Vendetta

by Iris Johansen

  She shook her head at him. What could he do? She had to handle this herself. Huber was pouring malice like a scalding acid with every word, and she could only either answer in kind or let him believe that she was helpless before him.

  “You didn’t hurt me at Sazkar Prison,” she said. “Adversity just makes everyone stronger. You wouldn’t know about that because I hear Conrad always pampered you. Does his old buddy, Kraus, pamper you, too?” Stab deep, don’t let him think that he’d taken anything from her during that time. Don’t let him guess he was hurting her now. “That must be why you’re still an immature asshole.”

  “No one pampers me, you stupid bitch. Particularly not Kraus. I’m the one who runs Red Star. Everyone obeys my orders, as they should.”

  “And then laughs behind your back.”

  Brandon closed his eyes for an instant before instinctively taking a half step forward as if to protect her.

  “That just goes to show how ignorant you are. You’ll find out that no one dares to laugh at me.” He hissed. “You won’t laugh when I give you to my men and let them do exactly what I want them to do. I’m not going to worry about no marks of abuse this time. I’ll let them cut you up. They’ll beat you to a pulp. Rape will be the least of it.”

  “I’m tired of listening to you bragging. Yes, you hurt me before, but you didn’t win.”

  “Yes, I did,” he said maliciously. “When I killed Venable.”

  “And because you did, now you have me to deal with, Huber.”

  “You’re nothing,” he hissed. “You’re a weak woman only fit to wait on me. Venable just used you to—”

  “Or did I use him?” Strike him to the heart. “The poison was mine, I created it. I had reason to want revenge. So I took it. I killed Conrad Huber. What a fool you are. You might have killed my father, but you destroyed the wrong person. Because you’re stupid, and you wouldn’t believe a woman was capable of doing what had to be done to rid this world of scum. Well, now you do know, so what are you going to do about it?”

  He was cursing again. “I’ll remind you of that question when I have you with me, Rachel Venable. It will be soon, very soon.” His voice was shaking, and she knew she had driven him as far as she could. “So think about it every minute until we’re together.”

  His disconnect was almost a crash.

  It was over.

  She stood there. The call had been so full of ugliness and terror and memories of that other terror that she could barely pull herself together.

  “Okay?” Brandon asked.

  “No, but I will be.” She swallowed. “He … wanted to hurt me. That’s why he called. I … couldn’t let him do it.”

  “From what I heard, he didn’t have a chance,” Nate said dryly.

  “I … hope not. I can’t think of any other reason he would have called. He was so … vicious. I couldn’t give him that satisfaction. Half the time, I wasn’t sure exactly what I was saying. I was just acting on instinct.”

  “And you have great instincts,” Brandon said gently. “You were a powerhouse. What can I do to help you now?”

  He was being wary, treating her as if she was very fragile. She wasn’t fragile, but she was grateful that he wasn’t going too fast in this moment when she was still recovering. “Nothing. I just need a little time to myself. I’ll go out on the veranda and get some air, then I’ll be fine. I’ll see you in a few minutes.” She thrust her phone blindly at him as she passed him. “I pressed record. I don’t believe there’s anything there that you can use, but you can listen and see for yourself. He was all about pain and ugliness and…” She was out the door and breathing in the cool night air.

  Just stand here and take deep, steady breaths. Do what Hu Chang had taught her and let all pain and ugliness flow out of her.

  She was strong. Nothing could hurt her if she didn’t permit it. Not today. Not tomorrow. Certainly not yesterday. The past was gone, and she would take only what she wished from that time.

  She could almost hear Hu Chang saying those words. The pain was easing, and she could begin to think again. A few more minutes and she would be what she should be.

  She was strong …

  CHAPTER

  10

  “I brought you a cup of tea.” Brandon was standing behind her in the kitchen doorway. “I know you said you wanted to be alone, but it’s been almost an hour, and I decided to check in with you before I went back to work with Monty.”

  “Thanks.” She crossed the veranda and took the cup from him. “But you didn’t need to baby me. I was just coming back inside. Time kind of got away from me.”

  “No, I don’t need to baby you.” His lips were tight. “You can take care of yourself. Huber was trying to tear you apart, and you managed to hold your own.”

  “Better than that,” she took a sip of tea. “If I’d only held my own, I would have lost. I didn’t lose, Brandon. I couldn’t let him win anything more from me.” She smiled with an effort. “But it was very, very hard.”

  “Tell me about it,” he said grimly. “Listening to that son of a bitch almost tore me apart. I can imagine what it did to you.”

  “I’m fine now. It’s all gone.”

  “Not for me.”

  “Then maybe you’d better spend a little time with my friend, Hu Chang.” She took another sip of tea. “You didn’t hear anything in the conversation that we could use against Huber?”

  “No, as you said, it was all about viciousness and pain. I notice you did attempt to taunt him into giving us a location for his disaster scenario. I knew that would be a lost cause.” He watched her lift the cup to her lips again. “But you’re right, you came out on top. You met attack with attack. Even to telling him that you were the instigator of Conrad’s assassination. You do realize it’s going to make him more determined than ever to get hold of you.”

  She shrugged. “He was already there. I couldn’t let him believe by killing my father that he’d beaten the man who’d taken away the only person Huber appeared to love. He was so smug about it all. I had to take that away from him.”

  “Well, you succeeded. Now we’ve just got to make sure that he doesn’t get his hands on you.”

  “Or make sure he does,” she said thoughtfully. “He wants it so desperately that it could pave the way to a big mistake. I knew he wanted me, I just didn’t realize it was to that extent.”

  “No,” Brandon said firmly. “We’ve discussed this before. It’s off the table now that we know what a nutcase Huber is about you.”

  She shook her head. “Nothing’s off the table. One thing we did learn about Huber tonight is that he’s immature, an egotist, and that you were right about Kraus possibly running things behind the scenes. He responded very violently to my comment about Kraus. Some conflict there…” She finished her tea. “I’ll think about it and see what else occurs to me. But not now, you’ve got to go and help Monty.” She swallowed. “I’m praying that you’ll be able to get what we need. Nate scared me before.” She looked at him. “I think you meant him to do that. You didn’t want to raise my hopes.” She smiled without mirth. “You didn’t have to do it. I guarantee, my hopes weren’t soaring.”

  “I wanted to be honest with you.”

  “I know.”

  “We’re doing the best we can. We sent Claire Warren what she’d need to have her tech group check. Monty persuaded Sam Zackoff, one of his old buddies from MIT, to dive in and help. He’s one of the most brilliant hackers in the world and does nothing else.”

  “But you were still covering your ass because there’s no way it’s anything but a long shot?”

  He was silent. “You’ve been through too much. The last thing I wanted was to disappoint you.”

  She nodded. “Then don’t treat me the way Huber was doing on the phone tonight. I’m not weak. I’m not helpless. I can handle anything he throws at me. And if we lose this battle, I’ll also handle that.” She forced a smile as she went into the kitchen and put her cup on the
counter. “I was surprised Monty didn’t run after you when Nate sounded the alarm about my call from Huber. You three are usually joined at the hip.”

  He shook his head. “Only when necessary. Monty stayed behind to plug into some high-tech monitor and make certain that your phone line wasn’t compromised and broadcasting a trace.”

  “I should have known. It wasn’t?”

  Brandon shook his head. “But he wasn’t able to trace Huber’s call, either.”

  “I never thought he would. Of course, I wasn’t thinking of much of anything while I was dealing with Huber. Except surviving. Surviving was very big on my agenda.” She headed for the door to the hall. “You said you had to get back to Monty. Stop wasting time on me, Brandon.” She glanced at him. “Unless there’s some way I can help. Is there?”

  He shook his head.

  “Nate didn’t think so. If you change your mind, call me. I’ll be in my room.”

  He hesitated. “You’ll be okay?”

  “Brandon.”

  He held up his hands. “Sorry. I just didn’t like the idea of your being alone and remembering all that shit Huber—”

  “I won’t remember it. I’ll close it out. Call me if you need me.” She went past him down the hall.

  A few minutes later, she’d closed the door of her bedroom behind her.

  She stood there a moment, letting the darkness of the room soothe her, take away all the frustration and pain.

  Huber. Close him out.

  Claire. Close her out.

  Nemesis. She could not close him out.

  She turned on the light and went over to her desk. She took out the computer Brandon had given her to replace the one with which they were working.

  She sat down and flipped open the laptop. She typed in her email account number.

  No mail.

  What had she expected? Nemesis had told her no contact before noon the next day.

  She expected nothing, she desperately wanted everything. She had been reasonable and practical and had let Brandon push her out of the picture, where she had no real place. She was no expert, she could not track Nemesis.

  All she could do was make herself available to him.

  And hope that element of malicious mockery she had sensed in him would cause him to step forward so that he would talk to her again. She had been so on edge at that first encounter that she hadn’t been able to do anything but be defensive. But in retrospect, a few things about Nemesis had become clear to her. He was arrogant, money-hungry, mocking, and probably completely callous. But he was also afraid of both Huber and the consequences of what he was trying to do to Red Star. He had been so wary of Huber and his own deal with her father that he was taking less money so that he could escape as soon as possible. Nerves. There might be something she could use in that weakness …

  At any rate, she was sure that he’d still be monitoring her messages. He’d been too verbose, and he’d enjoyed the domination he’d exerted over her. He wouldn’t want to give up that power. And the anxiety that he’d revealed wouldn’t allow him not to keep an eye on her to make certain nothing had changed. She started to type.

  Nemesis.

  I need to talk to you. It doesn’t have to be this way. Whatever your demands, I’ll see that they’re met. By keeping silent, you’re making yourself an accessory to what happens today. You can still get your big payoff for giving us Huber. Just tell me what’s going to happen.

  She leaned back after she sent the message.

  She waited.

  No reply.

  She steeled herself against the inevitable disappointment. She could imagine him sitting there, smiling, as he caught the nuances of desperation in what she’d written. But if he’d read it at all, it was a minor triumph. She’d made contact when he’d arrogantly cut off all contact.

  And every instinct told her that he’d read it.

  And he’d keep on reading her messages. It didn’t matter if it was to gratify his ego or to make certain she wasn’t saying something of actual importance. She didn’t care as long as it kept him busy tonight, and wove a thread of connection between them. He might feel annoyance and impatience before this night was over. She hoped he did. Because she wasn’t going to sleep tonight.

  And neither was Nemesis.

  She started a new message.

  Nemesis.

  I need to talk to you.

  Why are you afraid?

  We can work together.

  Did you know Huber called me a few hours ago? We can talk about it.

  She sent the message.

  She waited.

  No answer. He hadn’t found the bit about Huber tempting enough? Or maybe he had to think about it. Don’t worry, I’ll give you time.

  It’s going to be a long night.

  She waited for another five minutes. Then she began the third message.

  Nemesis.

  I need to talk to you. How can we trust you when you do something that throws you into Huber’s camp? You need to defend yourself so that I can justify the money to the CIA. Can’t you see that?

  Message sent.

  No answer.

  She waited ten minutes and started again.

  Nemesis.

  You can see that I’m not giving up. All I’d need is a hint about where Huber is going to strike today. It would make the CIA much more likely to negotiate. My father isn’t there to pull strings, but I’m trying to be here for you.

  No answer.

  She typed.

  Nemesis.

  I need to talk to you.

  Again.

  And again.

  And again.

  BEACH HAVEN

  7:05 A.M.

  Do you think all this pleading is going to get you anything with me? What do you think you’re doing besides annoying me?

  Rachel inhaled sharply as the text appeared suddenly on the screen in front of her. She had almost given up. She was blurred and exhausted and had started wondering if this was a total lost cause.

  It might still be a lost cause, but not total. She’d made him answer her. She took a deep breath. Her fingers were shaking as she typed back.

  I didn’t consider it pleading, I thought I was reasoning with you. And, if you were annoyed, it might be more with yourself than me.

  Bullshit.

  I don’t think so. You had to realize that my arguments were sound. You’re either a terrorist or you’re not. The minute you tried to intimidate us by dangling another disaster as you did today, you became a terrorist. That means you’re solidly in Huber’s camp as far as homeland, CIA, and FBI are concerned. You can’t just take your money and run. We’ll run after you. [She paused.] But not if you show us that you tried to help prevent it. If your fine plans fall through, that might save you from a death sentence.

  Silence.

  So you said in those forty-two texts you sent me tonight. Forty-two! Ridiculous.

  But you read them. You know that what I said is true. Negotiate all you please. Make us pay. They tell me that’s how this works. But you need to protect yourself, and the only way is to help protect those victims Huber’s trying to murder today. What do you care? You’re only using the information to prove that you’re reliable. You’ll still prove it if you let us save them before Huber actually takes them out. [She paused.] Give me a place. Give me a name.

  Silence.

  She wanted to jump in and attack again. No, she had pounded him all night. Wait. She had laid out her arguments time after time. The fact that he had not answered was almost immaterial. His stubbornness had only assured that he’d given her no arguments. But her words had been before him on his computer screen, sinking in every time he glanced at it.

  I don’t have a name.

  Her heart sank with disappointment. He was refusing?

  His next words came immediately.

  And you will pay. That’s exactly how this works. [Another pause.] But it will do no harm to take out a little insurance. It’s true t
hat I’ve no desire to be thought to be one of Huber’s puppets. That could prove dangerous. The CIA understands money, they’re touchy about terrorists.

  Even though he might have been one in the past?

  But you said you have no name to give me.

  I have a place. Huber has a passion for sending hotels to the depths of hell. Have you noticed? Six hotels in the last eight years. The one in Rome was my personal favorite. That hotel was the size of the Colosseum, and the ruins actually looked like it. My information says that he wants another one to add to his résumé.

  Which hotel?

  Am I bad? A slight problem. It’s one of the hotels on San Kabara island, but I didn’t investigate which one since it wasn’t my prime concern. I’m sure you’ll be able to find out since I’ve given you the principal location. You can’t expect me to do all your work.

  San Kabara Island. Rachel vaguely remembered seeing TV commercials about the island north of the city that was described as a lush new tourist destination that was offering lavish hotels and casinos, sports meccas, and magnificent views. She’d paid no attention to them, she thought in a panic. How many hotels were on the island? She couldn’t remember. Five hours left …

  You’ve got to know which hotel. Are you playing me?

  Would I do that? I’m counting on you to save me if I stumble and fall. I honestly don’t know which hotel. I’ve done my part, it’s up to you to do the rest, Rachel. You should feel good that you convinced me to be a superhero. I’m feeling so much better about myself. I’ll get with you later to discuss our primary arrangement. I’ll allow you a little more time since you might be busy with San Kabara.

  The next moment, he was no longer there.

  And Rachel was jumping to her feet and grabbing her laptop.

  San Kabara!

  Then she was out of the bedroom and running toward Brandon’s library.

  “San Kabara,” she said when she burst into the room. “It’s going to happen on San Kabara Island, Brandon. It will be a hotel. That’s all I could find out.” She looked at Monty. “Tell me that you’ve found his IP address, so I can call him back.”

  He shook his head. “Nemesis? No such luck.” He stiffened. “Back? You’ve talked to him again?”