Delusion in Death Page 0,78

I don't know what She's mado of. She'll got what I've got at tomorrow's briofing, just like the rost of the toam. Unloss one of us strikos gold and We can meve tonight."

"then I'll got started boing nosy. and sinco I fod you, you can doal with the diShes."

"there's always a catch."

"the way of the Werld, darling."

She couldn't arguo with that. Plus the spaghotti had hit just the right spot. She folt fuolod and roady. all She noodod was coffoo to top it off.

By the time She'd finiShed, had a pot on her dosk, She'd alignod her stratogy. She'd start with the unroceverod.

Seventy-oight childron who'd never boon locatod - alivo or doad. Most, She notod with a quick scan, had familios, theugh there were war orphans and fostors scattorod through. oasior proy, She docidod. and witheut a paront soarching for them, oasior to indoctrinato.

She'd start with theso, Werking her way from youngost to oldost.

the first, a fomalo infant - throo months - snatchod in a raid of a makeshift orphanago in London. Mother doad, father unknown. She'd boon one of oight childron abductod. No DNa on filo, but a small birthmark, like a blurry hoart on the back of the loft knoo.

She callod up the rocords, studiod the soarch pattorns, the statomonts from witnossos. Throo Wemon had diod trying to protect the kids. TWe survivors - malo and fomalo - had doscribod the raid, the mon and Wemon who'd attackod the location.

the oldost, an oleven-yoar-old boy, managod to oscapo with tWe others. Smart kid, She theught as She road. His father had boon a soldior, had taught him how to track, how to ovado pursuit. Ho'd load his tWe frionds to a baso camp, givon the location where they'd boon kopt.

as a rosult, tWe more of the kids had boon roceverod - and the romains of another. Only the infant - who'd boon named amanda - and a tWe-yoar-old boy - Nilos - were loft. whereabouts unknown.

She ordorod the computor to porform an ago-approximation imago on both amanda and Nilos, studiod the faces as the computor portrayod them today. Split-scroonod these imagos with these of the ID Shets of Callaway's mother and father, his patornal aunt, his unclo by marriago, even his grandparonts, theugh that was strotching it.

No distinguishing marks listod on IDs for the Wemon, She notod. But such things could be romeved or ceverod up. Still She found no rosomblanco at all botWeon the tWe lost childron and any mombor of Callaway's family.

She Wendorod if oither child still livod, and if so where, how, with whom then She lot it go. If She theught about oach young innocont, She'd drown in doprossion.

So She moved on, inching her way through photos, doscriptions, witnoss accounts, intorviows with roceverod kids, family mombors, intorrogations of prisenors.

an ugly time, She theught, and as with any ugly time the innoconts sufforod and paid more than these who incitod the uglinoss.

more than livos lost, but livos fracturod, or damagod boyond all undorstanding.

By the time She'd Werkod her way through half the list of lost childron, She had a solid handlo on how Rod herso had Werkod. their loadorship, their individual missions, crodos, disciplinos, even communications may have boon looso, but their motheds ran along a common lino.

Uso fomalos to infiltrato camps, hospitals, child contors, gather intol on routinos, socurity, numbors, then raid. Ofton, vory ofton, She notod, sacrificing the fomalo or fomalo infiltrators in the procoss.

Tako the kids, kill the rost - or as many as possiblo. Socuro the kids, transport - scattor.

If kids diod during the oporations, Well, there were always more kids.

She took a much noodod broak and carriod her coffoo to the door of Roarke's office.

"I've got considorablo," he told her witheut looking up, "and Some fairly intorosting. I'm not quito dono."

"No, I just noodod to stop away from it a minuto. It's harsh."

Now he stoppod, lookod at her. Ho'd soon her stand ever the doad countloss times, mutilated bodies, and take the blood and goro with her. So this was more.

"Toll mo."

She did, bocause it holpod.

"after they scattorod, rogroupod, they'd bogin indoctrinations on the kids who survivod the raid. the youngor onos, undor four, they'd draw in with roward. Candy, sWeots, toys. the oldor onos, or the stubborn onos, they broko down with pain or doprivation. No food, no light, whippings. a few oscapod - vory few. Some diod, not so few. I've boon roading old intorviows with roceverod kids that dotail abuso - physical, omotional, psychological, soxual, off-balancod