“And will you try to use her?”
“She persuaded me to let her do what she could. I’m going to tap every source I can. If a situation arises where she can safely give us help, I’ll ask her, not tell her.” She changed the subject. “And speaking about tapping sources, I’m going to tap you, Hu Chang. I’m bringing you a paperback book I took from Montez. I think it’s his own work. It’s full of all kinds of the deliciously complicated chemical and mathematical puzzles and equations that you like. At least, it’s complicated to me. You may find it child’s play.”
“Really?” He sounded fascinated. “Intriguing. I admit, like Luke, I’m desperately searching for a challenge. Let’s hope that you’re bringing me one that is worthy of me. Does this book have a title?”
“Maggi. Does it spark anything?”
“Not at the moment. I will think about it. When can I have the book?”
“I told you, I’m bringing it to you. You want the exact time? About six hours.” She chuckled. “You’re more eager to see all those calculations than you are to see us safely back there. I regret that you no longer look on me as a challenge, Hu Chang.”
“You are always a challenge, always new, always fresh. But, unfortunately, you have no desire to explore the intricacies of the chemical rules of the universe and how to change them. That is why I had to turn to Luke to teach. He is coming along fabulously.”
“No poisons, Hu Chang.”
“Not until he is ready to accept the responsibility.”
“No poisons.”
He sighed. “One must furnish an entire picture. I will have to convince you of that someday. But there is time.”
“I haven’t heard from Eve. Jane?”
“Still alive. The last I checked with Eve, she had called in Seth Caleb to come see Jane. It appears to be a last-ditch effort.”
“Caleb.” She remembered her encounters with Seth Caleb when they had been hunting and trying to save Eve last year. Dark, interesting, riveting, and totally focused on Jane MacGuire. She had heard strange rumors about his ability to manipulate blood flow, but she had not thought Eve would call on him for help. But perhaps Hu Chang was right, and desperation had led Eve down that path. “Yes, that’s what it seems to be. I’d probably do the same if I were her. After I hang up from you, I’m going to call her.”
“Give her my best wishes. I regret her sorrow. She is an extraordinary woman.”
“Yes, she is. I’m hanging up now, Hu Chang. I’ll see you soon.”
“Yes, you will.” His tone was absent, and she knew he was no longer paying attention. “Maggi…”
“Everything is status quo?” Cameron asked from his seat next to her as he looked up from his computer. “I won’t say good, because that would be too optimistic.”
“No escalation. But that may change once Dorgal reports back to Santos that he didn’t gather Montez into his net. It would be too much to expect that his contacts won’t have known that we were after him, too.”
“But those same contacts will be able to tell him that Montez wasn’t with us when we boarded this plane. Which means that he’ll still be scouring that rain forest for him.”
“Then we have to hope that Montez will be as good at hiding in the forest as he told us,” Catherine said grimly. “Or that Dario will be able to keep a damn good watch on him.”
“Dario will do his job.” Cameron looked back down at his computer. “But you did make things more difficult.”
“I believe you mentioned that.”
“Edgy, Catherine?” He smiled faintly. “I just needed to make sure that you remember it wasn’t my call if it blows up in your face. I admit I’m feeling a bit resentful that I wasn’t allowed to be in control of the situation. It felt very strange.”
“I imagine that’s true. You’re not accustomed to not being king of the mountain. But this is my problem, my mountain, and I didn’t invite you to solve it for me.”
“I believe I’ve been very good at taking a backseat. I disappeared and let you confront Montez by yourself.” He tilted his head. “Then I stood by and watched him hurt you and didn’t step in and gut him. That took a significant amount of restraint. You know, Catherine, I think that you came out way ahead of the game.” He added softly, “But don’t expect that to also be the status quo. I’ve been taught discipline, but I always have trouble applying those principles to you.”
Status quo? Not likely. Cameron was always changing, innovating, doing the unexpected. Sometimes it was frustrating, often exciting, always disturbing. Yet it was true that he’d been amazingly laid-back and compliant when she’d been dealing with Montez. Compliant? What was she thinking? He was probably just biding his time before he stepped in and tried to take over the action with his usual lethal efficiency. But she was in no mood to argue with him right now. She was tired and discouraged. She had hoped for more when she had gone after Montez. “I’m going to call Eve at the hospital. The last thing that Hu Chang had heard was that Jane was still alive and Eve was trying anyone and everything to find a cure for her.” She made a face. “Including a wild card that proves she’s really desperate.”
“I believe in wild cards.”
“So do I, sometimes.” She was dialing Eve’s number. “But I don’t know about this one. I don’t know about Seth Caleb…”
* * *
“We haven’t been able to find Montez yet, Santos,” Dorgal said. “There was interference, and things did not go smoothly.” He added quickly, “But we’re still searching. It’s only a matter of time. You know I’ll never give up.”
“Why did things not go smoothly?” Santos asked harshly. “You had money, you had men. Montez had nothing. All you had to do was find him and gather him up.”
“That’s not entirely correct. Montez had Catherine Ling. We believe she made contact with him. I didn’t tell you before because I hoped to have the situation resolved quickly and not bother you.”
“Catherine Ling has Montez?” Santos asked slowly, spacing every word.
“No, she left San Esposito by plane with only Richard Cameron. But she was seen entering the rain forest where we tracked Montez. At one point, we saw three sets of prints but lost them in the forest. But I’ve just had a report that one of the trackers caught sight of fresh prints to the north that he thinks might be Montez’s.”
“Might be.”
“Almost certain. And Montez is alone. Maybe he was on the run from Ling, too.”
“‘Might.’ ‘Maybe.’ I don’t like those words.”
“Look, there’s no way Montez would talk to Ling. He’s been hiding from us for two years because he was scared shitless. His brother and sister are dead, and he knows there might be more. He might not want to cooperate with us, but he’s not going to talk. You said yourself he wasn’t a priority unless you decided you needed him. That’s why we didn’t go after him before this.”
“I know all that. But the reason I sent you is that I knew Ling or Cameron had probably zeroed in on Montez. That made it a priority, dammit.”
“I’ll find him. I’ll deliver him to you. Don’t worry.”
“I’m not worrying. Because I know you’ll keep your word. We’ve been together a long time, and you’ve never failed me.” He paused. “But Delores was always a little suspicious of you, did you know that? Naturally, I tried to convince her how wrong she was.”
Dorgal had always known the bitch had never trusted him. It would have only been a matter of time before Delores would have been able to persuade Santos to get rid of him. “I only wish she’d lived so that I could convince her myself. She’d know how hard I’ve worked to do what you both wanted of me. She wouldn’t doubt me now.”
“It always took a lot to convince Delores. For instance, she would consider delivering Montez to me as a test.” He paused. “So you’ll continue to hunt for Montez and find him very quickly. You’ll question him and make sure he didn’t tell Ling anything. You wouldn’t want to fail Delores.”