Alex groaned.
An hour later, they were still waiting. Alex had taken a turn with the glasses, but passed them back to Teren when her eyes began to blur. Now, she just sat, watching Teren as she watched the house.
“Hey, Teren, I’ve been wanting to ask you something.”
“So, ask.”
“Do you think the CIA killed Kennedy?”
Teren slowly turned her head to her companion.
“Where did that come from?”
“I don’t know. I just wanted to break the monotony. You haven’t said a word in almost thirty minutes.”
Teren’s gaze returned to the house. “I know. I like the quiet.”
“Well, I don’t. I think it’s nice, when you’re working with someone, to have a conversation with them, and this seemed a safer subject than some I could ask about.” Then she grinned. “Besides, you’re CIA, who better to ask?”
She saw Teren’s eyebrow twitch, which, Alex was learning, meant she wanted to smile, but didn’t think she should. Alex was about to ask again, when Teren’s low voice rumbled across to her.
“Let me put it to you in two ways,” Teren said slowly. “First, I’ve made the acquaintance of several of the world’s top riflemen. Hell, two years ago I was one of the world’s top riflemen. And I’ll tell you, with a Mannlicher-Carcano, none of us could have pulled off what they say Oswald did.”
There was quiet again, then she looked calmly over at Alex.
“And secondly, I am not at liberty to discuss previous CIA operations.”
Their eyes met.
“Are we clear?”
Alex nodded. “Crystal.”
They both turned toward the driveway. Teren tensed.
“There are two men leaving. I can see one, and it looks like Eisenbein. He’s even wearing the pin he had on in the photo we found.”
“The other guy?”
“I can’t see his face, but it appears he’s arguing with Eisenbein. Neither of them look hap —” Teren broke off, and Alex saw her jaw clench.
“Teren?”
“Damn.”
“What’s wrong?”
The binoculars lowered, and furious blue eyes turned to Alex.
“The other guy is Gerd.”
Alex drew in a breath and held it for a moment. “Oh, shit.”
“Yeah.” She slammed her hand into the steering wheel. “Fuck. I never should have let him walk out of that room alive.”
“You couldn’t known what he’d do, Teren.”
“I should have, Alex.” The darker agent was growling. “After Mather, I should have known.”
Alex shook her head but didn’t contradict her. “What are we going to do?”
Teren watched as each car pulled away from the house, and came down the drive.
“We’re going to wait until full dark.”
“And then?”
A cold smile crossed Teren’s face, and her eyes narrowed. “Then we pay Herr von Odbert a visit.”
They moved the car further away from the house, to a small parking lot by the lakeside. From there, Teren led Alex through the trees and shadows, till they came to the edge of the tree line. Alex estimated the side of the house was less than a hundred feet away.
So far, they had seen no sign of sentries, but Teren knew there was probably one somewhere. Using her binoculars, she finally spotted two men, one on the back porch, and one in an upstairs window. Both had rifles, and they were keeping a close watch on the trees.
“Amateurs.”
Alex heard Teren whisper the word. She raised an eyebrow, but didn’t say anything.
Teren had brought a small duffel bag with them. It was the smaller of the two she traveled with, and Alex had never seen her open it before this evening. The former assassin took out a small block of wood, wrapped in cloth. Alex couldn’t imagine what it was for, until Teren pressed a button on the side, and several pieces came off. After a few adjustments, Teren was holding a crossbow.
“Nice toy,” Alex whispered. Teren just smiled.
Hidden within another cloth was a set of short arrows. Teren chose one and slid it into place. Then, using her spyglasses for aiming, she fired. Alex was watching as she did so, and never heard the mechanism go off.
A moment later, the bow was replaced in the bag.
Teren motioned for her partner to follow her, and they moved silently back into the trees.
“Why didn’t you just take out both guys?”
They had moved to a position slightly closer to the porch, but still just inside the shadows of the trees. The moon had disappeared behind the clouds, and a slight wind had kicked up. The man on the porch was constantly moving around to keep warm.
“Because I want to ask him a question before I put him to sleep.” Teren handed her duffel bag back to Alex. “Stay here, and don’t move until I wave.”
“Right.”
Alex was trying hard not to shiver. Both she and Teren had left their jackets in the car, and were now wearing only jeans and dark sweatshirts. She was freezing. Teren, however, didn’t appear bothered by it.
Waiting for the right moment, Teren held her herself tightly against the trunk of the tree. When her quarry turned away, she slid out of the shadows and crawled soundlessly toward him. He turned back towards her, and she froze on the ground.
The wind gusted again, and the guard jumped up and down a few times. He wasn’t wearing any gloves, and in an effort to warm his hands, he slipped his rifle into the crook of his arm, and blew on his fists.
It was all the opening Teren needed.
Before he could get his hands back around the weapon, Teren had smashed his knee, and forced him to the ground. Grabbing the rifle, she twisted it and pulled it from his grasp. It landed a short distance away.
The guard tried to yell, but Teren cut off his airway with one hand. With his eyes bulging, the man wrapped one hand around her wrist, and swung at her with the other. She tried to block it, but was only partially successful, and he connected with the side of her head. It was just enough to distract her, and he managed to pry her hand loose and flip her body off of his.
Teren found herself with her back on the ground, and her own breathing slowly being cut off. The man above her was coughing and trying to get his breath back. Reaching up, Teren renewed her hold on his throat, wondering who would succumb first.
She didn’t have long to wonder.
Suddenly the weight was gone from her chest. Taking a huge gulp of air, she rolled to a crouch, and found Alex holding a gun on the guard. He was on his back, hands out at his sides, blood sliding down both sides of his face.
“You okay?” The question came to Teren as a whisper, and she could only nod.
Teren motioned towards the porch, and they got the dazed and bleeding man onto it. His eyes were glassy, and it was easy to see that his nose was broken.
“What did you do, Alex?” Teren whispered.
Alex shrugged. “I’m a kickboxer. I kicked him.”
Teren grinned.
She tapped the side of the man’s face, and spoke quietly in German. “Where’s Odbert?”
He blinked. “He’s in his study. Told us he wanted to be alone.”
“He sent you to watch for us?”
“No. That was Franz’s idea. He said we were to stop anyone trying to see Jurgen tonight.”
“Where’s the study?”
“First floor. It’s the only room, besides the front, that has a light on.”
“How many people in the house?”
“Three guards and Odbert. There’s one in the front, one upstairs, and me.”
Teren nodded. She had the answer she was looking for.
Drawing back her arm, she aimed a blow for the man’s head, but stopped when Alex touched her hand. She looked up at her partner, who held up a pair of handcuffs.
“I can always get another set,” she whispered. “We can gag him to keep him quiet.”
Teren nodded, and moved away, letting Alex restrain their prisoner. She was still trying to get her breath back anyway.
Alex found a handkerchief in the man’s pockets, and forced it into his mouth. Then she pulled his shirt up over his mough, and tied it across his mouth with a piece of cord. She made sure it was tight enough to stop him from yelling. Then she picked up his rifle, and emptied the magazine. Pocketing the shells, she laid the weapon across his lap, and joined her partner at the back door.