A Thousand Kisses Deep (24 page)

"And for two days you've been on the
Ventura
?"

"Yes, I have. I kept myself out of sight. You beat the hell out of me pretty good. Took me a day to get my strength back."

"In your message you said you watched Simon Parish beat a guard to death. You sure the guard was Nemo?"

"It was. The
Ventura
left Santorini thirty minutes after the
Pearl
.
When I saw Simon and his sister, Melita, board, I slipped over the side and hid. The yacht set sail and didn't stop until just before dawn. I understood why when I saw the
Pearl
.
They were having a little rendezvous at sea. By the way, the Chameleon is Paavo Creon. I watched him board the
Ventura
.
Parish and his sister met him on the upper deck where I was hiding in an air vent. I couldn't hear what was said. I was too far away."

Merrick
uncorked the bottle of whiskey and motioned to the sofa. "Sit down, McEwen. A drink?"

"No, thanks. So Simon and his sister work for the Chameleon."

"That's what it looks like."

Sly took a seat. "You set me up. All of us weeks ago."

Merrick
rubbed the back of his neck. "I had started to give up hope of ever finding the Chameleon. The Agency suspected Paavo Creon after they investigated the fire at his home. It was all hush-hush, but there was an evaluation, and a possible explanation—Paavo hadn't died. I went over the data on the Chameleon. The Agency suspected he was restoring Greek monasteries and turning them into compounds to aid his illegal activities. When Eva called and told me about Castle Rock I had to check it out. Of course, I now have the proof I need. I've seen Paavo with my own eyes. He is the Chameleon. It's been fourteen years and he's aged, but it's him."

"You should have told me. Told someone. The mission to Castle Rock never smelled right from the beginning. You offered me that crap job afterward, knowing I wouldn't accept it."

"I needed you out of Onyxx. To be my eyes and ears. I didn't plan on Sully dying, but after he did, I knew who I could depend on to go after the Chameleon. You're a predictable son of a bitch, McEwen."

"So you sent me that information on Eva, put me on her scent, and waited for me to call."

"Only you didn't call, so I hopped a plane, and that's when Simon Parish picked me up. I'm sorry about Sully. Truly sorry, McEwen. And if Bjorn is a casualty, I take full responsibility for that, too."
Merrick
took a sip of his whiskey, his silver hair almost white in the lamplight. "The birth of Onyxx was supposed to solve the world's problems, not create more debauchery. The NSA poured billions into the project. The agents hand-picked from an elite few. Five years later one of those elite goes rogue. Do you know what that did to the project, and to those of us who were caught in the middle? We had everything at our disposal. Nothing was off-limits to the agents at Onyxx. We had access to the darkest secrets on the continent. International clearance on every level. We collaborated with the CIA and the NIA, and every organization in between. We even had men who worked in the underworld."

Merrick
took another sip of whiskey. "I'd been a government assassin for three years before I was inducted into the Onyxx program. Paavo Creon was recruited because he was a mastermind strategist for the military. Both our records were spotless. Both married. Both happy with our lives. At least I was until hell came knocking and blew up my world. Today Onyxx inductees are required to be single. That was brought forth after Johanna was killed. How much has Eva told you?"

"She doesn't remember the details of the night her mother died. She says someone else was there in the house, but she doesn't know who."

"Do you believe her?"

"Yes. Was it you? Were you in the house that night?"

"Me?"
Merrick
stood and shrugged off his tattered shirt, revealing the bruises Sly had inflicted on him at Cupata. "Why would I have been there?"

"You said you and Paavo were friends. Eva says you used to bring her suckers when you visited."

"I was nowhere near that house when it burned to the ground. Actually I think I was at my country home with Johanna when I got the call that it had happened."

"So your wife wasn't killed until later that year."

"Three months later."

Sly studied
Merrick
, searching for the truth, but like before, his commander's face was masked by his facial hair and cold gray eyes.

"I'd like to talk to Eva and ask her some questions,"
Merrick
said. "You brought her with you, didn't you?"

"No," Sly lied, not willing to hand her over to
Merrick
until he was sure he could trust his boss, and his motive.

"She's our bait, McEwen. Paavo will want what is his. I know how she's lived, and I don't understand why Creon has treated her the way he has, but he'll still want her back."

"Maybe not."

"It sounds to me like you've let your emotions affect this mission, McEwen."

"I don't work for you or Onyxx anymore,
Merrick
. My reason for being here is personal, that means I don't have to follow Onyxx procedures or policy."

"You're sleeping with her, aren't you?" When Sly didn't answer,
Merrick
swore. "It's worse than that, isn't it? You've let yourself care about her. That's stupid, McEwen. If you think I'm going to back away now, after I'm this close, you're mistaken. I want to talk to Eva Creon, tonight."

"You're the one who's stupid, Merrick, if you think I'm going to let you sacrifice her to ease your conscience over a tragedy that happened fourteen years ago. You can't bring your wife back."

"Sully, either. So why are you here?"

"We both want the Chameleon. That isn't up for debate. But I'm not going to jeopardize Eva so you can put another notch on that legendary belt of yours."

Sly stepped to the window. It was dark outside, and the sound of violin music in the street mingled with rowdy laughter coming from downstairs. Anxious to get back to Eva, he said, "Are there any other members of your team still alive? Any of the original six?"

"Me and Briggs."

Sly turned from the window recognizing the name. "Briggs? The man in records with no legs."

"That's right."

"And the others. Who were they and how did they die?"

"Parnel and Krizova were killed outside of
Prague
in a scrimmage three years into our tour of duty. We were on a classified mission and we were ambushed. Ray Parnel and Cyrus Krizova were casualties. In the explosion, Peter Briggs lost his legs. Me, Paavo and Sid Nodes escaped. Nolles died ten years later in a plane crash. Bad weather traveling from
Moscow
to
London
."

"No body?"

"No. The plane crashed high in the mountains."

"And Parnel and Krizova?"

Merrick
shook his head. "The same. Their bodies weren't recovered, but that's not unusual, Sly. Sully's dead. We don't have proof of that, but we know he's gone. About Eva, I still want to talk to her about the night of the fire. You going to let me?"

"Questioning Eva is a waste of time. I've already tried to get her to remember what happened that night. If you had Paavo's file there might be a chance for her to remember something, but—"

"What do you mean?"

"She believes that something in that file might trigger her memory. She hasn't shared what that might be, but that's why she contacted you weeks ago. The psychiatrist called it memory rejuvenation. She tried hypnosis, but that didn't work."

"If the file is what you need, then I can help out with that."

"Not unless you brought it with you."

"But I did." Suddenly
Merrick
was striding into the bathroom and turning on the light. Sly followed, and watched as his commander opened his mouth and popped the crown off one of his back teeth. Turning around,
he pulled out a miniature data chip the size of a tooth filling.

"Paavo's file?"

"Paavo's file,"
Merrick
confirmed. "Where is your computer?"

"On the
Hector,"
Sly said, holding out his hand.

Merrick
shook his head. "I think I'll keep it until we reach the
Hector.
Let's get going."

"Not together," Sly said, wishing he could talk
Merrick
out of the chip, knowing he wouldn't be able to. "I'll leave first. Wait two hours, then come. Make sure no one follows you."

Merrick
turned to the mirror and popped the chip back into the perfect-size hole, then replaced the crown. When it was back in place, he said, "A good field agent doesn't let himself get tailed. You know that, McEwen. In two hours."

Sly pulled the key out of his pocket as he strode down the hall. He reached room eight, but didn't need to use the key. The door stood open and Eva was gone.

He swore, took the stairs three at a time, and came to a sliding halt at the end of the bar. She was seated at the table across the room with the five card players who had been ogling her a long hour ago. Someone had bought her a drink, and there was food in front of her, too.

He studied her a moment, and decided she was unharmed. She no longer wore the tight skirt. Where she'd gotten the jeans he had no idea, or the white shirt she'd slipped over the tank top.

Angry that she'd left the room after he'd told her not to, he strolled across the room, moved behind her and jerked her chair away from the table. Then drew her off the seat by taking hold of her arm. "Say good night, it's time to go."

"Perimenete amerikano!"
one of the men said, coming to his feet.

Two others stood. Then a third, and fourth. They were definitely laborers of some kind. Probably fishermen—all of them tough lookers, used to ten-hour days building biceps and attitude.

Sly said, "I don't want any trouble."

"Then you should not have touched the pretty lady. Let her go, and we will think about letting you live," said the long-haired Greek who was still sitting.

"I thought I told you to stay in the room," Sly muttered.

"I told you I was hungry," she said as if that was a good enough reason to put her life in danger, and now his.

"And I told you I would feed you later."

"Meat," she reminded. "But now you don't have to. Look—" she pointed to the table "—it's called
bifteki.
A Greek hamburger."

Sly glanced at the half-eaten hamburger left on her plate.

"They knew what I was talking about," she continued. "Well, after I explained."

From behind the bar, the waiter called out, "American Mac.
Ne.
We make good."

"Actually, I think it's goat," she whispered, leaning into him, "but it's tasty, just the same."

"Let the pretty lady go,
amerikano.
She amuses us and we are not yet tired of her company. She has promised each of us a dance to pay for the
bifteki."

Sly arched an eyebrow, and Eva responded with a shrug. "It seemed like a good idea at the time. A pain-free proposition. Food for fun. I haven't had a chance to dance much on this trip."

Sly dug into his pocket and tossed a fifty-dollar bill on the table. "That should cover the burger."