care if you send me or someone else to pull her out of that palace if you make a decision to go for it. I just don’t want any action taken without warning.” He paused. “And I trust you not to do it.”
Novak stared at him for a moment. Then he shrugged and turned away. “I’ll do whatever is possible. No promises.” He glanced at Joe. “It appears that I’ll be heading that team. No offense. I’d trust you implicitly. You’re just a little too volatile for Gideon at present.” His gaze shifted to Eve. “I wonder why?”
“Joe wouldn’t let anything happen to Dalai,” Eve said quietly.
“Unless he thought there was reason to think your safety was on the line,” Novak said. “Then no one else would have a chance. But hopefully that won’t happen today.” He looked back at Joe. “Right, Quinn?”
“Hopefully.” Joe added impatiently, “It doesn’t matter. I’d rather be checking the area for land mines anyway. The girl mentioned explosives.”
“Whew.” Gideon smiled. “That was close. Defusing land mines seems an ideal job for you. Sorry, Quinn.”
“You might be very sorry if you pull that shit again.” He turned to Novak. “What time do we leave?”
“Six.”
“Then we’d better get some sleep.” Joe took Eve’s arm. “If you don’t mind sharing a bed with a callous bastard like me.”
“Ouch,” Gideon murmured as he watched them leave. “I knew that was a mistake. But I wasn’t able to do anything else for that poor kid.”
“I knew it was a mistake, too,” Novak said. “You’re lucky you didn’t piss him off.” He turned and headed down the path. “And now I’ll go back to the village and do a check to see if Dalai is telling us the truth about the location of Varak’s compound and find out everything I can about it. I’ll encode and send out two of the X-4 drones. Gideon, I want you to go to the airport and see that there’s no slip-up. Got it?”
“Got it.”
“Make sure they’re functioning properly with the codes I enter. I want accurate information before we start out. In the past, Varak’s hideouts have always been almost impregnable. I have to know what to expect, or I’ll have to make adjustments.” He added, “And try to get a couple hours sleep.”
“All those goals might not coincide,” Gideon said dryly as he disappeared down the path.
Jill stood hesitantly, gazing after him. She felt totally useless, when she should have had a hand in helping to make this plan work.
“What are you waiting for?” Novak was looking over his shoulder. “An invitation?”
She went still. Then she was running after him. “I’m glad you remembered your manners,” she said lightly as she fell into step with him. “I was wondering if I was going to have to barge in on you.”
“I knew that would be your next step. You wouldn’t have been able to go back to Hajif’s hut and try to go back to sleep. That would have been far too sensible and normal.”
Yes, Novak had developed an almost paranormal ability to read her, Jill thought. It should have made her uneasy, but she was finding it oddly comforting to have him there, understanding who and what she was. Not always approving, often frustrated, volatile, and disturbing, but an undeniable part of the fabric of her life.
“I wouldn’t have been able to sleep,” she said. “I’m excited. Can I do something to help you get those drones programmed?”
“Perhaps.” He saw her frown and grinned. “Okay, I’ll put you to work. Why not?”
“Right.” She nodded. “You can never tell when I’ll run across a time when I’ll need information like that. Drones seem to be an essential part of my life these days.” She ducked through the opening of the hut. “How long will it take?”
“Not that long if all goes well. We have Gideon on the other end double-checking.” He lit the lantern. “He’ll be very careful about not making any mistakes. He knows I’m not pleased with him.”
“He was doing what he thought was right,” she said quietly. “And you must have thought he was right, too, or you wouldn’t have let him talk you into doing what he wanted.”
“I hadn’t decided one way or the other when Quinn stepped in. It would have been more diplomatic to let him take the reins.” He shrugged. “But Gideon didn’t allow me the choice. I don’t like to be put in that position.”
“Joe Quinn is almost a stranger to Gideon, he had to go