And Then You Die by Iris Johansen Page A

was gone.
    Shit.
    Kaldak walked out of Josie's house and jumped into the jeep. She couldn't have been gone longer than ten minutes; she was on foot and had the baby. She shouldn't be that difficult to run down. Dammit, the situation was difficult enough without having to drag her with him kicking and screaming.
    But if that was the way it had to be, then so be it. There was no way he could let her get away from him.
     
    Kaldak and the woman were in the hills above Tenajo, but they had separated.
    Esteban hung up the phone, leaned back in bed, and contemplated the report. Kaldak's recent actions added up to a disturbing total. Was he CIA? Very possibly. And, if he was CIA, how much did he know? How much had he found out here and how much in Libya?
    He reached for the phone again and called Habin.
    “There's a slight problem,” Esteban said. “The man you sent me has disappeared.”
    “Kaldak?”
    “He killed one of my guards and took the Grady woman out of the facility.”
    Habin swore vehemently. “How could you let that happen?”
    “You're the one who sent me Kaldak. I assumed he could be trusted. What do you know about him?”
    “He came excellently recommended by Mabry in Iraq and he behaved impeccably while he was with me.”
    “But you still shoved him off on me when you got the opportunity.”
    “Not because he wasn't trustworthy. That would be cutting off my nose to spite my face.”
    “Oh, yes, your fortune-teller.”
    “Are you mocking me?” Habin asked.
    Esteban retreated. Now wasn't the time to alienate Habin. “Merely a remark. How much does Kaldak know about your end?”
    “Nothing. He had a job to do and did it.”
    The idiot probably wouldn't have realized it if Kaldak had found out everything. “We need to know about Kaldak.”
    “What if he's not CIA?”
    “Then we'll hear from him.”
    “You should have killed the Grady woman at once. It was dangerous to keep her alive.”
    Habin was forgetting that he, too, had hesitated about ending her life. But Esteban chose not to argue. “That mistake can be rectified. They've not made it out of the country yet. They were sighted in Tenajo an hour ago.”
    “Then what are you doing talking to me? Go after them.”
    “That's my intention. Don't worry, I'll take care of it.”
    “You had better be right. I can continue without you if you don't repair this bungling ineptitude.”
    “I'll repair it. Just see what you can find out about Kaldak. He's our prime concern.”
    Esteban waited politely for Habin to hang up first. It was difficult to display courtesy to assholes, but he had learned a discipline and control they would never know. He would be glad when he no longer needed them. His own plans were almost in place. He needed only a linchpin to launch the first phase, and Morrisey should be calling any day with the location of a suitable tool. He needed to be patient just a little longer.
    “Perez,” he called.
    Sergeant Perez appeared in the doorway.
    “Order my car. I'm going to Tenajo.”
    Perez nodded and vanished.
    He wasn't as bright as Galvez, but he was silent and obedient and he lacked the curiosity and greed that had made Galvez dangerous. At least, Kaldak had gotten rid of that problem. Too bad he now presented a far greater one.
    Still, it shouldn't take more than a day or two to find him and the woman. And then Kaldak would be vanquished. The thought sent a surge of excitement and eagerness through Esteban.
    Where are you, Kaldak?
    Suddenly Esteban had a vision of Bess Grady before him. Of course, the bitch had to die. It was absolutely imperative, but she was only a woman.
    And women were so easy to kill.
     
    They'd found her tracks again.
    Bess wiped the sweat out of her eyes and moved to the side of the trail. The shale was slippery, but it left no mark of passing.
    She could hear the soldiers calling to one another on the other side of the hill. Soon they would reach the crest and she would be in view. She had to find a