053-73790 ch01 4P

1 CHAPTER. 1. wo ods toc k , mon ta na C arl Venable, head of the CIA task force on terrorism, was not often out in the field, and even less often in physical dan- ger. But now he was missing. And he was the one man who couldn't be left behind. And, dammit, there was no way Jude Brandon was going to have that happen. They're coming, Brandon! Nate was skidding down the slope toward him as he came out of the forest. Just over the ridge. I told you that you c ouldn't keep searching. Get on the damn he li cop ter! They'll be here in minutes.. How many minutes? . Fifteen, maybe.. Did you see Venable? Brandon asked. Did you see him, Nate? . I saw him. Nate jumped into the cockpit of the he li cop ter. We've got to get out of h ere. Twenty or thirty of Huber's men are heading for that cabin. It's too late. We don't have a chance of retriev- ing him.

2 The hell we d on't. Brandon was already heading back up the hill. We've got to get him out of h ere. He has a damn target on his back. You know what t hey'll do to him if they get their hands on him. Be ready to take off when I get back.. 1 8/14/18 6:55 AM. 2 IRIS JOHANSEN. It's no use, dammit. Brandon could hear Nate cursing behind him. Screw it. Fifteen minutes could be a long time. Nate should have gotten Venable out when he saw him. It w asn't like him to leave a job undone. Three minutes l ater, he was at the cabin. A minute l ater, he'd checked out the exterior of the grounds and determined it was clear. But Venable had not been anywhere in sight, and Nate had said he'd seen him. Brandon threw open the door, dove in, and rolled to the left. You never listen, Brandon, Carl Venable said from across the room. I've been expecting you.

3 Then you should have come when Nate He stopped as he saw that the CIA operative was lying on a cot that was as bloody as the front of his white shirt. Shit. He was on his feet and across the room in two strides. You're wounded. How bad? . Very. Venable's voice was barely above a whisper. Sorry, Bran- don. I know you'd like to rob Huber of this par tic u lar victory, but I'm d ying. I should be gone in a few minutes.. Not if I can get you out of h ere. He was opening Venable's shirt. I'll just apply pressure and He stopped as he looked down at the wound. Damn.. Too late, Venable said. You're good at battlefield wounds. You know it's the truth. Say it, Brandon.. Okay, it's true. He met Venable's eyes. But I can get you out of here before Huber shows up and does anything else to you.. I'll be past worrying about .. torture before he walks through that door.

4 We both know it.. He w asn't going to deny it. Venable w ouldn't appreciate it. What about your in for mant? Did Nemesis tell you anything? . No time. But I gave him .. Rachel's name.. He stiffened. Your daughter's name? Are you crazy? Why not mine? . A little .. insurance. Venable tried to smile, but his voice was 2 8/14/18 6:55 AM. VENDETTA 3. getting weaker. Not that I .. don't trust you. I just trust her more. And it's a way of doubling my chances of getting Rachel out of this alive. Another reason for you to keep Max Huber away from her.. You d on't need insurance. I said I'd do it.. But y ou're like me, a driven man. She's had to contend with me all her life, I d on't want to leave her to face another strug g le alone. Tell her that I kept .. my promise. This time I'm giving her a choice.. He coughed, and a tiny bit of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.

5 And I have one final job to do. I have to make sure .. that Huber thinks he has plenty of time .. for his next move. That means getting you the hell out of Dodge before .. he finds out that you're on your way to get her. So on your .. way, Brandon.. I d on't take orders from you, Venable.. No, but you'll take this one. Rachel's your only way to score against Huber now. You've fought too long to give up your shot at him. I don't flatter myself you're d oing .. this for me, y ou're d oing it for pure revenge. You're .. good at that, Brandon. How much time do you have left? . Seven minutes.. Tell me how you'll .. get out of h ere? . I c an't use the he li cop ter, t hey're almost on top of us. T hey'd know that I'd been h ere. I'll hide the copter in the woods, and Nate and I w ill walk out, then call for assist when it's safe.. And then you'll go.

6 For Rachel? Venable was holding his gaze. Promise me. T here w on't .. be much time. H e'll know where she is by now.. I'll go for her. He looked down at him. She's not my choice. But I'll use her to get what we both want. You shouldn't have gotten yourself shot, Venable.. I realize it was a major .. d isruption of your plans. His voice was fading. But you w on't have a plan u nless you get yourself out of here. Forget that .. bullshit about not .. leaving a man behind. I. always told you that the Army brainwashed you. That's why .. I told Nate not to tell you I'd bought it.. Yet I d on't think you would have left me b ehind. Brandon was 3 8/14/18 6:55 AM. 4 IRIS JOHANSEN. already heading for the door. But I'll get out, and I'll get Huber.. He looked back over his shoulder. He d idn't want to leave him, dammit. At one time or another Venable had been both ally and enemy to him, but he shouldn't have to die alone.

7 His eyes were closed, and Brandon didn't know if Venable was still alive to hear him. I've no use for the CIA, they've tended to get in my way. But you were the best and most honest operative I ever ran across, Venable. It's been a privilege.. How .. generous. I feel .. honored that His head slumped sideways. Brandon could no longer hear his breath. Dead. Brandon could feel the fury tear through him as he shut the door and started at a run toward the hills. He hadn't known Venable that well, but this time they'd been on the same side, fighting the same battle for dif fer ent reasons. And what he'd known he'd liked and appreciated as much as he'd allowed himself. They were both ob- sessed, and obsession permitted little else to enter into a relationship. Venable's death only added to the score Brandon had to settle with Max Huber. And Venable had been his best key to getting Huber, he thought with frustration.

8 He had been so close .. But Venable had given him another key. And her name was Ra- chel Venable. Forget about what might have been and go after the pos si ble. He took out his phone and dialed Nate. Venable's dead. You should have told me he'd been shot.. He told me not to do it. He said if I did, you'd go a fter him. He was dying, Brandon. I could see it. But you went anyway. I thought you would.. So did he. B ecause Venable had wanted one last assurance that Brandon would do what he wanted. I'm on my way back. Start pre- paring the he li cop ter. We're going to hide it in the woods.. I'm on it. Anything e lse? . Call Monty and tell him to chart a course for Georgetown and make ground preparations. W e'll need a team of ten or twelve.. 4 8/14/18 6:55 AM. VENDETTA 5. Georgetown? . It's on the coast of Guyana, South Amer i ca. We're going to Guy- ana.

9 He cut the connection. One more call. It was one he d idn't want to make. It could mean endless complications, subtle manipulation, and perhaps even duplic- ity. But he knew it had to be done. He quickly punched in the private number for Claire Warren. na l e z , gu ya na 7:4 0 p. m . Just one more drop of the broadleaf palm root .. Rachel Venable's eyes narrowed with concentration on the glass vial as she carefully squeezed the yellow liquid into the mixture. Good enough. S he'd had to substitute here in the rain forest b ecause the ingredients had to be fresh in order to be at top efficiency. And top efficiency might not even be good enough, she thought wearily as she put the cap on the vial. S he'd already sent Maria Perez's test results to the lab in Georgetown, and they'd said that nothing could be done. They'd given the little girl perhaps two to three days before she went into a coma.

10 S he'd been totally unresponsive to e very treatment t hey'd tried since s he'd come down with the virus. It might be another day after that before the virus killed her. The mosquito- . borne Taran virus had caused a rare fever that had struck this village in the rain forest with almost always fatal results. There seemed to be no rhyme or reason why some victims were taken and others spared. You've been working for twenty- four hours straight, Rachel. Give it up. Dr. Phillip Sanford stood in the doorway of her tent, his gray eyes narrowed on the vial in her hand. I just received o rders from headquarters. They're pulling us out of Guyana. They said our team has done every thing we could do here.. Rachel tensed. S he'd been expecting it since t hey'd sent the last ambulances with the survivors to Georgetown this after noon. Their unit of One World Medical was always in demand in war- torn cities 5 8/14/18 6:55 AM.