text
stringlengths
0
4.23k
Opal snorted. "Yeah? And what the hell are you doing here anyway?"
"Oh, well, I beg your pardon, Captain: I thought my timing and arrival were both rather serendipitous."
"Yeah-maybe a little too serendipitous?"
"Are they? Have you stopped to think that you both left the stadium without one of these?" He yanked off a collarcom. "And that was my fault, damn it, because...
"So you followed us."
"Yes, of course: is that a crime? So I ran into the roadblock to the main overlook. Closer scrutiny, and a quick call to our local contacts, revealed that it ...
"Yeah, well-we did all right on our own." Hands on hips as she moved toward the front of the first vehicle, Opal blew sweaty bangs out of her eyes and stalked...
Caine smiled at her as she passed. "'We' weren't so great, but she was outstanding."
Opal looked back over her shoulder-face smudged, hair awry, primal, compelling-and then stared down at the much-shot body in front of the car and the tangle o...
Downing looked from her to Caine and back again. "Well, you are both very welcome: how gracious of you to thank me for my help."
Caine kept his voice low, controlled. "Downing, we're only here because of your agenda and actions, so don't expect any gratitude. Far as I can tell, you were...
Downing, stiff-lipped, nodded. "We do. Captain, you police up their weapons and keep watch." He tossed her his pistol; she caught it-the grip in her palm, fin...
Caine had never moved a dead body. It was not only as heavy as several sacks of potatoes, but equally unwieldy; grab the torso, and the legs and arms splay an...
As Caine finished shoving a second corpse into the vehicle, Richard-who evinced a surprising facility for the same job-dropped to the ground, scuttled under i...
Opal sneered. "Field repairs, Mr. Downing?"
"Preparing to destroy evidence, Captain Patrone. Had to uncap the engine oil pan."
"Why not just cut the fuel lines and light 'er up?"
"Captain, these are fuel-cell vehicles. So the best accelerant we have is the oil that lubricates the transmission and turbine. Now please step back. Caine, t...
Caine turned it over to Downing, who leaned forward, tossed it into the thickest part of the oil slick that was spreading from underneath the vehicle in a dow...
As the fire caught and raced back up under the car, Opal frowned. "Shouldn't we report this to-?"
Caine, backing away, shook his head. "No, we can't. Not without compromising, maybe scuttling, the Parthenon Dialogs. That's why we're setting the fire and re...
Downing was at his car, holding the door for Opal. "That's right: we have to make this look-at least for the first twenty-four hours of investigation-as thoug...
"Then what about the evidence in the second car?" She paused, hand on the door frame, looking down at the flaming wreckage.
"Hopefully, that fire is intense enough to incinerate the bodies and weapons."
"So why is that one burning so well?"
Downing shrugged, closed her door. "Probably because they were carrying a few liters of petrol to burn your bodies and car once they had finished their job."
Caine held in a shudder, felt as though he might vomit. "Let's just get the hell out of here."
Chapter Eighteen
ODYSSEUS
At the villa-a burnt-ochre mission-style home with a tiled roof and innumerable perimeter cameras-Downing held the door for Opal while two guards stood at eithe...
"Christ, Caine-come in. Come on in."
Nolan's voice, then his face, were coming out of the now-vacated doorway at him. Caine nodded, entered as bid.
The interior, he noticed calmly, was quite beautiful: beyond the high-ceilinged entry hall, dark wood raftering lent a stately antiquity to the wide, bright i...
But that convivial demeanor returned-with astonishing, almost disgusting rapidity-as the retired admiral turned quickly to Opal. He scooped a glass from a wai...
Caine heard Nolan's voice grow loud behind him, as though the rising volume were trying to fill up an empty space, or trying to push everything else out: "Cap...
Her mouth puckering, full of drink, she nodded them out, waving them on with her free hand.
Nolan crinkled his avuncular eyes at her, waved for Caine to follow him.
Which Caine did at a measured pace: If I was a betting man, I'd lay odds we'll wind up in a windowless conference room.
Nolan led Caine into the room he'd envisioned. Downing closed the door behind them. Caine remained on his feet.
Nolan looked at him. "Caine, will you have a seat?"
"No, not until I get some answers."
Nolan stared. "Very well: what do you want to know?"
"What the hell happened out there? I thought you said-"
Nolan held up a hand. "Caine, as I was telling Captain Patrone, that was my fault, all of it. I got lazy, overconfident, and jeopardized not only you, but als...
Nolan, and the apology, seemed sincere-but still, it seemed to come too easy, was too facile. Of course, he's probably been in this position a dozen times, so...
Downing shook his head. "'Fraid not. There's a long list of possible suspects, but we have no way of knowing which one-or several-might be responsible. On the...
"By what?"
"The five strikers we neutralized on adjacent rooftops were burned beyond analysis. Our after-action forensics indicate that each one was equipped with a biom...
Caine stared at the tabletop. "Wonderful."