"What kind of investigation?"

"During the period after the Cold War ceased, there were so many players in Moscow we didn't know whom to trust. Pavski was in a position of power and trying to climb higher on the ladder. He might have made it, but we thought it wise to remove him and his cohorts from the scene."

"Why?"

"He was from the old school and was eliminating his competition one by one."

"You mean he was killing them?"

He nodded. "Totally ruthless. We thought we might have another Stalin on our hands if he gained power. It was decided that he and his friends should disappear from the political scene."

"Oh, you were going to convince him to retire to the country?" she asked sarcastically.

"I'm trying to be honest with you."

"That's a first. And Ivanov was helping you make them 'disappear'?"

"He had the background. He had the motivation. It's not as if we forced him to defect and go after Pavski. He came to us with some information we could use to discredit Pavski, then offered us a deal."

She remembered her first impression of Kirov. "No, I doubt if you could force him to do anything."

"He's not invincible. It just wasn't worth our while."

"Then why are you afraid of him?"

He bristled. "I'm not afraid. You just have to be careful when you're dealing with that kind of volatility."

He was lying. "Why did he want to go after Pavski?"

He was silent a moment. "He blamed him for what happened to the captain on the Silent Thunder. Did you read the dossier on Ivanov?"

"Yes, but at the time I didn't pay much attention. I wasn't interested in anyone but the captain and the first mate."

"Ivanov grew up in Sevastopol. Strike a bell?"

She thought about it. "That's the town where Captain Vladzar retired."

"Where he supposedly retired. The details are sketchy, but the captain disappeared as soon as he made port in the Silent Thunder's last voyage."

"You're saying he was killed?"

"We don't know. I'm saying he disappeared and was never heard from again. But Ivanov thinks he was murdered."

"Why?"

"Because they tried to kill Ivanov. That's why he went on the run and defected."

"Then how does he know that Captain Vladzar didn't just go on the run too?"

"He saw Pavski's goons take him off the sub. And he had contacts in Sevastopol who told him that the captain's reported 'retirement' never happened. He never showed up there. Ivanov waited six months on the run, one step ahead of the GRU before he contacted us. He wanted to be sure that there wasn't any way he could find to save the captain and get him out of Russia."

She frowned. "Who is this GRU?"

"Military equivalent of the KGB. They handled all military intelligence but their existence wasn't publicized by the government. They're Russia's largest intelligence agency and even commanded 25,000 Spetsnez troops in 1997. Very powerful, very nasty."

"And Ivanov was willing to risk his neck against an organization like that? Why?"

Bradworth paused before he said reluctantly, "Ivanov and Vladzar were related. That may have something to do with it."

"Related?"

"Ivanov was his stepbrother. The captain sponsored his entry at the naval academy and pulled strings to get him accepted as a junior officer on the Silent Thunder."

"Stepbrother… Gratitude and family feeling?"

"More likely he wanted revenge and was pissed off because his fine career went down the tubes with Captain Vladzar."

"You really do dislike him." She shrugged. "But you could be right. I'll have to find out."

Bradworth swore beneath his breath. "Didn't you learn anything tonight? He's a killer, an assassin, and he wouldn't give a damn if he had to snuff you out to get to Pavski. You'd be a fool if you don't stay away from him."

"Perhaps I'd be a fool if I did. If he wants Pavski that much, then I may need him."

"You don't need him. You have the United States government."

"Who decided they needed Ivanov themselves several years ago." She turned to face him. "Don't talk to me about trusting you or any other bureaucrat, Bradworth. I've no more faith in you than I do Ivanov. And, at least with the Russian I'm dealing with someone who obviously doesn't give a damn about rules and red tape."

"Look, he doesn't care anything about you, and you're going to need protection. Pavski's calling out the big guns. I was trying to reach you to warn you."

"About what?"

"The men who attacked you at that gas station." He drew a computer-printed photograph from his pocket. "The lab was able to extract DNA from both men, and we've managed to ID one of them. His name was Anton Leonovsky. Familiar?"

She took the photograph. The picture was slightly blurry and shot from across a crowded restaurant, but it was clearly the man she'd last seen on fire next to the gas pumps. She shuddered. "I recognize him." She handed the photo back to Bradworth. "What do you know about Leonovsky?"

"An extremely lethal Russian assassin. We didn't even know he was in the country. Leonovsky was ex-KGB, then associated with some particularly vicious Mafia families in Kiev. More recently he was freelance. You're lucky to be alive. If Pavski sent that caliber of assassin after you, then you need me."

She shook her head.

"You can't believe anything Ivanov says. He's a murderer. He's as bad as Pavski."

"No," she said fiercely. "As far as I'm concerned, no one's as bad as the man who killed my brother. No one." She drew a deep breath, trying to control her anger. "Now get out of here. I can't look at you without remembering how you set Conner and me up."

"I thought we could protect you."

"But you didn't do it, did you?" she said wearily.

"How can I convince you that we need to be on the same team?"

"Tell me what Pavski thinks was so important on that sub that he was willing to kill to get it."

He shook his head. "I wish I could."

"Then get the hell out of here."

He hesitated and then headed for the door. "I'll be in touch. I'm not leaving you at the mercy of that son of a bitch."

"Mercy? You're joking." She turned her back on him. "I don't expect mercy from either one of you."

She heard him mutter something and then the sound of the door closing behind him.

Jesus, she felt raw and hurt and filled with searing anger.

Chess pieces. That's all she and Conner had been to all those bastards who'd circled the Silent Thunder like deadly predators. Bradworth and Ivanov and, most of all, Pavski. Damn them all to hell.

Chess pieces.

She was coming.

Kirov watched Hannah walk down the pier toward him. It was almost dawn, and the misty gray light made her figure appear ghostlike and without substance from a distance. As she drew nearer, he could see there was nothing of the phantom about her. Her stride was as purposeful as her expression.

She stopped as she caught sight of him sitting on the deck. "You were expecting me," she said flatly.

He nodded. "Actually, I thought you'd be here sooner. I was betting you'd come back as soon as you found out Bradworth was an exercise in futility. You're not one to waste time once a decision is made."

"And what decision did I make, Ivanov?"

"Call me Kirov. Both the CIA and I prefer the world think my alter ego is dead these many years. It's safer for me."

"What decision did I make, Kirov?"

"That I'm the lesser of two evils. You need help to get Pavski, and Bradworth isn't aggressive enough for you."

"And are you aggressive enough?"

He smiled. "Oh, yes. Ask Bradworth."

"I don't have to ask him. He's already volunteered your dubious credentials. He says you're an assassin."

"On occasion."

"That you only want to use me."

"I do want to use you."