Library of Gold

by Gayle Lynds

  The yacht cruised onward, rolling up and down with the sea. The wind howled around them.

  “I can’t trust you,” Judd decided.

  “I understand. However, I’ll still take you to my friend and his airstrip.”

  “Who hired you?”

  “I won’t tell you that.”

  “Your rules?”

  He gave a curt nod. “I’ve survived many years in a business in which most of my colleagues have been killed off. Seldom do we die of old age. Rules are not for the timid or the careless. They require discipline. King Lear railed against the universe when he was punished for breaking its rules. I don’t want the same fate. Besides, the longer I live, the greater my chance of seeing my daughter again.”

  “What’s your name?” Judd asked.

  The assassin’s black eyes cut into him. “The Carnivore.” Then he smiled.

  Thrace, Turkey

  The Carnivore turned off the yacht’s engines in calm waters near a strip of uninhabited land north of the village of Barbados. Judd dropped the anchor, they found flashlights, and they took off their shoes. The Carnivore pulled off his caftan. Beneath it he wore black jeans and a black T-shirt. His muscle tone was excellent, but his skin elasticity showed advancing age. Judd guessed him to be in his fifties.

  They rolled up their jeans and waded ashore. Judd carried the duffel, and Eva wore her satchel, the strap across her chest. The wind was quieter here. They crossed the beach, and the Carnivore led them up ancient stone steps carved into a cliff.

  At the top, they paused. The moon had risen, casting an eerie light across acres of grapevines tied neatly to wires running between gnarled wood posts. The vines were just beginning to leaf. The air smelled raw, of freshly tilled soil.

  They headed off on a narrow dirt trail through the grapevines.

  “Do you want to tell me what this is all about, Judd?” the Carnivore asked.

  “Reciprocity is another of your rules?”

  “A good one, don’t you think.”

  “I like it,” Judd said. “But no, I’ll handle this.”

  The trail widened, and the three moved on side by side.

  The Carnivore peered around at Judd and said thoughtfully, “Yes, I believe you will—if it can be handled at all. But as for reciprocity, I consider us even by my giving you a safe route into Athens.”

  “Is Preston free now?” Eva asked worriedly.

  “He must be,” the Carnivore said. “He had backup.”

  “What if I’d decided to kill him back in the Grand Bazaar,” Judd said. “Your movie would’ve been burned.”

  “That would’ve worked just as well,” the Carnivore instructed. “He would’ve ‘awakened’ and attacked you. I would’ve saved the day by helping you to escape, him to live, and the movie to continue.”

  Judd changed the subject. “What about his note, the one that mentioned Athens. Was it legitimate or a plant?”

  “Legitimate. A note to himself. It added to the authenticity and gave you a significant reason to believe what you saw was real. Perhaps more important, we didn’t expect you to live long enough to use it or anything else you might’ve learned there.”

  “Do you have any information about The Book of Spies and Robin Miller?” Eva asked.

  “It was none of my business.”

  “What about the Library of Gold?”

  The Carnivore frowned. “I’ve heard of it. Is that what this is all about?”

  “Yes.” But Judd said no more. Venomous snakes like the Carnivore shed their skins occasionally, but their bites remained just as unpredictable—and poisonous. “What will you tell your employer?”

  “Nothing.”

  Judd sensed fury behind the one-word answer. The Carnivore was making his employer pay for lying to him. It also meant the employer would think he and Eva were dead—at least for a while.

  “It gives you time,” the Carnivore said, “but it’s also good business for me. When one deals in death, one must make certain the rules are clear—and there are costs involved when they’re broken.” He glanced at Judd. “And it means you don’t have to contemplate eliminating me, and I don’t have to take proactive measures to make certain you don’t try.”

  The words were calm, matter-of-fact, but they sent a chill through Judd.

  “You won’t be paid,” Judd said.

  “I have half. I’ll keep it.”

  “Where do you come from?” Eva asked the Carnivore. “Where do you live now? How did you get into this business? You sound almost American.”

  “I’m sorry, Eva. It’s really better you don’t know. Once a KGB assassin from the old cold war days went after my daughter, thinking I was dead and he’d get his revenge on me by eliminating her. Fortunately she was able to save herself. If anyone finds out you have information about me, your lives could be threatened, and there’s no guarantee you’d be as lucky as she.”

  At the top of a slight incline they saw a house, large and expansive, built of weathered stone with a blue-tile Ottoman roof. Lights showed inside, and as they approached, exterior lights flashed on, illuminating flower beds, patches of grass, and a stone gazebo. Empty wine barrels were stacked against sheds. There was a large clapboard structure toward the back that was probably where the wine was made and aged.

  The door to the house opened, and a man in his late fifties appeared, a shotgun resting across an arm.

  “Who goes there?” he shouted in Turkish and English.

  “An old friend from long ago, Hugo Shah,” the Carnivore replied. “You remember me, Alex Bosa.”

  “Alex, you’ve come to taste my wine again. I’m honored.” Then as they approached, Shah stared. “Alex? Yes, it is you. What a magnificent disguise. What are you up to now?”

  “No good, as always.”

  Shah laughed. The pair shook hands, and the four trooped into a living area of tasteful wallpaper and thick carpets. Fine old furniture was placed here and there, while a modern sofa and easy chairs faced a handsome fireplace.

  “Who are your friends, Alex?” Shah asked.

  “It doesn’t matter. They need your help, which means I need your help. Is that light plane of yours available?”

  “At this hour?” Shah’s eyes narrowed as he studied the Carnivore. “I see. It is an emergency. Very well, I will fly them myself. Do you wish to accompany us?”

  “I’ll wait here with the wine.”

  Shah smiled broadly.“Excellent. Please give me a moment.” He returned soon, wearing a jacket and carrying a small valise.

  As all four walked outside, Shah explained about his vineyard, “I grow gamay, cabernet, and papazkarasi grapes. I have in mind two fine reds I will open for us, Alex—it will be Alex and Hugo again.”

  About a half mile from the house, they went into a large garage where a single-engine Cirrus SR20 was waiting. They helped Shah roll out the plane. He gazed at the windsock and sniffed the air.

  “I’ll say good-bye now.” The Carnivore backed off.

  They climbed on board, Judd sitting next to Shah, and Eva behind. As the engine warmed up, Judd gazed out the window. The Carnivore was smiling. He lifted his hand and pressed two fingers against his temple in a smart salute.

  Judd found himself smiling back. He snapped off a two-finger salute in return.

  “Where are we going?” Shah asked as the propellers started rotating.

  Judd glanced back. Eva was looking at him. He heard the strength in his voice—also the urgency. “Athens.”

  PART THREE

  THE BATTLE

  When the celebrated Greek general Aristides learned from one of his assets that a Persian spy had infiltrated his military camp, he ordered every soldier, shield-maker, doctor, and cook to account for another person there. In that way the spy was uncovered. The next month the Greeks defeated the invading Persian army at the Battle of Marathon, in 490 B.C.

  —translated from The Book of Spies

  Strategic intelligence is the power to k
now your enemies’ intentions.

  —The New York Times

  May 14, 2006

  44

  Washington, D.C.

  As he ate a late lunch at his desk in Catapult headquarters, Tucker Andersen studied the photo of the blond woman who might be the Robin Miller mentioned in Preston’s note.

  His people had located thousands of women with the name, ranging from infants to the elderly in the United States and abroad. Narrowing for age and occupation, he had settled on this one as the most likely, thirty-five years old now. Born in Scotland, she had degrees in classical art and library science from the Sorbonne and Cambridge and had worked in rare books and manuscripts in Boston and Paris. A couple of years ago she had quit her job at the Bibliothèque. After that, there was no record of her employment in other libraries or museums. No record of a new address—she had moved out of her apartment when she quit her job. No record of death. No trace at all.

  He e-mailed the information and photo to Judd and sat back, thinking.

  Then he picked up his phone and called Debi Watson, Catapult’s IT chief. “Any word from NSA about those phone numbers I gave you?” She was honchoing the numbers in Charles Sherback’s disposable phone, one of which could be Robin Miller’s.

  “No, suh. I’ll call if something turns up. It all depends on where the satellites are, and of course there are millions of data bits to sort through. NSA is watching for us. They know it’s important.”

  “It’s crucial,” he corrected.“Contact Interpol and the Athens police and tell them we’d be obliged if they’d let us know pronto if they run across a woman named Robin Miller. We believe she may be in Athens. I’ll e-mail you the details.” He hung up.

  There was a knock on his door. When he responded, Gloria Feit, general factotum and receptionist, walked in and closed it behind her.

  Her small frame was rigid. “He’s back. In her office.”

  “Hudson Canon, you mean?”

  “You asked me to let you know. I’m letting you know he’s back.”

  “You’re pissed.”

  “Me? How can you tell?” Her face broke into a smile, the lines around her eyes crinkling.

  “No one’s going to take Cathy’s place. But we need a new chief. Hudson is temporary.”

  “Yes, well, temporary as in ‘short-timer’ suits me just fine.”

  “You don’t like him?”

  She fell into a chair and crossed her knees. “Actually, I do like him. I just felt like being petty.”

  He chuckled. “Then why are you pissed?”

  “Because you’re not telling me what’s going on. You don’t think I’ve leaked anything about the Library of Gold operation, do you?”

  So that was it. “The thought never crossed my mind.” Actually it had, but he did not want her to know that. He needed to consider everyone and anyone who could have had access to the information.

  “Good,” she announced. “So tell me where you are with the mission.”

  “Gloria.”

  She sighed and stood up. “Oh, all right. Be that way. But you know you can count on me, Tucker. I mean that. For anything.” She walked to the door and turned. “When you’re offered the job of heading Catapult—and we both know you will be—take it this time. Please. I’ve already got you broken in.”

  He stared as the door closed and shook his head, smiling to himself. Then the smile vanished. He stood up and left. It was time to talk to Canon.

  Adjusting his tie, Hudson Canon stared into the mirror in what had been Cathy Doyle’s office. He did not like the way he looked. His short nose, round black eyes, and heavy cheeks no longer seemed solid, real to him. There was something otherworldly there, insubstantial, although he knew damn well he was a substantial man in all ways.

  He turned back into the office, glad Cathy’s photos, plants, and personal things were gone. It had been a shock when he heard the news of her death, and then an even bigger shock when he received a phone call from Reinhardt Gruen, in Berlin, telling him what he had to do—or lose his savings. He had invested all of it in the Parsifal Group at Gruen’s invitation, and it had made him far more money than he had ever thought possible.

  His cell phone vibrated against his chest. Locking the door, he answered it as he walked around to sit at the desk. Cell phones, PDAs, any sort of personal wireless devices were not allowed in Langley or Catapult, but he was boss here, and no one needed to know he must keep the disposable cell with him at all times now.

  “We have a problem with Judd Ryder and Eva Blake. Our man hasn’t reported in, and we suspect they’re on the loose again. Where are they?” Reinhardt asked in a friendly German accent.

  “I don’t know.”

  “You were supposed to stay on top of this.”

  “I’m not sure I can get the information.”

  “Ach, really?” The tone was less friendly.“You are an important man. You are the head of Catapult. Nothing can be kept from you.”

  Canon screwed up his resolve, banishing thoughts of losing his house. He was highly leveraged and had planned to take out the next six months of payments from his Parsifal account. He had already sold his beloved Corvette and bought a used Ford. The alimony and child support to his two ex-wives were killing him.

  “It’s not that,” he said. “Look, Reinhardt, this has gone far enough. Obviously it’s not an easy fix. Catapult is never going to find your precious Library of Gold anyway. The whole mission has been a disaster.”

  “Remove Tucker Andersen. Run it yourself.”

  “I can’t take him off it. There’s no legitimate reason to do it. I’d be in hot water if I tried, especially now that Cathy’s dead. Besides, my boss wants an experienced hand here as number two to back me up.”

  Gruen swore in German. “We think if Ryder and Blake are free they are heading to Athens. We need to know exactly where in Athens. Have you heard anything about a woman named Robin Miller?”

  “No,” Canon answered truthfully. “Who’s she?”

  There was a cold pause. “Let us be clear. Do you really think Catherine Doyle’s car crash was an accident?”

  Canon felt sweat gather in his armpits.

  “We need the information,” Gruen told him. “You will get it.”

  “There’s no real need for it,” Canon tried. “I can close the operation down in just a few more hours anyway. I have the boss’s permission.”

  “As you know it is far more than a few hours until you can do that, and too much can happen.” There was a pause. “You must make Tucker Andersen leave the premises of Catapult. Phone me immediately when he does. Do you understand what will happen to you if you do not?”

  Tucker knocked on Hudson Canon’s door. Surprised, he heard the lock click open. Why had Hudson locked it? But then, Hudson had once been a highly successful undercover op, and habits of secrecy were hard to break.

  The door opened, and the new chief gave him a short smile in greeting. “Come in, Tucker. I was thinking about checking in with you, too.”

  Tucker entered as Hudson headed for the desk.

  “Give me an update on how things are going.” Hudson sat and leaned back in the chair, clasping his hands comfortably behind his head.

  “There’s not much new.” Tucker took a chair and recounted the few changes in the various missions. Canon wanted more frequent reports than Cathy had. That was fine—each manager had his own style.

  “And the Library of Gold operation?” Canon asked.

  “Glad you brought it up. I was wondering whether you happened to mention to anyone that my people were going to the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul.”

  The answer was immediate. “Of course not.” The expression unchanged.

  “They still haven’t located the library,” Tucker continued, “and the last time we talked, they were on their way out of Istanbul. Preston—he’s the janitor who’s been dogging them—was left behind alive but tied up in the Grand Bazaar. It’ll be a while before he gets free.”
/>   “Where are they going now?”

  This was the moment Tucker had expected, and it made him sick. After doing a thorough search through his memory, he knew he had written no one, phoned no one, e-mailed no one, made no notes to himself, and told only one person the critical details that Ryder and Blake had gone not only to Istanbul, but to the Grand Bazaar, to find Okan Biçer, and through him Andrew Yakimovich.

  And so he lied: “To Thessalonika.” It was a large city north of Athens, within logical distance for Robin Miller to reach—if she were in Athens. Continuing the lie, he said, “A woman named Robin Miller got in touch with them. In exchange for helping her, she’ll meet them there and tell them where the library is.”

  “That will solve a lot of problems—if they can pull it off.” Canon took a deep breath and stretched. “Thessalonika seems strange, though. Athens would be more likely, don’t you think?”

  Why did he mention Athens? A sour taste rose in Tucker’s throat. “No, I don’t agree. This whole operation has been unpredictable. Thessalonika is large and historical. It makes sense to me.”

  “Who is Robin Miller?”

  “She has something to do with the library. I don’t have the details yet.”

  Canon nodded. “Then it’s all good news. Your people have another decent lead. How are they getting to Thessalonika?”

  “Judd didn’t have time to tell me.”

  “I see. Well, then, you still may pull the proverbial rabbit out of the hat and find the library.” Canon studied him, concern on his face. “Do you have any idea how lousy you look? You’re pale. Your clothes are a mess. With all of the action in Europe, there’s no need to be concerned someone is still after you here. It’s a beautiful afternoon. Get out and breathe some fresh air. Take a walk. Use my car if you’d rather drive than walk. If you don’t want to go home, at least go shopping and buy some new clothes. This is a direct order, Tucker—get the hell out of Catapult.”