Page 10 of The Death
“You didn’t mention grave robbing. It seems he’s trying to open a few new doors in that area. I have a hunch he might be using his gunrunning to get into local African politics, placing himself in the best possible position to go after the big bucks.”
“And he’s involving Eve? How on earth could he be doing that, Dominic?”
“Easily. He probably couldn’t resist making the attempt. Antiquities and ancient tombs can bring in billions these days. And Eve made herself a target by doing that work on the Helen of Troy tomb a few years ago. My bet is that Caldwell has been planning to go after a big score in that direction for quite a while. It’s not as if he lacks confidence.” He paused. “You’ve heard about the Karimu massacre?”
“How could I not? They’re comparing it to Rwanda. We’re sending out an investigating team.”
“Well, when they get there, you’ll find that the weapons used to destroy the village were furnished by Caldwell.”
“Shit! You’re sure?”
“I found the main weapons cache. It wasn’t too difficult. So will your agents, unless he’s managed to destroy the evidence by then. Whoever purchased those weapons wasn’t being too careful. They were probably too high on drugs and bloodlustto think at all.” He added wearily, “Whatever your reports told you about that massacre, prepare to multiply it. My bet is that Caldwell sold the weapons to one of Karimu’s rival chiefs, who didn’t care if the women and children got butchered. I’ve been studying the possible customers, and it’s probably Masini Zakira—his village has been Caldwell’s African headquarters for some time. It’s so far up in the mountains that it’s practically unapproachable. It’s surrounded by jungle and caves like a giant maze. Caldwell would feel very safe there. He’s probably thumbing his nose at the local armies on the coast right now.”
“That bad?”
“There’s no one more arrogant. He doesn’t think any of us can catch him.”
“Tell me about it,” Catherine said bitterly. “We’ve had some our best CIA agents hunting for him. I’ve been as frustrated as hell.”
“Don’t blame yourself,” Dominic said. “It’s probably the same way he’s managed to avoid being caught by me and any other of Cameron’s teams. He’s very smart and makes enough money to keep his men loyal and very well paid working on his various game plans. We’ve just got to concentrate on not letting the bastard slip through our fingers again.”
“And I suppose you’ve got a way to do that? How did you even know that Caldwell was pulling the strings on this job?”
“I recognize how he marks the weapons he sells to his clients, and I tracked down a few cases at the ruins at Karimu. I’d just gotten wind that Caldwell was involved in a new scheme from Jim Hastings, one of my informants, who often frequents one of my casinos in Algiers. He’s one of Caldwell’slesser scumbags so he obviously didn’t know that much, but after Karimu I went back and primed the pump with a special truth serum that usually works very well on him. I got a few names, one of them Eve Duncan. Considering that Duncan is extremely unlikely to be working with Caldwell willingly, my next supposition was that she might be a victim or a tool.”
“I don’t like any of this,” Catherine said. “You couldn’t get anything else out of this informant?”
“Not yet. But he might find out more about Caldwell’s plans later. I thought it best that I release him so that he would go his merry way and no one would suspect me. Naturally, I have a twenty-four-hour tail on him.”
“Naturally,” she echoed caustically. “You never take chances, do you?”
“All the time. But hopefully never fatal ones.” He added, “And I’m trying not to take any chances with your friend Eve. Caldwell wants her to do this mask, and I won’t deny it might be dangerous. Hell, of course it will. Shall we go into the fact that Caldwell will probably find an excuse to kill Eve, because she’ll inevitably get in his way? Individuals like Eve will always go after the bad guys to find a way to save the world. The only way to save her is for us to step in.”
“Or send in a sniper with an AK-47 to get rid of all those bastards,” Catherine said harshly. “Eve is a great person. That would simplify everything.”
“What a wonderful solution.” Dominic laughed with pure delight. “I can see why you’re so near and dear to Cameron. Would you mind if we explore a few less radical answers first? I promise that the prime offenders won’t receive undue mercy that might annoy you. May I talk now?”
“By all means,” Catherine said. “In detail, please. Start with more about Caldwell.”
“Who is up to all of his usual ugliness and clearly starting to move upward to even greater and more profitable crimes. But Hastings couldn’t tell me many of those details you’re going to want to know, Catherine. I just got the broad strokes. He was raving about how Caldwell had discovered a secret pharaoh’s tomb in a village in the mountains of Central Africa that was filled with gold and treasure, and everyone who helped Caldwell to retrieve it was going to be a millionaire.”
“And Hastings believed him?”
“I didn’t say he was bright. Why do you think Caldwell only told him the basics? That’s why I have to move fast, before Caldwell discovers that Hastings is one of my informants and he ends up dead.”
“And you’re still asking me to persuade Eve that she should get involved with this assignment? She has a lot to live for and a hell of a lot to give,” Catherine said. “Of course I won’t do it.”
“Yes, she has a lot to give. And she’s shown in the past that she’s willing to do it. Did I mention that there’s an excellent chance that if we can’t finesse Caldwell out of the picture, then he might very well find it necessary to burn half that village and all its citizens to the ground?”
She was silent a moment. “Damn you, no, you didn’t. But I know he’s fully capable of it. If you need someone to play his game, then set me up to go after the bastard. I’m a fully trained CIA agent. You know I can handle it.”
“And risk Cameron going after me if anything happened to you? That would be suicidal. No way.” He paused.“Besides, you don’t have Eve’s unique qualifications. I guarantee your name wasn’t on Caldwell’s list that I squeezed out of Hastings.”
“What were the other names?”
“Masini Zakira, an African chief. And one Celine Kelly, an artist’s model from Boston.”
“What the devil is he up to? That combo is as weird as hell,” she muttered.
