"We have to get you out of here, fast. That wasSoren."
"What?" A shock of adrenaline goes through me, making my legsweak.
Ed comes over. "What's thematter?"
"That was Soren Lindgren, that's what. How did we end up bringing Eve to him? Who told you to comehere?"
"Headquarters."
Michel shakes his head. "I don't know what his game is, but she's in danger. We have to leave right away." He grabs my arm and drags me to the car as if he fears Soren's lurking around, preparing to grabme.
We drive to the hotel and Michel calls to order our flight to prepare, but there's been a mechanical problem and it's out of service for at least a day. He calls to find out when the first flight leaves, but it doesn't leave until earlymorning.
"Listen," Ed says as we sit in the hotel room. "I still think we need to check his place outtomorrow."
"You can do that on your own," Michel says. "I'm sending Eve back on the first flight out of here. I can't believe we brought her directly to Soren.Merde," he says and rakes his fingers through his hair. "I can't believeit."
He sits and stares at me as if I'm going to disappear before hiseyes.
Then, his cell rings and he checks the callerdisplay.
"Damn," he says, his eyes closed. Then, he taps the icon and answers. "Yes," he says, his voicelow.
"I can't dothat."
Helistens.
Silence.
"I'll be with her the entire time. That's my onecondition."
He listens some more and now I wonder what bargain he's striking. He ends the call and shakes hishead.
"This is insane. This was a set-up," he says to us, his voice on edge. "He just wanted to get Eve alone somewhere and meet her. I have no choice but to take her to him or he'll killJulien."
"What?" Ed says, looking between the two ofus.
"I'll meet him," I say, not really knowing what that means. "I don't want Julien dead because ofme."
* * *
We havea late meeting at the compound where Soren trains his recruits. It will mean a late night before Ed and my early morning flight, but we have to go. Ed drives the rental car and we arrive half an hour early, hoping to spend some time wandering around before the meeting, and are met by a young man dressed in combat fatigues at a guardhouse who requests our names and some identification. I pull out my badge and he looks it over and checks my name on his roster. He nods to Ed and Michel, keeping our ID and asks for ourweapons.
I hand him my empty revolver and both Ed and Michel do thesame.
The young man gives us directions and Ed drives to a low hangar-like building that looks like it would house small planes. I'm surprised at how little activity there is, and how freely we're able to movearound.
Ed parks the car and we go into the small building, which houses Soren's private offices and find ourselves in a small reception area. There's no one there to greet us but we hear the murmur of voices off to the rear of the building. While Michel and Ed check out a door to the north, I step to a partially opened door in the south of the hall that leads to the back of the building and listen - the unmistakable sound of a male and female laughingintimately.
A deep voice - Soren,and a high female voice - perhaps his secretary - I can't tell. I peer through the crack in the door and am shocked at what I see. In the darkness, with only faint light from under the door illuminating the scene, I see them. Soren's pants are undone and are half-way down his muscular thighs. He's leaning over a young woman who is herself bent over a desk, her skirt hiked up, her legs spread. But what shocks me is what I see in the darkness behind him—a pair of huge black wings. I gasp and in an instant what I thought were wings transform into shadow and Soren turns his head towards the door where Ihide.
I turn and walk back to Michel and Ed, not knowing what I saw or what tosay.
"I saw him," I say, almost choking on mywords.
"Where?"
"In an office in the back. With hissecretary."