Return to Cyprus

Chapter 11

They didn't want Mickey to have to walk back to the car after the climb, so Barbara left to bring the Mercedes as close to the field as possible. While they waited, Kostmayer rested on a rock and McCall did a preliminary examination of his shoulder.

"I think it's a through and through," Kostmayer said.

"Yes, you're right. Not too bad. Looks like it's stopped bleeding. That's good. How about your head. A concussion, you think?"

"Yeah. When I jumped I hit my head pretty hard on something."

A skeptical look on his face, McCall opined: "That something was perhaps a rock, don't you think?"

"Ah, yeah."

"Well, when we get back to Florence, we'll get everything taken care of."

"Not going, not yet," said Mickey, stonily. "I've got some unfinished business right here."

McCall had hoped that Kostmayer would not say that, but in truth, he hadn't expected anything else. The others had killed his team. Mickey was not the kind of agent, not the kind of man to walk away.

"Mickey, we came here to get you out. We won't leave without you."

"McCall, I didn't ask you to come. Go. I can take care of this myself."

"Hmmm, yes, with a hole in your shoulder and a blurry head, you expect to take care of it."

"Not your business how I take care of it. If you want to go, go."

At that point Barbara returned on foot, having parked the car as close as possible to where they stood. She could feel the tension between the two friends, and she had a pretty good idea of its origin. If their places had been reversed, McCall wouldn't agree to leave either, not before the attackers had been dealt with. However, she had hoped that they would work it out before she got back.

In this case, though, she knew there was a wild card: Barbara herself. She had told McCall that she wanted to find Mickey and get out. As much as he wanted to stay and work with Mickey, he would be worried about her. She always seemed to be making Robert choose between her and his life, his job, his friends, she thought. Damn, she hated that.

OK, she decided, I'm going to solve this.

"So, what's next? The car's parked right over that hill," she said.

Neither man said a word.

"Let me guess. Robert, you've been trying to get Mickey to go, and Mickey, you've been telling Robert that you're going to stay. Am I right?"

From the looks on their faces she could tell she was right.

"Well, I suggest that before we decide, you tell us everything that happened yesterday, Mickey," she said, looking at McCall to signal him that she might be open to staying.

"Right. Yesterday afternoon, we split up. I sent Marty and Clare to check the layout of the hotel. We knew the Russian delegation was arriving at 4:00, and I wanted to take a look at them. After I finished, I went back to the hotel room to meet up as arranged, but they weren't there. Then I got a phone call from Marty. He said he had found some important intell on the head of the Russian delegation, Melnikov."

McCall glanced at Barbara, but said nothing.

"He wanted me to come to a house, the house over there." He pointed up toward the road.

McCall nodded: "Yes, we've been there."

Looking at McCall, he asked: "Marty and Clare?"

"Dead."

"Shit." Even though he had been almost certain that they were dead, it was still hard to hear.

"Did you suspect anything, when Marty called I mean?" This was Barbara's question.

"You know how it is, when you just don't feel right about something. Maybe it was Marty's voice. He didn't actually say anything, but…."

The other two nodded. They understood.

"I went to the house, but instead of going to the front, I went around the side. Just as I was looking in the window, this fucking cat decided to screech. The guy on the roof made me and started shooting. I returned fire, sprayed the house, and took off. The came after me and, well, you probably know the rest. Except that I recognized one of them."

He looked grimly at McCall and Barbara.

"It was Abdul Farhad."

"Good God," McCall said, while Barbara inhaled sharply. "What the hell are the PKK doing here?"

"Now you know why I'm going to stay?"

It's time, Barbara thought. "Mickey, I need to talk to Robert for a minute. Would you excuse us?"

She and Robert walked.

"Robert, I know I told you that I wanted to find Mickey and get out. I've changed my mind. This isn't about some absurd talks between the Greeks and the Russians. The PKK is totally different. If we don't neutralize them, a lot of people could die."

Putting his hands on her shoulders and looking her directly, he asked: "Are you sure?"

Her voice wavered as she answered: "No, I'm not sure. I'm still not sure of anything. I'm afraid I'll put you or Mickey in danger." Taking a deep breath, she continued, "We'll just have to deal with it. There's no other choice."

"No, there is no other choice." Reaching up and stroking her cheek he said: "We'll get through it."

After a moment, McCall returned to business. "Alright. The first thing we've got to do is find a doctor for Mickey. Any ideas?"

Trying to focus on the mission, she replied: "Yes, in fact I do have an idea. I'll call him when we get back to the car."

Returning to where Kostmayer was sitting, McCall said: "Ok, we're staying. Under one condition."

"What's that?"

"We're taking you to a doctor first. Then we'll make our plan."

"It's a deal."