, but not when I’m not sure what sparked it. I accepted your hospitality not only because we’ve been friends for years, but because it seemed to make Caleb feel better that I do it. Yet both of those reasons could have ramifications all the way down the line. Though I haven’t seen any signs of that yet.”
“But you’re always on the lookout for trouble.” MacDuff shook his head. “What a suspicious woman you are, Jane. Did it ever occur to you how much more peaceful your life would be if Caleb wasn’t always hovering in the background?”
“No.” She smiled. “But I do realize how infinitely dull it would be.”
He shrugged. “Hopeless.”
“No, you have no idea how much hope I have.” Her gaze was on his face again. “However, I don’t believe you’re going to tell me why you’re so ‘introspective.’ I suspect it has something to do with Caleb since he appears to have the almost effortless ability to upset you. It’s probably because you enjoy sparring with each other, and sometimes he scores.”
“Rarely. Or it could be that besides being my friend, I regard you as a member of my family I must protect at all costs.” He paused. “Caleb does amuse me, but I also recognize him as a possible threat to you.”
“Bullshit.” Her gaze narrowed thoughtfully on his face. “That all sounded very Laird of the castle, but I don’t think that’s why you’re being moody.” She shrugged. “But I’ll find out eventually.”
“Because Caleb tells you everything?” he asked caustically.
“You guessed it.” She tilted her head. “Or was it a guess?”
“Stop trying to read me.” He was suddenly smiling. “If you do, as a reward I’ll give you a gift. Everything I told you about Fergus and the villagers was true, but I didn’t give up about yourMist Child. I put some thought into it and came up with a possible reason why we both thought she looked so familiar.” He got to his feet and held out his hand to her. “Want to come and see what I deduced?”
“How can I resist, Sherlock?” She took his hand and jumped to her feet. “You’re my host and it’s only polite to let you distract me since you’re being so secretive.”
