Silencing Eve

Weber said to Doane about not giving him the location of those nukes until he’d set you up for execution.”
    “Yes, charming lady.”
    “A beast, like her son, like Doane.”
    “But with excellent taste in executions. She chooses the very best.”
    “It’s not funny.” She shook her head. “I care about this, Zander. I care about Eve. I care about those millions of people who may die if we can’t stop Doane and that bitch from pressing that switch. Help me, dammit.”
    He was silent. “No, it’s not funny. But I have problems with caring. I … think I may envy you. So much passion…”
    “Help me.”
    “How?”
    “I don’t know.” She moistened her lips. “Venable says you’re a brilliant man. Figure some way out of this nightmare. Look, there are two objectives tied in a Gordian knot. It would be easier if we only had to worry about Eve. But there are those two nuclear devices.” She held up her index finger. “Chicago. Jane, Trevor, and Caleb will have to find them and try to disarm them. Harriet Weber is in contact with Doane, and she may be the key to finding him. She’s also the one who knows where those bombs are located and can ignite them.”
    “Kill her,” Zander said coolly.
    “And risk having Doane killing Eve because he would have no chance to give his son his grand funeral pyre?”
    “Killing her would be Venable’s decision.”
    “Not mine. I want it all. I want Eve alive.” She held up another finger. “Seattle. Find the bomb stashed here. Find Doane and save Eve. Much less complicated than Chicago.”
    “You’re being simplistic. It all relies on finding Doane.”
    “And it’s all linked to Harriet Weber.” She met his gaze. “That’s why I can’t pull any strings. I have to depend on other people who care about Eve.” She paused. “Like you, Zander.”
    “I told you, I have problems in that area.”
    “I don’t give a damn. Work your way through it. This is scary stuff, and I need a partner. You won’t let me bring in Joe or Gallo. So you’re stuck with me.”
    “Am I?”
    “Are you?” she whispered. “Say yes, Zander.”
    His gaze held her own for a long moment. “What a Delilah you are, even when that’s not your intention. Yet you’re not really a Delilah, more like a woman from an Ayn Rand novel. I’m beginning to pity Gallo.”
    “Say yes.”
    He looked away from her. “Again, too simplistic. I’ll consider your proposition and see if it suits my purpose.” He leaned forward and told Stang. “Find a hotel. I need to have a meal and make a few phone calls.”
    Catherine was surprised. “So soon? You only contacted one person, that Monte Slater. And you said he didn’t know anything. Maybe you should try someone else.”
    “Slater has a pipeline to everything that goes on in Seattle. He’s expert at information gathering. If he doesn’t have a line on Doane, no one does. He’ll call me if he hears anything.”
    “There may be someone better. You should go out on the streets and find them yourself,” she said. “Or let me go. I don’t know the city, but I know how to dig. Before I was recruited for the CIA, I made my living in Hong Kong selling information.”
    “So I heard,” Zander said. “I’m sure you were extraordinary.”
    She shrugged. “I was hungry. That’s who we need now. Someone who is hungry. Tell Stang to pull over and let me out. Give me my chance to find Doane.”
    “Zander?” Stang asked, his gaze on the rearview mirror.
    “I think not,” Zander said. “We’ll do it my way. The hotel, Stang. I wouldn’t dream of throwing Catherine out in the streets to face who knows what criminal elements.” He smiled faintly. “She might offer to act as their bodyguard.” He glanced at Catherine. “Besides, our guest needs to rest, but she won’t do it. She’ll probably spend her time investigating the area’s driftwood. Right, Catherine?”
    She didn’t answer the question but looked away from him and out the window. “Say yes, Zander.”
    Chicago
    THE FIRST PALE STREAKS of dawn were creeping over the horizon when Margaret’s bus entered the city. Time to announce her arrival and find out where in this huge city she could find Jane, Margaret thought. She pulled out her phone and started to call Jane. Then she stopped as she glanced at the sunrise. Why wake Jane at this hour? She needed all the rest she could get. No, she could get the information from Caleb or Trevor, and she didn’t give a damn at