The Adventurer

social security number and a driver's license under that name. How much more legal does it get?"
    "What was it before it was Trace?" she asked through set teeth. "Back when you were the partner of the famous Jake Savage?"
    He ran a hand through his hair. "Carson."
    "Carson." She tasted that for a minute. "Not bad. But I like Trace better. Maybe it's because I met you under that name."
Maybe because you made love to me under that name
. "All right, let's go on to the next question. What really happened back in that jungle where the two of you were supposed to have disappeared? What jungle was it, anyway?"
    Gideon was quiet for a moment. "It doesn't really matter now. I told you Savage & Company occasionally did odd jobs all over South America."
    "And?"
    "And this was one of the odder ones. The kind where you don't ask a lot of unnecessary questions and you take your pay in cash. On delivery. Savage and Company never got involved in anything illegal on general principle, but there were times when it walked a fine line."
    "You would never do anything illegal," Sarah declared.
    Gideon's mouth twisted faintly. "The problem is that the definition of legal varies a lot once you get south of Tijuana."
    "I can imagine. Okay, go on."
    "As I said, it was a job. For which Savage and Company was supposed to be paid a great deal of money. We were to take a shipment of supplies to a group of archaeologists excavating an old Indian ruin deep in the jungle. But it turned out the folks waiting for the supplies weren't legitimate researchers. They were in the business of smuggling antiquities. We saw more than we should have seen and they didn't want any witnesses."
    "Dear heaven," Sarah breathed. "What happened?"
    "We were ambushed on the way back out of the jungle"
    "By the so-called archaeologists?"
    Gideon nodded. "It had to be them, although I didn't stick around to take a close look."
    Sarah stared at him in shock. "How did you escape?"
    "With a little luck and the usual advance research on the terrain that I had done before we went in. That was my speciality, Sarah. My contribution to Savage and Company. I did all the research on a job, made all the preparations, checked out all the people involved. I went over every detail ahead of time, envisioned all the worst case scenarios and planned for them. Getting stiffed by the client is one of the worst case possibilities. I always allowed for it."
    "What did Jake Savage contribute to the company?" Sarah asked dryly.
    Gideon gave her a derisive look. "Flash. What else? You've seen him. He brought image and style to the team. A natural salesman. He was everything people wanted to see when they hired a professional adventurer of any kind. He made people think we could handle anything. And we did. We had a hell of a reputation down south. We always got the job done."
    "And you always took a cut of the action," Sarah concluded quietly.
    Gideon shrugged. "It was business. At least for me. Jake liked the money, too, of course. He needed a lot of it because he tended to go through it like water. But the truth was, he got most of his kicks from being a living legend. He was addicted to his own image. He could walk into any bar from Mexico City to Buenos Aires and the women would fall all over him. And the men all wanted to be able to say they'd met him and bought him a beer."
    "But you were the one who really made Savage and Company work, weren't you?" Sarah said, knowing she was right. "You were the strategist, the planner, the one who knew the terrain."
    "Jake had his uses as an image. He drew business and investors like flies. But the truth is, he couldn't find candy on Halloween night without help."
    Sarah started to giggle before she could stop herself. When she realized Gideon was watching her curiously, she took a swallow of wine to give herself time to regain her firm demeanor. She was not going to stop grilling Gideon until she got all the answers.
    "So Savage and Company wouldn't have lasted a week without you behind the scenes."
    "It was a partnership. And for the most part it worked well for both of us. We made a lot of money. Did a lot of fast living. You can get addicted to adrenaline just like you can to anything else."
    Sarah eyed him sharply. "Do you still crave the excitement?"
    Gideon smiled slightly. "Nothing more than what I can get once a year when I go on vacation and do a little treasure hunting."
    "All right," Sarah continued forcefully, determined not to be