Final Target

Chapter Six

Andreas was silent when Jessica finished.

When he did speak, his voice was thick. "You think she could have died?"

"I wouldn't have brought Travis to the house if I hadn't thought there was a strong possibility."

"Christ." Another silence. "What the hell is happening to her?"

"That's what I'm trying to find out."

"I want to be with her. I hate being thousands of miles away."

"You couldn't help her, sir."

"But Travis did."

"I don't believe there's any doubt he saved her life." She paused. "I may need to use him again."

"I didn't want him around her. I thought it would make the nightmares worse."

"They couldn't be worse."

Another silence. "Then use him. Use anyone or anything you have to. I'll send word he's to put himself at your disposal."

Travis would love that. "Thank you, sir. I'm sure that will help."

"She's getting worse." His voice was uneven. "Why can't we do something? Why are we just spinning our wheels while she-"

She couldn't bear the pain in his words." I know how you feel. I wonder…if you'd consider taking her back to Vasaro."

"No! Absolutely not. I may be desperate, but I'm not crazy."

" I think it might-"

"No."

She heaved a sigh. She hadn't thought he'd accept the idea, but she'd had to try. It was radical, even dangerous, but she was as desperate as Andreas. "I wish you'd consider it."

"I'd consider getting a new doctor for my daughter first." He said something to someone in the background and then came back on the line. "I have to go. There's a damn reception at the royal palace. I want to hear better news from you the next time you call or I'll fly home and find someone who can help Cassie." He hung up.

The threat didn't bother Jessica. She knew he was just in agony over a seemingly hopeless situation. If she'd believed someone else could do a better job with Cassie, she'd go and hire him herself.

But he was right-lately they'd just been spinning their wheels, trying to maintain the status quo.

I have a passion for disrupting the status quo.

Maybe bringing Travis more fully into the equation might be a good step.

And maybe not. At any rate, something had to change. Cassie couldn't go on like this. Jessica had to explore every possibility to bring Cassie back.

She wearily started up the stairs. Time to check on Cassie and then get some sleep.

She stopped at the door of the blue room.

Every possibility.

Melissa.

Melissa was as exhausted as Cassie. Because the two had been joined?

The idea was wild, outrageous, frightening, a complete violation of logic.

Every possibility.

Not now. She had to give herself time to adjust to the idea.

Tomorrow…

"What's that wonderful smell?" Melissa asked as she came into the kitchen. "Lord, I'm hungry."

"Huevos rancheros." Jessica glanced over her shoulder. "But you've blown it. I was going to give you breakfast in bed."

"You know I can't stand lolling in bed." She went to the refrigerator and took out the orange juice carton. "How's Cassie?"

Jessica put two sausages on the plate with the eggs. "You tell me."

Melissa's smile faded. "I have no idea. And if I made a guess, you wouldn't believe me."

"I don't know what to believe." She poured the juice and sat down at the table. "Eat."

"You don't have to tell me twice." Melissa sat down and started to eat. "Wonderful. Tomorrow I'll make breakfast."

"You don't cook."

"Sure I do. I've learned to do a lot of things since I went away to school. Living on your own is very empowering." She took a drink of juice. "I would have learned sooner, but you seemed to enjoy being in charge and doing things for me."

" It was just that I'm accustomed to-"

"I know." Melissa grinned. "And I'll always be baby sister who got lost in the briar patch. It's fine with me. Whatever makes you happy."

Jessica felt a ripple of shock. Melissa's tone was almost indulgent. "I never meant to treat you-"

"You treat me just great." She took another bite. "And you make a fab breakfast. Now, how is Cassie?"

"Good. Not as good as you, but as normal as she gets these days." She leaned back in her chair and looked at Melissa. "I thought you both might die last night."

"I know you did." She reached for her juice. "I knew you were scared when you came into my room that first time, but I couldn't do anything to help you. I was pretty wasted."

"Help me? You were the one who-" She drew a deep breath. "What happened to you last night?"

Melissa looked down into her glass. "What do you want me to say? If you need lies, I'll tell you lies. I'm not sure you're ready for the truth."

"I have to be ready for whatever you tell me. I don't know if you remember, but I came to you asking for help."

"I only remember you being scared. I was somewhat involved at the time." She shifted her glance to Jessica's face. "Since you came to me, then you must have believed me on some level."

"I don't know what to believe. But Andreas told me once he'd beg help from a whirling dervish if it would get his daughter well. I'd do the same just to keep her alive."

"I'm not a whirling dervish, and I don't even know what I can do. I hoped I'd have more control, but it was like being sucked into a tornado. She just carried me along with her." She shuddered. "If Travis hadn't come…"

"You knew he was here?"

"How could I help it? He was as strong as Cassie. He put himself between her and the monsters."

"Monsters?"

"She sees them as monsters. They have eyes but no faces."

"The attackers at Vasaro wore ski masks."

Melissa nodded. "That would account for it."

"Tell me what it's like."

"Terror. Sorrow. We're in a long, dark tunnel and we were happy there, but the monsters have found a way to get in. They're chasing us and we know they'll catch us if we don't find…"

"Find what?"

"I don't know. Her thinking is all garbled by the fear. Whatever it is she's looking for, she can't find it. And there's only one other way to escape them."

"The hell there is. She can come back to us."

"We don't see that as an option."

"Half the time you say her and half the time you say we. You're not joined to her any longer, are you?"

Melissa shook her head. "But the link was very strong and so is the memory. I'll try not to-You're looking at me as if I'm crazy."

"Why should I accuse you of being nuts? I'm the doctor and I'm the one who's accepting all this as if it were perfectly normal."

"No, you're not. You're taking everything with a grain of salt and trying to find a reasonable explanation for it. It's not your nature to do anything else." She smiled. "Right?"

"I care about you." Jessica reached over and covered Mellie's hand with her own." It scares me that you might-"

"The only thing you should be scared about is if we can't stop what's happening to Cassie…and me. I'm not nuts. I'm just riding that tornado and hoping something will make it go away." She squeezed Jessica's hand. "Toward the end, after Travis came, I was feeling stronger and I began to think instead of feel. Maybe if I can gain some control, I'll be able to stop the tornado."

"God, I hope so."

"But I have to have Michael Travis, Jessica. I'm not strong enough to fight for Cassie by myself. He has to stand between."

"You're talking as if he's some kind of medium."

"I don't know why he's able to help Cassie. You brought him to Cassie because I told you to find something to break the flow. It worked. He worked. We may be able to do without him later but not now. Get him, Jessica."

"Oh, I got him. It wasn't difficult. He finds the situation very interesting and he's bored at the moment." She made a face. "But he's not going to be easy to handle."

"I could tell." She got to her feet. "Now I need to go for a run before I hit the books." She brushed a kiss across Jessica's forehead. "Poor Jessica. I know it's hard for you. But everything will be okay."

Melissa was treating her as if she were a child. Well, she felt as confused as a child. Everything Melissa had said was out of her realm of belief, yet she had no option but to go along with her. "Just one more question. What would have happened to you if I hadn't brought Travis last night?"

She didn't speak for a moment. "I don't know. I'm not sure how it works. But I don't think I could have broken free at the end."

"The end?"

She moved quickly toward the door. "If Cassie had died, she would have taken me with her."

Melissa knocked on the door of the gatehouse. "The sun is shining and all's right with the world. Come out and play, Michael Travis."

Travis threw open the door. "I beg your pardon?"

"In case you don't recognize me as the rag of a woman you saw in my bedroom last night, I'm Melissa Riley."

"Oh, I recognize you."

"Then go change and come out and run with me. You usually run about this time, don't you?"

"Yes."

"I'll wait." She came into the house and dropped onto the sofa. "This is a nice place. Jessica and I used to play here when we were kids. Hurry, will you? I have to get back and study."

He smiled. " I'll try not to keep you waiting." He disappeared into the bedroom.

Mellie glanced around. Open laptop on the dining table, books piled on the coffee table. But other than that, he was very neat. It was what she'd expected. Everything organized.

She leaned forward and checked out the book titles. She smiled. Smart. Very smart.

She moved to the window and looked up at the manor. How many times had he stood here and stared at the lights in Cassie's window?

"Ready." He came out of the bedroom wearing shorts and an Oxford University T-shirt. "Unless you've changed your mind, Ms. Riley?"

He didn't know what to think of her. That was okay. It put her one step ahead. "No way. And call me Melissa or Mellie like Jessica does." She jumped to her feet and trotted outside. The sun struck her face like a blessing, and she stopped and closed her eyes. "Isn't it beautiful today? And smell that grass. I love mornings after a rain. It just sort of…fills me until I overflow."

"Your cup runneth over?"

"Yep." Her eyes flicked open and she jumped down the steps. "Race you to the pond in back of the house."

She beat him by four yards. She leaned against the willow tree and tried to get her breath. "Did you let me win?"

"What makes you think that?"

"You're in good shape and I've seen you run."

"You're in pretty good shape yourself."

She chuckled. "From another man I'd take that as a pass."

"Why not from me?"

"Because you're not interested in sex at the moment. You're wondering what the hell I'm up to."

"Am I going to find out?"

She nodded. "When I get my breath." She sank down on the ground. "What do you think I'm up to?"

"I'm supposed to talk until you get your breath?"

"Good guess."

"Let's see." He dropped down a few feet away. " It's difficult to assess motivations, since I've never met you before. From what I've observed at a distance, you and your sister seem very close. Did she send you with a message?"

"Jessica delivers her own messages. I deliver mine."

"And what is your message?"

She stared him directly in the eyes. "Don't you dare do anything to hurt my sister."

His brows lifted." I have no intention of harming her."

"I believe you. However, action doesn't always follow intent. It gets sidetracked when personal gain becomes involved. You don't care anything about Jessica. I doubt if you care about Cassie. It's hard to tell."

"Is it? But you must know I helped her last night."

"No one knows better." She paused. "As I think you're aware."

He looked at her inquiringly.

"You had three books on parapsychology on the coffee table. One I left when I came down for a visit. I read it in the gatehouse because I didn't want Jessica to see it around the manor. I've never read the other two. Where did you get them in the middle of the night?"

"I sent one of the Secret Service men at the gate to an all-night bookstore in D.C. They were very obliging as long as I didn't leave the property. I spent several hours scanning them." He smiled. "And since I didn't get any sleep, I wasn't going to take my visual morning run."

"Am I supposed to feel sorry for you?"

"Heaven forbid. You have enough problems."

Her gaze narrowed on his face. "Then I assume you found what you wanted in those books?"

"I overheard what you told your sister in the bedroom last night. That was enough to pique my interest. So I hit the Internet and then hunkered down with a few books."

"And you found out I was a freak."

"But not the only one. Not even the first one."

"What?"

"Did you think you were the only case who came back with a little baggage on the side? Professor Hans Dedrick discovered four cases similar to your own. One in Greece, one in Switzerland, and two in China."

"Dedrick?"

"Trauma, Memory, and the Way Back. It was written in 1999. You didn't read it?"

She shook her head in bewilderment. "And I even combed through the libraries trying to find something, anything…"

"It was published by a university press in Great Britain. As you've noted, I'm an expert at retrieving information. I'll let you borrow it if you like."

"I'll get my own copy as soon as I get back to school. Did Jessica mention anything about me?"

"Not a syllable. It's natural that she'd be very protective. She's spent a good many years caring for you. Your talent is somewhat 'unusual,' and she wouldn't want you to be misunderstood."

Jesus, he was clever. He had watched and listened and put the puzzle pieces of their lives and relationship together. "And do you understand?"

"Do you mean believe? Perhaps. I spent a lot of my early years in the East, and I've seen stranger things. It certainly doesn't make me uneasy."

Melissa studied him. "No, it only interests you. Jessica told me you dealt in information, and I can see how you'd be good at that. You gather and dig and analyze…You find it exciting, don't you?"

"Yes. Since I've been cursed with boundless curiosity, it's definitely an addiction."

"And dealing with Cassie is a quick fix for a few weeks of boredom?"

"I'm not quite so callous. I wouldn't use that nice kid just to relieve the monotony. I help her, she helps me." He chuckled. "Though I didn't realize until you appeared on the scene how intriguing the next few weeks may prove to be. When did you realize you had this bizarre talent? Your sister didn't mention anything about it in her book."

"She didn't know about it. She was so happy she'd brought me back that I didn't want to spoil anything for her. I wouldn't have told her about it if we hadn't run into this problem with Cassie. She's not like you. It makes her damn uneasy."

"I can see why. She impressed me as being a very solemn, pragmatic lady."

"She's had to be pragmatic It's not as if she doesn't have a great sense of humor. She didn't have much chance to-"

"Okay, okay. I didn't mean to insult her. She seems to be a very caring woman." He changed the subject. "You didn't answer me. When did you realize you were broadcasting on a different wavelength?"

"About five months after I came back. It scared the hell out of me." She stood up. "Now, take your curiosity and stuff it. That's all you're going to get out of me."

"You can never tell. I haven't even started yet." He got to his feet. "Let's be perfectly clear. You're warning me to stay away from your sister and Cassie?"

"Where did you get that idea? Cassie needs you."

"And do you need me, Melissa?" he asked softly.

"Yes, but I'm working on it." She bent down and retied her left running shoe. "So don't get used to the idea. You're going to be replaced." She straightened. "Jessica is the most decent human being on the face of the earth. I won't have her hurt." She held up a hand as he started to speak." I don't care that you don't intend to do it. Right now the most important thing in her life is getting Cassie well. If Cassie dies, she'll be devastated. So you're going to make sure she doesn't die. You're not going to walk away if you see something more interesting on the horizon. You're going to stay until Cassie's on the road to recovery if it takes years."

"Are you quite finished telling me what I'm going to do?"

"No, you have to promise to protect Jessica. The President put you here because you needed to be kept safe. I don't want any of the flak surrounding you to impact her."

"Is that all?"

"For now."

"Good. Then I'll race you back to the gatehouse." He looked back over his shoulder. "And this time you won't win, Melissa."

He hadn't promised anything, but she hadn't really counted on it. It was enough that he knew what she expected of him. "It won't bother me." She started after him. "I'll just work on it."

I'll just work on it.

Travis stood in the doorway and watched Melissa race up the drive. That single sentence seemed to sum up Melissa Riley. Courage in adversity and a determination to have her own way no matter what it took. On the other hand, maybe that sentence didn't encompass her entire personality. He'd never seen anyone with such glowing vitality. In her book Jessica had talked about the first months after Melissa had come back. Not only had her sister displayed a superior intelligence, she had also shown an insatiable thirst for life, which Jessica had attributed to the desire to make up for lost time. She'd said she expected the effect to dwindle after a few years.

Well, those few years had passed and he had an idea Jessica had been wrong. Melissa Riley was a firecracker and more complex than any of them might be able to imagine. Jessica had bargained and handled him with reason and maturity. Melissa hadn't tried to bargain. She'd analyzed his character and then thrown down a challenge…and a threat.

How phenomenally well she'd read him in such a brief encounter.

Interesting…

"What were you doing down by the pond with Travis?" Jessica's voice was disapproving. "Not a good idea, Mellie."

"He's not off limits anymore." Melissa grinned over her shoulder as she started up the stairs. "And he's more interesting than I first thought. He's very bright, and intelligence is mega-sexy."

"The President may have said he's not off limits, but I didn't. For God's sake, he's a criminal."

"And you want me to find a lawyer or a doctor or maybe a computer executive. What about a banker?"

"Sounds good to me."

Melissa smiled. "Okay, I'll look for one the minute I go back to school."

"I'm not joking, Mellie."

"I know you're not. You think I need a stabilizing influence. You're probably right. Stop worrying, I didn't ask him to go to bed with me. We just took a little run together."

Jessica moistened her lips. "I didn't think you-I wouldn't ask you to tell-"

"But I'll tell you anyway." Her smile faded. "I'd never do anything to cause you concern. If you don't want me to go running with Travis, it stops right here."

"And you think I'm a nosy bitch."

"I think you love and care about me. And not running with him is no great loss. Our little jog couldn't have been more casual."

"It didn't look casual. It looked damned intense."

And it had felt intense. For the few minutes they were running together, Melissa had been aware of a weird sense of intimacy. And when they had been talking at the pond, she had almost felt the sparks, the undercurrent, that lay beneath every word. It had been…exciting. He had been exciting.

Well, danger was always exciting, but Travis could become an enemy in a heartbeat.

So? Playing games with the enemy was stimulating too.

Still, that didn't make it the best option to choose in this circumstance. She started back up the stairs. "Nah, it's definitely the banker for me, Jessica."

Amsterdam

"Something very interesting is happening," Provlif told Deschamps over the phone.

"You found Cassie Andreas?"

"No, but while my CIA contact was nosing around trying to locate her, he stumbled on another bit of information. Andreas sent Air Force One on a hush-hush trip to Amsterdam a few weeks ago."

"Carrying his daughter?"

"No, it was a retrieval. They picked up Michael Travis and brought him to Andrews Air Force Base."

"Travis?" Deschamps was puzzled. It didn't fit with the information he'd gathered. "The CIA captured him?"

"They picked him up and delivered him to the President. They left together for an unknown destination."

"You're sure?"

"My source in the CIA is impeccable."

"Then why can't they tell you where the girl is?"

"The CIA and the Secret Service seldom confide in each other."

"Find them."

"Whatever you say. As you know, I've been concentrating on finding Cassie Andreas only since you told me that's what you wanted me to do."

"I wanted you to do what was needed. Get the child. Find Travis."

A pause. "And kill him?"

"No. I want to do it myself. Besides, he's going to prove more valuable alive for a while." He hung up.

Travis and Andreas. Travis was not being held against his will. What in hell was happening? Since he had been here, he had stumbled on intriguing and profitable possibilities he hadn't expected. But now the picture was becoming more puzzling.

Also more promising?

He'd always believed a clever man was one who let others win the prize and then plucked it from their grasp. Travis was moving, manipulating, and obviously shifting into high gear with Andreas…

A gift for me, Travis?