Free Targets of Revenge by Jeffrey Stephens Page A

And now.”
    Carlos attempted to nod, but Adina’s grip made it painful for him to move. His cheek began to bleed. “He asked about the other room in the lab.”
    “Of course he did. And what did you tell our inquisitive friend in answer to these questions?”
    Summoning what little courage remained, Carlos looked him in the eyes. “I told him nothing, Adina, nothing. That was why he hit me.”
    Adina let go of the man’s jaw and shoved him hard in the chest. Carlos stumbled backward until one of the guards grabbed him and deposited him on a hardwood stool, where he sat with his face in his hands.
    “So this man, whoever he was—I assume he did not introduce himself?”
    Carlos shook his head.
    “Naturally. Did he speak Spanish or another language?”
    “A little Spanish. He was an American I think.”
    “So this American, he was not here to steal cocaine, he was here for other reasons. Am I right?”
    Carlos nodded, still not looking up. “I think so.”
    “And you, being a scientist rather than a man of action, you saw danger, presumably a weapon of some sort, and so you told him everything he wanted to know. Am I right again?”
    Now Carlos lifted his face. “No Adina, I told him nothing.”
    “Of course not. Yet he continued to ask you all of the questions you have described despite the fact that you continued to tell him nothing.” Adina began pacing back and forth in front of Carlos. His voice louder when he said, “Just as you are telling me nothing right now.”
    “Adina . . .”
    “Carlos, please, after all this time you do not take me for a fool, do you? You do not expect me to believe this little fairy tale you have concocted, do you?”
    Carlos began to speak but Adina stepped forward, grabbed him by the hair and yanked his head back. “This intruder managed to get past two sentries, find his way into the lab, then make his way out, steal one of our vehicles while disabling the others, and you expect me to believe he could not persuade you to tell him anything he wanted to know?” Adina let go of Carlos and gestured to one of his guards. The man removed his gun from its holster and handed it to Adina. “Now tell me, Carlos, do you really expect me to believe that or do you have something else to say?”
    The technician’s eyes widened as he saw Adina take the automatic, his gaze following the gun as Adina held it at his side while he began striding back and forth across the room.
    “The anthrax,” Carlos blurted out. “I think he was here because of the anthrax.”
    Adina nodded thoughtfully. “And you told him.”
    “I had no choice, don’t you see?”
    “Yes, I see. Anything else?”
    “He asked about you?”
    “By name?”
    “Yes.”
    “What did he ask?”
    “He wanted to know if you were here. Which building you were in.”
    “And you told him. Because you had no choice.”
    Carlos replied with a vigorous nod. “I knew your guards would capture him.”
    Adina stopped his pacing and turned to face him. “And so they shall. But you, unfortunately, have proved yourself both a coward and a traitor.” Adina leveled the automatic at the man’s terrified face, waited a moment, then lowered the gun and returned it to his bodyguard. “Take him back to the laboratory,” he told Alejandro. “Lock him in the secure room so he has time to contemplate his fate.” He looked down at the weeping technician. “I’ll deal with him later.”

CHAPTER SIXTEEN
OFF THE NORTHWESTERN COAST OF VENEZUELA
    C RAIG R AABE WAS piloting the Otter as they banked to the port side and headed toward the Gulf of Venezuela. Their course would take them directly above the inlet that led from the gulf into the large expanse of the Lago de Maracaibo.
    Just before takeoff Doug Carlton offered to join Raabe and Bergenn on the flight, but they knew the captain would find himself in enough trouble if his involvement in this escapade became known. They told him not to exacerbate the situation by riding