"You know damn well I do."
"Of course, and do you also know that she works for the Mossad?"
"That's preposterous!"
"I think not."
Rachel was sitting on the floor in the far corner of the small room. Her head was slumped forward on her chest, and she seemed not to be aware of them.
"What's wrong with her? What have you done to her?" Parsons demanded.
"You surprise me, Malcolm," Glinkov sneered. "You sound almost as if it mattered to you."
"Well, no, I... but you must be wrong. She's no secret agent, no spy, I..."
"And what makes you so sure? How well do you know her? Where did you meet her? Why was she interested in your little band of fools in the first place? Hmm?"
"I don't know, I..."
"No, Malcolm, you don't. But I do. And I can tell you that she is a Mossad agent. But don't feel too bad. She has fooled better men than you, Malcolm. Even the lofty Central Intelligence Agency has been duped by our little flower here. You should learn not to be so careless about women you take to bed."
"What are you going to do with her?"
"Nothing, for the moment. There is someone looking for her. As long as he has a chance to save her, he will keep on looking. As long as she is still alive, his attention will be divided. He is no ordinary man, Malcolm, as I'm sure you will discover if he ever catches up with you."
"What are you talking about? Why should he even be looking for me? Who is he?"
"His name is Mack Bolan. I'm sure it means nothing to you. Yet. He has been called by other names in the past as sergeant Mercy, Colonel John Phoenix. His file is among our thickest. And right now he is looking for you because he knows you were the last person to see Miss Peres. As far as Mr. Bolan is concerned you are responsible for her disappearance. That, of course, is just what I wanted. It is about time we closed our file. While he is concentrating on you, I can take him by surprise."
Parsons said nothing. He crossed the room to kneel in front of Rachel. He reached forward and took her chin in his hand. Tilting her head back, he gasped involuntarily. Her face was badly bruised. One eye was swollen closed.
"My God, what have you done to her?" Parsons got to his feet and turned to confront the Russian. Glinkov remained impassive, the merest hint of a smile hovering at the corners of his mouth.
"It was essential to gain certain information. Circumstances did not permit the use of more humane methods. But I have my responsibilities to discharge. In a few hours it won't matter anyway."
"What do you mean it won't matter?"
"Surely you don't think I can permit her to live? As soon as Mr. Bolan is out of the way, she will be of no further use to me."
Before Parsons could answer, Rachel groaned.
The older man turned back to her. He knelt again, and Rachel opened her eyes, although she couldn't focus. Parsons wheeled on the Russian.
"You really are a bastard."
"Don't be so squeamish, Malcolm. You're in this all the way, you know. She can send you away for a long time. You wouldn't enjoy spending the rest of your life in prison, would you?"
"Why don't you ask him what he really has in mind, Malcolm?" Rachel's voice was weak, but it startled both men.
"What do you mean?" Parsons demanded.
"Ask him what he plans to do here. Ask him what's going to happen. Go on, ask him."
"Well..." Parsons said, "what is going to happen? Why are you here?"
"Very well. I don't see any harm in telling you now. And it was rather well conceived, even if I say so myself. Ms Peres, thanks to you, has managed to learn a great deal about my intentions. She can fill you in." Glinkov smiled softly. "Go ahead, my dear; tell him."
Parsons turned to Rachel. "What is he planning to do?"
"He's going to sabotage the reactor and pollute the whole area. He'll blow it to kingdom come if he can, or cause a meltdown if he can't. Isn't that right, Mr. Glinkov?"
"Yes."
"Are you out of your mind, Glinkov? Hundreds of thousands of people live around this plant. You're putting them in mortal danger. This was supposed to be a public relations demonstration. We want to teach the people, not kill them."
"That's where you and I disagree, Malcolm. Besides, what could be more educational than a major nuclear accident? If you'll excuse me, I have some things to attend to. Why don't you two get reacquainted?" Glinkov smiled at each of them before turning to walk through the doorway.
Parsons turned to Rachel. "He's serious, isn't he? He really intends to destroy this plant!"
Rachel nodded. "And while you're digesting that, why don't you ask yourself what that means for us?"
"What do you mean?"
"You don't think he can afford to let us live, do you? He's a KGB agent. He's here illegally. There's no way in hell the Soviets want to be connected to this thing. I'm not even sure he's acting on orders."
"But why? I don't understand what's going on here."
"It's quite simple, really. If the U.S. stops using nuclear power, it will have to use more fossil fuels. That makes it more dependent on foreign oil. Which means Arab oil. All the money you thought was coming from Libya was KGB money. They can use the Arabs against the United States and keep their hands clean at the same time. If the U.S. is not self-sufficient, it will become impotent. It looks like he's going to pull it off, too."
Parsons stared glumly at Rachel Peres.
"And you, was it true what he said about you? Are you Mossad?"
"Not anymore. I work for the CIA on a contract basis now. He didn't seem to know that, which is about the only thing he doesn't seem to know."
"Why did you do it? Why did you come to me? Surely you don't think I was party to something so monstrous as this?"
"No, not you. But you were ripe for the picking, Malcolm. You set yourself up. Glinkov didn't have to try very hard. You were all set. You were so damn smug, so damn sure of yourself. I'd be willing to bet it's been a long time since you had any doubts about yourself. Am I right?"
Parsons nodded.
"You would have been if you had asked me yesterday. But that doesn't matter. We have to stop him. He can't be allowed to get away with this. I'll talk to him."
"It's long past talking, Malcolm. Believe me."
"Maybe not. I can try at least."
"And if it doesn't work?"
"Then I'll have to kill him."
Parsons rose. He closed the heavy steel door behind him as he left the room.
23
The guardhouse wasn't much larger than a garage. But it might as well have been a fortress.
Mack Bolan and Eli Cohen stood in the trees, watching. It seemed all they could do at the moment. Bolan began to pace, stomping down the snow with nervous movements. Inside, they had counted four men, each armed with an AK-47. In addition there were the hostages, all bound securely.
There would be no help from them.
"You know, it might be time to take a little risk here, Eli."
"No shit. How the hell else can we get in there? But I'm fresh out of ideas. And if I don't get back to the control room pretty soon, Glinkov is going to wonder where I am. He's already suspicious of me."
"Then we have to move now, don't we?" Bolan said. It wasn't really a question, so Cohen didn't respond.
Bolan stopped pacing and stared at the small cinder block structure. As Cohen watched him, it seemed almost as if the midnight warrior were trying to see through the stone.
After two minutes of silence, Cohen laughed.