Ali the codes and security passwords of her various clients had long ago been thoroughly memorized, so even in her slightly befogged state, Naomi was immediately able to reply.
"ALPHA ZONE."
"ACKNOWLEDGE… ORDER… JASMINE TO OAKHURST."
"PASSWORD?"
"DECIBEL."
"GO AHEAD»
A long series of numbers and more coded words appeared on the screen, ending with the plain language "PLEASE ACKNOWLEDGE ONE HOUR."
"AGREE."
The screen went blank, and Naomi reached for the telephone to gain access to a transatlantic line.
For the second time that evening, Carlotta walked up the stairs. Behind her, the party was already breaking up. With any luck, all the guests would be off the grounds in less than a half hour's time.
"Come in, my dear."
Carlotta eased herself into the same high-backed leather chair and accepted the light he offered.
"The merchandise is available. Half of the L39AIs you requested. I can fill out the order with Parker-Hales."
"Good. And delivery?"
This is Monday. Shall we say Friday? In Amsterdam?"
"Fine. How will the contact be made?"
"Come, come, my dear. You know I can't give you that information until you are there and the money has been transferred."
"Of course." She smiled, mashing out her cigarette. "And now the price."
Two hundred and twenty thousand. That includes the end-use certificate and delivery to your point of departure."
"Very well," Cariotta replied, standing. "I'll contact our people in Switzerland in the morning."
Kashmir moved in close to her, sliding his arms around her waist and cupping her buttocks in his hands. "I'll send off the verification and meet you by the pool in a half hour. That is, if you haven't changed your mind…"
Cariotta allowed her body to melt against his as Carter's words ran through her mind:
Stay with him, Cariotta… from the time you send the go, stay with him. He's surely got a way out of there for emergencies. Stay glued to him and make sure he doesn't slip us. The entire operation depends on nailing Kashmir so he can't show up later and ruin everything. If something happens when we go in that warns him, make sure he doesn't get away!
His lips covered hers, and Cariotta didn't jerk away when his tongue began to probe inside her mouth.
"We will be beautiful together, don't you think, my dear?"
"Yes. beautiful."
"The pool? A half hour?"
"A half hour," she said, turning and walking quickly toward the door.
Three
The pool was octagonal in shape and enclosed in a bubble dome. There were muted lights glowing beneath its surface. Since the patio lights and most of the lights in the rear rooms of the mansion had been extinguished, the only illumination was from the pool itself.
Kashmir was already there, standing on the low board at the far end, his tail, well-muscled body suitless.
Cariotta waved and approached the edge of the pool. Her long, black hair was braided and wrapped around her head. She wore a black silk robe that hugged her body and ended mid-thigh to reveal the astonishing length of her statuesque limbs. A small black clutch bag was in her right hand. Inside the bag was a package of cigarettes and a lighter.
Built into the base of the lighter was a tiny homing device that, when activated, would send a lone signal approximately one mile.
"It's a beautiful evening," Ali called, looking up through the dome at the dark, star-dotted sky.
"Yes. it is. Is everything settled for Friday?"
"Quite. Our business is completed."
He arced from the board and cut the water cleanly. As he swam toward her, Cariotta put a cigarette between her lips and thumbed the lighter. Just before she placed it, and the bag, on a poolside table, she twisted the lighter's base, activating the beeper.
Ali's head surfaced just beneath her. His teeth gleamed in a broad smile, and his eyes searched the robe for a telltale sign that she was wearing a bathing suit beneath it.
"Are you coming in?"
"Of course." Carlotta tugged at the belt. The robe parted, and with a shrug of her shoulders it shimmied downward to puddle at her feet.
"Beautiful," Ali sighed.
The pool lights sifting through the water created dancing shadows on the supple curves and hollows of her nude body. Her buttocks were firm and rounded, her waist slim, and her thighs sleek. She sported an all-over tan, and when she moved to toss the cigarette away, her skin in the light took on a golden glow.
"We will go slowly," Ali said. "I want to enjoy you leisurely."
"Yes, let's take a very long time, Ali."
Carlotta slipped into the water, keeping her face a bland mask as his arms went around her.
Carter bounded back up to the deck. "Ted, Marko… it's a go!"
The three men moved aft. Within seconds, they had buckled webbed belts around their middles. Attached to the belts were Fairbairn commando knives and two waterproof bags with silenced pistols and spare clips.
Hopefully, a knife and a handgun would be all they would need. Everything had to happen close and quiet.
Carter lifted the radio from his belt and barked into it. "Hadley?"
"Yo!"
"It's a go. You know the time sequence."
"Right."
"Barzoni?… Hal?"
"Here."
"On."
"Come on down to the fence line. You'll know the power's off when the lights go."
"Check."
Carter killed the radio and stored it inside the wet suit jumper before turning to the men beside him. "All right, let's go."
The three of them slipped off the fantail of the launch, one veering right, one left, and Carter heading straight into the dock.
The Ford sedan stopped just outside the gates. The headlights blinked out, leaving only the parking lights as the driver's door opened and a man in a loud sport shirt got out.
The guard slipped his hand inside his jacket and moved to the center of the gates.
"I think my buddy and I are lost. Do you know the right road to Midvail?"
"Never heard of it," the guard replied.
"It's right here on this map, but I can't find the right road running to it."
A hand holding a map was thrust through the grillwork. Instinctively, the guard reached for it. His fingers had barely folded over the paper when the other man's hand was at his throat.
He struggled for a count of three before his body went limp.
The guard had barely crumpled to the drive before the second man was out of the car and on its roof. Like a gymnast, he leaped to the hood and from there to the top of the gates. Effortlessly, he flipped upward. For a split second his body was outlined against the night sky, and then his soft-soled sneakers crunched on the gravel inside the gate.
Seconds later, the guard's body had been dragged to the side and the gates were swinging open.
Without a sound, both men faded into the trees and moved toward the house. By the time they had rejoined in a clump of trees across from the wide front veranda, two roving sentries had met the same fate as the gate guard.
Carter surfaced beneath the pier and made his way along its length to the boathouse. As he came up the ladder, he heard voices. The door was cracked against the night's humid heat, revealing two men inside. They were at a table, pushing checkers back and forth across a board.
As he moved to the door, Carter tugged Wilhelmina, his 9mm Luger, from the waterproof bag on his belt. Deftly, he checked the silencer and levered a shell into the chamber.