The Phoenix Encounter Read online

  Several minutes later Dr. Roman Orloff came through a set of double swinging doors. He was about six feet tall and wore the traditional white lab coat over dark slacks and a colorful sweater. He spotted Robert immediately and headed in their direction at a determined clip.

  “Dr. Mercier! Good to see you. I trust you didn’t have any problems getting here?” He was grinning a bit too brightly. His eyes swept to Lily and Jack then back to Robert.

  “Thanks for seeing us, Roman,” Robert said quietly.

  Dr. Orloff extended his hand. “Don’t say anything,” he said in a low voice, never losing his overzealous smile. “Follow me. Smile a lot. Don’t look directly at anyone.”

  A surge of adrenaline skittered through Robert. “What is it?”

  “You two are wanted. There are signs everywhere.”

  “Have soldiers been here?”

  “Not yet, but I’m sure they’ll come eventually.”

  Robert felt Lily’s eyes on him, but he didn’t look at her. The weight of the decision he was about to make weighed down on him, staggering him. “Do you have a safe room?” he asked.

  Orloff nodded. “It’s in the basement.”

  “Can we do the transfusion down there?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. The baby took a turn for the worse earlier,” Robert said and followed him into the elevator.

  The basement made Lily feel claustrophobic. The ceilings were low. There were no windows. Dim overhead lighting revealed water stains on drooping acoustic tiles. As she and Robert and Dr. Orloff walked down the narrow hall, she cuddled Jack and reminded herself that they were safe here. Still, those internal reassurances did little to alleviate the knot of fear in her stomach.

  It had taken them nearly ten minutes to reach the safe room. The main elevator had taken them to the third floor, where part of the wall had been damaged by some kind of explosion. From there they’d taken a narrow stairway down to a freight elevator. The car had rattled and shook as it lowered them to the basement.

  “The procedure room is very well maintained.” Dr. Orloff removed a set of keys from his trousers and inserted a key into a locked door. He shoved it open and hit a light switch set into the wall.

  Lily blinked against the sudden bright light. The room closely resembled an operating room. Two beds dominated the center of the room. Gleaming stainless steel counters surrounded them on three sides. A double stainless steel sink was set into the opposite wall. Floor-to-ceiling glass-front cabinets comprised the wall to her right.

  “I’m impressed,” Robert said.

  Orloff grinned. “It’s not George Washington University, but it’ll do in a pinch.”

  “And then some.”

  “We’ve treated our share of rebels in this hospital.” Dr. Orloff looked at Lily. “Doesn’t do much for our funding to advertise that sort of thing.”

  “What are your capabilities?” Robert asked.

  “We’ve got it all. Oxygen. X-ray machine. MRI room two doors down. Refrigeration for blood storage, though our supplies are critically low.” He motioned toward the cabinets. “Our medications are low, but we’ve got the essentials.”

  “I can donate blood,” Lily blurted.

  Both men looked over at her.

  “I mean, for your blood bank,” she said.

  Robert looked at her. “Both of us can donate.”

  “I’m not going to turn you down. We need blood desperately.” Dr. Orloff shrugged. “Of course, we’re fresh out of juice and cookies.”

  Lily choked out a pent-up laugh. She looked at Jack, realized she’d been so preoccupied with getting him to the hospital safely, she hadn’t yet asked about the transfusion. “How is the transfusion done?”

  “Very simple,” Dr. Orloff said. “We’re going to sedate Jack and transfer a very small amount of blood-bank blood to him.”

  Robert walked to Lily and eased Jack from her arms. “Because of the hemoedema, Jack’s circulation is affected, and his organs aren’t getting the amount of blood they need to function properly. He needs a bone marrow transplant, but a transfusion will increase his red blood cell count and his blood volume. It should last several weeks.”

  Lily’s arms felt empty without Jack. She’d told herself she wasn’t going to let this upset her, but as she watched Robert lay her baby on the bed, a stab of melancholy went right through her center. All she’d ever wanted was for him to be healthy and happy and have all the things she hadn’t.

  Like a mother and father.

  The thought seemed to come out of nowhere and hit her with surprising force. Vaguely, she was aware of Dr. Orloff scrubbing with iodine soap up to his elbows, humming a tune that was much too cheery for this dreary basement room. Unbearably anxious, she stood next to Robert and watched him administer the sedation. Jack cried briefly, then settled, his eyes drooping. “He looks so tiny lying there all alone,” she said.

  “He’s not alone,” Robert said. “We’re with him. He’s going to be fine.”

  She looked at him and in the blue depths of his eyes she saw the truth of those words, felt it in her heart. And as impossible as it seemed, she knew that somehow things were going to work out.

  “Here we go.”

  Lily stepped back when Dr. Orloff walked over to them with the tray upon which was the intravenous needle.

  “Let me,” Robert said.

  Dr. Orloff passed the needle to Robert. Lily watched, transfixed, as Robert expertly inserted the IV into Jack’s tiny vein. She winced when Jack whimpered. She leaned toward him and put her hand on his forehead. “It’s all right, sweetheart,” she said quietly. “Mommy’s right here.”

  “He’s doing great,” Robert said once the needle was in place.

  “I think I’m the wreck,” she said.

  “You’re doing fine.”

  “I’m glad it’s you who’s doing this.”

  Her heart beat a little fast when he smiled at her, but the moment was broken when Dr. Orloff rolled the wheeled IV tree and collapsible bag of donor blood. “Thirty milliliters. Type A.”

  Robert double-checked the label, then attached the length of tube to the IV needle in Jack’s arm. “Right.”

  “How long will this take,” Lily asked.

  “About an hour.” Without looking at her, Robert crossed to the second bed, kicked the brake up and rolled it closer to the bed where Jack lay. “You’re exhausted. Why don’t you lie down and try to get some sleep?”

  She shook her head automatically. “There’s no way I can sleep with Jack—”

  “Dr. Orloff will be here to monitor him.”

  “Where are you going?”

  Robert grimaced. “I’ve got to check in with one of my colleagues.”

  Lily wasn’t sure why, but she didn’t believe him. Ever since he’d come to her door she’d sensed that he was keeping secrets from her. She couldn’t imagine why. But if she’d learned anything since coming to Rebelia, it was that ignorance was never bliss.

  “You’re lying to me,” she said quietly. “And I don’t understand why.”

  Dr. Orloff looked at them sharply from his place at the counter across the room, then returned his attention to the chart as if realizing he was eavesdropping on a personal conversation. Glancing over his shoulder, Robert took her arm and guided her to the door, then into the hall and closed the door behind them. “Don’t ask any more questions, Lily. I’m not going to answer them.”

  “You’re not telling me something.”

  “I’m not telling you a lot of things.”

  “That makes me feel a hell of a lot better.”

  “You’re going to have to trust me on this.”

  “I do. I just…don’t like being kept in the dark.”

  He stared at her for a long time before speaking, then removed a tiny disk the size of a watch battery from his breast pocket. “I want you to keep this on you at all times,” he said.

  Lily opened her hand and he dropped the disk into her palm. “Wh
at is it?”

  “Don’t ask me that, Lily,” he said. “Please. Just…trust me. Keep it for me, okay? Keep it with you at all times no matter what.”

  “All right,” she said, baffled and growing increasingly anxious.

  “When I come back, I want you to come with me to give a statement to some people I’ve been working with.”

  “Statement? What are you talking about?”

  “I’m talking about Bruno DeBruzkya.” He raked a hand through his hair. “I think you know him.”

  “What’s going on, Robert?”

  “I can’t tell you.”

  “Damn it—”

  Jaw tight, he yanked open the door and crossed to where his backpack leaned against the wall and hefted it over his shoulder. “Dr. Orloff, if you need me for any reason you’ve got the number to my satellite phone.”

  Orloff looked up from the counter where he was hunched over a board, scribbling. “Yes, of course.”

  Robert turned to Lily. “Stay with Jack. Try to get some rest.”

  A swirl of panic coiled inside her. “Where are you going?”

  Instead of answering, Robert leaned close to her, cupped the back of her head and kissed her hard on the mouth. The question fizzled, and for a staggering moment all Lily could think about was the way his mouth felt against hers. The gentle pressure of his lips. The taste that was uniquely his. The firm press of his body against hers. The reassuring strength that seemed to emanate from him. And the myriad emotions uncoiling inside her every time she was close to him.

  An instant later he released her. “We’ll finish this when I get back.”

  “Don’t leave,” she said.

  “I’ll be back.” He raised his hand, brushed his fingers gently across her cheek, then looked at Orloff. “Keep an eye on them.”

  The urge to rush to him and keep him from leaving was strong, but Lily held her ground. Feeling desperate and helpless and unreasonably frightened, she watched him walk out the door.

  Robert skirted the main street, sticking to the alleys, bombed-out buildings and interior courtyards whenever possible. There seemed to be an inordinate number of soldiers in the city—a hell of a lot more than he’d expected. He tried to reassure himself that the soldiers had nothing to do with two wanted Americans, but he didn’t believe it.

  Even though the morning was cool, he was sweating profusely as he made his way up the narrow wooden staircase and used his key to open the door. The apartment smelled of old wood and dust motes, but Robert barely noticed as he crossed to the satellite radio he’d set up on the floor.

  Yanking off the cover, he dropped to his knees in front of it and hit the power button. Only then did he realize that his hands were shaking. That his heart was pounding. At first he didn’t understand it; he knew he wasn’t in imminent danger. But he sensed it coming. Like a dark storm on the horizon full of violent wind and killer lightning and heading in his direction. Or maybe toward Lily and Jack.

  He loved her and that little boy more than anything in the world. More than he’d ever believed possible. He knew Lily loved him. There was no way in hell she could look at him the way she did, make love to him the way she had if she didn’t feel something powerful and real and soul deep. How in God’s name was he going to make her see that? How was he going to make her see past what she deemed as her duty to a little red-haired girl named Strawberry? How was he going to keep her and Jack safe when her sense of responsibility kept putting her in harm’s way?

  “Damn, it, Lily,” he muttered, his voice sounding strange in the dead silence of the room.

  Shoving the thoughts from his mind as best he could, he set up the digital camera and hailed ARIES headquarters. “This is PHOENIX, do you read?”

  “Got you, PHOENIX.” It was Hatch’s voice.

  Robert tapped on the monitor, and the older man came into view.

  “What do you have for me?” Hatch asked.

  “DeBruzkya’s headquarters is in the old Veisweimar Castle.”

  “Satellites have seen some activity there,” Hatch said. “The place has been derelict for years. Now that activity makes sense.”

  “He’s probably using underground tunnels to store tanks and missiles, to keep them out of sight of the spy satellites.”

  “Not to mention the weapons inspectors from the United Nations. Good work.”

  “He is, indeed, amassing gems, but this is where things get funky.”

  “Funky?”

  Robert told him about the old Rebelian Gem of Power legend. When he was finished, Hatch scratched his head and said, “DeBruzkya doesn’t strike me as the superstitious type.”

  “You think there’s more to it?”

  “Don’t you?”

  “You mean aside from his being a lunatic?”

  Hatch smiled. “What about Dr. Alex Morrow?”

  “My contact couldn’t place the name but said it sounded familiar.”

  Hatch regarded Robert with sharp eyes for a moment. “You look strung out as hell.”

  Robert didn’t have anything to say about that so he remained silent.

  Sighing, Hatch flipped a switch on his end. “Okay, Davidson, off the record. What the hell’s going on?

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “You know exactly what I’m talking about. Damn it, when my agents are in the field, I like to know what’s going on inside their heads. I have no idea what’s going on inside yours right now.”

  Robert rolled his shoulder. “I’ve been busy. Haven’t had much sleep—”

  “You look like hell. You’ve checked in all of three times since you’ve been there.”

  “I’m a little…distracted. That’s all.”

  “A little distracted can get a man killed, Robert. What gives?”

  For an instant, Robert was tempted to sign off. To turn off the radio and end the questions. The last thing he wanted to do was make a fool of himself in front of his boss. How stupid was it for an agent to get involved with his contact while on a dangerous mission? Plenty stupid. Imbecilic if he wanted to be truthful about it.

  “You going to talk to me or are we going to burn up the satellite waiting each other out?” Hatch snapped.

  “My contact,” Robert began. “She’s a woman.”

  Hatch’s eyes sharpened. “I’m listening.”

  In all the years they’d worked together, Robert had never discussed his personal life. He was a private man and he’d always sensed Hatch was the same.

  “Lillian Scott,” Hatch said after a moment. “An American journalist. I know all that.”

  “She has a son.” Sighing, Robert looked out the window, realized it had begun to rain. “He’s mine.”

  Now it was Hatch’s turn to curse, and he did so quite thoroughly. “I knew you knew her. That’s one of the reasons I chose you for this mission. But I had no idea you two were involved.”

  Robert looked at the monitor to see Hatch thumb an ant-acid from his pocket and pop it into his mouth. “I guess there are some things even ARIES intelligence can’t know in advance.”

  “I guess so,” Hatch agreed.

  The rumble of thunder broke the silence, and Robert found himself thinking about Lily and Jack in the basement of the hospital all alone.

  “I’m bringing you in,” Hatch said.

  Robert’s hackles rose. “No, you’re not.”

  “It’s done. Cross the border into Holzberg. There will be a jet at the airport waiting to take you to Paris.”

  “I haven’t found out about Dr. Morrow yet.”

  “You’ve set up base camp. You’ve obtained information about the gems. You’ve discovered the location of DeBruzkya’s headquarters. That’s enough for me to deem this mission successful.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s oh ten hundred there in Rebelia. I want you at the airport in an hour.”

  Robert stared at him, aware of the steady thrum of his heart, keenly aware that he was about to disobey a direct order and more than l
ikely screw up his career. “I can’t do that.”

  “Why the hell not?” Hatch snapped.

  “I’m not leaving without her.” Robert reached for the keypad to sign off.

  “What do you need, PHOENIX?” Hatch asked quickly.

  Robert moved his hand away from the keypad. “I need a chopper with night vision and a winch.”

  “You got it. Just tell me where and when and I’ll have someone there.”

  “I’ll let you know.” Robert hit the keypad and the screen faded to black.

  Chapter 14

  Lily lay on her side in the narrow bed and snuggled Jack against her. Exhaustion dragged at her, both physically and emotionally, but her thoughts refused to let her rest. She couldn’t get Robert out of her mind. Couldn’t stop thinking about all the things that had happened between them since he’d walked into her cottage just two short days ago. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw his face. The way he’d looked at her when he’d walked away. The way his eyes darkened when he touched her. The emotion in his eyes when he’d told her he loved her. He was a good man, and he loved her. But it hadn’t mattered to her. She’d hurt him anyway.

  Shifting restlessly beneath the blanket, she eased Jack’s little body more closely against her and closed her eyes tightly. Dr. Orloff had left one of the overhead lights on. Just enough for her to make out the clock on the wall, and she’d spent the last forty minutes watching the second hand sweep endlessly around the dial.

  The transfusion had taken forty-five minutes. Once the bag of donor blood had emptied, Dr. Orloff had removed the needle from Jack’s arm and applied a small pressure bandage. Lily had spoken softly to her son while the doctor checked his blood pressure and took his temperature. She’d been inordinately relieved when he’d told her Jack appeared to be tolerating the transfusion well and that he didn’t expect any complications. The mild sedative he’d given Jack would wear off in a few hours, and Jack would be back to normal shortly thereafter.

  But as Dr. Orloff had scrubbed down, he also reminded her that at some point Jack would need a bone marrow transplant. While her son might be the picture of health now, he could relapse in a few weeks. Leaving her with that unsettling thought, he’d told her to get some rest and then left.