I'll keep you informed.
Also, mon ami, you have a relatively domestic concern of your own.
The enchanting Karin has been to the doctor. Her wound, remember?"
"Jesus, I forgot!"
"I would advise not telling her that."
"You're wrong, Moreau. She'd understand."
Karin, in a hotel bathrobe, was pacing back and forth in front of the large casement window when Latham opened the door.
"My God, you've been gone a long time!" she cried, running to him, both embracing.
"Are you all right?"
"Hey, lady, it was an amusement park, not the battle of Bastogne. Of course I'm all right; we never even thought to look at our weapons."
"That took nearly four hours? What happened?"
He told her, then asked.
"How about you? What did the doctor say?"
"I'm sorry, darling, it's why I never should have gotten involved with you. I thought such feelings were gone, but they're obviously not. When I care about someone, I care very deeply."
"That's terrific, but you haven't answered my question."
"Look!" De Vries proudly held up her right hand, the bandage less than half its previous size, not much more than a small nozzle.
"He fitted me for a prosthesis about two centimeters long-less than an inch. It will slip over my finger, with a nail attached, and be practically unnoticeable."
"That's great, but how does it feel? You were bleeding last night."
"The doctor said I must have been quite excited, and clutched something. Do you have any welts on your back, my darling?"
"Another piece of work." Drew again pulled her into his arms.
Their lips met, the kiss slowly broken off by Karin.
41 want to talk," she said.
"About what? I told you what happened."
"About your safety. The Maison Rouge called-"
"They knew where to find you? Here at the Normandie?"
"They frequently know things before many of us learn about them ourselves."
"Then they're being fed information they goddamned well shouldn't have!"
"I believe you're right, but then, we know which side the Antinayous are on."
"Not necessary ily. Sorenson cut them off."
"He was the most feared deep-cover intelligence officer during the Cold War. He suspects everybody."
"How do you know that? The deep-cover bit?"
"Partially from you, but mainly from Freddie."
"Freddie .. . ?"
"Of course. The sub-networks protect themselves, Drew.
Information circulates. Whom can you count on, whom can you trust Survival's the ultimate answer, isn't it?"
"What did the Maison Rouge call about?"
"Their informers in Bonn and Berlin say that two teams of trained Blitzkrieger are being sent to Paris to find and kill the Latham brother who survived the assault at the inn in Villejulf. The man they believe to be Harry Latham."
"That's nothing new, for God's sake."
Chapter Twenty-Eight
"They say that the number of assassins is between eight and twelve. Not one or two or even three, but a small army is coming after you."
Silence, and then Latham spoke.
"I guess that's really impressive, isn't it? I mean, I'm popular beyond my wildest dreams, and I'm not even the guy they want."
"I'd have to agree with you."
"But why? That's the question, isn't it? Why do they want Harry so badly? His list is out and with the confusion and dissension it's causing, they've got to know it's to their benefit, so why?"
"Would it have something to do with Dr. Kroeger?"
"That cat's in space without an oxygen helmet. He tells one lie after another, forgetting the lies he told before."
"I wasn't aware of that. In what sense?"
"He told Moreau, who he believes is one of them, that he had to find Harry in order to learn. the identity of the female traitor in the Briiderschaft valley-"
"What traitor?" De Vries interrupted.
"We don't know and neither did Harry. When he was in London and we talked on the phone, he mentioned something about a nurse who had alerted the Antinayous that he was coming out, but the man who drove the truck that picked him up didn't elaborate."
"If that was Kroeger's lie, it may not have been a lie."
"Except that he told Witkowski something entirely different. He insisted he had to find Harry before the medication he was on wore off and Harry died. Stanley didn't believe him for a moment and that's why he wanted to shoot him to the moon with chemicals-to see if he could learn the truth."
"Which the embassy doctor wouldn't permit," said Karin softly.
"Now I understand why Witkowski was so upset with him."
"Which is also why that medical saint is going to be overruled if I have to get Sorenson to blackmail the President."
"Really? Is he .. . black mailable
"Everybody is, especially presidents. It's called political genocide, depending upon which party you