The Pacific Conspiracy (6 page)

***

Frank struggled through the rest of the simulations Krinski had asked him to run, his head still spinning from the implications of what he'd found. He became aware of how much time had passed only when his stomach started growling and he noticed that another three hours had passed.

He was punching in the last numbers as Krinski entered the room.

"Tired?" Krinski was carrying what looked like a videocassette in his hand.

"A little," Frank said. "I finished running the simulations."

"Good," Krinski said, turning on his terminal. "Go ahead and shut down."

"All right." Frank pushed his chair back and stood up. "I think I'll get something to eat."

"Sysanto has lunch ready," Krinski said. "We're just waiting for the others. They should be here momentarily." He smiled. "Why don't you have another cookie?"

Frank shook his head. "No, thanks. I'll hold off."

Frank knew that something was wrong. Krinski continued smiling at him.

"There are plenty left," the professor said. "Even after Joe's little raid on them last night."

Frank tried to act confused. "Little raid?" He forced a smile. "I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"Let's not play games," Krinski said. He reached inside his jacket, drew out a gun, and pointed it at Frank.

"I have cameras on all the doors. It's a security precaution," he said, holding up the videocassette in his left hand. "It's too bad I didn't have them on the other building, too. I'd love to see what happened when you met the dragon."

Frank pursed his lips. There didn't seem to be anything to say.

"Why don't you have a seat?" Krinski suggested, pointing to the couch in the center of the room. "The others will be here soon. Oh, I forgot," Krinski said, snapping his fingers. "You were hungry, weren't you? Susanto!"

The girl appeared at the entrance of the kitchen.

"Get our friend here a cookie," he said, still smiling. "In fact, make it a whole plateful."

Terrific, Frank thought, sitting on the couch. My last meal is going to be cookies.

Just then Nwali walked in. "You haven't changed the code on the front door yet," he said to Krinski.

"It hardly matters now," Krinski responded. "They won't be using it again."

As Frank watched, Endang stepped inside. Joe was a step behind her, strain showing on his face. The three other Assassins followed with guns drawn and leveled.

"What's she doing here?" Frank asked, pointing to Endang.

Joe saw the gun Krinski had trained on his brother and spun around to face Nwali.

"What's going on?" he asked. Suddenly Joe noticed that the Assassins' guns were pointed at him as well.

"You and your brother have betrayed us, Joseph," Nwali said.

"What are you talking about?" Joe said, shaking his head. "I've done nothing wrong."

Nwali nodded slightly.

Joe heard movement behind him, but before he could turn around something was smashed across the back of his head. He fell to the floor.

"Joe!" Frank called out.

"I'm okay," he said, struggling to his feet. Boris stood over him, his machine gun still raised like a club, a big smile on his face.

Krinski slipped the videocassette he held into a VCR. "I have an interesting little piece of video here. Let's all watch it."

Endang took Joe's arm and helped him over to the couch, where they sat down next to Frank. The television screen filled with the image of the two Hardys walking downstairs and stopping in front of the keypad.

"Very clever," Krinski said, watching as Frank punched in the code. "How did you figure out the combination?"

Joe and Frank remained silent.

"It doesn't matter," Krinski said. "Here, this is my favorite part." He fast-forwarded the tape to the part where the boys returned to the house and Joe stopped in the kitchen. He froze the frame just as Joe was reaching into the cookie jar.

"I believe there is an American expression for this," Krinski said, and he started laughing. "You got caught with your hand in the cookie jar!"

"Enough." Nwali held up his hand. "We have decided you are spying on us. The question is why, and for whom."

"We're independents," Frank said. "For hire to the highest bidder."

Krinski smirked. "You seem a little young for that line of work."

"That's strange talk, Professor, coming from someone who graduated from college at fourteen," Frank said.

"We're older than you think," Joe added. "And the fact that we look so young makes us extremely valuable.'

Nwali sat down on the couch next to Frank and leaned back. "Who are you working for?" he asked, staring straight ahead. "The Network?"

"Meet our price and we'll tell you," Frank said.

"I think you misunderstand the situation here. You have nothing to bargain with. You either tell us what we want or we kill you," Nwali said matter-of-factly.

Frank shrugged. "You'll kill us, anyway. We're too dangerous - we know you're building a hydrogen bomb."

Nwali's eyes widened. For a second he was clearly stunned. Quickly he regained his composure.

"My compliments. Your appearances are deceiving." He stood. "And speaking of deceit ... " Nwali walked around the couch to Endang and lifted her chin in his hand. "Who exactly are you, my dear?"

"She's just what she looks like," Joe said. "An innocent. Why not let her go?"

"I think not." The leader shook his head. "Now you all know too much." He turned to Boris. "Shoot them and throw their bodies in the canal."

Bob frowned. "If we don't want the bodies to float back to the surface, we'll have to weight them down."

"I have it!" Krinski said, motioning to Bob. "Get some of the large buckets we feed the dragon out of. They should be just outside the wall. Also bring some of the mixing cement from the garage." Bob nodded and left.

Krinski turned to Nwali. "It's a good thing I watch so many gangster movies."

Boris had left and now returned with some rope. He tied the boys' and Endang's hands behind their backs and led them outside, gun pointed, where Bob was waiting beside the cargo van in the ovenlike heat.

"Your last chance," Nwali said. He folded his arms across his chest and stared at each of them in turn. "Tell me who you're working for, and I'll spare your lives."

Endang, who had been silently whimpering since they'd left the Hatta, spoke up for the first time.

"I'm not working for anyone!" she cried out. "Why are you doing this to me?"

Nwali shifted his gaze to Joe. "Joseph? Tell me who you're working for, and I'll let her go."

Yeah, right, Joe thought to himself. He looked over Nwali's shoulder and saw Krinski standing there with a big grin on his face. "Never" was all he said.

"Kill them," Nwali said to Boris. He spun around on his heel and marched back toward the air-conditioned house to join Krinski and Bill.

The big Assassin slid open the side door of the van. "Inside," he said, motioning with his gun. Joe sat down on the floor between Endang and a large bag of cement. Frank sat opposite them.

"I could find only two buckets," Bob said, pulling the van out of the drive.

"That's all right," Boris said. "The girl is small. If we tie a rock to her, she'll sink."

Endang started whimpering quietly. She was playing the part of the innocent perfectly, Joe thought, but he and Frank still had to distract the Assassins somehow.

They drove for maybe ten minutes before Bob pulled the van to an abrupt halt. Boris got out and slid the side door open. Now Joe was staring at a canal. It was only about fifty feet wide, with a small brick ledge running next to the water on either side.

"An excellent burial ground, don't you think?" Boris asked. "Come. Over here."

While Bob kept them covered Boris mixed up a small amount of cement in the two buckets. Then he put the buckets on top of the ledge and motioned to Frank and Joe.

"Step right up," he said.

Joe complied, Frank a step behind him. What else could they do? He and Frank were in way over their heads. Their only hope was that Endang had gotten some information to the Network. Maybe the Gray Man could pick up the Assassins' trail before they could use the hydrogen bomb they were building.

"Now step in the buckets, one foot at a time," Boris said. He held the shovel he'd used to mix the cement across his chest and smiled. "You first," he said to Joe.

Joe did as he was told. It was like stepping into a giant vat of mud. But this mud was going to get rock hard very soon. He glanced over at his brother, who was also standing in a bucket of cement. Would Frank be able to think of a plan to get them out of this one?

"There," Boris said after about ten minutes. He stepped up on the ledge next to them, checked Joe's bonds, and smiled. "Now I think it is time for you to go swimming."

Frank leaned to his left, falling into Boris. Boris simply pushed him away, letting Frank fall facedown on the ground. He hit hard. With his hands tied and his legs encased in concrete he had no way to break his fall.

Nice move, Frank, Joe thought, because he knew Frank had just given Endang the opening she needed. The instant Frank moved, Bob's attention was taken from her.

Endang fell onto her back and slid her arms under her legs. A quick kick with her feet and her arms were in front of her. Even though her hands were still tied, she could at least use them now.

Bob turned at the noise just as she was charging him. She managed to knock the Uzi from his hands.

"You little - "

Joe watched as Endang spun into a vicious sidekick. Her foot caught the Assassin on the side of the head, and Bob crumpled to the ground, out cold. A quick somersault and Endang was standing with the Uzi in her hands.

The whole maneuver couldn't have taken more than five seconds.

"Untie them," she said to Boris. "Now."

Joe was impressed. "Wow," he said. "You really are a black belt."

Endang's gaze didn't move from Boris. "Did you think I was making it up?"

"I wasn't sure," Joe admitted. "But I definitely won't kiss you again without permission."

Boris still hadn't moved.

"You heard me," she said, raising the gun. "Drop that shovel and untie them."

"Of course," Boris said. He stepped back and then tossed the shovel aside. Right into Joe's stomach.

The sudden impact knocked him a little off balance, but that was all it took.

"Joe!" Frank cried out.

Joe heard Frank's call as he felt himself slowly tipping over backward. There wasn't a thing he could do to stop it.

Then he fell, and the cold water of the canal washed over him.