The Edge

out. "They're not dead, I swear it. I'll take you to them."

    "Did you drug them like you did me?" "Yes, but not in the same way. They're all right." "You'd better hope that we agree. Now, I want you to get up real slow."

    "We should probably bring the girl along," Laura said.

    Molinas lunged for me as he rose, but I brought the pistol down on the side of his head. The girl groaned.

    Laura clapped her hand over the girl's mouth, pressing her head back against her pillow.

    Molinas went down but not out. He landed on his knees, moaning, holding his head. I knew the pain must be bad, the bastard.

    "If you try that again, I'll kill you." I said it in a near whisper. I didn't want the girl to make any more noise. I thought about hauling her with us and decided it wouldn't improve our odds. We'd leave her here. I opened my mouth to tell Laura when I saw that she'd already begun ripping up the sheet. I waited for her, keeping the tip of the Bren Ten against the back of Molinas's head. The girl was silent now. I saw tears running down her cheeks.

    "Who is she?" I asked Molinas, who was still holding his head in his hands.

    He tightened like a spigot in January. "Touch her, you bastard, and I'll rip your head off your shoulders." I believed him.

    It took Laura a few minutes to tie the girl firmly. I noticed she had skinny arms. They were pale with sharp blue veins running beneath her flesh. Her beautiful shiny hair streamed across her face. Laura smoothed it back after she'd fastened the gag in her mouth.

    I hoped Molinas could walk. I started to help him to his feet. He snarled at me and made it himself. A proud man, I thought. I looked back at the girl, who was staring at him, her eyes large and frightened.

    "Turn out the light, Laura."

    The room went dark.

    We heard a whimper from the bed.

    I could feel him resist when he heard the girl's distress. "We didn't do anything to her," I said. "She'll be all right, if you don't do anything stupid. Now walk."

    The moment we had him back in his office, Laura motioned for me to stop. I kept three feet between me and Molinas. She walked to the door, opened it quietly, and leaned out. She turned back to me and nodded.

    "Now," I said quietly, "you're going to take us to the other agents."

    He said nothing, merely walked from the office and turned left down the corridor. "You're dead if one of your soldiers tries to take us out."

    He stiffened but didn't say a thing.

    "If you're dead, what will happen to the girl? She's already tied down. A regular offering, I'd say."

    He nodded, and I heard him curse, low and fluently. Even with a Spanish last name, those curses were pure American.

    "Who is that girl?"

    He just kept walking.

    "You might as well tell me."

    Finally, not turning to face me, he answered, "She is my daughter."

Chapter Twenty-Six

    Where are your men, Molinas?" I said near his left ear. "Some operation you run here. Hard to believe you haven't been run out of town."

    "The men are not professionals," Molinas said, and I could tell that disgusted him. "They have courage but no discipline."

    "I buy that," I said. "Now, tell us where we are."
    "No, you can't kill me. If you do, you won't ever get your friends out of here. I can't tell you anything. If I did, I would be dead and so would my daughter. Very few people know about this place. If you find out on your own, I cannot be blamed. Your friends are just around that corner. There are three guards around the door."

    Suddenly, Laura put her finger against her lips. We heard a man talking in a low voice. She walked quietly to the corner and looked around it. She came back. "There are three guards up ahead, just like he said. They're sitting on the floor outside a door. Their heads are down, but I'm not certain they're asleep."

    "The other agents are behind that door?" I asked.

    "I wasn't lying."

    He was pale now, but he didn't say anything more.

    "Del Cabrizo's behind the whole operation, isn't he?" Laura asked Molinas.

    "I can't tell you anything. You can kill me if you must but I know that you won't harm my daughter."

    "We'll do whatever we need to," I said. "I want you to walk ahead to the men and tell them that you intend to speak to the prisoners. You will tell them to go outside until you come to tell them to return. If you screw this up, Molinas, I will personally shoot you. I won't harm your daughter, but I will shoot you. Trust me on this."

    He looked me straight in the face. He had