Deadly Crossing (Tom Dugan 2) by R.E. McDermott Page B

you be so stupid?”
    “I had to grab her. She saw my face.”
    “Which, from what you told me, would never have happened if you’d left her happily up in her room with her headphones clamped on her head. She’d have wandered down some time later and found the other two tied up, and that would have been the end of it. They couldn’t report anything about Tanya, so at worst it would have been a home invasion by persons unknown.”
    Arsov sank back in his chair and glared at Nazarov, who wisely said nothing. After a long moment Arsov spoke.
    “Well, I’ll have to figure out something. We can’t turn the girl loose, and she is a looker. Maybe we can get her out of the country and use her elsewhere. In the meantime, we have to take care of these damned Spetsnaz and the American. They seem to be the driving force, and with them out of the way, I suspect the authorities will give up in time, no matter how connected this Kairouz might be. We’ll spread money around to hasten that result if need be.”
    Nazarov smirked.
    “I don’t think the American will be much of a problem for a while. I had Ivan brain him with a rock.”
    “What do you mean?”
    “I was trying to tell you before. He showed up at the Kairouz place when we were loading the girls. I had Ivan on lookout, and he got behind him and smashed him with a rock.”
    “Where is he now?”
    “W-we left him. He hadn’t seen our faces, and you didn’t say anything about snatching him. But we didn’t kill anyone, just like you said.”
    Arsov buried his face in his hands and struggled to control himself.

Chapter Nine
    Offices of Phoenix Shipping Ltd.
London, UK
    Alex pressed the intercom button. “Yes, Mrs. Coutts.”
    “I’m sorry to disturb you, sir, but there’s a Nigel Havelock on line one who insists he must speak to you. I wouldn’t have bothered you, but he seems quite upset and says it’s about Cassie.”
    “Very well. Thank you, Mrs. Coutts.” Alex reached for his desk phone.
    “This is Alex Kairouz. What can I do for yo—”
    “Mr. Kairouz, thank God. Cassie’s been attacked. We were—”
    “Attacked? What the hell are you talking about, Havelock? If this is your idea of some sort of sick joke—”
    “It’s no joke, sir! We were video-chatting a few minutes ago, and a man in a black ski mask burst into her room and dragged her from her chair. The laptop was pulled out of position, and I couldn’t see anything after that, but it sounded like he dragged her out the door.”
    Alex sat stunned.
    “Mr. Kairouz, are you there?”
    “Yes, yes, Havelock. The police—”
    “I called them straightaway, sir. You were my second call.”
    “Good, good,” Alex said absently. “Thank you. Now I must go.”
    “Of course, sir. If you could only—”
    Alex hung up and started for the door. “Mrs. Coutts,” he shouted, “have Daniel bring the car around straightaway.”
    M/V Phoenix Lynx
Port of Southampton, UK
    Nigel Havelock heard the line go dead and resisted an urge to throw his cell phone over the side of the ship. Instead he put it in his pocket and tried to assess his options. He had none really; there was no way in hell he was going to sit here idly while Cassie was in danger. The train would get him to London faster than a car, and he didn’t have the cash for an eighty mile cab ride in any event. He ran back into the deck house to have a word with the second officer, and then to his cabin to change. Five minutes later he rushed down the gangway and out to the street to flag down a cab for Southampton Central Station.
    Kairouz Residence
London, UK
    Halfway down Alex’s street, they encountered an ambulance speeding in the opposite direction, lights flashing. Alex swiveled in the back seat of the Bentley, momentarily torn between following the ambulance and continuing home. But no, he had no way of knowing if the ambulance was connected to events at his house, and he needed to find out what was going on. As they approached his