Mission of Honor

Chapter Forty-Three

Maria Corneja had been with Interpol long enough to know when she was being set up.

Back on the highway, Maria had heard the conversation between Paris Lebbard and the other taxi driver. When it was over, Lebbard filled her in on what the other driver had been asking. Maria knew two things then. First, that the two "deacons" were going somewhere and did not want to be followed. And second, that they would be watching her.

When Maria reached Maun, she became even more convinced that the men had a very specific plan for her. Over the years, Maria had attended dozens of Interpol seminars on profiling. She had started when it was still a nascent science called "psychological evaluation studies." People who committed crimes, or feared they were suspected of crimes, did not present themselves to potential captors. Not unless they were sociopaths who yearned for a confrontation. Watching them at the airport, these men did not seem to be unusually aggressive or careless, yet the deacon had made a point of staring at her as he crossed the street. That could only mean one thing. The man wanted her to see him. He wanted her to follow him. And that could only mean one thing.

The deacons wanted her out of the way. The fact that the men did not stay hidden, watching her, suggested that they did not have a lot of time to waste. Their actions told Maria how to react. She would quickly reconnoiter and then kill time. That would force them into the open.

Obviously, the deacon wanted to see if she woald follow him down the street beside the movie theater. A truck was parked well down the road there. Perhaps it was their truck. Or perhaps they were meeting other people inside the theater. The man who had walked in front of the taxi was not Leon Seronga. That was probably the man who was watching from across the street. It was clear to her that these men did not think she was a seasoned intelligence officer.

Maria decided to wait in front of the theater. That way, she could watch both the alley and the man in the doorway across the street. But there was a time limit. She had checked the schedule in the box office. People would be arriving soon to open the theater. The laws in Maun were strict about women loitering. If nothing happened by six o'clock, she would have to go into the alley and hope she wouldn't be seen there. She did not want to risk being confronted by police. If the deacons tried to slip away, she would not be able to follow them.

Fortunately, Maria did not have to wait until six o'clock.

The man standing in the doorway suddenly came toward her. There was blood on his sleeve. As the man passed under a streetlight, she knew for certain that it was Leon Seronga.

Seronga walked purposefully, his eyes on her. Maria could tell at once that he had a weapon. The man's arm was held stiffly at his side instead of swinging. She did not know if it was a gun or knife.

Maria waited by the movie theater. She pretended to pay the man no attention. If she walked toward him, he might feel challenged. That could provoke him. Perhaps he was not certain she was interested in him at all. Maybe his determined approach was a way of testing her.

If so, Maria had a surprise for the man. It had nothing to do with the small can of pepper spray she had palmed. If necessary, using the spray would help to protect her. But it would not get Maria what she came for. She had to lead Seronga carefully and precisely to the point she wanted. He had to trust her with the location of Father Bradbury.

Seronga slowed as a truck clattered by. It was followed by two men on bicycles. The deacon continued forward as the traffic passed.

Maria looked toward the alley. As far as she could tell, no one was standing there. That was important. She did not want to find herself being approached from two sides. For all she knew, these people had one or more accomplices waiting in another building or down another side street.

Seronga was about five meters away. Maria waited until he had halved that distance. Now she was going to get him to do what she wanted. She was going to get him to walk her safely into that side street.

"I know that you did not kill the bishop," she said.

Seronga stopped. "Who did?" he asked.

"I don't know," she replied. She did not want to tell him about the photographs she took. Not yet.

"Are you one of the Spanish soldiers?" Seronga asked.

"No," Maria replied.

"Then who are you?" he asked. "Why did you follow us?"

"I want to help you," she stated.

"Why?" Seronga demanded. He was growing tense, impatient.

"Because I believe in what you're doing," she lied.

Seronga hesitated. Maria did not want to say much more. Yet she needed him to be curious enough to take her with him. She needed for him to trust her.

"I want to help, even though you tried to get me to follow your partner into that dark side street," she said. "Even though you are holding a weapon behind your back."

"Are you unarmed?" he challenged.

She opened her palm. "A purely defensive tool," she said. She raised her arms. "Go ahead and check. I have nothing else."

Seronga glanced toward the alley. "All right," he said. "Walk ahead of me, and do as you're told."

Maria acknowledged with a nod. Then she walked toward the alley.

The nod had not been for Leon Seronga.