Death Echo

she said.
    â€œThe farther north you go, the less bells and whistles there are. You have to pay attention to your charts and whatever nav markers exist. Go far enough north, and you’re lucky to find nav markers in a harbor, much less away from it.”
    â€œAre the electronic charts as good as paper?”
    â€œMostly. Often better. But like paper, it’s all information that someone on the ground—or water, in our case—has supplied.”
    â€œGood intel, good result,” she said. “Bad intel, or none, and you’re hung out to dry.”
    Mac went still, fighting memories. It took a few moments to shove the bloody past back into the basements of his mind.
    â€œNice thing about paper charts,” he said, “is they don’t go down if a circuit trips.”
    â€œWhere is the paper chart of this channel?”
    â€œIn my mind. I’ve done this a few times,” he said.
    â€œWhat if I have to do it by myself?”
    â€œTop chart.” He pointed.
    She went to the pile of folded charts that were to the left of the galley sink, took the first chart, and started to orient herself. Since the electronic chart was on the “heads-up” mode—whatever was on the chart in front of the triangle that represented the boat was also what was visible beyond the bow—she turned the chart until it showed what was in front of her, rather than true north.
    The channel looked even more narrow on paper.
    â€œTell me this is safe,” she said.
    â€œWhat is?”
    â€œShoving this whacking great boat through the eye of a small damn needle.”
    â€œBigger boats go through without problem.”
    â€œKnowing there are bigger fools on the water isn’t comforting.”
    Mac laughed. “Have I mentioned that I like you, Emma Cross?”
    â€œThat’s me, Ms. Congeniality.”
    But she smiled at him before she stared at the water swirling around the nearly exposed tip of the second rock in the channel. She told herself that it was all good. If Mac wasn’t worried, she wasn’t worried. And he wasn’t worried.
    Alert, yes. Worried, no.
    The second shadow slid by beneath the water, chained to another buoy. She let out a relieved breath when the channel opened up in front of them. They dodged through the flotilla of small craft running for harbor.
    As soon as they were out of the lee of the islet, the wind whooshed over the yacht and the water changed, becoming rougher. Out in the strait, whitecaps were turning over.
    â€œIn a few minutes we’ll be using the fourth chart,” Mac said. While she replaced the chart she’d been looking at with a new one, he stepped close to her and added, “Faroe passed on a blast from Alara. Temuri is very well connected to Georgia’s most-secret service.”
    Her hands stilled as he stepped back to the wheel. “About all this sweet talk, Mac. I don’t think my heart can take it.” But even as she spoke, she was running possibilities in her mind. It was one of the things she did best. None of the possibilities made their life easier.
    â€œBloody hell,” she said as she smoothed out the chart.
    â€œYeah.”
    â€œMac…”
    He looked at her.
    She closed her eyes for an instant, then met his dark glance. “I’d rather have dealt with international crime lords.”
    â€œWhy? Killers are killers.”
    â€œWith crime, motivation is a lot easier to discover. Money is the primary mover. Everything else follows, including power. If you know motivation, you know your enemy’s weak point and can plan accordingly. But politics is like building something on the tip of a flame. Every breeze changes the lay of the land. Motivation follows the breeze.”
    The curve of his mouth changed. “Pretty much how Faroe and I feel about it.”
    â€œGod, I hate politics and politicians. Give me a gang-banger any day. How good is Alara’s intel?”
    â€œYour guess is better than mine. You were in the business more recently than I was,” he said, coming up on the throttles.
    Open water lay ahead.
    She fiddled with her phone. “Has Steele put Alara through research?”
    â€œI didn’t ask.”
    Emma hit speed dial.
    â€œGot a problem?” Faroe asked by way of greeting.
    â€œWhat do St. Kilda’s data banks say about Alara?”
    â€œNothing you couldn’t get by searching a few very academic magazines and