Ben made a face. "Hi. I won't ask how he got a nice lady like you involved with all those tombs and stuff. He usually manages to do what he wants to do. But I do thank you for saving my neck. I thought this time I'd bought it."
"You're welcome. I hope you recover quickly, Mr. Leonard."
"The doctor says I'll be out of here in a week or so." He glanced at Tavak. "Will you need me sooner?"
"No, I have some data to retrieve, and that will take some time." He smiled. "I believe we can afford to let you take a little time to heal."
Ben gave him a wary look. "What then? Tell me there won't be any more tombs."
"I can't tell you that. But I'll handle it myself if we run into any."
"Good." Ben gave a sigh of relief. "I don't want to have anything to do with underground burials. I think I'm going to be cremated when I buy it. Until then, I'll stay up top and guard your back."
"That will probably work just as well. Do you need anything?"
Ben shook his head. "Just a pass to get out of here. But maybe I'll enjoy the rest. You're not a very relaxing person, Tavak."
"You'll get bored."
Ben shook his head. "No, you're the one who can't be still for more than a couple hours. I have a lazy nature. I just don't get to pander to it when I'm around you." He glanced at Rachel. "Watch yourself, he's not like other people. He gets restless, then all of a sudden you're tiptoeing through a minefield."
"Then why are you still going to work with him?"
He shrugged. "Damned if I know. I guess I have a death wish." He grinned. "Or it might be that he promised to make me a rich man. That could have something to do with it."
"A lot to do with it," Tavak said. "You have to be able to pay for that fancy cremation." He reached out and shook Ben's hand. "They'll take good care of you here. If they give you any trouble, call me, and I'll be back."
"I will," Ben said. "You owe me." He paused, gazing at Tavak. "Don't you go getting yourself into trouble until I get out of here."
"No, just a little research as I said." Tavak turned toward the door. "Get well, Ben. I need you."
Ben's face lit up. "Yeah, I know you do. I'll be in touch as soon as I get my discharge papers."
"Do that." Tavak waved from the door. "I'll be waiting."
Rachel was silent as they walked down the corridor to the elevator. "You care about him."
"Yes, why are you surprised?"
"I just—you can't have much in common."
"I admire him. He's no hero. But when he's frightened, he faces it and keeps going." He grimaced. "He doesn't have the best character judgment, but that's in my favor. Sometimes people find I'm a difficult dose to swallow. He relies on his instinct. He doesn't know why, but he likes me. I'll take that."
"Do you really need him?"
"No, but it makes him feel good to hear it. What's the harm?"
"No harm." But Rachel didn't know if she would have thought to say those words. She had the reputation of being a bulldozer, and most of the time she deserved it. She was totally focused and didn't stop to see or analyze anything but the goal ahead. "It just surprised me."
Tavak glanced at her as he pressed the elevator button. "You'll get over it. Surprises are natural when you're getting to know someone. I'm looking forward to the first time you surprise me, Rachel."
She looked away from him. "From what you tell me, I have no secrets from you."
"Not true. We all have secrets." He gestured for her to precede him into the elevator. "In the mind, in the heart, in the body. I'd like to explore every one of yours."
She felt a ripple of shock. The words had been spoken almost casually, but they still had an intimacy she had never expected. "Then be prepared to be disappointed."
"I'm always prepared. That makes it so much better when I'm wrong."
Rachel didn't speak for a moment. "I've already discovered that you're an expert manipulator. Never try to manipulate me in that way, Tavak."
"Is that what I'm doing?" He smiled. "It's possible. I don't think so, but sometimes I find I do it unconsciously. You'll have to keep your eye on me."
Her eyes on him and her wits about her, Rachel thought. "Don't worry, I never intended anything else."
* * *
"They're still alive," Sorens told Dawson, when he answered the phone.
Dawson muttered a curse. "Why? Didn't the bomb go off?"
"It went off and blew the room to pieces. Tavak and Rachel Kirby must have been out of the blast range. They scooted out of the hotel and met at a cafe a few blocks from the hotel. Then they went to the hospital and visited Ben Leonard. Forty minutes later they headed for the airport and booked tickets for Paris."
"Son of a bitch. Why the hell would they go to Paris?" But Tavak must have a reason. He had thought he'd erase that particular problem for good, but Tavak had slipped away again. Oh well, he had the information he'd copied from Tavak's external hard drive, and he'd had experts working on determining exactly its capabilities. It appeared to be a decoder, but they had been astonished by the power and complexity of the program. It was no wonder that Tavak had been able to do what Dawson could not.
And Dawson wasn't surprised at the power of the program. Not since he'd been told that the woman with Tavak was Rachel Kirby. It appeared that Tavak had taken a partner who could tap into that gigantic brain trust. The knowledge filled Dawson with rage and frustration.
Calm down. Soon they'd also be able to process the information Tavak had gotten from the wall of the tomb. He mustn't be impatient. He'd been assured the safeguards Tavak had put on the program would be broken. Then he'd be able to process Natifah's leads himself instead of following Tavak around like a trained dog.
"Should I have a man follow him to Paris?" Sorens asked.
That was a stupid question. Tavak was a threat wherever he was, and this sudden trip to Paris made Dawson uneasy. He'd thought by stealing the information on Tavak's hard drive, then erasing it, that he'd finally left him in the dust; but you could never tell. "Hell yes, I want to know what he's doing there. Get someone out to the airport right away. Make sure you don't use anyone he might recognize from that tomb."
"I'll send Medelin. He's a very good man. And he might be able to get on the same plane."
"Good." Dawson paused. "And tell him if he gets an opportunity to correct that bungle in Tavak's hotel room, by all means do it. I'm not that curious about what he's doing. I'd rather have him dead."
* * *
"The flight for Paris won't leave for another two hours," Tavak said. "Do you want to find a restaurant and grab some dinner?"
"No. Not now." Rachel reached in her bag and pulled out her phone. "I have a phone call to make." The call she'd been dreading since she'd reached Cairo. "I promised to call my sister."
"And you're not happy about it," Tavak said as he moved closer to the check-in counter. "I'll give you some privacy. I have some work to do anyway."
"Tavak."
He glanced back over his shoulder.
"I want to read the transcription of Natifah's words on that mastaba wall. Don't try to put me off again."
He nodded. "I'll pull up the transcription on my computer and send it to yours. You can read it on the plane. Good enough?"