The Mark of the Assassin

hotel. Delaroche started the
    engine as she climbed in. He left the hotel and parked beneath an
    elevated freeway along the river's edge. Then he shut down the engine
    and switched on his laptop computer. He scrolled through his files until
    he found the Osbourne dossier. He read it quickly and found the location
    of the senator's house. Yes, he thought. Even the name was perfect.
    They'll go there, because they'll believe it's safe. He exited the
    dossier and clicked on his database, where he had stored digital road
    maps of nearly every nation on the planet. He typed in his starting
    point and his destination, and the software quickly provided him with a
    route: the Beltway, 1-95, the Verrazano Bridge, the Long Island
    Expressway. He started the engine again and dropped the Range Rover into
    gear. Astrid said, "Where are we going, Jean-Paul?"
    He tapped the screen of the laptop. She looked down and read, "Shelter
    Island."
    He picked up the cellular phone, dialed the number given to him by the
    contractors, and spoke quietly into the mouthpiece as he drove out of
    Washington.
    THE HELICOPTER TOUCHED DOWN at the Atlantic City airport. Elizabeth had
    taken 1-95 north, then cut across to the Jersey shore. Airport security
    officers were waiting when she pulled into the Hertz rental car return
    area. They took her into protective custody and kept her in a small
    holding room inside the terminal for ten minutes. When the helicopter's
    rotor had safely stopped, Elizabeth was taken in an airport van from the
    holding room to the tarmac. A heavy rain was falling. The last thing she
    wanted to do on a night like this was fly in a helicopter. But she
    wanted to be home. She wanted to feel safe. She wanted to smell familiar
    bedding, see cherished things from her childhood. For a while she wanted
    to pretend that none of it had ever happened. The van door opened, and a
    blast of cold rain beat against her face. She climbed out and walked
    toward the helicopter. The door opened, and Michael stood there. She ran
    into his arms and held him tightly. She kissed him and said, "I'm never
    going to let you out of my sight again."
    Michael said nothing, just held her. Finally she asked"
    "Where's Max?
    Somewhere safe, I hope."
    He held her more tightly. She read something in his silence and pulled
    away, staring wide-eyed. "Dammit, Michael, answer me! Where's Max?"
    But she knew the answer; he didn't have to say the words. "God, no!" she
    screamed, and beat her fists against his chest. "Not again! God, no! Not
    again!"
    "IT SEEMS OUR MAN made quite a mess of things in Washington," the
    Director said. "He failed to kill Osbourne, and in the process he
    managed to kill a secretary and a Virginia state trooper," Mitchell
    Elliott said. "Perhaps his reputation as the world's finest assassin was
    undeserved."
    "Osbourne is a very worthy opponent. We always knew eliminating him
    would be difficult."
    "Where's our man now?"
    "On his way north. He believes Osbourne and his wife will seek safety at
    Senator Cannon's home on Shelter Island."
    "Well, he's correct."
    "Your source inside Langley confirms this?"
    "Very well."
    "So this unfortunate business will all be over soon. October will finish
    what he started. I have an extraction team on standby. When he's
    finished, he'll contact me, and I'll pull him out."
    "October had one other target in Washington."
    "Yes, I realize that, but he's quite incapable of carrying out that job
    now. If you want that target eliminated, I suppose we'll have to hire
    someone else to do the job."
    "I think it would be wise. I don't like loose ends."
    "I quite agree."
    "And October?"
    "A few minutes after his extraction, October will be killed. You see,
    Mr. Elliott, I dislike loose ends more than you do."
    "Very well, Director."
    "Good evening, Mr. Elliott."
    MITCHELL ELLIOTT HUNG UP the telephone and smiled at Mon-ica Tyler. She
    carried her drink to bed and lay down beside him. "It will all be over
    by morning," he said. "Osbourne will be gone, and you'll be rich beyond
    your wildest imagination."
    She kissed him. "I'll be rich, Mitchell, but will I be alive to enjoy
    it?"
    Elliott shut out the light.
    "I'M GLAD MY FATHER'S not here to see this," Elizabeth said, as the
    helicopter set down on the lawn of Cannon Point. "He always tries to act
    like one of the islanders when he's out here. The last thing he would
    ever do is land a helicopter on his lawn."
    "It's the dead of winter," Michael said. "No one will