a knife, something else. He leaped back and grabbed the hand, twisting yet
not twisting-to cause her further pain was not in him. He could not hurt
her.
SWU kiU you it she can. Broussac.
Jenna rolled off the bed, her left leg bent, her knee crashing into his
kidney, her sharp fingernails clawing his neck, digging into his skin. He
could not strike her, he could not do it. She grabbed his hair, pulling his
face down, and her right knee smashed Into the bridge of his nose. The
darkness was splintered into fragments of white light.
"Cungl' she cried in a muted voice, made guttural by her fury.
He understood; he had taught her well. Use an enemy. KiU him only if you
must. But use him first. Escape was her intent; it accounted for the
disheveled clothes, the skirt pulled up to expose her thigh. He had
attributed it all to exhaustion, but he had been wrong; it was a sight for
a prase peering through a slot in the cell door.
"Stilir he whispered harshly as he held her, twisting nothing, damaging
nothing. "TU m6r he freed his left hand and pulled her writhing body across
the small room to the lamp. He reached over and found the switch; he
snapped it on, her face in front of his.
She stared at him, her wide brown eyes bursting from their sockets with
that strange admixture of fear and loathing
THE PARSIFAL MOSAIC365
he had seen in the window of the small plane in Col des Moulinets. The cry
that was wrenched from her throat came also from the center of her life; the
scream that grew from it was prolonged and horrible-a child in a cellar of
terror, a woman who faced the return of infinite pain. She kicked wildly,
and spun away, breaking his grip, and threw herself across the bed and
against the wall. She whipped her hand back and forth, slashing madly, a
crazed animal cornered, with nothing left but to end its life screaming,
clawing, thrashing as the trap snapped shut. In her hand she grasped the
instrument that had been her only hope for freedom; it was a fork, its tines
tirited with his blood.
"Listen to mel" he whispered sharply again. "It was done to both of usl les
what I've come to tell you, what I tried to tell you at Col des Mouhnetsl"
"It was done to mel You tried to kill me ... bow many times? If I'm to die,
then YOU- .
He lunged, and phu-dng her hand against the wall, her right arm under his,
he forced her to stop writhing.
"Broussac believed you ... but then she believed nwl Try to understand. She
knew I told her the truthl"
"You doet know the truthl Liar, liarl" She spat in his face; she was
kicking, twisting, digging the nails of her trapped hand into his back.
"They-wanted me out and. you were the wayl I don7t know why, but'I know men
have been killed ... a woman, too. who was meant to be youl They want to
kill us both now, they have tol"
"Liarl'
Mere are liars, yes, but I'm not one of theml"
"You are, you arel You sold yourself to the zvifatal Kunnr
"Nor, He twisted her hand, the bloodied fork protruding from her clenched
fist. She winced in pain as he pulled her wrist down. Then she slowly
reduced her counterpressure, her wide eyes frightened still, hating still,
but piercing, too, with confusion. He placed the fork against his throat
and Whispered. "You know what to do," he said carefully, clearly. "The
windpipe. Once punctured there~s no way out for me here. . . . But there is
for you. Pretend to go along with them; be passive, but watch the guard-as
you know, he's a groat. The sooner you're cooperative, the sooner theYll
find you work on the outside. Remember, all You want are Your
366 ROBERT LuDLum
Papers; theYre everything to you. But when they let you out, somehow get to
a phone and reach Broussac in Paris-you can do it. Shell help you because
she knows the truth." He stopped and took his hand away, leaving hers free.
"Now, do it. Either kill me or believe me."
Her stare was to him a scream echoing in the dark regions of his mind and
hurling him into the horror of a thousand memories. Her lips trembled, and
slowly it happened. Fear and bewilderment remained in her eyes, but the
hatred was receding. Then the tears came, welling up slowly; they were the
balm that meant the healing could begin.
Jenna dropped her hand and he took it, holding it in his own. The fork fell
from her unclenebed hand, and her body went limp, as the deep, terrible
sobs came.
He held her. It was all he could do, all he wanted to do.
The sobs subsided and the minutes went by in silence. All they could hear
was their own breathing, all they felt was each other as they clung
together. Finally he whispered, "We're getting out, but it won1 be clean.
Did you meet Kohoutek?"
"Yes, a horrible man."
"Ws going with us, supposedly to pick up a final payment for you."
"But there iset any," said Jenna, pulling her face back, studying his, her
eyes absorbing him, enveloping him. "Let me look at you, just look at you."
"There isn't time---7
"Shhh." She placed her fingers on his lips. "There must be time, because
there's nothing else."
"I thought the same when I was walking over here, and when I was looking
down at you." He smiled as he stroked her bair and gently caressed her
lovely face. "You played well, prArdszJ."
"I've hurt you."
"A minor cut and a few major scratches. Doet be insulted."
"Yoere bleeding ... your neck."
"And my, back, and a fork scrape-1 guess you'd call it-on my stomach," said
Michael. "You can nurse me later and I'll be grateful, but right now it
fits the picture they have. rm bringing you back on Aeroflot."
"Do I continue fightingr
THE PAusrFAL MosAic367
"No, Just be hostile. You're resigned; you know you can7t win. Itll go
harder for you if you struggle."
"And Kohoutek?"
"He says you're to stay in the back seat with him. Hell have us both under
a gun."
"Then I shall smoke a great deal. His hand will drop."
"Something like that. It's a long trip, a lot can happen. A gas station, a
breakdown, no lights. He may be a mountain bull but he's close to seventy."
Havelock held her shoulders. "He may decide to drug you. If he does, III
try to stop him."
. He won't give me anything dangerous; he wants his money. I'm not
concerned. r1l. know you~re there and I know what you can do."
"Come on."
"Mikhail." She gripped his hands. "What happened? To me ... to you? They
said such dreadful things, such tertible thingsl I coul&1 believe them, yet
I had to believe. It was therel"
"It was all there. Down to my watching you die~"
"Oh, God. . ."
"I've been running away ever since, until that night in Rome. Then I
started running in a different direction. After you, after them-after the
liars who did this to us."
"How did they do it?"
"There's no time now. III tell you everything I can later, and then I want
to hear you. Everything. You have the names, you know the people. Later
."
They stood up and embraced, holding each other briefly, feeling the warmth
and the hope each gave the other. Michael pulled a handkerchief from his
breast pocket and held it against his neck. Jenna took his hand away and
blotted the deep scratches herself; she touched the bridge of his nose,
where she had struck him with her knee, then smoothed his hair at the
temples.
"Treat me
"Remember, my darling," she whispered. sternly. Push me and shove me and
grab my arm firmly as you do it. A man who's been scratched by a woman,
whether she's his enemy or not, is an angry man. Especially among other
men; his masculinity suffers more than the wounds."
"Thank you, Sigmund Freud. Lees go."
The guard in the black leather jacket smiled at the sight of Havelock's
bleeding neck while the Cuban nodded his head,
368 RoiBERT LuDLum
his expression confirming a previous judgment. As instructed, Michael held
Jenna's arm in a viselike grip, propelling her forward at his side, his
mouth set, his eyes controlled but furious.
"I want to go back to Kohoutek and get out of herel" he said angrily. "And
I don't care for anydicussion, is that understood?"
"Did the great big man get hurt by the little bitty girl?" said the guard,
grinning.
"Shut up, you goddamned idiod"
"Come to think of it, she's not that little."
Janos Kohoutek was dressed in a heavy mackinaw coat, a fur-lined cap on his
head. He, too, smiled at the handkerchief held in place on Havelock's ne~k.
"Perhaps this one's a witch. from the Carpathians," he said, speaking
English, his stained teeth showing. "The old wives' tales say they have the
strength of mountain cats and the cunning of demons."
"Spell it with their b, p+iteli. She's a bitch." Michael pressed Jenna
toward the door. "I want to get started; the snow will make for a longer
trip."
"It's not so bad, more wind than anything," said the bull, taking a roll of
thick cord out of his pocket and walking toward Jenna. "They keep the
turnpike clear."
"What's that?" asked Havelock, gesturing at tfie cord.
"Hold out her hands," ordered Kohoutek, addressing the guard. "YOU may care
to put up with this cat, but I do not."
"I smoke," protested Jenna. "Let me smoke, I'm very nervous. What can I
do?"
"Perhaps you would prefer a needle? Then there win be no thought of
smoking."
"My people worft accept drugs," interrupted Michael firmly. "The airports
are watched, especially our departure gates. No narcotics."
'"Men she'll be tied. Come, take her hand." The guard in the leather jacket
approached Jenna; haltingly she put out her hands, so as not to be touched
more than necessary. Kohoutek stopped. "Has she been to the toilet?" he
asked harshly of no one, and no one answered. "Tell me, woman, have you
been to the toilet?'
"I'm all right," said Jenna.
"For a number of hours? Therell be no stops, you under- THE PARSIFAL MOSMC3e9
stand? Even to sit on the side of the road with a gun at your head, there'll
be no stops. RozumUP"
"I said I'm all right."
"Tie her, and lees go." Havelock took several finpatient steps toward the
door, passing the Moravian and glancing at Jenna. Her eyes were cool glass;
she was magnificent. "I assume this refugee from a faldf will take us up in
the truck."
The guard looked angry as Kohoutek grinned. "You are not far wrong,
Havlf6ek. He's been put away for aggravated assault several times. Yes,
hell take us." 'Me bull pulled the cord tight around Jenna's hands, then
turned and shouted, "Axelr
"He has my weapon," said Michael, gesturing at the man in the leather
jacket. 'Td like it back."
'You shall have it. At a street c6mer in New York."
The second guard entered the room from the hallway, the same man who had
first seen Havelock awake on the floor.
"Yes, Mr. Kohoutek?"
"Yoere handling the schedules tomorrow, no?"
"Yes, sir."
"Stay in radio contact with the north trucks and have one pick me up in
Monongahela after my plane arrives tomorrow. I will phone from the airport
and give you the time of the flight.-
Mght.-
"We go," said the mountain bull, heading for the door.
Michael took Jenna's arm, the guard in the leather jacket following.
Outside, the wind was stronger than before, the snow angrier, whipping in
circles and stinging the face. With Kohoutek leading, they ran down the
farmhouse path to the truck in the road. A third guard, wearing a white
parka, stood by the gate fifty yards away; he saw them and walked to the
center latch.
The truck was enclosed; there were facing wooden benches in the van for
transporting a cargo of five to six on each side, and coiled ropes hung on
the walls. At the sight of the covered, windowless quarters Jenna was
visibly shaken, and Havelock understood. Her country-his native countryhad
seen too many such vehicles over the years, heard too many stories told in
whispers of convoys carrying away men and women and children who were never
seen again. This was Mason Falls, Pennsylvania, U.S.A., but the owners and
370 RoBERT LuDLum
drivers of these trucks were no different from their brothers in Prague and
Warsaw, late of Moscow-before then, Berlin.
Tet in, get inf" shouted Kohoutek, now waving a large .45 automatic as the
guard held the handle of the rear door.
"rin not your prisonerl" yelled Havelock. "We negotiated] We have an
agreementl"
"And part of that agreement, pfiteli, is that you are my guest as well as
my hostage until we reach New York. After delivery-both deliveries-I
shall.be happy to put away the gun and buy you dinner."
The mountain bull roared with laughter as jenna and Michael climbed into
the van. They sat next to each other, but this was not to Kohouteles
liking. He said, "The woman sits with me. You move across. Quickly."
"You7re paranoid," said Havelock, moving to the other side, seeking out the
shadows.
The door was closed, the latch and lock manipulated by the guard. A dim
light came through the windshield. In seconds, thought Michael, the
headlights would be turned on, the reflected spill partially illuminating
the van. In the darkness be pulled up his coat and reached behind him with
his right hand, inching toward the knife clipped to his belt in the small
of his back. If he did not remove it now, it would be infinitely more
difficult later when he was behind the wheel of his car.
"Whaes that?" shouted the bull, raising his gun in the shadows, pointing it
at Havelocles head. "What are you doing?-
'*Me bitch cat clawed my back; the blood's sticking to my shirt," said
Michael in a normal voice. Then he yelled, "Do you want to see it, feel
it?'
Kohoutek grinned, glancing at jenna. "A Carpathian &rodgika. The moon's
probably full but we can't see it." He laughed his crude mountain laugh
once more. "I trust the Lubyanka is as tight as it ever was. She'R eat your
&nb
sp; guards UPI.
At the mention of the word "Lubyanka," jenna gasped, shuddering. "Oh, Codl
Oh, my "I"
Kohoutek looked at her again, and again Havelock understood-she was
covering for him. He quickly pulled the knife out of the scabbard and
palmed it in his right hand. lt had all taken less than twelve seconds.
TkE PARwAL Mosuc 371
The driver's door opened; the guard climbed in and switched on the lights.
He looked behind; the old bull nodded and he turned the ignition key. The
vehicle had a powerful engine, and a minute later they had passed through
the gate and were climbing the steep hill, the heavy-treaded tires
crunching the snow and the soft earth beneath them, lurching, vibrating,
rolling with the uneven pitch of the ground. They reached the wall of trees
where the road flattened out; there was perhaps three-eighths of a winding
mile to go before the Fourforks Pike. The guard-driver gathered speed, then
suddenly stepped on the brake, stopping the truck instantly. A red light
was flashing on the dashboard. He reached over for a switch, then another,
and snapped both. There was a prolonged burst of static over the radio as
an excited voice shouted through the eruptions: "Mr. KohoutekI Mr.
Kohoutekl"
"What is it?" asked the guard, grabbing a microphone from the dashboard and
depressing a button. "You7re on the emergency channel."
"The sparrow in New York-he's on the phonel Handelman~s deadl He heard it
on the radiol He was shot in his apartment, and the -police are looking for
a man . . ."
Havelock lunged, twisting the handle of the knife into his clenched fist,
the blade protruding downward, his left hand reaching for the barrel of the
.45 automatic. Jenna sprang away; he gripped the long, flat steel as
Kohoutek rose, then slamming the gun back down on the wooden bench, he
plunged the knife through the mountain bulrs hand, the point
embedding-through flesh and bone-in the wood, the .bloody hand impaled.
Kohoutek screamed; the guard in the front seat spun around as Jenna threw
herself at him, crashing her roped hands down on his neck, and pulled the
microphone out of his grip, cutting off the transmission. Havelock swung
the gun up into the old buIrs head; Kohoutek lurched back into the wall and
fell forward on the floor of the van, his arm stretched out, his hand still
Robert Ludlum - The Parcifal Mosaic.txt Page 47
