I got up. I stood staring at the boarded-up windows. "My memory went haywire. I felt numb and everything was different. This damned drug is a killer." "Let's find Molinas, Mac." I picked up my AK-47. I felt strong again. In control.

But for how long this time?

Chapter Twenty-Five

I was frankly surprised when we went through a corridor on the far side of the office and found ourselves in an antique-filled bedroom. The man we believed to be Molinas was sitting on the side of a bed, leaning over a woman. Not a woman, she was young, perhaps eighteen. She had a white sheet pulled to her chin. Thick, shiny dark hair fanned around her face on a white pillow.

Molinas hadn't heard us. All his attention was focused on the girl. He was wearing black pants, a loose white shirt, and his bald head gleamed beneath the mellow bulb just above the bed.

He was speaking quietly, but I couldn't make out his words. I watched him stroke her hair, lean down to kiss her. He continued speaking in a low, warm voice even as he straightened again. I couldn't tell if he was speaking Spanish or English. I saw the girl's hand come up and lightly touch his shoulder.

I nodded to Laura and pointed to the Bren Ten she held lightly in her right hand. She frowned a moment, then reluctantly handed it to me. How could she know what I intended?

"Take the girl, Laura," I whispered. She nodded again. I left my AK-47 on the floor just outside the door. We went as silently as we could into the still air of the room. It smelled sweet in the bedroom, a vague rose smell. I didn't like it. It was cloying.

He was completely focused on the girl, leaning over her, speaking. My boots creaked. I froze, but he didn't move. What were they talking about?

I gently pressed the Bren Ten against his left ear. "Hello," I said. "Como le va?"

The girl was sitting up now, pressed against the bed's headboard, her eyes wide, silent as death. She was terrified.

I felt him coil then relax again. He said, "If you kill me you'll never get out of here alive."

"It won't matter to you, Molinas," Laura said very calmly.

"How do you know who I am?"

"Who else would they send down here?" Laura asked. "You were assigned to keep us. As for all the fun you had with us, that was your own idea, wasn't it?"

"Some of the men are animals. I protected you."

I looked over at the girl, who still clutched the sheet to her throat, her narrow hands clenched. I said in Spanish, "Don't be afraid. We're not going to hurt you."

Slowly she nodded and said in perfect English, "Who are you?"

"My name's Mac. What's yours?"

"Marran."

Molinas moved and I gave him all my attention. "Keep an eye on her, Laura."

I came down beside him and raised the pistol. "You're going to take us to where you're holding the other two agents."

"They're dead," he said.

"Then so are you." I pressed the pistol against the side of his mouth and cocked it.

"No, don't," he choked out. "They're not dead, I swear it. I'll take you to them."

"Did you drug them like you did me?" "Yes, but not in the same way. They're all right." "You'd better hope that we agree. Now, I want you to get up real slow."

"We should probably bring the girl along," Laura said.

Molinas lunged for me as he rose, but I brought the pistol down on the side of his head. The girl groaned.

Laura clapped her hand over the girl's mouth, pressing her head back against her pillow.

Molinas went down but not out. He landed on his knees, moaning, holding his head. I knew the pain must be bad, the bastard.

"If you try that again, I'll kill you." I said it in a near whisper. I didn't want the girl to make any more noise. I thought about hauling her with us and decided it wouldn't improve our odds. We'd leave her here. I opened my mouth to tell Laura when I saw that she'd already begun ripping up the sheet. I waited for her, keeping the tip of the Bren Ten against the back of Molinas's head. The girl was silent now. I saw tears running down her cheeks.

"Who is she?" I asked Molinas, who was still holding his head in his hands.

He tightened like a spigot in January. "Touch her, you bastard, and I'll rip your head off your shoulders." I believed him.

It took Laura a few minutes to tie the girl firmly. I noticed she had skinny arms. They were pale with sharp blue veins running beneath her flesh. Her beautiful shiny hair streamed across her face. Laura smoothed it back after she'd fastened the gag in her mouth.