The Book of Spies

42

THE APRIL daylight was fading, the lavender colors of sunset spreading softly across the indigo-blue Sea of Marmara. In the vast Istanbul marina where Salih Serin had taken Judd and Eva, waves lapped boat hulls and ropes rattled against masts.
Judd took up a position fifty feet away from Eva and Serin, observing as Serin negotiated in Turkish with a stooped youth for the boat they had selected--a sleek Chris-Craft yacht powerful enough to make the journey easily and outrun other small vessels.
Judd was on his mobile with Tucker. It was about eleven A.M. in Washington, six P.M. in Istanbul. He described the events in the Grand Bazaar. "Preston found us again."
"Dammit. What in hell is going on? There's no way anyone could've gotten the intel on my end . . ." There was a pause. Tucker sounded worried as he continued, "I'll think about it. Go on. What else did you learn?"
Judd repeated the information in Preston's notebook. "See if you can track down who Robin Miller is. I'm wondering whether she might be the blond woman Eva saw with Sherback in London. Remember, The Book of Spies might've been in the backpack he left with her."
"NSA is monitoring the two numbers you got off Sherback's phone. I'll let you know instantly if we get a hit."
"Good. Eva's going to translate the rest of the message on the leather strip as soon as we're alone. Supposedly it says exactly where the library's location is hidden inside The Book of Spies."
"Langley had that book in storage three years." Tucker sighed with frustration. "I take it you're leaving for Athens?"
"Immediately. I'm not going to tell you exactly how we're planning to get there."
He watched as Serin jabbed a thumb toward the yacht, the darkening sky, and the boat merchant, at last extending both palms up in a gesture of attempting to be reasonable. Serin had told the boat merchant he was going to insist they receive a large discount, since so few people wanted to rent at night. His animated face showed deep enjoyment in the haggling.
"A damn good idea," Tucker said. "Stay safe."
The Sea of Marmara
WITH SERIN at the helm, the yacht cruised through the night, heading southwest across the Sea of Marmara. A wind had arisen out of the north through the Bosporus Strait, whipping the sea and making for a bumpy ride. They had progressed some ten miles, eaten fish sandwiches bought in the marina, and adjusted to the boat's rough rhythms.
Judd was confident they had not been followed to the Istanbul marina, but still he found himself peering back to where the city's lights spread across the horizon. He studied the traffic--fishing boats, cargo ships, and behemoth oil tankers and container ships, all blinking with lights. The great inland sea was a busy thoroughfare linking the Black Sea in the north to the Aegean and Mediterranean seas on the south through the Dardanelles Strait. None of the other boats seemed to be pacing them.
"Where exactly are we heading?" Eva raised her voice to be heard over the wind, sea, and motors.
Despite a bench seat directly behind them, Serin stood at the wheel, Eva beside him, where he had invited her. A low windshield partially protected them. Judd stood behind the bench seat, gripping the back with both hands. Eva's midnight-blue jacket was buttoned up to her chin, and tendrils of her long black hair had fallen out of the knot at the nape of her neck. Windblown and rosy-cheeked, she looked quietly happy. As she turned to listen to Serin, Judd was struck by how much he liked her, liked being with her. Then he remembered the role his father had probably played in her imprisonment for manslaughter. He gazed away.
"South of a big city called Tekirdag," Serin yelled, "and north of a little village called Barbados. We are going to the Thrace part of Turkey, on the Europe side of course."
Serin held the wheel confidently in his brown hands. He was a little shorter than Judd, but broader, with thick muscles. He appeared nonchalant and self-satisfied. At the same time, there were signs of his past--the athletic way he moved on the boat and the flashes of intense acuity in his gaze. If he had not already said he had been a member of the national government's tough MIT, Judd would have suspected some sort of similar background.
"An old comrade of mine has a private airstrip," Serin was continuing. "We will be there in about three hours."
Judd saw they were doing a good thirty-plus knots despite the waves. Speedy, with two powerful inboard engines, the Chris-Craft was a stunner. Belowdecks were fully appointed staterooms, a salon, and a galley.
"You're not taking us through the Dardanelles?" Eva asked. "We'd pass the ruins of Troy if you did, and we'd be much closer to Athens."
"Too dangerous. The strait is narrow and crowded. It twists itself this way and that. Besides, the current is unusually swift."
"What do you do with yourself when you're not ferrying people in rented boats?" Judd asked.
"Ah, that is a long story. To make it short, I am what you call a jack-of-all-trades. I am hired to guide, to guard, and to deliver important items. I have a reputation, you see. I am trustworthy. And you two are very important items and now know I am trustworthy also. What about you, Mr. Ryder? You have not told me anything."
"We're tourists, just as you thought."
"You are trying to fool an old dog, but I know all the tricky tricks. I am curious. What is wrong with curiosity, I ask you?" His loud voice sounded hurt. "At least explain this thing called The Book of Spies. Entertain me while I work so hard."
Eva laughed. "It's an illuminated manuscript from the sixteenth century. A one-of-a-kind book and very valuable. It's been lost. We're trying to track it down." She glanced back at Judd. "I'm getting tired of shouting."
"So this book is in Athens, and you wish to find it. It is part of some big business deal?" the Turk coaxed.
"Why would you think we're involved in a business deal?" Judd asked.
"I had hopes it would make you much money, and then you would come back to Istanbul and hire me again. Is it for this book your lives are in danger?"
"As a matter of fact, yes." It seemed like innocuous enough information, Judd decided.
Serin glanced over his shoulder at him, frowning. And as he turned back, he wiped his face. The wheel spun out of his other hand. Serin grabbed the steering again with both hands--too late. The craft lurched from side to side, the waves pounding, the wind screeching. Banging down hard in the trough of one wave, the yacht lifted sharply on the crest of the next. Water drenched them.
Eva reeled as Serin fought to control the yacht, but it slammed and torqued violently. One of her hands slipped from the safety handle on the console. The boat heaved to the starboard, tossing all of them. But Eva's foot slid, and she fell to her knees.
Instantly Judd snatched her arm, locking his other hand on to the back of the bench seat, trying not to lose his balance, too.
As the boat continued to rotate back and forth, up and down, the wet steering wheel whirled through Serin's grasp.
The boat pitched hard again, banging and yawing. Judd lost his grip. His hand slid uncontrollably across the moist seat back, and he stumbled. Eva fell halfway over the boat's side, pulling him with her because he would not let her go. One more lurch, and both would be hurled into the black churning water.
His heart thundering, Judd looked back, searching for a way to save them. Instead he saw something else: Serin was not panicked, not even worried as he clinically noted their life-threatening situation. The icy intelligence in his gaze told Judd he could easily let them fall overboard and would abandon them. Was that what he had planned all along?
"You bastard!" Judd yelled. "Why are you doing this!"
Serin blinked. He looked off into the distance, then back at them. He seemed to decide something. Giving a small nod, he fitted his hands into the spokes of the steering wheel. His caftan sleeves fell back, showing the cording muscles. Shoulders hunching, he poured strength into dominating the yacht.
Slowly the boat's heaving eased. Judd yanked Eva back onboard and pulled her to his chest. Chilled and furious, he wrapped his arms around her. She resisted only a moment, then held on for dear life. He kissed her hair. She burrowed deeper. Then he slid his hand inside his jacket and yanked out his Beretta.
He released her and rolled free, aiming the pistol up at Serin.