Zdrok cracked his knuckles and nodded. "Vlad and Yuri. They're careful, right? They leave no trace?"
"None. They are as professional as they come. They were my most trusted executioners in the KGB," Antipov replied.
"What did they learn in Belgium?"
"Not only did they eliminate Benton but also a Belgian intelligence officer that Benton was working with. These men knew far too much about what we've been distributing to our number-one customer. Hopefully the material we took from Benton's hotel room will be one-of-a-kind documents. I've taken the precaution to destroy all of it. This should slow down our enemies. In addition, much of our new information about Third Echelon came from Benton's personal computer, which we have also destroyed."
Zdrok waved his hand slightly. "Fine. I leave you in charge of it. Proceed as you see fit. But I want results by the end of the week. If they discover who we are or where we are, it's not going to be pretty. The sooner we get rid of these American bloodhounds, the better off we'll be."
With that, Zdrok took another bite of his bagel and the meeting was over.
12
THElovemaking was as good as it had been in Illinois. As they lay entwined in the narrow twin bed in Eli's small studio apartment, Sarah was convinced more than ever that he was "the one."
She knew she had better get up and phone Rivka. She was supposed to have been back by ten o'clock at the latest. Now it was nearly noon. They had slept in, waking only to make love. How many times had they done it since coming back to his place the night before? Four times? Five? Sarah smiled inwardly and sighed.
"You okay?" Eli asked.
"I sure am," she said, snuggling closer to him.
"I heard you sigh."
"It was a sigh of contentment."
"Oh, I see." He kissed her. "I am glad you're content."
"How about you? Are you content?"
"You better believe it."
She yawned and squeezed his lean torso. "I could stay here forever."
"Me, too," he said. "But I'm getting hungry. How about you?"
"Who needs food when you can have sex?" she said as she placed her hand on his crotch.
"Hey, hey, what are you, a junkie?" He laughed but didn't bother to move her hand.
"With you, yes!"
Eli sat up. "Okay, then I think it's time you go cold turkey for a little while. I'm really hungry. I'm not kidding."
Sarah loved his Israeli accent. There was something about a foreign accent that turned her on. "Shall I make you breakfast?" she asked.
"No, no, I'll make youbreakfast. Or lunch, I think. My God, look at the time."
"Oh, boy, Rivka's gonna be pissed at me. I can't imagine what her parents will think."
Eli waved her comment away and said, "Don't worry. Rivka spent the night with Noel. I bet they slept late, too."
"Still, it's scandalous behavior, don't you think?"
"You're a big girl. You're an adult, right?"
"I'm twenty. I can't drink in America yet."
"Yeah, but you're legallyan adult. That's what counts." He slipped out of bed and walked across the room to the bathroom. She enjoyed watching his backside.
"Anyone ever tell you that you've got a cute tush?" she called out as he closed the door. He didn't answer. Sarah sighed again and finally swung her legs out from under the covers and sat upright. Naked, she went to the kitchen area and looked in the cabinet to see what was there. Typical bachelor apartment, she thought. Nothing but junk food and sugary cereal.
"Eli, do you have coffee?" she called, but the shower started and he couldn't hear her.
She opened another cupboard and found some instant coffee. "Yuck," she said. She shrugged and took it, found a pot to boil water, and tried the tap. The water was brownish. Sarah made a face, turned off the tap, and put the coffee back in the cupboard. She looked around her and realized that Eli's apartment was decidedly a dump. Last night, in the dark, she hadn't noticed. She did remember that the neighborhood where he lived appeared to be a poor one, almost a ghetto. The room smelled moldy. She hadn't noticed the odor earlier because she had been tipsy on wine. Now as she examined the apartment she felt a little repelled.
"Hey, Eli, can I take a shower, too?" she called.
"Sure, come on in!"
She smiled and opened the bathroom door. The little cubicle was steamy from the hot water. At least he hadhot water, she thought.
First things first. She put the toilet seat down, sat, and urinated. Without thinking she flushed the toilet, eliciting a yelp from Eli.
"Sorry!" she said as she opened the shower stall and joined him.
They took turns lathering each other's bodies, pausing every now and then to kiss. He became aroused again and she grasped him firmly with a slippery hand.
"Oh, please, no more," he said. "I'm raw!"
She giggled and said, "I don't think your penis agrees with you."
"My penis neveragrees with me," he said, closing his eyes.
"That's typical for guys, isn't it?" she whispered as she continued playing with him.
Afterward they stepped out of the stall and used the same towel to dry off. "You don't have another towel?" she asked.
"Sorry. I'm poor and destitute."
That prompted her to ask a question she'd been considering for a while. "Eli, do you have a job?"
"A job? Sure, I have a job." He looked in the mirror, took a razor, and started to shave without lather.
"What is it?"
"I work for a delivery service. I'm off this week so I can see you."
"What kind of delivery service?"
"You know, I deliver packages and stuff."
She pictured the car he drove and shuddered. It was a relic from the early nineties. When she first got in the passenger seat, she imagined that she was in a cartoon car that went putt putt pfft popas it creaked along the road.
"You don't do anything with your music?"
"No, that's hard to do."
Come to think of it, she thought, she had never heard him play an instrument. In fact, there was no evidence at all in his apartment that he was interested in music. No sheet music, no CDs of classical music, no busts of Beethoven--nothing.
He glanced at her off the mirror. "What?"
"Nothing," she said. "When will you know about Juilliard?"
He shrugged. "Those things take time." He nicked himself with the razor. "Look what you made me do."
"How did I make you do that?"
"By asking me difficult questions."
"You should use shaving cream."
"I've always done it this way. Go on, you're making me nervous!" He pushed her out of the bathroom and shut the door.
Sarah sighed once more, walked over to her pile of clothes that she had dropped on a chair, and dressed.
ELIended up making the instant coffee himself. They sat at the excuse for a breakfast table as Sarah called Rivka on her cell phone. Her friend was slightly upset with her for not calling earlier. Rivka's parents were not too happy, either. Sarah apologized and said she'd be there in an hour.
"Why don't you just come stay here for the rest of your visit?" Eli suggested.