Page 32 of The Search

“Three years.”

“Progress?”

“Early stages, but promising. Very promising. Bassett was brilliant.”

“Was?”

“Freudian slip. He may still be alive. But since money isn’t Rudzak’s prime motivation, it could go either way.”

“That was my reading. We’re going in regardless?”

Logan nodded. “I won’t have Rudzak killing my people or hovering over me like a dark cloud any longer. We’re taking him out.”

“When we find him. Just how good is Sarah and her dog?”

“Do you think I’d be taking a chance on anyone I didn’t think could perform? But I want you to watch out for her, Galen. If anything happens to me, get her and Monty out.”

“I’ll do everything I can.” He was silent a moment. “You do know if Rudzak survives, she may be on his hit list too.”

“I’m not a fool. That’s one of the reasons I didn’t tell Castleton about her and Monty. I’ll make sure from now on that she’s kept out of sight of any of Rudzak’s men and hope for the best.”

“And if the best doesn’t happen?”

“I’ll worry about it then. I need her.” He changed the subject. “Something’s been nagging at me. Rudzak may be playing games with—” He shook his head. “I don’t know. I just feel uneasy. When he called, I felt he was giving me some kind of puzzle to solve.”

“The decoy camp?”

“Maybe.” He thought for a moment. “You know, he sent me a scarab just before he hit the facility. Chen Li’s scarab.”

“You didn’t tell me that.”

“I wasn’t sure it had any meaning. I still don’t.”

“How did he get ahold of it?”

“He stole the entire collection from her bedroom before he left Tokyo. The police in Bangkok looked for it but didn’t find it. I thought maybe he’d sold it and stashed the money. It would have been enough to get him out of a dozen prisons.”

“Evidently he didn’t sell it or he would have gotten out of that prison a lot earlier. It must have meant something to him.”

“It meant something to him all right. He talked to Chen Li for years about ancient Egypt, tried to brain-wash her for years. He bought her books and took her to museums. He gave her that scarab when she was only fifteen.”

“Why go to all that trouble to—” Galen gave a low whistle. “That scheming asshole.”

“And then I came along,” Logan went on. “I think if Chen Li hadn’t gotten sick, I would have had an untimely accident. And he might have gotten away with it.” His lips twisted. “Like you said, I thought he was my best friend.”

“Then maybe the scarab was some kind of taunt.”

“Maybe. But I feel as if— Who the hell knows? That scarab just makes me uneasy. Has Sarah turned in?”

Galen grimaced. “After she beat me three games at poker. She could make her living in Las Vegas. Sharp.”

“I know. She took me to the cleaners once when I first met her. She told me poker is the game of choice when the rescue teams are waiting to go to work at a disaster site.”

“Well, let’s hope this job doesn’t qualify as a disaster.” They had reached the campsite and he lowered his voice to avoid waking Sarah, who was lying with Monty beside her across from the fire. “What are the chances?”

“I bought time tonight. I figure we have two days before Rudzak gets suspicious. If we move fast and have surprise on our side . . . seven out of ten.”

Galen dropped down on his bedroll. “We’ll have to make sure of both. I have a lot of living to do. There are millions of people out there who haven’t yet experienced my intelligence and charm.”