Stalemate (29 page)

"Soldono says Joe is gone. He and Galen left sometime last night."

"And I'm supposed to have kept this from you?"

"I find it odd that you'd not know what was going on in the compound. And how would Joe manage to get out of here without you knowing about it?"

Montalvo turned to Miguel. "I also find that strange. Miguel?"

He shrugged. "He and Galen left at three this morning. They went over the west wall. I was very impressed. I wouldn't have thought that a wounded man would be able to make it."

"Damn you," Eve said. "Why didn't you stop him?"

"He was in the way," he said simply. "The Colonel didn't want him here, but he wouldn't send him away. This way he didn't have to do it. Quinn did it himself."

"You should have told me, Miguel," Montalvo said.

"But that would have spoiled everything. An opportunity was presenting itself. Neither of us had to kill him. He has a chance of surviving if he's as good as we've heard." He smiled. "It seemed very sensible."

Eve stared at him in disbelief. Sensible to serve up Joe to Diaz? The total ruthlessness of the boy was incredible.

"It was wrong, Miguel," Montalvo said. "And we'll have to make it right. That may not be easy."

"For God's sake, you're talking to him as if he were a two-year-old who'd used a crayon to scribble on the furniture. He let Joe leave. He'd probably have given him a boost over that wall if he'd needed it."

Miguel nodded. "But he didn't need it. As I said, he was impressive."

"Go get him back," Eve said through her teeth. "He's alone out there."

"He has Galen," Miguel said. "But I'll go if the Colonel wishes it." He checked his watch. "It's been over ten hours. Quinn was a SEAL and I don't believe I'd be able to track him."

"You know where he's going," she said. "Diaz."

Miguel nodded. "But if I interfere with the Colonel's plans for Diaz, he won't be pleased."

She swung on Montalvo. "Tell him."

"I will," Montalvo said. "But I'm not going to order him to go retrieve Quinn. One, that might trigger the kind of action you're trying to avoid. Two men with guerilla training have a much better chance of surviving than a whole unit trooping through Diaz's territory. Two, if Quinn is as good as I've been told, then they'd be able to avoid Miguel and anyone I sent with him."

"Then what the hell are you going to do?"

"Send Miguel to Diaz's village and have him ask questions and do a little surveillance. Miguel lived there most of his life and he still has contacts. Everything that goes on at the castle is known in the village. They'll know if Diaz captures Quinn and Galen."

"And if he does?"

"Then I'll have to get Nalia's father moving very quickly before Diaz cuts Quinn's throat." He added, "Though if he doesn't know you've completed the reconstruction, Diaz might use him as a tool to make you stop."

"You still don't know who he has in your camp that might tell him?"

"I'm leaning toward Destando, a man who hasn't been with me as long as others. He's being carefully watched." Montalvo turned to Miguel. "If you'd been watching Destando instead of following Quinn around, I'd be better pleased."

Miguel shrugged. "I was only doing as you taught me. It was an opportunity." He turned away. "I'll leave right away for the village. I'll let you know as soon as I hear something."

"Immediately," Montalvo said. "And, dammit, be careful, Miguel."

"Of course." Miguel smiled back at him over his shoulder. "It would cause you much grief if anything happened. Where else would you find such a fine son as me?"

Eve watched him leave with a mixture of anger, frustration, and concern. "Will he be in much danger?"

"Enough. For a spy there's always danger. But he's gone back to the village and gathered information for me before. Miguel will get out if he sees a threat."

"But you're letting him go."

"He knew that he was disobeying orders. It doesn't matter that he thought the result would please me. He has to learn he can't run the show."

"Even if it kills him."

Montalvo didn't answer directly. "He made the mistake, he has to make it right."

"I'm angry as hell at him, but I don't want him to die."

"Neither do I." He was gazing after Miguel. "If I love anyone in this world, I think it's that boy."

"Then call him back. Send out--"

"It's done." He turned away. "Everything I said was sound and this is the best way to handle it. Now have you finished with the reconstruction?"

"Damn the reconstruction."

"I can see how you'd feel that. Is it finished?"

"Yes, you single-minded bastard."

"Then I'll go pack it and get ready to take it to Armandariz." He started for the front door. "And, yes, I am single-minded. However, you might consider that the sooner I can turn Armandariz against Diaz, the sooner Diaz will be rendered helpless to hurt or kill your Joe."

"If he doesn't open that wound and bleed to death before he gets to him."

"Somehow I don't think Quinn will let himself die before he gets within shooting distance of Diaz. I was watching him when he was in the library. He was very...focused."

"Christ, I should have said something to him. Though I don't know what I could have said that would have stopped him." Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. "Why did he do it? He knew I was close to completing the reconstruction. If he'd only waited one more day. He's not an idiot. It was almost over. Why did he--"

"He knew that I'd try to hold you here," Montalvo interrupted. "He's a perceptive man. He guessed that I'd need you to take the next step."

She frowned. "What are you saying? You agreed to make arrangements for us."

"And I would have done it. If there had been no other way." He grimaced. "But I was going to try to persuade you to stay and help me."

"What?"

"I have the reconstruction and that will be pretty convincing. The shock value will be enormous. But a man in denial like Armandariz needs more than a jolt. Three days ago I sent him your dossier. It's impressive. Your honesty and professional ethics are above reproach. I gave him time to check you out on his own."

"And what if he throws my dossier in the trash without even looking at it?"

"He hasn't done it. I still have friends among the rebels and they say he read it. If he did his own check, he'll know that you're credible."

"A person in denial believes everyone lies."

"That's why I want you to come along to his camp."

Her eyes widened in disbelief. "What?"

"I want you to explain the process as you did with me. I want you to tell him how you did it. How you never look at a photo before the end."

"And he's supposed to believe me?"

"It's my best chance. You're an honest woman, Eve. It shines out of you. I'm probably the most skeptical bastard on the face of the earth and the first time I met you, I'd have believed you if you'd told me black was white."

"You didn't part with him on good terms. If you push him, he might shoot both of us."

"He'll know that I wouldn't come into camp without backup in the area." He paused. "But we'll have to go in alone."

"I don't have to go anywhere."

"No, you don't. You've done what I asked you. I'm sure Soldono would say that you should let the vermin destroy each other."

"Yes, he would."

"I don't think you'd go along with that philosophy now. You have a vested interest in Nalia and what happened to her." He stared her directly in the eye. "You want her father to know he was wrong about her. You want justice for Nalia."

"And you equate justice with revenge."

"Yes, and so do you. In your heart of hearts." He added, "And that would have been my argument before I knew Quinn had gone. Now the situation has changed."

"You mean, you have an ace in the hole." She smiled sardonically. "Are you sure you didn't tell Miguel to let Joe escape?"

"No, but he reads me well. I'm feeling some guilt," he said. "Yes, you do have more reason now."

"How quickly will Armandariz act if he decides that Diaz has been betraying him all these years?"

"I don't know. I'd like to tell you that he'll rush out and start burning down coca fields but I can't do that. Armandariz is an emotional man but he's a soldier and he'll do what's best for his troops and his cause."

"Then I may be taking a risk for nothing."

"It won't be for nothing. But I have to be honest with you. There's a chance it may not help Quinn."

"Jesus." She felt the panic rush through her. She had two choices. She could sit here and wait for Miguel to find out something about Joe. Or she could take an action that might be totally futile. "I'll have to think about it."

"I'm setting up a meeting for tomorrow afternoon. Think fast." He went into the house.

Nothing like applying a little pressure, she thought bitterly. There was one other option she could check before she made that decision. She followed Montalvo into the house and went to find Soldono. He was coming down the hall from the library.

"Can Venable or you find a way to locate Joe and get him away from here?" she demanded.

"I'll call Venable but the situation would be...delicate."

"You're the CIA. You should be able to do something."

"We walk a tight line between the military and Diaz."

"You mean you play both sides on occasion. Sweet."

"We can't take overt action."

"It sounds like you can't take any action."

"I know you're upset but you have to understand that the CIA today relies a good deal on negotiation."

"Heaven forbid you'd make an enemy of Diaz by saving Joe." She pushed past him and headed toward the library. "Forget I asked."

"You're going with him to Armandariz?" Soldono asked. "It's not a good move, Eve."

"At least I'm going to make a move. I'm not just spinning my wheels and hoping everything is going to be fine."

"That's not fair," he said quietly. "I'm doing everything I can."

"I don't feel like being fair. I feel like getting Joe back in one piece."

Montalvo was carefully placing the reconstruction into the leather box when she came into the room. He looked up and then stopped in midmotion. "Well?"

"I'm going. What else can I do? It's the only positive response I can make in this mess."

"Good." He closed the lid of the box and fastened it. "Then I'll call Armandariz's camp and set up a meeting."

Chapter 13.

We've located the car that picked Jane MacGuire up in that parking garage," Nekmon said. "It was spotted at a grocery parking lot this morning in Tucson and the driver was a man in his late forties."

"Did they follow him?" Diaz asked.

Nekmon nodded. "Of course. We think we've found the safe house. The driver of the car went to a house in the Sunset View subdivision and unloaded a few sacks of groceries."

"'Think' isn't good enough. Has anyone seen her?"

"Not yet. But the house seems well-guarded and the chances are good she's there. I told them to get close enough to confirm her presence but not to risk getting caught. We don't want to blow our hand."

"I want men ready to move in the minute I say the word. No mistakes, Nekmon."

"With all due respect, I seldom make mistakes."

"Once is too much. I need to--" The ringing of his phone interrupted him and he picked it up. "Diaz." He listened for a few moments and then hung up. "She's finished the reconstruction and Montalvo has it."

"Should we move on the girl?"

He thought about it. "Not yet. There's another possibility emerging now that may be quicker and more effective."

"That's the third checkpoint," Eve said as Montalvo started the jeep again. "Armandariz certainly doesn't play around with security."

"That's why we arranged a formal meeting and didn't try to infiltrate his lines," Montalvo said. "He may be a bull-headed father, but he's a damn good soldier or he wouldn't have lasted this many years."

"How far away from the camp are we?"

"Five minutes." He glanced at her. "Nervous?"

"Of course I'm nervous. I'm supposed to talk a neurotic man into the fact that he's betrayed his daughter and his cause at one and the same time. Even if he believes me it doesn't mean that he'll admit it."

"We have a decent chance. He's going to be surrounded by men who knew Nalia most of her life. A few of them were like brothers to her. They'll recognize her from the reconstruction and they may carry Armandariz along with them."

"Did she have any brothers?"

"No, that's why Armandariz raised her like a son. He needed someone to share his dream and Nalia was his only family."

"But she violated the dream."

"So he thinks." His lips tightened. "She died for his damn dream. She believed in it as much as he did and was trying to protect it from being betrayed." He pulled over to the side of the road. "We walk from here." He got out of the jeep and grabbed the leather box. "Let's go."

She got out of the jeep. "Give me the box."

"Why?"

"If I'm here to do a job, I'll do it my way. Armandariz resents you. The minute he sees you carrying the box he's going to get defensive. You may get some pleasure out of opening the box and saying 'I told you so,' but it's not going to be productive."

"I wouldn't do that."

"Not in so many words. The moment you show up with the box, it's an immediate implication."

He hesitated. "True." He handed her the box. "But I do the initial explanation."

"By all means." She kept her eyes on the path ahead. "I've no desire to do any more talking than I have to do. I don't even want to be here. I just want to have this over and find a way to get Joe out of here."

"I know that. I'm grateful that you--" He broke off as the bushes ahead parted and a dark-haired, thirty-something man appeared. "It seems the show's about to start." He stepped ahead of her. "Manuel, it's been a long time. I wasn't sure you were still alive."

The man he'd called Manuel smiled faintly. "But I knew you were alive and exactly where you were. When my belly was empty, I thought about you sitting all fat and rich behind your high walls."

Montalvo shrugged. "A man has to survive. Armandariz called me a liar and threw me out of the camp."

"You survived very well." Manuel's smile faded. "And he isn't going to change his mind." His gaze went to the box in Eve's hands. "Is that it?"

"That's her," Eve corrected. "And Armandariz will change his mind."

"Eve Duncan, this is Manuel Estevez. We knew each other for a long time before I became a pariah." Montalvo nudged her forward. "And I assume you're going to take us to Armandariz?"

"Yes." Manuel turned on his heel. "I have to warn you that he's ready to laugh in your face. It's not going to do any good."

"Encouraging," Eve murmured as she followed Manuel. Well, she hadn't expected this to be easy. She wasn't even sure that it would be successful. Montalvo hadn't given her any false hopes.

They abruptly emerged from the forest into a large glade dotted with a score of tents. The large tent to which Manuel led them was on the outskirts of the camp and he lifted the flap and gestured them inside. "Good luck," he said to Montalvo. "If you deserve it."

"I deserve it," Montalvo said. "Are you coming?"

Manuel hesitated and then shrugged. "I'm a little curious. Why not?" He followed them into the tent. He nodded at an older man sitting in a camp chair at a table. "May I stay, Antonio?"

"I've no objection." Antonio Armandariz was a thin, handsome man somewhere in his sixties with a mane of gray-white hair and magnificent dark eyes. "You were always too fond of Montalvo. You need to see him as the fool he is."

"Nalia loved him," Manuel said. "She usually didn't make mistakes about people."

Armandariz's eyes glittered with anger. "Don't defend her. She made the biggest mistake anyone could make. Why won't you understand that?"

"I try," Manuel said. "Because you're an honorable man and you believe it." He sat down in a chair in the corner. "Maybe Montalvo will convince me how wrong I've been to doubt you, Antonio." He gestured to Montalvo. "Entertain us, my friend. Let's see what you have to say."

"He has no friends here," Armandariz said. "He almost destroyed us with his wild actions against Diaz." He stared coldly at Montalvo. "Talk and then get the hell out of my camp."

"That's my intention." He nodded at Eve. "This is Eve Duncan. You read the dossier on her I sent you?"

Armandariz barely glanced at her. "I read it. Probably lies."

"You know better than that," Montalvo said. "And you've done a check on her yourself. I know you. You wouldn't be able to help yourself. I'm sure that you only wanted to prove to yourself that I was lying and she was a complete charlatan, but it didn't turn out that way, did it?"

Armandariz didn't answer.

"You didn't like the fact that she was reputable and totally honest and had no axe to grind. It must have been difficult for you."

"Not difficult at all." His gaze shifted to Eve. "She can be corrupted like everyone else. Nalia was honest and she betrayed us."

"May I talk now?" Eve asked. "This is bullshit, Montalvo."

"In a minute." Montalvo reached into his jacket pocket and drew out an envelope. "Nalia died trying to prove that Diaz was playing games with the militia and betraying you. She didn't find that proof before she was caught and killed. Diaz buried it and it took me years to unearth it." He tossed the envelope on the desk in front of Armandariz. "Along with a few more-recent documents that prove that Diaz is still double-dealing whenever it suits him. He's being very careful but when the prize is worth it, he's selling you out."