Part 14 (1/2)

”Welcome, gentlemen.” Chapman inclined his head toward Eva. ”And lady. Have you met my other guests? These are the Eichel brothers, Eli and Danny.”

Eli Eichel was having none of it. ”What is this bulls.h.i.+t?” He glared at the guards. ”Did you search them?”

”Yes, sir,” the one in regular clothes replied. ”No hidden weapons, and no limestone rocks either. Just cell phones and the usual billfolds et cetera.”

Eichel turned his dark gaze onto Ryder. ”You've got the Padre's pieces from the tablet. Where are they?”

Ryder frowned and lied, ”What tablet? What pieces?”

Danny had been watching Ryder. ”He's hidden them someplace.”

”It's a good guess, if I had them,” Ryder allowed, ”but that's all it is-a guess.”

”He's a liar,” Danny said. ”The pieces are in his car.”

”That's logic, not clairvoyance.” Ryder layered indignation into his tone. ”The only thing left in our delivery truck-not a car-is the smell of pizza and beer.”

”We'll decide that for ourselves,” Eli announced. ”Danny.” The single word was a command.

Danny grinned and lumbered toward Eva. ”She'll tell us where it is.” His neck was so thick and short his bowling-ball head seemed to grow directly out of his bulky shoulders. But unlike the rest of his thuggish appearance, his black eyes showed intelligence. When he had looked at his brother, his gaze had been accommodating, tender. Now Ryder saw inevitability in his eyes, destiny: He was a killer. Killers killed.

Ryder's throat tightened. ”She doesn't know.”

”Maybe not, but you do,” Danny said reasonably.

Eva stepped back. ”Judd said he doesn't have the pieces.”

Danny stopped and studied her. ”I'm six meters away from you, or almost twenty feet,” he told her. ”From now on I'll slow to a rate of five kilometers an hour, or 1.39 meters per second. That's about 3.1 miles an hour, which is the average human walking speed. I will need only 4.32 seconds, more or less, to reach you. In that time Ryder has a chance to change his mind and tell us where the tablet pieces are. If not, I'll erase you.”

Eva angled her body, bent her knees, and lifted her hands, preparing for defensive sword-hand strikes. She exuded defiance. She was not a small woman. Still, Danny dwarfed her.

Ryder had had enough. He moved in front of her. ”Back off, Danny.”

She stepped up beside Ryder and resumed her stance. ”We'll do this together, Judd.” She turned flas.h.i.+ng eyes on Danny.

A voice boomed from the entry door, filling the library. ”Enough, Eli. Call off Danny. Tell us where your portion of the tablet is, and perhaps we can convince Ryder to do the same.”

Surprised, all turned. But instead of homing in on the voice, their gazes went instantly to the sentry who was dressed in a plaid s.h.i.+rt and khakis. He was sitting on the floor, slouched back against the door, eyes open. Blood was gus.h.i.+ng from a mortal gash to his carotid artery, soaking his clothes. While they had been riveted by the tension between Danny and Eva, the man in white snow gear had eliminated the guard in the same manner as the two outdoor sentries had died.

The speaker, his white clothes sprinkled with blood, stood over his victim, aiming his M4 across the library at Eli Eichel.

Eli moved forward, focusing his M4 back at him.

Except for Tucker and Eva, everyone had been caught off guard. Tucker quickly produced a 9-mm Walther PPS from inside his jacket and trained it on Chapman. At the same time, Eva pulled an M4 from beneath her long padded coat and pointed it at Danny.

Judd noted that Chapman and his guards were standing off alone, spectators in a contest that apparently had nothing to do with them. Judd itched for a weapon. Think for yourself. You have responsibilities-live up to them. Judd yanked the M4 from Eva, slammed his shoulder into Danny, and squeezed the trigger, laying a line of automatic fire across Chapman and his two guards.

The rounds ripped through the men's torsos and burst out their backs. Books exploded from the shelves behind them. Shredded paper rained down. But all that Judd saw was one perfect moment of retribution-Chapman's death. He had corrected a mistake. For a brief moment, he felt peace.

There was an immediate response. Danny lunged at Judd, and Judd hit the floor so hard he released his M4. Gasping for air, he rolled, chasing the weapon.

”Stop!” the voice roared from the killer at the door, the man in white. ”Ryder is under my protection.”

The library was suddenly still.

”Eli, tell your brother to back off.” Again it was the voice from behind.

Danny's hulky shoulders quivered. ”Eli?”

”Do it, Danny,” Eli told him. ”You can have fun later.”

With the deliberation of a dance master, Danny took a step back, then another and another, his M4 pointed down at Ryder.

Ryder s.n.a.t.c.hed up his M4 and got to his feet.

Eva was staring at him, shock in her eyes. ”Jesus, Judd.”

He shrugged then turned to the man in white at the back of the room. ”What's going on here?”

Eva frowned at the man, too. ”You waited a long time, Frank. That's not how we planned it.”

”You planned this?” Judd said.

”Yes. I met Frank at the service gate, and he filled me in.”

Now Ryder understood how Eva and Tucker must have gotten weapons: ”Frank,” the sentry in snow clothes, had given Eva the M4 earlier, and then when he supposedly searched Tucker for weapons, he had slipped him the Walther.

Ryder did not know who Frank was, even when he peeled off his white balaclava and walked toward them. He had a large Roman nose and thick gray hair that showed the vestiges of having been carefully tousled. A man of moderate height and stocky build, there was something dapper about him, about the casual but confident way he moved and held his M4. Despite having apparently scrubbed three men tonight, he seemed completely relaxed, and somehow the more dangerous for it.

His gray beard jutting, Tucker glared at Frank. ”Thanks for the Walther. But who in h.e.l.l are you, and what are you doing in the middle of my operation?”

”What?” Eva said. ”Tucker, you asked for Frank's help-”

”Like h.e.l.l I did.”

Frank Smith said nothing. He was gazing steadily at Eli Eichel.

The corners of Eli Eichel's mouth twitched.

Frank Smith gave a wicked smile.

Eli laughed. It started small then turned into guffaws. ”Dammit, you've done it again.” He laughed more, enjoying the joke. He glanced around at Eva, Tucker, and Ryder. ”Don't you know who saved you?”

The man in white lifted two fingers and touched his forehead in a brisk salute to the three.

Frowning, Ryder searched his memory for the gesture.... And then it was vivid.