Free Return to Atlantis: A Novel by Andy McDermott

words with care. “It came up,” he admitted. “Stikes asked about you—I didn’t think anything of it,” he said defensively as Nina’s look darkened. “He wanted to know where you were. I assumed it was because he might want to straighten things out with you.”
    While for the most part Larry did not resemble his son physically, being taller and thinner-faced, their eyes were all but identical, and Nina knew one of Eddie’s subtle expressions well enough to recognize the same on his father: He was dissembling. “But you must have known that Eddie and Stikes weren’t exactly old army buddies.”
    “Not until Edward told me,” Larry insisted. “When Stikes first contacted me, he said he was actually a friend of his, and that Edward had recommended me to him for a job.”
    “And you believed him? After what happened when we had dinner at your house?”
    “I thought that maybe Edward was trying to apologize by sending me a potential client. Clearly I was wrong.”
    “But after Eddie told you, you still spoke to Stikes anyway?” Nina’s voice became accusing. “Did you think that he might, I don’t know, make your problem
go away
?”
    It took Julie a moment to realize what she was implying, and when Nina’s veiled meaning struck her she gasped. Larry, on the other hand, got it immediately; the reason for his delayed response was pure outrage. “Of
course
that’s not what I thought,” he said in a low growl. “That’s just— Christ, no, that’s not it at all! I can’t believe you’d even—”
    Nina’s own anger was rising. “That’s what happened, though. People
died
in Peru, Larry, a lot of people—because
you
told Stikes that I was there. Eddie’s friend—my friend too—was killed. Murdered.” She rose from her seat, once again attracting the attention of other diners, but ignoring them. “So now do you know why Eddie was so mad at you? It was
your fault
, Larry! If you hadn’t called Stikes in order to cover your own ass, all those people would still be alive!”
    “But how could I
know
?” Larry cried, the words somewhere between a demand and a plea. “I had no idea any of that would happen!”
    “Well, of course you didn’t. Because that would have meant thinking beyond yourself, wouldn’t it?” She shoved back her chair. “Julie, every time we’ve met dinner’s ended in an argument. I’m sorry, it’s not your fault. But you, Larry …” She gave him a look of utter disgust. “What you’ve done, it’s … unforgivable.” Without a further word, she turned and walked away.
    Julie blushed crimson under the eyes of the other patrons, leaving Larry to shift awkwardly in his seat. The waiter hesitantly returned. “I, er, think we’ll call it a night,” the Englishman told him, tossing a couple of bills on the table. Julie was already on her feet as Larry stood up to leave.

FIVE
    N ina emerged from the elevator and made her way to the IHA’s offices, still angry about what she had learned the previous evening. All the deaths at El Dorado, the destruction of a priceless archaeological site … everything had happened because of Larry Chase. A few words to the wrong person had ended dozens of lives. And for what? Nothing more than money. The mere thought stoked her fury once more.
    “Uh-oh,” said Lola Gianetti from the watercooler.
    Nina stopped. “Uh-oh what? What is it?” She gave Lola a worried look; her assistant was seven months pregnant and, judging from the size of her bump, the baby was impatient to leave its increasingly cramped accommodation. “Was it a kick? Or a contraction? It wasn’t a contraction, was it?”
    Lola laughed. “No, I’m fine. The
uh-oh
was for you. You’ve got that look again.”
    “What look?”
    “The look that warns everyone they should stay out of your way.”
    “I don’t have a look,” Nina protested as the big-hairedblonde padded back to the reception desk. “Do I? What does the look look like?”
    “That was