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  MacEwan thought of the two men and smiled. The idea that men like that were keeping people safe was certainly a comfort. With their help, and the help of an electronics genius she knew only as “Bear,” MacEwan had managed to avert a world disaster. They weren’t out of the woods, not by a long shot. But if anyone could handle the problem, it was the people with whom MacEwan had forged a powerful alliance. MacEwan was especially concerned about Jack. She didn’t even know his last name, and it was probably better she didn’t, but she’d found herself immediately attracted to the strong, temperamental pilot with the quick wit and the sharp tongue. She knew a large part of Jack’s snappy sense of humor and Type A personality had to do with things from his past—things he couldn’t, or at least wouldn’t, talk about. And Cooper was even more closemouthed than his friend. He was a man of unprecedented talent as a soldier and involved in unspeakable brutality. Yes, Matt Cooper definitely had ghosts. Still, MacEwan could see a warmer side to him. It was one that he didn’t show much, because he couldn’t afford to let down his guard. He lived a life that few could live, and his world was filled with killing and bloodshed and danger. It was the kind of existence that MacEwan surmised would destroy most men in very little time. Then again, she had learned—just in those few short days she’d spent with him—that Cooper was not most men.

  There was a sudden but soft rap at the bathroom door, followed by the sound of her mother’s voice. “Honey, are you almost finished? Dinner’s in fifteen minutes.”

  “I’ll be right down, Mom,” MacEwan replied, looking at her watch on the nearby chair and realizing she’d been soaking for more than a half hour. She had to have dozed off because it felt as if she’d just settled into the very hot water that was now only lukewarm.

  MacEwan pulled herself carefully from the old tub and stepped onto the carpet. She ran a large, fluffy towel against her firm body. She stopped for a moment in front of the full-length mirror mounted to the back of the bathroom door and studied her shapely curves as she ran the towel against her brown, curly hair.

  You’re an attractive woman, plain and simple, she thought. Any guy who valued intelligence and sensitivity would think her a great catch.

  MacEwan finished drying herself, and after slipping into jeans, socks and a pressed pink blouse, she headed down the creaking stairs to the kitchen. She found her mother bustling about, preparing dinner in her usual fashion, acting as if there weren’t a care in the world. Of course, she didn’t have any reason to worry. MacEwan had decided not to tell her mother what had really transpired over the past week or so. Despite the security risks, she saw no reason to worry the poor woman unnecessarily.

  Sally MacEwan stopped what she was doing long enough to fix her daughter with an appraising look followed by the approval of a warm smile. She was a short, thin woman with pointed features. MacEwan wondered if she would look like that at fifty-nine. “That’s a nice outfit, dear,” she said.

  MacEwan couldn’t help but laugh at her mother’s remark, but she immediately stepped forward and gave her a loving peck on the cheek. “I wouldn’t exactly call this old thing an outfit, Mom. But I’m glad you like it all the same.”

  Her mother merely shook her head. “Still just a young smart aleck, aren’t you? You got that from your daddy. Now make yourself useful, girl, and finish setting the table.”

  “Yes, ma’am,” MacEwan replied. She turned toward the cabinet where the glasses and plates were stored, and her mom swatted her on the behind with a towel before returning her attention to the stove.

  As MacEwan retrieved the dinnerware, she looked out the kitchen window into the backyard of the house. The MacEwans had a lot of ranching acreage, the result of years of hard work by MacEwan’s father. That same work had sent her to a local university and subsequently to MIT. MacEwan hadn’t abused such a privilege, graduating top of her class and going to work almost immediately for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. She’d been with their Information Processing Technology Office for only six months before capturing the attention of Dr. Mitchell Fowler, a genius and the subject of one of MacEwan’s college white papers on the security of the Carnivore system. It had been an honor to work with such a distinguished scientist. MacEwan had no idea it would turn into such a deadly proposition.

  But she was taking some much needed vacation time and she didn’t have to worry about it anymore. At least that’s what she had hoped. Her time with Cooper had taught her to look for the unusual in everything, and she was almost positive she had just spotted one of those unusual things. She could see the setting sunlight reflecting off metal.

  “Mom?”

  “Hmm…Yes, dear?”

  “Where are Daddy’s binoculars?”

  The mother turned to look at her daughter, but MacEwan’s eyes were still focused on the metal reflecting light in the distance. She could hear her mother say something, but she couldn’t make out the words because of the sudden sound of blood pulsing in her ears. Her heartbeat quickened. Something wasn’t right. There were only maybe five or six people who knew where she was, and none of them would have any reason to keep the house under observation.

  “Honey?”

  “Yes?”

  “Did you hear me?”

  “No.” MacEwan blinked and turned to face her mother. “What did you say?”

  “I said they’re in the study, bottom drawer of his desk.”

  “Thanks.”

  She left the dishes right where they were on the counter, ignoring her mother’s inquiries. She went straight to the study and opened in her father’s desk drawer. She hated this room every time she entered it. It hadn’t been the same since her father had died, and while her mother had tried to preserve things just the way they were, the place had taken on an eerie quality. It was like a damn morgue with her father’s strong, vital presence absent. Everything had seemed out of place in the room since his death.

  MacEwan shook off the bad vibes, located the binoculars where her mother had told her they were and immediately returned to the kitchen. She brought the device to her eyes and adjusted the focus until she had the source of the reflection in sight. It was a nondescript sedan, coupe-style body, with four men inside. None of them looked like foreigners. In fact, they looked almost like government agents. Still, something wasn’t quite right.

  “Mom, I need you to do me a favor,” she said calmly.

  “What’s that?” her mother replied as she finished setting the table. “And what on earth are you looking at with those things? It’s almost time to eat, and I want to get finished before Jeopar—”

  “Mom,” MacEwan snapped, “I need to borrow your car.”

  “Right this minute? Why?”

  MacEwan spun and faced her mother, trying to maintain her patience. “Because I need to go into town for something.”

  Her mother made a sweeping gesture toward the table and kitchen cabinets. “We’ve got everything you need. You did the shopping with me. I—”

  “Momma, I’m sorry but I can’t explain this right now. I need to borrow the car, and I have to go into town right now.”

  Sally MacEwan started toward the window, yanking the binoculars from her daughter’s hands before she had a chance to stop her. “Are those people you work with watching you? Honestly, you’ve had a darn heck of a time already. Why don’t they leave you alone?”

  “Mom, don’t.” MacEwan grabbed her mother by the arm and took the binoculars from her. “You’re right, there is someone watching the house, but I don’t know who. And I don’t want you involved in this. It’s bad enough I have to be involved in it.”

  “In what?” Sally MacEwan asked, stepping forward and cocking her head to one side. “Are you in some kind of trouble? You’ve been so quiet and secretive since you got in yesterday morning.”

  MacEwan shook her head emphatically. “No, I’m not in any trouble. But I don’t know who these men are, and I need to contact some people who I think could find out.”

 
“Why don’t they just leave you alone?” her mother asked again with rapid shake of her head.

  “It’s not them bothering me, Mom. I have to go. Your keys are in the dish by the door?”

  Her mother nodded, following quickly as MacEwan snatched the keys and pulled a light jacket from the closet.

  “How long will you be gone?”

  “Not long,” MacEwan replied, stepping forward and giving her mother a peck on the cheek. As she turned and headed out the garage door, her mother called after her, “Don’t dent up that car, young lady!”

  “I won’t, Momma.”

  3

  Lorenz Trabucco sat in the front passenger seat of the car and slowly pried away the dirt from under his fingernails with a nail file. He hated waiting around, and he still couldn’t believe his damned bad luck. He loathed boring-ass assignments, and he sure as hell didn’t like Texas. He preferred his hometown of Boston any day of the week.

  “I don’t know why Serge insists on sending me on these expeditions to shit-kicker land,” Trabucco complained to no one in particular. He looked to his wheelman and bodyguard, Lou Maxim, first then looked into the back seat where Mickey “Bronco” Huffman and Joey DeLama sat. The two were dozing off, and at first Trabucco felt like yelling at them to stay alert, but he opted not to. He figured there was no point in being a dick.

  Trabucco returned to his manicure as he continued complaining, “It’s just that I think I’m beyond this stuff. You know what I mean, Maxi?”

  “I know what you mean, boss,” the bodyguard replied.

  “I shouldn’t have to babysit some techno-geek broad, I should be out enforcing.” He thumped the dash and then patted his chest for emphasis. “I’m a Trabucco. You know what I’m saying? I come from a long line of enforcers. I don’t—”

  “Boss, I’m sorry to interrupt you, but it looks like she’s leaving.”

  Trabucco immediately looked in the direction of the house. He could see the car being backed out of the driveway. What he couldn’t see was who was in it. “It’s too far away. Can’t tell if that’s her in the car or the old bat who picked her up at the airport. What do you think, Maxi?”

  “Looks like her, boss.”

  “All right, then follow her,” Trabucco said. “But you make sure she don’t see you. You got that?”

  “I got it, boss.”

  “Hey, you boneheads!” Trabucco shouted at the back-seat pair as Maxim started the car. “Quit your damn loafing and pay attention. The broad’s leaving.”

  “Where’s she going, boss?” DeLama mumbled.

  “What?” Trabucco said, reaching back and slapping DeLama’s face. “What the fuck do I look like to you, Joey? Do I look like Mumbo Jumbo the Mind Reader to you, or something?”

  “No, boss, course not,” DeLama stammered, his face visibly reddened by Trabucco’s assault.

  Trabucco looked at Bronco who was now fully awake and reaching beneath his jacket to check the load in his .45-caliber semiauto pistol. The guy was a strict professional and he loved to kill. The big son-of-a-bitch bruiser—bigger even than Maxim—with his pug nose and shaved head was the only one in the crew that actually intimidated Trabucco just a bit. There were a lot of opinions, mostly conjecture, as to where Huffman had earned the nickname of Bronco, but the widely accepted story was he’d gotten it from the ladies. Supposedly, they loved to ride him like a horse and they insisted he was hung like the same, and that he was a bucking bronco.

  Joey DeLama was another story entirely. A young kid who was heir to a Newark crime Family, DeLama had been taken down a few notches because he’d been a big mouth and nearly brought down his entire Family. His father had decided that DeLama needed to go out and get some smarts, so he called his long-time ally, Nicolas Lenzini.

  Serge Grano happily agreed to assign DeLama to Trabucco’s crew. He was a wet-behind-the-ears snot, too long spoiled by having a father who was one of the most powerful syndicate guys in Jersey, and yet he didn’t know shit. In Trabucco’s opinion, DeLama was capable of fucking up a wet dream, and the guy had little chance of becoming a made man, never mind heading up the Family business. Trabucco thought it would be better if old man DeLama just killed this spawn he’d sired, and try again.

  But that was another story. For now, the important thing was for them to keep up with this government woman. Trabucco didn’t know much about her, beyond that; he didn’t even know her name.

  “You don’t need to know her name!” Lenzini had barked at him. “You just need to keep on her ass. I’ve told you where she’s headed, and how to find her. You just make sure you don’t lose her, okay? You think you can handle that for me?”

  “Yes, Mr. Lenzini,” Trabucco had said. “I understand perfectly, Mr. Lenzini. Consider it handled, Mr. Lenzini.”

  It really jerked his chain that he had to kowtow, but he knew this was his station in life and he had no inkling he’d ever amount to being much more than a bull and at best someday, maybe a head bull. Yeah, maybe eventually he’d get Serge Grano’s job. At present, he was subjugated to lifelong service under a miserable half-breed like Lenzini. The old man’s father, Marcomo Lenzini, had been of pure Sicilian blood, but he’d never wanted to marry—feeling that his business was definitely a man’s business—and instead had chosen to dip his wick in anything that suited him, including one of the young Spanish maids cleaning his house. So in a sense, Nicolas Lenzini was illegitimate, and everyone knew it, but no other woman was able to give Marcomo a son, so he accepted this and made it official by marrying the maid, although they lived separately until Nicolas was born. The old man’s marriage proved short-lived; mother and child died during a second pregnancy.

  Nicolas Lenzini was raised an only son, and he inherited his father’s empire when Marcomo Lenzini—a man among men and respected by all of his associates in la Cosa Nostra—died of lung cancer on the eve of his son’s eighteenth birthday. So it went, Nicolas Lenzini, barely out of diapers, took over the family business. He became a hard and embittered man, greedy and ruthless with his enemies. He was not temperamental; in fact, Trabucco never recalled Lenzini even raising his voice. Then again, he didn’t have to—when Mr. Lenzini talked, everybody listened or they’d wind up fish food in Boston Harbor.

  “Where do you think she’s going, boss?” Maxim asked.

  “Don’t know yet,” Trabucco replied, “but I’d guess into town. Maybe she’s shopping. Maybe she’s baking cookies and forgot something. Maybe she’s going to a bar to get drunk. Just drive, Maxi. Can you do that? Huh? Can you just drive and quit asking me stupid questions?”

  “Sure thing, boss,” Maxim replied.

  Trabucco knew he was being an asshole, but he didn’t care. He was in charge, and he could be anything he wanted. His men didn’t take it personally. They were still as loyal to him as ever. What really made him nervous about this whole thing was that what he’d been told about this woman. She was going to be instrumental to Mr. Lenzini’s plans, and they were there to insure that nothing bad happened to her. She was insurance, really, against retaliation by the rag heads.

  Trabucco still thought that was a huge mistake. He couldn’t figure out why a guy with Lenzini’s clout needed to do business with a group like the NIF. Trabucco didn’t trust them, and he didn’t want to work with them. But Lenzini insisted that they could all get a lot richer and be a lot better off if they cooperated with them. Trabucco didn’t see it that way. He considered the NIF his bitter enemy, just as he considered the cops his enemy, and he wouldn’t hesitate to exterminate every one of them if he thought they were going to try to pull a fast one on the Family. This was his Family and his country, and he didn’t give a fuck about the foreigners and what they wanted. He was only doing this out of loyalty to his people.

  So he’d sit and watch over this brainy broad and he’d do his job like a professional syndicate bull, and down the line he would hope there was some reward and appreciation for his work. Yeah, and also some damned consideration. There was n
othing he hated more than when he didn’t get any consideration. He didn’t care how the rest of the plan fell out as long as Mr. Lenzini was successful. They had to make the boss look good, because when he looked good they looked good, and while he didn’t really think that much of Lenzini, the old guy did have a reputation for rewarding loyalty. And so Trabucco knew all he could do was his job. And then maybe, just maybe, he’d get some consideration. Yeah, that sure would be a treat.

  TYRA MACEWAN PARKED her mother’s car in the lot of a large grocery store and climbed from behind the wheel. She slung her purse over her shoulder, feeling the added but comfortable weight of the .38-caliber Detective’s Special she kept in her bag.

  She thought about her father as she walked toward the grocery store. He had taught her respect and appreciation for firearms, and given that a group of strange men were following her, she was all the more thankful for his training. She wished she could talk to him about her situation.

  MacEwan also wished Jack or Matt Cooper were around. They would know what to do. She knew she could correct that with a single phone call, but she wouldn’t be able to do it from the store since the bank of pay phones was visible to the entire parking lot and that might look very suspicious to her followers. Cooper’s people had counseled her not to take her cell phone when she returned home, so she couldn’t use that, either. The only phone she’d brought was the emergency unit that allowed DARPA personnel to contact her directly, and she didn’t want to risk using it.

  MacEwan got inside the store and immediately located a manager. A few seconds later, she had directions to the woman’s restroom—which she remembered was near a rear exit—and within minutes she was on the back side of the store and crossing a field overgrown with brush, garbage and beer cans.

  MacEwan also knew there were an abundance of snakes and rusted metal from junked-out cars in the field. The area had been like this since she was a little girl, and the place really got little attention—except for the Friday and Saturday night police drive-bys—and it seemed the city and public in general had better things to do than worry about this freakish marriage of the natural with the man-made.