Vendetta

by Iris Johansen

  She watched him walk away. He had been exasperated with her although she thought she had been reasonable and honest. She had not let the shock she felt overcome her ability to think it through and realize that everyone had different views on sex. Hu Chang and Catherine both had stressed that during those talks she’d had with them over the years. She was probably less sophisticated than any woman Brandon knew, but she couldn’t help that. She could only be what she was, and he would have to accept it.

  Or not. What difference did it make anyway? Particularly when so much else might be at stake in that meeting with Claire Warren.

  It made a difference because she had felt an instant rejection when she had thought of him with Claire Warren.

  Which was not sensible when he had been perfectly honest with her when he didn’t have to be. And, in spite of what he’d said, it was none of her business.

  Do what Brandon had told her to do.

  Just forget about it.

  But she had an idea that wasn’t going to be easy …

  CHAPTER

  9

  Leonardo’s Restaurant in the Mission District was modern, sleek with glass windows that looked out on the outdoor veranda and the dozens of colorful umbrellas shading the tables.

  “Just as you decreed, Catherine,” Brandon murmured, as the three of them strolled down the street from the parking lot toward the restaurant. “Perhaps. I don’t see Claire yet.”

  “I do. She’s at that corner table away from the others,” Catherine said. “And she’s probably paid the waiter to keep other guests at a distance when we arrive.” She nodded to the far corner, where a chic, slim brunette was sitting under an orange umbrella. “And this is where I make my exit.”

  “You’re leaving?” Rachel asked, surprised. “I thought you’d be here with us.”

  “You don’t need me to run interference. I’ve told Claire what we need, and she said she’d never heard of Nemesis.” She shrugged. “It might be true. You’ll have to judge for yourself. Brandon can step in and help if you run into trouble.” She smiled. “But you won’t, Rachel. You can hold your own with anyone. Where we might have a problem is if she decided not to obey my instructions about keeping the meeting private. I’m going to cruise around and make certain that she didn’t bring reinforcements in case she decided that you should be taken into ‘protective’ custody.” She glanced at Brandon. “Then I’ll go back to the car in the parking lot and wait for you. If you need a fast getaway, call me. I’ll be out front within a couple minutes.”

  He nodded. “I’ve noticed you know Claire very well.”

  “Well enough to be careful.” She cast a worried glance at Rachel. “I would rather have set up this meeting later in the day. You’re still exhausted. You don’t need to deal with Claire right now.”

  “I’m fine. Stop worrying. You said yourself I could handle her. Second thoughts?”

  “Nah, forget it. Just overprotective.” She lifted her hand, then faded back into the crowds behind them on the street.

  “She thinks it might be a trap?” Rachel asked as Brandon took her elbow and nudged her toward the veranda. “How can she work with her if there was even that possibility?”

  “Because Claire’s smart and powerful, and most of the time, there might not be a conflict. Why are you here? Today, the risk is worth getting what we want. Claire might be able to give it to us. Tomorrow, that might not be true.” He was smiling back at Claire Warren as she smiled at both of them. “It’s part of the game, Rachel. And Catherine plays it superbly when she chooses. Right now, she’s handicapped because she feels very protective of you. She’ll go for the jugular if pushed.”

  They had reached the table, and his smile never left his face as he nodded at Claire Warren. “Hello, Claire. Thank you for meeting with us.”

  Her smile deepened, and she was suddenly more than interesting but almost beautiful. “I’ve always found our encounters fascinating, Brandon. But you’re not the reason I came today.”

  “No, your focus is on the daughter of your old friend.” He gestured to Rachel. “Rachel Venable, Claire Warren. Claire worked with your father on a number of projects over the years.”

  “Yes, I know.” Rachel met Claire Warren’s eyes. “And I’m sure he’d want you to help with this one. That’s why I’m here.”

  “So I understand from Catherine.” Claire’s expression softened, and she was suddenly on her feet and coming around the table. “I’m so sorry for your loss.” She gave Rachel a warm embrace, then stepped back. “And I’m sorry we’ve all lost a patriot and great man in Carl Venable. Venable and I were very close. He saved my life at least twice when we were working together.” She gestured to the chair across the table as she went back to her own chair. “Sit down. May I call you Rachel? I’m Claire. We need to talk. Catherine’s told me that my old friend has shifted a terrible burden on your shoulders. Let me help you with it.”

  Rachel hesitated; the affectionate greeting had caught her off guard. “I want you to help me.” She dropped down on the chair that Brandon was holding for her. “That’s why I’m here. I need you to find out what Nemesis meant when he said that I should ask Huber about what’s going to happen tomorrow. Catherine said so far there had not been any chatter about a potential threat happening in the next forty-eight hours. But you can reach out, talk to different agencies?”

  “And I will, but I’ll have to do it quietly and discreetly. You don’t understand the interagency conflicts I have to deal with on a daily basis. The CIA doesn’t even have authority within U.S. borders. That’s FBI jurisdiction. And Homeland Security is always giving me a hassle. We’re only permitted to be part of the team here because Huber is an international figure and resides outside the U.S.”

  “I know all that.” Rachel tried to keep the impatience out of her tone. “You’re treating me as if I hadn’t grown up living with my father. But I also know that we might be facing a disaster tomorrow. My father would recognize that and bend the rules. If you knew him as well as you say, then you’d agree that would be the only sensible act to him. It should be the only rational act to you, too.”

  “Of course the public good is always the most important thing to consider.” She sighed. “Unfortunately, Venable and I often had disagreements about his rashness in taking action before we could verify information.” She paused, then said gently, “There’s no proof other than that wild text you received, Rachel.” Her brows rose. “Nemesis? Why wouldn’t Venable bring me into dealing with him if he was of any importance?”

  “I’m sure he had his reasons,” Rachel said. “You might know better than me.” She glanced at Brandon. “He trusted Brandon enough to tell him about Nemesis. It was Brandon who told me that my father told Nemesis to contact me.”

  “Really?” She smiled at Brandon. “How curious. Then you have to trust that the message was truly sent to you from Venable and not from Brandon himself?”

  “Brilliant, Claire,” Brandon murmured. “Now she has to decide if I’m the bad guy.”

  “I’m only pointing out that it’s a strange message to entrust to a stranger of your dubious background. Particularly when he could share it with a coworker of my status.” She turned back to Rachel. “Brandon is very clever, but I never knew whether he’d managed to con your father. Venable was always vulnerable to people he cared about. You’ll have to decide that for yourself.”

  Rachel stared at her. “You’re suggesting that Brandon is working with Nemesis or perhaps with Huber and conned my father into believing he was his friend?”

  “It’s possible,” Claire said. “I have to look at all sides of a question in a situation like this. It’s part of my duties with the agency.” She reached out and covered Rachel’s hand with her own. She added softly, “Including the fact that he was the last person to see Venable alive. You have to remember that, Rachel.”

  “Magnificent, Claire,” Brandon said. “Now you’ve added murder to my dubious background?”

&n
bsp; “She’s the daughter of my friend.” She looked into Rachel’s eyes, and urged, “I can’t have her victimized, Brandon. Believe me, Rachel, I’ll do everything I can for you. Just put yourself in my hands.”

  “Yes, that’s all you have to do.” Brandon leaned back in his chair. “She’s made an interesting case. Now all you have to do is decide if it’s strong enough for you.”

  “No defense, Brandon?” Claire asked.

  “I’ve had time to offer my defenses since the day I met her. Some of them have been pretty weak, but in the end, she has to decide if they’re strong enough.”

  “And you can be so very persuasive, can’t you?” she asked silkily. “No one knows that better than me.”

  “I never tried very hard with you, Claire. I didn’t consider it worth my time.” He looked back at Rachel. “Weigh what she’s saying carefully. It does have a certain logic. But in the end, the bottom line is whether you trust me. Knowing our precarious relationship, you’ll not feel guilty about telling me if you don’t.”

  “No, I won’t.”

  “And I know you’ll make the right decision,” Claire said. “Your father thought a great deal of your intelligence. We often discussed it.”

  “Did you?” She gazed at her for a long moment. Every word appeared to have the ring of truth, her expression was sympathetic and sincere.

  She was lying.

  She glanced at Brandon. “You’re right, she’s totally brilliant. It’s too bad that I don’t think I can trust her to help us.” She turned back to Claire. “You lied to me. My father and I haven’t been on good terms for quite a while. You might say our relationship was almost painful. He would never have had those warm, casual discussions about how clever I was.”

  “No?” Claire recovered quickly. “But it doesn’t mean the rest of what I said isn’t true. As Brandon said, it has logic.”

  Rachel nodded. “It could go either way. But it’s like a poison with all the correct ingredients. Sometimes if you leave out the shaking or stirring, the deadly ingredients sink to the bottom and the liquid becomes ineffective.”

  Brandon chuckled. “Interesting comparison and typically you. And I hope it’s Claire who left out the shaking and stirring.”

  “It doesn’t matter. It just wasn’t there for me.” She shrugged. “So I guess I do trust you.”

  “You’re making a mistake,” Claire said. “And it might have terrible consequences. What we do know is that for some reason, you’re important to Huber. You need to let me protect you and find a way to make this threat go away.”

  “Or not protect you, considering the circumstances at the time,” Brandon said. “You don’t like the game concept, Rachel. You certainly wouldn’t like being a pawn.”

  “Stop this,” she said through set teeth. She leaned forward and glared at Claire. “I don’t want to talk about how you’re going to protect me and save the world. I want to know how you can stop what’s going to happen tomorrow. Will you do it?”

  “I told you that I would try,” she said. “We don’t know if this Nemesis is even a valid threat. It would help if I could tell everyone you’re an asset under my protection.”

  “I’m not your asset.” She added desperately, going down a new path, “Look, he also said Huber said something about the major disaster he was planning for next week would have something to do with changing the California coastline. If I give you my computer, maybe you could try to trace the address so we can find out more from him. And if that doesn’t work, my father sometimes got authority to use satellite surveillance to scan areas to find suspicious activity. We might be able to discover what Huber is doing along the coast. Couldn’t you do that, too?”

  “It’s possible. But probably not in the time you’ve given me. It usually takes at least four days to get that authority even if it’s a proven threat. And I can’t really argue Nemesis is a valid source and worth the money it would cost to implement the use of a satellite. Give me the computer, and I’ll see what I can do about the trace for this Nemesis. But as Catherine and Brandon told you, it’s probably a slim chance.” She said curtly, “I’ll do what I can with what you’ve given me. When you decide to come to me and cooperate fully, we’ll have another discussion.”

  Rachel couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “People might die.”

  “It won’t be my fault. I’m doing my duty as I see it. I’m sorry you’re being this stubborn. So like Venable…”

  “Now that was the truth.” Rachel’s voice was shaking with anger. “I’m finding I’m more like my father than I dreamed. Stubbornness can be good. Lying, on the other hand, is never good.” She got to her feet. “And the way you’re seeing your duty could be criminal. Change your mind. Do what my father would do.”

  “Sit down,” Claire ordered. “Let’s talk about it. You can’t win with me, Rachel. I don’t want to cause you undue distress, but get in my way, and I’ll have to take action.”

  “You’re incredible,” Rachel said in disbelief. “Screw you.”

  She turned and walked out of the restaurant.

  “Would you mind waiting?” Brandon said as he caught up with her. “I was busy enjoying the show, but I really prefer not to tag at your heels. It lacks dignity.”

  “I wasn’t enjoying the show,” she said, not looking at him. “She’s an arrogant bitch. I wanted to strangle her.”

  “That became obvious. I thought she might have you in the beginning.” He shook his head. “No, I have more faith in you than that. But you have to admit she’s good.”

  She nodded jerkily. “She moved from strength to strength. But all she could think about was getting her own way. She wasn’t thinking about what might happen. Will she do anything?”

  “Yes, it would be her job if she didn’t move on any potential threat. Will she go the extra yard? Not likely. You didn’t give her enough material to make her Wonder Woman saving the day. Now, if she’d had you as a potential wild card, she would have had a chance at more power and glory for her efforts.”

  “That shouldn’t matter. Everyone should go the extra yard when there’s a threat.”

  “That idealism striking again. Nice concept for an exceptionally nice person. But not realistic in this arena.”

  “I didn’t feel like a nice person back there. I wanted to slug her.”

  “Which also makes you an exceptionally human person.” He looked at her. “You did everything you could to get her to move on Nemesis as soon as possible. Everything except wrap yourself in shiny gold tissue paper and let her use you as she saw fit. I appreciate the fact that I didn’t have to step in and stop you from making the final sacrifice.”

  “I’m usually more patient. But I could see that she—” She looked at him. “You were stupid to go to bed with her. She’s completely self-absorbed.”

  “Not stupid. It was an experiment that failed. And one that evidently raised very vengeful feelings within our Claire.”

  “She tried to convince me you were a murderer. A woman scorned?”

  “I was polite, not rude, when I parted ways with her.”

  She shook her head. “Stupid.”

  “Have it your own way. You seem to appreciate stupidity a little more than games.” He smiled. “I’ll take it, Rachel.”

  “I just like the idea of her being scorned. I don’t want her to win anything.”

  “Then hopefully she won’t,” he said quietly. “Unless we need to use her as she wants to use you. You’d do it then.”

  “Yes, I would.” She drew a deep breath. “If she won’t help us, what are we going to do, Brandon?”

  “I have a few plans that we might tap. I would have brought them up before, but you were so determined to see if Claire could help. It was natural that you’d trust the CIA since that was your father’s vocation for all those years.” He shrugged. “And it might have been more promising as a way to go if you’d been able to persuade her. But I didn’t have much faith that was in the cards. Now we have no
choice but to—”

  “What plans?” she interrupted.

  “Presently. We have something to take care of first.” They had reached the parking lot, and he waved to Catherine to get out of the car. “A preventative effort…”

  “No progress?” Catherine asked as she studied Rachel’s expression as she came toward them. “At least you didn’t have to send up an S.O.S. I wasn’t sure what her reaction would be when she faced you, Rachel.”

  “Multifaceted,” Rachel said dryly. “But definitely not encouraging. She was more interested in me than what Nemesis might do. She might make a token gesture, but Brandon says that we’re pretty much on our own.” She grimaced. “And I suppose he should be able to judge. He knows her well enough to read her reactions.”

  “Really?” Catherine’s brows lifted. “I didn’t know they were that … close.” She gazed at Brandon speculatively. “Interesting.”

  “You might stop trying to decipher her statement and help me.” Brandon nodded at Rachel. “The first thing Claire did was to get up from the table and come around to give Rachel a warm hug. It was done with affection and smiles and sympathy. Which could have been part of her ploy to pull Rachel into her camp.” He paused. “Or it could have been something else.”

  “Yes, it could,” Catherine murmured. “Did you check it out?”

  “I thought I’d leave it to you.” He smiled. “I might enjoy it too much.” He took a step away from Rachel. “And I’m being very careful right now.”

  “That’s wise.” Catherine took a step closer to Rachel. “Stand very still and raise your arms, okay? I’ll be thorough, but this shouldn’t take long.”

  Rachel slowly raised her arms. “You believe she might have planted some kind of bug on me?”

  “Entirely possible,” Catherine said, as her hands ran over Rachel’s body, concentrating on her back, jacket, and upper hips. “Almost standard operating procedure if an operative doesn’t have the opportunity for surveillance. And I searched the area thoroughly, and Claire didn’t have any operatives in the restaurant or surrounding shops. She knew I’d be wary and checking.” She was going over the folds of the sleeves. “Claire is very savvy, and it would take her no time to do the plant.” She went still, her fingers probing. “Here it is.” She carefully removed a tiny device that was almost microscopic in size. “GPS. She slid it in the seam of your jacket.” Catherine looked at Brandon. “Misdirection or destroy it?”