“Where is here?”
“I believe you'll know it the minute you see it. I hope so anyway. I chose this place very carefully. Such a homey little house.”
“I'm not coming until I know my brother is alive.”
“Your father told you he was alive. Well, not in so many words, but do you think he'd lure you here if there wasn't a chance to save him?”
“Then why can't I talk to him?”
He sighed. “Unfortunately, your brother refused to add his plea to that of your father. He decided to sacrifice himself for you.”
She moistened her lips. “And you killed him?”
“Kerry, you know me better than that,” he chided. “It would spoil everything if I couldn't watch your face when Firestorm kills him. He's quite safe right now.”
Right now.
“What do you want me to do?”
“Are you in Macon yet?”
“I just arrived.”
“Very good. You didn't waste any time. I knew you'd come running once you found out about brother Jason. Where are you staying?”
“The Hyatt.”
“Dickens will call you when he's near the hotel and tell you where to meet him tonight.”
“What time?”
“Nine.” He paused. “I hope you know how important you've become to me. I had to think long and hard before I decided to give up the satisfaction I'd feel to rid myself of Raztov in the way he deserved. But I had to throw a few red herrings out to keep you from thinking about your brother.”
“Carmela wasn't enough?”
“She probably would have sufficed, but it took me a while to set up our little meeting tonight. Everything had to be just right, and I was afraid you might become suspicious at the delay and start thinking about other possibilities. So, since I'd made a deal with my honored patron anyway, I decided to let him dispose of Raztov a little early to cloud the waters.”
“Who killed Raztov? Dickens?”
“God, no. Dickens can be lethal, but he has no skill. I had to make a deal with my future patron to hire an expert. He was very expensive.”
“But you had the ‘resources.'”
“Exactly. At least, Ki Yong had and he was willing to cooperate. But he struck a hard bargain, so I'm determined to make sure that our time together is worth it.”
“What kind of bargain?”
“I'm going to let him take care of Senator Kimble and Handel right away so that my business here is completed. He's very tired of waiting. But in return I have to turn over Firestorm to him immediately after I finish here tonight.”
“You'll never turn over Firestorm.”
He chuckled. “How clever of you to realize that. But Ki Yong isn't that smart, even though he thinks he is. He knows he needs me for the initial testing period. And I'll be able to dangle the carrot for quite a while before I decide to skip away from him.”
“Like you skipped away from our government? And killed Helen Saduz while you were doing it.”
“I didn't kill her. She killed herself.” His tone was sad. “I truly loved her. She would have completed me.”
“But you didn't feel guilty sending her into danger.”
“How could I feel guilty? She wanted to take Firestorm away from me. I knew from the moment she offered to go get those rather unimportant documents I'd left behind that she was going to betray me. I was profoundly grateful when the lab blew and I wasn't forced to deal with her myself.”
“So grateful you immediately started negotiating with someone else for Firestorm.”
“I couldn't bear doing business with anyone connected with Helen. It hurt too much.”
“You're incredible.”
“Yes, I am. And so are you. That's why tonight is going to be such a fascinating experience.” He hung up.
Silver was studying her face as she pressed disconnect. “Okay?”
She nodded jerkily. “He has my father and I think he has my brother. But he wouldn't let me talk to Jason. Dickens is going to pick me up tonight and take me to Trask.”
“What time?”
“Nine.”
“Shit.” He looked at his watch. “Three hours. We don't have much time.”
Three hours. Fear jolted through her. “You and George are out of this. He said that Dickens would know if he was followed.”
“He won't know.” He opened the front entrance. “Trust me.”
“I can't trust you. Jason is too—” She stopped, trying to gain control. She had to trust someone. “What can you do?”
“I'll be waiting near the place where you're to meet Dickens. I doubt if he'll be closed to me. I'll go in and he won't even know I'm there.”
“What if he is closed to you?”
“Don't borrow trouble. Trask is the exception. I'll get through. If Dickens is difficult, I'll bulldoze him like a tank.”
The words were confident, cold, and totally brutal. “Bulldoze? You said you had to be careful. You were worried about Carmela. Would Dickens's mind survive that kind of treatment?”
“No, but his body's not going to survive long either, so it doesn't matter.” He looked at her. “He's a dead man, Kerry. I don't know if he helped Trask kill Cam, but I'm not taking any chances. Sorry if you're feeling qualms.”
She wasn't feeling sorry for Dickens. It was shock at the ruthless transformation she was seeing in Silver that was causing her to question him. She hadn't seen this side of Silver since those first days she'd known him. “I'm not arguing. I don't know if he was an accomplice to your brother's murder, but I know he helped Trask set up Carmela to burn to death.” She started toward the car George had pulled up to the curb. “Do what you have to do.”
“Oh, I will,” he murmured as he opened the car door for her. “And it won't be letting you go dancing into that booby trap alone.”
She looked up at him as she got in the car. “In the end I'm going to have to go in alone. He mentioned a house where he's keeping Jason and my father. If you rush that house, he'll press his little button and everything will go up in flames.”
“With him in it?”
“I'm not taking a chance with that crazy bastard when Jason's life is at stake.”
“Then you'll have to get us a target,” George said. “Can you get him to stand in front of a window or door where we can pick him off?”
“Maybe.”
“And maybe not,” Silver said. “You don't know yourself if you'll be able to push him to do what you want.”
“You will not rush that house. You don't run any risk that might endanger Jason.”
He lifted his shoulders and slammed the door. “Okay, we don't rush the house.”
But he hadn't addressed her last, more comprehensive demand, she realized.
Well, she couldn't argue with him right now. The full impact of Trask's call was hitting home. She had to garner her strength and try to rid herself of this cold, paralyzing terror.
The call came from Dickens promptly at nine that night.
“Walk two blocks east to the Baptist church. I'll be there in ten minutes. If there's anyone with you, I take off and I won't be back.”
“I'll come alone.” She hung up the phone and turned to Silver. “Ten minutes. The Baptist church two blocks east.”
“We're on our way.” He headed for the door. “Come on, George.”
“Action, at last,” George said as he stood up and grabbed the duffel at his feet. “Let's go.”
“Wait,” Kerry said. “How long will it take you to get into Dickens's mind?”
“Not long. It depends on the subject. Five. Ten minutes.”
“And how will I know whether or not he's blind to you?”
“You'll know. I won't let you go two blocks with the bastard if I can't do it.”
“The hell you won't. I'm not going to forgive you if you do something to make Trask—”
“What have I got to lose?” There was a touch of recklessness in his tone. “You're not big on forgiveness where I'm concerned, anyway. If it comes down to you or your brother, guess which one I'm going to choose?”