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trying to escape his captors instead of looking round in a daze. He shifted his weight and leaped from the SUV, hoping to vanish into the crowd before Kristine or the man could catch him. Sadly, that wouldn’t keep them from shooting him in the back. But maybe they still wanted him alive.
    But even as he moved, Kristine shot a hand out and caught his ankle. Rather than landing gracefully, prepared to flee for his life, he crashed inelegantly to the ground onto his already bruised face. His breath left him in a rush, but he struggled to get to his feet again. The crowd was only a few yards away. He could …
    Kristine landed in front of him with the grace of an Olympic gymnast. She reached down and caught his hand in that excruciating grip again.
    ‘No,’ she said, addressing him like a dog about to chew on the furniture.
    Reluctantly, Lourds got up and followed her like a well-trained canine.
    The young woman and the man waved their weapons again and the crowd parted before them. Lourds struggled to keep pace with his captors. Running was awkward with his bruised body and his hand held in a death grip. Kristine seemed to be untouched by their adventures; she still moved like a dancer. Not Lourds. Every bone in his body ached and his face throbbed fiercely. They ran down the dirty alley. Shop doors thudded closed when the people inside saw them covered in blood and waving firearms.
    By the time they’d reached the midpoint of the alley helicopter rotors were screaming overhead. Kristine threw her body into Lourds’. He smashed against the wall just as the helicopter floated into view.
    ‘Get out of sight!’ Kristine yelled at the other man. She pressed her body against Lourds’ and held him against the wall. The experience wasn’t altogether unpleasant. His body reacted instantly to hers. He prayed she wouldn’t notice.
    She cursed. ‘What do you do? Mainline Viagra?’
    ‘Not hardly. I just like women,’ Lourds said. ‘However, I do wish that particular response of mine was a little more selective. I’d prefer someone less lethal and more sane.’
    ‘If I hadn’t kidnapped you, you would be dead by now.’
    ‘As opposed to dead later?’
    Her face hardened. ‘Not my problem. You’re just a job to me, Professor. I’m getting paid to deliver you, that’s all.’
    At that moment, a gunner aboard the helicopter opened fire. Large-calibre bullets ripped the other kidnapper to bloody rags and his body dropped to the ground.
    Kristine cursed, released Lourds and shoved him towards the other end of the alley. ‘Run!’
    Lourds did, holding his arms up over his head as though they might somehow protect him from bullets. He knew it was a wasted effort but he couldn’t seem to pull them down. The large-calibre rounds ripped holes in the walls and flagstones. Before he’d gone half a dozen strides, a sedan pulled into the mouth of the alley and sped toward him.
    Rescuers? he wondered. Or more killers?
    He really didn’t know.
    Central Intelligence Agency
    Langley, Virginia
    United States of America
    15 March 2010
    Anxiety shivered through Dawson as he watched the video from the web camera on the helicopter’s nose. Since the camera only showed what was in front of the aircraft, he didn’t know what targets the men aboard the helicopter were shooting at. Gunfire rattled in professional bursts.
    ‘Isn’t there another camera in the helicopter?’ Dawson asked irritably.
    ‘I’m trying to bring it online now, sir,’ one of the technicians said.
    The video coming from the helicopter’s nose swung wildly and almost made Dawson sick to his stomach. He crossed his arms, stood still, and forced himself to breathe to keep the vertigo at bay.
    The wallscreen split into two different views. The left side continued to show the whirling landscape of rooftops presented by the helicopter cam. The right side of the screen showed local police units driving through streets crowded with onlookers reluctant to give