Then she realized she'd left the key in the car. There it dangled,
inside the locked door. Her purse rested on the seat across from the
driver's side.
"Get it," Inagawa commanded his lieutenant. Takenaka bowed obediently,
then turned and tried the door handle, without success.
"_So_." He frowned.
Inagawa muttered a curse and brutally slammed the butt of his automatic
against the curved window. The sound of splintering glass rent the
morning air.
Quickly Novosty stepped forward and reached through to unlock the door.
Then he pulled it open and leaned in.
Why is he doing it? she wondered. Easy answer: He's trying to keep
control of the situation.
Whose side is he really on?
Then he backed out and handed her the brown leather purse while he
tried to catch her eye.
She took it, snapped it open, and lifted out the gray computer disk.
"There," she said as she handed it to Inagawa, "whatever's on it,
you'll have to figure it out for yourself."
"That can't be the only one," Novosty sputtered. "Surely there are
other copies."
"That's it, sweetheart."
Inagawa turned it in his hand, then passed it to Takenaka and said
something in Japanese. The other man took it, then barked _"Hai" _and
bowed lightly.
"Are you sure this is the only copy?" Inagawa asked.
"The only one."
He nodded to his lieutenant, who began screwing a dark silencer onto
the barrel of his automatic.
Oh my God, she thought. They're going to finish the job.
"Wait." Novosty reached for his arm. "She's lying. This is a disk from
a computer. There must be other copies."
"Yes." She was finally coming to her senses. "There are plenty of other
copies. In my computer. In--"
"Where is it?" Inagawa looked at her.
"It's--it's at the hotel. The Galaxy." She was trying desperately to
think. "And then I left another--"
"You're lying. We have been there. They said a tavern keeper came and
took all your luggage." He was staring down the street, toward Zeno's
place. "They also told us where he could be found. We will go there
now."
"My friends," Novosty interrupted again, "it would be most unwise to
attempt any violence on a Greek national here. The consequences could
be extremely awkward, for all of us."
"We must retrieve it."
"But why not do it the easy way?" He tried to smile. "There's another
man here, traveling with her. We should work through him. I know he
will deal. He's a professional."
"Who is he?"
"An American. If we hold her, keep her alive, we can use her to make
him bring it to us. We can offer a trade."
"No. We will just find him and take it." Inagawa started to move.
"Now."
"He's armed, my friends," Novosty continued evenly. "He's also
experienced. There would be gunfire, I promise you. If that happened,
you could have the entire street here filled with rifles in a minute.
You do not know these people as I do. They still remember World War Two
and the Resistance. Killing unfriendly foreigners became a way of life
some of them have yet to forget."
Alex is bluffing, she thought. Again. Michael doesn't have a gun. Does
Zeno? Who knows?
"Let me try and talk to him," Novosty continued. "Surely something can
be worked out."
"You will stay here, with us." Inagawa seized his arm, then turned and
began a heated exchange with his partner. Again Takenaka bowed
repeatedly, sucking in his breath and muttering hai. At last they
seemed to arrive at a consensus, though it was the taller man who'd
actually made the decision, whatever it was.
"She comes with us."
"Oh, no I don't." She looked at Novosty, who seemed defeated, then back
at the Japanese. She suddenly realized she was on her own. Novosty had
played all his cards. "If I don't reappear in Washington day after
tomorrow, you'll have the entire U.S. National Security Agency looking
for me. People know I'm here. So think about that."
"That is not our concern." Inagawa reached for her. "We do not work for
the American government." Then he turned to Novosty. "Tell your friend
that this woman will be released when we have all copies of the
protocol. All. Do you understand?"
"But how can I tell him if you won't let me--?"
"That is your problem."
"Perhaps . . . perhaps we should just leave a message here," Novosty
sputtered. "I'm sure he'll find the car."
"Alex, I'm not going anywhere with these animals." She drew back.
"Don't worry. I'll take care of everything."
"No, I'm not--"
That was all she could say before a hand was roughly clapped against
her mouth, her body shoved against the broken window.
Mike Vance and Zeno Stantopoulos searched for over half an hour before
they found the Saab. When they did, the left-hand window was broken,
and Eva's purse was missing. She was missing too. The only thing
remaining was a hastily scrawled note from Alex Novosty.