Part 14 (2/2)

Eva inhaled sharply. ”My G.o.d, he's the Carnivore. Frank Smith is the Carnivore.”

37.

As Eva watched, the Carnivore laughed. ”There are few times in our profession when one is amused,” he told Eli Eichel. ”I wondered how long it would take you. How did you know?”

”After all these years, I d.a.m.n well better know,” Eli said. ”First, it's the Walther PPS you gave Andersen-your favorite pistol. But others like the same gun, so that wasn't enough. The clincher was your walk. You're tough, because you change yours with almost every role. But I remember you were using your 'Frank Smith' walk when we ran into each other in London in 1986.”

The Carnivore's face froze. Whatever had occurred then, he had not liked it. Without moving his M4 from Eli, he glanced at Judd, Eva, and Tucker. ”Good to see you haven't forgotten me. On the other hand, knowing me hasn't turned out to be the best luck for you. I'm in a hurry, so here's the bottom line. This isn't a reunion. It's just a momentary intersection of needs. You can call me Alex. Alex Bosa.”

Eva calmed her pounding heart. ”I thought you looked familiar. Why didn't you tell me what was going on?”

”I'd hoped to be able to send you back to the Farm without anyone ever knowing I was here. The Padre found out you were due R and R soon, and he was set on kidnapping you and Judd. He created doubles for both of you to buy him plenty of time to question you. His backup plan was to let it be known he was holding you so I'd get wind of it and try to rescue you. But then I killed Judd's double, and Judd came home early from Iraq and went looking for you.” His gaze swept the three of them. ”I owed you for saving my life. This is payback.”

Eva knew the Carnivore had rules, and within their context he was ethical although seldom moral. One of his rules was to treat like with like, which was why paying back was a priority. Still, she'd had no desire ever to see him again. Dealing with the Carnivore was like having a flesh-eating piranha in your fish tank-exotic, but too close for comfort.

”He's right,” Judd told her. ”The Padre was trying to find him. He thought he could get the information from you or me, and he went to Tucker, too, hoping to trade for it.” He addressed the Carnivore. ”No one else has said it, so I will. Thanks for the help.”

The Carnivore looked him up and down. ”I thought you were out of the business.”

”I thought I was, too.”

”You'll live longer if you quit,” he advised. ”But after what you just did to Chapman, I don't know that you can.”

Judd's face seemed to pale, Eva thought, but his expression remained unchanged, neutral.

Tucker interrupted: ”How many of you a.s.sa.s.sins involved in this thing with the cuneiform pieces are in the United States?”

”To my knowledge, only those in this room,” Bosa told him.

They checked each other from the corners of their eyes, two old pros who disliked each other.

Tucker snorted. ”That's three too many.”

Done with him, Bosa confronted Eli Eichel: ”You and I need to talk about Burleigh Morgan. Do you know who planted the bomb under his car?”

”I'm telling you nothing unless you give me your limestone pieces,” Eli said coolly. ”You can't really care about the money. You're rich anyway.”

”My reputation and life are on the line, too, but perhaps you're right.” He slid his hand inside his snowsuit and withdrew a cloth box about three inches thick. It looked like some kind of microfiber material, the sort that molded itself to its contents. ”I have four of the pieces, as you may remember.” He walked to the library table, set down the box, and lifted the lid. ”They're yours-in exchange for all of your information. No lies. No omissions. Agreed?”

Eva had no idea what the two men were talking about, except that it seemed to involve some deal that had gone terribly wrong.

”Agreed.” Eli padded to the table and grabbed what appeared to be two of Bosa's rocks. He raised them to chin level. Using his thumb, he turned them over and around, examining them. Then he put them back and repeated the process with the last two. His face inscrutable, from his jacket he pulled a padded cloth bag that appeared to contain other items-more limestone pieces perhaps. Humming a little tune, he slid two of Bosa's pieces into the bag, signaling he accepted Bosa's offer.

So fast his hand was almost invisible, Bosa scooped the remaining rocks into his microfiber box, closed the lid, squeezed the Velcro shut, and returned the box to his pocket. ”You can have the rest when I'm satisfied you've told me everything,” he said. ”Start with Morgan. Do you know who wiped him?”

Eva remembered reading the account of the infamous old international a.s.sa.s.sin Burleigh Morgan climbing into his gull-wing car in Paris and the driver's seat exploding under him. Not only had the bombing meant certain death, it also seemed deliberately dramatic to catch the attention of media worldwide, which it had.

”Morgan was too d.a.m.n good, too well liked,” Eli reasoned. ”Worse, he knew too much. But no, it wasn't me that killed him. h.e.l.l, it could've been a disgruntled former employer for all any of us know. If you and the Padre hadn't carried him out, he would've died on the museum grounds. He's been living on borrowed time.”

Bosa shrugged. ”Somehow you found out the Padre was going to be at his hunt club, so you had time to set up for a sniper shoot. Knowing how close-mouthed he was, you either turned one of his people or planted one of yours inside his organization.”

”I convinced one of his team to help me,” Eli admitted. ”He was feeling underpaid and unappreciated. I took care of both problems.”

”You've eliminated him?”

”Of course.”

”Which one of us are you working with?” Bosa asked.

”He's working with me,” Danny said possessively.

Bosa did not even glance at him.

Eli Eichel hesitated, seeming to debate with himself. ”I've been collaborating with Krot. He's the one who told me about the man inside the Padre's organization. My job was to take care of the Padre and retrieve his pieces, which I'll get from Ryder as soon as you and I finish our business. At the same time, Krot's job has been to find Seymour. As far as we can tell, Seymour dropped off the face of the planet in late 2003. I think his share of the tablet was four pieces. Do you have any idea where he is?”

Eva felt Tucker stiffen beside her. The Carnivore had said the three a.s.sa.s.sins in this room were the only ones he knew to be working in country, which meant that if ”Krot” and ”Seymour” were a.s.sa.s.sins, they were outside U.S. borders.

”No idea where Seymour is,” Bosa told him. ”Where's Krot?”

”At a hotel in Vienna, the Inner Stadt. Don't remember which one.”

”Where are you now in the mission?”

”With your pieces, the Padre's, mine, and Krot's, we'll have more than half the tablet. Want to come in on this? It may take all of us to find Seymour and pin him down. He's one ruthless son-of-a-b.i.t.c.h.”

”Not like us at all.” There was irony in Bosa's tone. ”I'll think about it.”

Eli gave a slow, suspicious nod. ”I've told you the truth. You owe me those last two pieces. Hand them over.”

Bosa said nothing. Did nothing. No one moved.

The library table was on the room's west side, where the Carnivore and Eli Eichel stood beside it, facing each other. To the east, Judd, Tucker, and Eva were together, while Danny was positioned to keep his weapon trained on them while periodically checking on his brother.

Emotions flashed across Eli Eichel's face-fear, anger, hatred, and then nothing.

”Krot's not in Vienna,” the Carnivore said quietly, too quietly. ”He's in Marrakech, and you d.a.m.n well know it.”

As Eli started to snap up his M4, Danny yelled, ”No!”

The Carnivore fired a single burst into Eli's throat. At such close range, the rounds nearly decapitated him. He reeled, then toppled.

”Brother!” Danny screamed as Eli's body hit the floor. He ran to Eli, blindly spraying automatic fire around the room.

The Carnivore fired again.

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