The Eden Factor (Kathlyn Trent/Marcus Burton Romance Adventure Series Book 2) (19 page)

 Marcus knew that his wife was on
that helicopter. There was no question in his mind. In desperation, Dennis
urged him to take a shot at it, but it would be dooming Kathlyn if he did. As
hard as it was, he had to let it go. As the helicopter passed high over-head,
he noticed a cloud of dust from the direction of the camp. Racing back to site,
he wasn’t surprised to find that the relic had been hijacked at gunpoint. The
unmarked trucks were well in the distance, gaining speed in a rooster tail of
dust. The Iraqi soldiers, their guns taken from them in the robbery, stood
right along side the archaeologists with the same shocked look on their faces.

 In a matter of minutes, they had
lost everything. It had happened far too fast. Marcus simply couldn’t
comprehend it. Juliana put her arms around him to comfort him, but he couldn't
even respond to her. He was numb.

It was a long time before they
realized that de Tormo was missing, too.

CHAPTER
NINE

The Valley of the Kings was
searing this day, but Marcus didn't notice the heat. He didn't notice his
hunger, or his lack of sleep, nor his body odor. He sat in his administrative
tent, back in the heart of his Egyptian dig, with Kathlyn's boss standing in
front of him.

Jobe had flown to Egypt the
moment he had heard of Dr. Trent's abduction. It had been a harried trip as he
tried to keep the media from catching on to what had happened. Still, he knew
it wouldn't be long. He'd just arrived in camp to find an eerie, depressed
stillness all around and a site director that could barely function.

"We'll just have to wait,
Marcus," McGrath said. "It's been two days. We should be hearing
something soon as to who has her and what they want."

"I told you who has
her," Marcus rumbled. He was unshaven, with dark circles under his cobalt
blue eyes. "The Vatican has her and the relic, too. The common denominator
is de Tormo. I told you that before you left California."

McGrath removed his signature
Panama hat. He fanned himself, unaccustomed to the heat. "I had to contact
the FBI about this."

"The FBI?" Marcus
repeated angrily. "I thought we agreed we didn't want any publicity."

"We don't. But Kathlyn has
been abducted and that's a criminal offense, domestic or international. The FBI
understands the need for discretion in this case and they've contacted
Interpol. I gave them all of the details you gave me, but they still want to
talk to you. I said I'd have you call when I arrived."

Marcus waved him off, weak and
angry. He knew he needed to talk to them. But he wanted to collect himself
first. "So did they check on de Tormo?"

"Yes," McGrath said
quietly. "I just received word from them right after I landed in Cairo. 
Apparently, The Vatican has never heard of him."

Marcus went a shade paler than
his already-ashen color. "You've got to be kidding."

"I wish I was."

"But Fahdlan said he'd seen
the man's credentials."

"We can't get a hold of Fahdlan,
either. He went back to Amman and hasn't returned any calls or messages. His
director doesn't know where he is. And as for de Tormo's credentials, they
seemed to have mysteriously vanished from The Center for Middle Eastern
History's files. Everyone suddenly has a serious case of amnesia."

Marcus' taut cheeks pinkened.
"Christ," he hissed. "This all sounds like some goddamn
conspiracy. My wife is missing, Fayd Fahdlan is missing, the guy who told us he
was a Vatican representative, with Dr. Fahdlan's support I might add, is
missing, and the relic is gone. What in the hell is going on here?"

"I don't know," McGrath
tried to soothe him. "But you can bet I've pulled out all the stops trying
to find out."

Marcus sat down in a folding
chair, his jaw ticking furiously.  It was always the first indication of his
emotional state. McGrath retrieved a bottle of cold mineral water from a small
refrigerator, keeping his eye on Marcus. From what he'd heard, the man had been
on the edge for two long days. If Burton veered out of control, there was no
telling what would happen. He sat down on a cot in the corner and took a gulp
of his drink.

"Marcus," he said
softly. "What's on your mind? What more can I do?"

Marcus stroked his chin absently.
His mind was so muddled that he could barely think. Every time he closed his
eyes, Kathlyn appeared before him and he was wracked with helplessness and
anguish.

 "I don't know," he
said faintly, to both questions. "The military is already doing what more
they can. Tony Bubalo feels so guilty he hasn't slept or eaten since it
happened. He's contacting every person he can think of who could possibly help
us out with leads.  Sometimes I think he's more obsessed about this than I
am."

"Tony went specifically to
prevent anything like this from happening. It's a direct reflection on his
service record."

"I know.  But it's not his
fault. It's mine."

Marcus wasn't just being gallant.
He meant it. McGrath sipped his drink in silence, during which time, Lynn
wandered into the tent and sat down. He, too, hadn't slept in a couple of days.
If Marcus was in pain, so was he.  McGrath looked at the two walking corpses
and cleared his throat quietly.

"I'm going to make a
suggestion and you may not like it, but if it's for the good of your wife, you
may want to consider it," he said.

Marcus didn't look at him. He
just sat there and rubbed his bristly chin. "What?"

"President Leeves is in the
Middle East this week on a peace tour," McGrath sat forward, resting his
elbows on his knees. "Maybe if you ask him for help, he might be able to
pull more strings than any of us can."

Lynn perked up. "Andrew
Leeves," he repeated. "That's a damn good idea. Who could pull more
strings than the President of the United States?"

McGrath had been right; Marcus
didn't like it. It was evident in his menacing expression. "So I go
begging to my wife's old boyfriend for help? So he can validate my failure to
protect her?"

"This is not a reflection on
your ability as a husband and protector, Marcus.  It's a simply matter of getting
Kathlyn back. No one has more power on earth than Leeves. For your wife's sake,
you should consider it."

Marcus' flare of anger instantly
cooled. "You're right," he went back to stroking his chin. "If
it would help find her, I'd go to Satan himself.  I'm just ashamed I didn't
think of Leeves myself."

Lynn seemed more excited than
either one of them. "Leeves has got connections and intelligence
everywhere. I wouldn't be surprised if he knew already she was missing, no
matter how hard we've tried to keep a lid on it."

Marcus looked at McGrath.
"Can we get in touch with him?"

"I have an old college buddy
who works for the State Department.  I'll throw Kathryn's name around, if you
don't mind, and see what kind of a reaction we can get."

"Do it. The sooner the
better."

McGrath got on the cell phone.
Marcus and Lynn waited as the man sorted through a variety of phone numbers and
operators before reaching someone who could help him.  Reaching President
Leeves' office in Washington D.C., he was able to bypass the switchboard with
an extension number given to him by his friend of his at the State Department.
It went directly to President Leeve's secretary.

Berta Bugh had worked for Andrew
Leeves since he had been a fledgling senator from California. The old spinster
was better at the political game than Leeves was. She was about to hang up on
McGrath until he very wisely mentioned Kathlyn's name. Then, the old lady
settled down. McGrath told her what he wanted. Berta told him she'd do her best
to make sure Leeves got the message. By the time McGrath hung up, he was
feeling better than he had in two days.

"Well?" Marcus
demanded.

"Leeves' assistant will give
him the message as soon as she can. She's sure he'll want to know
immediately."

"So what do we do?"

"We wait."

Marcus exhaled, feeling just the
slightest flicker of hope. So he wasn't too proud to go begging to his wife's
old boyfriend, not when Kathlyn's life hung in the balance. 

***

Marcus was enjoying his first
sleep in fifty-two hours. Juliana and Debra Jo had convinced him he wouldn't be
any good unless he at least got a minimal amount of sleep. He was so exhausted
that he was only aware the cellular phone was ringing on its fifth or sixth
ring. He thought he had been dreaming.  Lynn was up, going for the phone, but
Marcus was faster. He knocked it off the table as it rang the seventh and
eighth time. He hit the 'call' button and answered.

"Hello?"

There was a slight pause.
"Dr. McGrath?"

"No, this is Dr. Burton.
Who's this?"

"Dr. Burton," the tone
of the man's some-what familiar voice warmed. "I'm sorry, I was told this
was Dr. McGrath's number. I didn't mean to disturb you, sir."

"You didn't," Marcus
rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. It was beginning to dawn on him who the
caller was but he wanted confirmation. "Who is this?"

"Oh, I'm sorry," the
man said. "This is Andrew Leeves. I received a message from Dr. McGrath
regarding Dr. Kathlyn Trent."

Marcus motioned furiously to
Lynn, who woke up McGrath on the far end of the tent.

"My wife's been kidnapped,
Mr. President," Marcus said. "Two days ago. The FBI and Interpol have
been notified, but we were hoping you could help somehow. Actually, we were
praying you could."

"My God," Andrew
hissed. "I'm so sorry, Dr. Burton. I can only imagine how agonizing this
must be for you."

Marcus rubbed a hand over his
face, trying to wake up. "That's a mild way to put it."

"No doubt. But to get to the
point, my assistant told me what has happened and I've already put some wheels
in motion from my office. Heads of state in the Middle East, at least the ones
we're friendly with, have been notified. We've also got operatives in various
countries who have been notified to be on the lookout. We're doing what we can,
I assure you."

"I really appreciate it.
We're trying to keep this from getting to the media, but I don't think we can
hold out much longer. Kathlyn's a public figure and they're going to start
wondering where she is if they don't see her around my dig here in Egypt."

"I know," Leeves said.
"But maybe the media should know about this. The more publicity we get out
there, maybe the more attention will be drawn to whoever is holding her and,
consequently, more pressure. Someone is bound to see something, or know
something.  Sometimes huge tips can come from the average person."

"True enough. But we were
just trying to avoid turning this into a media frenzy. We've had enough of that
kind of thing in the past with Kathlyn's work."

"Amen to that," Leeves
said sardonically, bringing a smile to Marcus' lips. "Hell, the media flocks
to her like geese to water. They love her."

"I think the feeling is
mutual, though she won't admit it," Marcus said. "Look, Mr.
President, I...."

"Please call me Andy. Mr.
President is too damn formal, considering the circumstances."

"Okay, Andy," Marcus
could see that Lynn and McGrath were laughing at the familiarity Leeves was
demanding from an ex-girlfriend's husband. "Look, this whole thing has me
rattled to the bone. I just want Kathlyn back, safe and whole. We've got two
kids that need her. I don't care what it takes; I'll do anything to get her
back."

On the other end of the line,
Leeves' softened. Marcus could feel it. "Dr. Burton, I'll...."

"Call me Marcus,
please."

The President continued as Lynn
cracked up at Marcus' 'call me by my first name too' response. McGrath elbowed
the big man in the ribs to quiet him. "I'd be honored, Marcus. What I was
going to say is that you don't have to tell me how badly you want her back. I
don't know if Kathlyn's ever told you, but we sort of had a relationship
several years ago. It was really just more on my part; I fell madly in love
with her, but she just didn't feel the same.  She was very sweet and wonderful,
but in the end I just wasn't what she needed. But I still admire her greatly
and follow her career with great interest.  She's one of a kind and this whole
situation, frankly, has me pissed off. My handlers, at least the few who know
about this, suggested this might be some sort of ploy linked to my Middle Eastern
peace tour, but we haven't heard anything about it through our usual channels.
Dr. McGrath's phone call was the first we'd heard."

Marcus didn't feel the jealousy
he thought he would. Instead, he was very flattered.  "Well, I really
appreciate your support.  Whatever you can do, I owe you."

"Nonsense.  So can you tell
me what exactly happened, from the beginning?"

Marcus took a deep breath and sat
back down on his cot. He and Leeves talked another two hours.