CHAPTER
12
3:40 A.M.
COLONEL NATE QUEEN LIVED IN AN impressive condo in the trendy area of Alexandria, Virginia, outside Washington, D.C.
“Nice address,” Joe said. “You wouldn’t think the military would pay this well.”
“Private funds? Do you want me to go in and get him?” Catherine asked Joe, as they drew up before the building. “He’ll be surprised to see me, but he won’t go for the jugular.”
“Are you trying to protect me, Catherine?” Joe asked. “Or don’t you want me to take out one of your prize contacts?”
“Both.” She grinned at him. “You’re such a gentle soul that I wouldn’t want Queen to think that he’d have a chance with you. That could be fatal.” She got out of the car. “But you don’t seem amenable. Suppose I take out the lock, then disable the alarm while you go up and start the discussion with Queen. Good cop–bad cop?”
“Queen will probably be too savvy for that. We’ll see how it goes.” Joe moved toward the front door.
Catherine was able to unlock the door for him a few minutes later. “Give me a minute.” She went around the side of the building, traced the alarm wire, and disabled it.
When she came back around to the front, Joe had already gone inside and disappeared. It didn’t surprise her. She was right behind him, moving silently through the foyer and up the stairs.
She heard a curse, then a solid thump from one of the bedrooms on the second floor.
Silence was clearly no longer necessary.
She took the rest of the steps two at a time and reached the open door of the bedroom seconds later.
Nate Queen was naked, on the floor beside the bed, and Joe was straddling him, his hands around Queen’s throat. A stream of obscenities was issuing from Queen’s mouth.
“Shut up,” Joe said between his teeth. “I’m not ready for you to talk yet. You’re not saying the words I want to hear.”
Joe was mad as hell. Time to enter the scenario before Joe’s grip on Queen’s throat proved lethal. Catherine turned on the overhead light. “Let him up, Joe. We wouldn’t want him to catch cold.” Her gaze wandered farther down on Queen’s naked body. “Or suffer a serious inferiority complex.” She picked up a brown robe from the chair and dropped it down on Queen’s face. “Move very carefully, Queen. My friend’s not in a good mood.”
“Or don’t.” Joe released Queen and got off him. “I’d just as soon that you didn’t.” He glanced at Catherine. “He gave me a few problems. He was awake. You’d think he was expecting us.”
“Not you. Do you think I’d be scared of you?” Queen jerked the robe off his face and sat up. His heavy-jowled face was flushed with rage as he glared at Catherine. “What is this, bitch? Since when do you bring your scum to—”
“Careful,” Catherine said. “He brought me. I’m just here to try to keep you alive long enough to get the information we need. It’s not going to be easy for me. I’m almost as angry with you as he is.”
“We’re wasting time.” Joe dug his hand in Queen’s hair and pulled him toward the chair a few feet away. When Queen began to struggle, he punched him in the stomach, then heaved him into the chair. “John Gallo. Tell me where he is. Now.”
Queen’s expression changed, became wary. “Catherine, I told you that I couldn’t help you out. My source folded on me.”
“I heard what you told me,” Catherine said. “I didn’t believe you then. I sure as hell don’t believe you now. You’re dirty, Queen. You’re working hand in glove with Gallo. Talk.”
“Go screw yourself.”
Joe’s hand was suddenly on his throat, his thumbs on the carotid muscles. “Be respectful, Queen. You’re not going to die yet, but you’ll hurt. I’m really good at pain.”
Queen’s face was turning beet red, and his eyes were bulging. “Catherine, stop him from—”
“Let him breathe, Joe. At least for a minute or so.”
“What are you doing to me?” Queen gasped. “You’re a government agent, Catherine. We’re on the same side.”
“I’m not on your side,” Catherine said. “You lied to me. I want to know where Gallo took Eve Duncan.”
“Eve Duncan?” Queen moistened his lips. “I don’t know anything about her. Or Gallo.”
“Gallo knows a lot about you. He told Eve that he owned you.”
“That son of a bitch.” Queen’s expression turned ugly. “Crazy, arrogant bastard. Someday, I’m going to find a way to cut his heart out.”
“Stand in line,” Joe said. “The problem may be moot. Where’s Eve Duncan?”
“I told you, I don’t know anything about—” His head snapped back as Joe’s fist crashed into his jaw. “Shit.” He shook his head to clear it. “He never mentioned Eve Duncan. You were the one who was causing problems, Catherine. I thought he might go after you.”
“And you didn’t warn me?”
“I tried to convince him to leave you to me.” He was gazing at Joe. “How could I know he’d go after her? It was Catherine who was stirring up the trouble. Catherine can take care of herself.”
“Where is John Gallo?”
He shook his head. “I can’t talk about him. I’d lose my job in a heartbeat.”
Joe leaned forward, his face close to Queen’s. “Do you know what you’ll lose if you don’t talk?” he said softly. “I’ll cut off your dick and stuff it where the sun doesn’t shine.”
“Joe, don’t bother your head with little things,” Catherine said, straight-faced. “I have a friend in Hong Kong who taught me much more sophisticated methods to get what we need.”
“Don’t get involved in this, Catherine,” Queen said. “Gallo is our problem. We’ll deal with him.”
“You didn’t deal with him,” Joe said. “Now it’s up to us.”
“Where is he?” Catherine asked softly.
“I don’t think he’ll hurt her.”
“But you don’t know.”
“He’s been interested enough to insist we give him reports on her.” He added quickly, “But he never made a move.”
“Until now,” Joe bit out. “You said he was crazy. What made you think he wouldn’t be volatile as hell?”
“Our psych people think that he’s keeping it under control these days. Though they say he has signs of dissociative identity disorder—a split personality.” He stared at Catherine accusingly. “Why couldn’t you leave it alone?”
“Where is he, Queen? You mentioned Utah. A lie?”
He shook his head. “I was thinking about turning you loose on him. I thought maybe I could convince my superiors to let you at him. I’m sick to death of Gallo.”
“Where in Utah?”
Queen didn’t answer.
“You will tell me, Queen,” Joe said softly. “You’ll tell me where he is, how to get to him, and everything else you know. You’ll either tell me now or later. You’ll be a lot clearer and more coherent if you choose now.”
Queen glanced at Catherine. “Stop him, or I’ll make things so hot for you that the CIA will throw your ass out so fast your head will spin.”
“Eve’s my friend, Queen.” She held his gaze. “You made a mistake. Correct it, and you’ll get out of this without too much damage. Where is Gallo?”
His glance shifted from her face to Joe’s. Then he looked away. “Oh, what the hell. What do I care? I’m not going to take any more punishment to protect that bastard. Gallo has a place in Mazkal, Utah. A big compound in the mountains. If he has Eve Duncan, he probably took her there. I’ll give you the address, but it’s guarded as tight as Fort Knox. You’re not going to get in.”
“I want to know everything you can tell me about access,” Catherine said. “We’ll get in.”
“And you’re going to tell Gallo that I told you?”
He was afraid, Catherine realized. Queen wasn’t a coward. Gallo must be formidable. The knowledge was making her uneasy. “It may not be necessary.”