Against the Wall

by Lyn Stone

  The very thought of what must have happened to him gave her the shivers. She had hardly slept at all.

  Now once again, after the noon meal, she climbed the stairs, her feet like lead weights, her heart the same. She paused and knocked, hoping Chari would be in his study and answer her, but there was only silence beyond the door. She continued up the stairway to the room where she had spent the last night.

  How she missed Jacques. If only she could see him for a little while, have him hold her and reassure her. Even if he could do nothing right now to end all of this, he could at least lend her a bit of his courage to sustain her. She felt so isolated.

  One had to wonder how he did this sort of thing for a living. Did he go from one mission such as this straight to another? She knew his bringing her with him was not his choice. Did he usually do this work in the midst of evil alone? How did he endure it?

  She flopped across the bed and toed off her shoes, exhausted mentally, if not physically.

  With a sigh, she whispered into the stillness. "Where are you, Jacques? What are you doing at this moment? Why do you not come for me?"

  Just as her eyes were closing, the door creaked open. With a cry of surprise, she sprang upright. Chari.

  His sly smile frightened her, but Solange was well used to concealing her fright. It was the only way she had been able to face going to the prison to work with her father. Her effort had doubled during the two times she had gone without him. That practice came in handy now.

  He was dressed casually, as he had been before, wearing chinos, a dark brown pullover, a canvas vest and boots. His features, like his son's, were nearly perfect, his body toned and fit. She realized that Chari was well into the role he had assumed and that he liked it.

  "Yes? What do you want?" she demanded, glaring at him, realizing it was definitely the wrong question, the moment she asked. "Have you come to release me?"

  "Mercier is restless. If I allow you back into the manor, can I trust you to keep your mouth shut about the research?"

  She rolled her eyes, clutching her arms as if she were cold. "What could I possibly tell him?"

  "Him? Anything you like, because he already knows. But do not speak to the others." His eyes narrowed. "Any of them, do you understand? And say absolutely nothing about the project to my son."

  Solange sighed, her shoulders drooping in spite of her effort to appear strong. "I know nothing, anyway. All I have done thus far is housework. I have no clue what the research is about unless it is a cure for megalomania."

  "Those are dangerous words, Doctor. Petulance is so unbecoming."

  "I was referring to your so-called chemist," she said, understanding that if she angered him any further, he would not allow her to go to Jacques. "The man is a pig."

  Chari relaxed, leaning back against the door frame and crossing his arms across his chest. "Yes, I must agree, but unlike you, he is qualified to do the work. You are merely there to assist him."

  "I could do more, perhaps," she said, "if you bothered to explain to me what it is you intend and what you have already accomplished."

  "Remember your place, woman," he warned in a silky voice.

  "Then suppose you allow me to do what you know I am qualified to do and see how René is doing," she suggested.

  "So, go," Chari said, with a nod to the open door. "No one is stopping you. I would have let you go last evening if you had waited awhile. I was occupied elsewhere and did not hear you if you knocked. When I finished, you had already come up here and retired for the night."

  "I was to wait in the stairwell?" she asked. "It was a long day and I was too tired."

  His lips stretched into a suggestive smile. "You are no beauty, but you did make a fetching sight curled on that bed." He glanced over at the rumpled chintz and shook his head, as if remembering. "I was almost tempted to stay."

  Solange tried not to run as she headed out. His cruel laughter curled behind her in the stairwell.

  Chapter 9

  Once they were inside the manor, Piers ordered Jack to the study. Chari was not there when they entered.

  "Stay here," Piers ordered, "and under no circumstances, touch that door." He inclined his head toward the tower. "Or anything else in the room." His glance cut briefly to the small camera mounted in the corner as if to remind Jack he would be watched. Then he left.

  Jack remained standing as he waited to see what would happen next, but he couldn't help his gaze drifting to the place where he had last seen Solange. To his amazement the door opened. Chari stepped through and stood aside to allow Solange into the study.

  "What are you doing here? Did you find something during the search?" Chari demanded of him.

  Jack ran a quick assessment of Solange, who appeared to be holding up all right. She looked a little pale, but not all that frightened or ill. "Piers asked me to wait here. He went to find you."

  "Why?" Chari demanded. He took Solange by the arm as if she were a balky child and gave her a slight shove in the direction of the chair to one side of his desk.

  She sat obediently, looking up at Jack, her eyes narrowed with concern. He wondered if it was for herself or for him. What had she done?

  Before he could answer Chari, Piers came rushing back in from the other door, his face red with exertion. "Edouard has gone. Disappeared!" he exclaimed. Then he pinned Jack with a black glare. "Did you tell him what happened?"

  "No, he just came in," Jack said truthfully. This was getting more interesting by the minute.

  Piers holstered his weapon, a good sign. Then he wiped his brow with the back of his sleeve. "We found a weapon on Mercier, a crossbow quarrel that he says he found on the roof. I marched him back here to explain it to you and left Edouard to continue the search. When I returned, he was gone. There is no sign of a struggle out there. Nothing. I think he has run off."

  Chari had gone very still, his brow furrowed and his jaw clenched. "Do you think he...knows?"

  Piers shook his head. "No, I do not believe so. How could he?" They both looked at Jack, who simply shrugged.

  Best-case scenario, Eric was out there somewhere and had captured Edouard. Not that the guard would be able to furnish the team any information about what was going on in the lab, but under pressure, he would most likely provide the day-to-day operations in the rest of the chateau. Or Edouard could have gotten tired of being confined to the place and decided to take a hike while he had the chance.

  "Find Edouard and get rid of him," Chari ordered. Piers left immediately and Chari turned to Jack. "Now, about that crossbow quarrel."

  "As I explained to Piers, when a man spends time in prison, he learns never to ignore a potential weapon. Many times it means the difference between living and dying. The old arrow was stuck there on the roof between the tiles and so I took it. Now you have it. End of story."

  After a long, tense silence, Chari nodded. "Go about your duties, then."

  Solange released an audible gust of relief that drew Chad's attention. He shot her disgusted look, then spoke to Jack. "I brought her up to show you she is well and thriving. Unless you want that to change, let us not have any further cause to question your loyalty, Mercier."

  "No problem," Jack said. "Are you well, Solange?"

  "I'm fine," she said, and started to say something else when Chari cut her off.

  "Go back to the lab. Now!" he ordered.

  She threw a helpless look at Jack who tried to reassure her without words. He hated like hell to see that door close when she left. Chari would lock it and she would be trapped for the day and possibly the night, too, after this incident. Jack knew things had to break, and soon.

  Back in Tournade, the Sextant team was waiting for news. Eric Vinland had some for them. He stamped the loose dirt off his shoes as he entered through the back door.

  "Jack almost got caught retrieving the phone," he announced, slapping his gloves down on the heavy oak kitchen table. "He had to ditch it. I put it back, but I doubt he'll get another chance
. Obviously Chari doesn't trust him outside alone. By the way, he'll have one less guard to deal with. The guy ran like a rabbit as soon as the other one walked Jack back to the chateau at gunpoint. I sicced the intel guys on him by phone and they picked him up before he got to the road."

  Holly and Martine looked up from the layout of the Chari mansion a former employee there had provided. "Can we get someone else inside the house?" Holly asked. "Damn, I wish we could get close enough to listen in on what's happening. At least we have trackers on all their vehicles and their airspace monitored. They can't get the stuff out of there without our knowing."

  "Yes, but God only knows what's going on there in the meantime." Eric shook his head as he pulled out one of the chairs and sat down. "I think we're going to have to wing it from here on. I'm not picking up any useful signals from Jack or the doctor today. How about Joe? He get anything?"

  "Nothing," Martine told him. "It's a shame these powers of yours and Joe's don't work on command. They're so iffy."

  "Most of the time, yeah," Eric said with a sigh. "It's hit or miss. Usually all I need is something belonging to the subject and I get some kind of reading, but Jack's a natural blocker. He's not doing it consciously. It's just his private nature." He ran a hand through his hair and rested his head in his hand. "I wish Will had gone in instead. I can read him like a damn Web page."

  Joe and Will walked in. Joe headed straight for the coffeemaker, where he began pouring two cups. "That's because Jack's convinced he doesn't have it. True of most people."

  "Like me," Holly admitted. "I know I don't. Maybe you both could try Lady Doc again?"

  "Already did," Eric said. "All I sense from her is frustration and a truckload of anger. A little fear but not terror. That's a good sign. They've been separated, I do know that."

  "How do you know?" Joe asked, sliding into the chair next to Martine. He had been grilling Eric steadily since he had credited that his own flashes of precognition were legitimate on their last case. They were too sporadic and inexplicable to be of any use yet, but he was determined to gain some control.

  "How? Well..." The answer was a little embarrassing. Eric hesitated, then forged ahead. No secrets here. "When I did connect with him last evening, Jack was experiencing incredible worry about Solange, as if he couldn't see for himself she was okay. And also he was feeling...you know...sort of physically deprived."

  Holly rolled her eyes and groaned. Will sipped his coffee and looked interested. Joe grinned and Martine blushed bright pink.

  Then it dawned on Joe, as Eric had known it would, and his grin faded. "Hey, you've never tuned in on anything while we, uh, they were..."

  "Intimate?" Martine finished the question, her eyes wide with apprehension.

  "No, no! Nothing like that," Eric hurried to reassure her. After all, he had been reading her thoughts as well as Joe's like a best-selling adventure novel less than two weeks ago. He'd had to slam those mental books shut a time or two for decency's sake.

  "Jack has stepped over the line, messing with a civilian. And on a mission, too," Holly said, clicking her tongue with disbelief. "I'd never have imagined that Mercier, of all people, would—"

  "Lighten up, Holly," Joe grumbled. "You're stepping on toes here."

  She shrugged. "Hey, man, if the shoe fits. Just because you and Martine got it on and it happened to work out okay, doesn't mean Jack's not gonna get his teeth kicked in when all this is over. He had a rough go of it when his wife got zapped. Since then he's steered way clear of anything serious."

  Her sigh echoed what every one of them was thinking. "This sounds serious. He wouldn't have gone this far if it wasn't. But the good doctor has a life here in France. She's not likely to pull up stakes and hook up with a guy who does what we do."

  "I did," Martine reminded her.

  "Yeah, but your jobs are related and you guys are on the same page. What happens when Jack and So-lange get out of there and back to the real world?"

  Eric held up his hand to stop this delving into Mercier's love life. "First of all, we need to worry about how we get them back to the so-called real world, right?" He looked from one to the other in turn. "Anybody got any bright ideas short of storming the place like a SWAT team?"

  Will Griffin spoke up for the first time. "I might have something."

  All gazes locked on him. He seldom spoke, but when he did, everybody listened. "The big guy who comes into the village alone and does the purchasing posted some very interesting correspondence for Chari today. Seems our terrorist mogul is now reestablishing his contacts with the world of cinema."

  Holly slapped her hands together. "I knew it! See, I was right." Then she laughed, a dry, mirthless sound. "Something just occurred to me, guys. What if this whole scenario has nothing to do with plaguing the Western world. Not for real, anyway. Could this bio-terror thing be nothing but a hoax? Like he's trying out a film plot or something? Then when somebody finds out and he gets arrested, he gets all sorts of free publicity?"

  Will was already shaking his head. "Don't we wish, but no. It's for real, Holly. There's the purchase of all those supplies and lab equipment. The visits to Iran and New York. He's still got to have the money to back this new enterprise he's planning."

  He leaned against the counter, calmly drinking his coffee. "And it appears that he had already begun the actual planning. We've agreed that Chari's after making a name for himself in the movies. All signs indicate he's putting out feelers for that. Could mean he expects his money to be available shortly. The toxin might be ready."

  "If he's even running the show," Eric said. "Chari could be a dupe for someone else. We've kicked this around before, I know. Anyone have any more ideas while we're s'posing?" He was watching Martine as he spoke. "What are you smiling about, Mrs. Newlywed? You smile entirely too much these days."

  "I have an idea." She clasped her hands on the table as if containing her excitement. "We could invite Chari here," she said. "I'm supposed to be the writer with a few screenplays to my credit. What if we offered him film rights he couldn't help but be interested in? You probably couldn't get much information out of him, but if he accepts the invitation, one of you might manage to sneak into the chateau and make contact while he's over here. Or, better yet, if Jack knows he's coming, he might coax Chari into letting him come along as a driver or bodyguard."

  No one said anything as they considered whether it might work. Then Holly, who was heading the backup force for the mission, answered, "Okay, let's give it a shot. Worst he can do is decline."

  "There's the local festival happening the day after tomorrow in the village. Could we connect a party to that?" Eric asked.

  Holly thought about it. "No. Let's do it the night before. Tomorrow night. Can we get it together by tomorrow night if we hustle?"

  Not waiting for an answer, she pointed to Will. "Use whatever contacts you can. As Martine suggested, rustle us up the name of a script that's hot. A best-selling firecracker of a book that Martine, our famous Madame D'Amato, has supposedly just bought film rights to. Story will be that she's looking for a co-producer. It will have to be something that will grab Chari's interest. A potential goldmine."

  She pondered a few seconds, then held up a finger. "We need us a few rich and influential guests. Let's make this a real party. Call and see if you can coerce a couple of those guys Chari contacted by mail to fly in."

  "I know the perfect someone," Eric said, rubbing his hands together in his excitement. "She's in Scotland filming. I bet she'd fly over and bring friends."

  Will put down his cup and started for the door that led out back to the garage. "I'll go find a caterer. You're not making me cook for this shindig."

  Holly tossed her napkin at him. "With your repertoire? Like we want five-alarm chili? Let's make this a cocktail party. I'm sure you can mix drinks." They all laughed when he looked wounded.

  "At least now we can be fairly sure we aren't dealing with a cell of diehards like Al-Qaeda," Martine said with a sig
h of relief.

  "At least with Chari, we're not, but God only knows who he's selling the stuff to," Eric said. "Or who he might have with him there at the chateau supervising the project. That's what we need to find out."

  The moment Jack entered their rooms, he found René pacing, absolutely livid with anger. "Who in hell does he think he is?" the boy ranted. "Why is he doing this? She has done nothing! Nothing to him!"

  "Shh," Jack warned as René raged loudly against his father for holding Solange in the tower. "Look, I saw her today. She is fine! He'll return her to you soon. Now go wash your face and calm down." While he talked, Jack virtually dragged the boy into the bathroom, the only place where they would not be overheard. He twisted the faucet until it ran full force.

  "Get her out of there!" René demanded. "You can do it."

  "Now you listen to me, kid. This kind of tantrum could get her hurt. Listen to me!" He shook René by the shoulders. The mutinous scowl remained, but the verbal tirade ceased.

  "If he doesn't let her go before, I'm going into the tower tomorrow night. You could help by causing a distraction. Can you do that? If I get caught in there, you could share the blame," he warned.

  René nodded eagerly. "What shall I do?" Then he answered himself. "I'll run away. The cameras will see me leaving, of course, and the guards will follow, those that are not on the roof. My father might even trouble himself to come out and look for me. He usually doesn't care what I do, but I think he will make an exception this time. If not, you will have to deal with him."

  "That could work. Do it directly after midnight, when the second shift will have gone up. I'll be off duty then and should be summoned to help find and bring you back. Instead of searching, I'll circle around where the roof guards won't see me and try to get up to her window. Those up there are not barred, are they?"

  "No, not the ones on the upper floor. And the stones are rough, some of the chinking gone so you can probably scale it. I did it once, coming down, when he shut me up in there."