done it before. Just remove it and the charge is deactivated." "I'll hire my brother..." Silvio was depressed; the American was not a nice person. It was as if Scofield had been reading his thoughts. Since the money was on board, it would be counterproductive to have either boat sunk; the State Department might not pay in full. And by the time both were back in Bastia, the despicable Scofield could be sailing down the Volga. Or the Nile. "You won7t reconsider my dear good friendT' "I'm afraid I can't. And I won't tell anybody how much Washington thinks of you, either. Don't fret, Silvio, the money will be there. You see, we may be in touch again. Very soon." "Do not hurry, Brandon. And please, say nothing further. I do not care to know anything. Such burdensl What are the signals for tonight?" "Simple. T1wo Bashes of light, repeated several times, or until the trawlers stop."
"Two flashes, repeated.... Distressed speedboats seeking help. I cannot be responsible for accidents at sea. Ciao, my old friend." Monteflori blotted his neck with his handkerchief, turned in the dim light of the warehouse, and started across the concrete floor.
"Silvio?" Monteflori stopped. "YesT' "Change your shirt."
They had watched her closely for nearly two days now, both men silently acknowledging that a judgment had to be made. She would either be their conduit or she would have to die. There was no middle ground, no security prison or isolated compound to which she could be sent. She would be their conduit or an act of sheer, cold necessity would take place.
They needed someone to relay messages between them. They could not communicate directly; it was too dangerous. There had to be a third party, stationed in one spot, under cover, familiar with whatever basic codes they mounted-above all, secretive and accurate. Was Antonia capable of being that person? And if she was, would she accept the risks that went with the job? So they studied her as if thrown into a crash-analysis of an impending exchange between enemies on neutral ground.
She was quick and had surface courage, qualities they had seen in the hills. She was also alert, conscious of danger. Yet she remained an enigma; her core eluded them. She was defensive, guarded, quiet for long periods, her eyes darting in all directions at once as though she ex- pected a whip to crack across her back, or a hand to grab her throat from the shadows behind. But there were no whips, no shadows in the sunlight.
Antonia was a strange woman and it occurred to both professionals that she was hiding something. Whatever it was-if it was-she was not about to reveal it The moments of rest provided nothing; she kept to herself-in- tensely to herself-and refused to be drawn out But she did what they had asked her to do. She got them to Bastia without incident, even to the point of knowing where to flag down a broken-down bus that carried laborers from the outskirts into the port city.
Talenie- kov sat with Antonia in the front while Scofield remained at the rear, watching the other passengers.
They emerged on the crowded streets, Bray still behind them, still watching, still alert for a break in the pattern of surrounding indifference. A face suddenly rigid, a pair of eyes zeroing in on the erect, middle-aged man walking with the dark-haired woman thirty paces ahead. There was only indifference.
He had told the girl to head for a bar on the waterfront, a rundown hole where no one dared intrude on a fellow drinker. Even most Corsos avoided the place; it served the dregs of the piers.
Once inside, they separated again, Taleniekov joi i g Bray at a table in the comer, Antonia ten feet away at another table, the chair next to her angled against the edge, reserved. It did nothing to inhibit the drunken advances of the customers. These, too, were part of her testing; it was important to know how she handled herself.
"What do you think?" asked Taleniekov.
"I'm not sure," said Scofield. "She's elusive. I can!t find her." "Perhaps you're looking too hard. She's been through an emotional upheaval; you can't expect her to act with even the semblance of normalcy. I think she can do the job. We'd know soon enough if she can't; we can protect ourselves with prearranged cipher. And quite frankly, who else do we turn to? Is there a man at any station anywhere you could trust? Or