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He pointed to the child, who had gained her feet and walked to a blank wall She bore a piece of charcoal froers and drew on the wall in a haphazardto another

"She wouldn’t stop," Luca continued "She drew a silhouette of a park with trees and a picture of Rock Creek bridge" He nodded out the"Then after that, a house, set in the sa for it, believing it was important By the time we found this place, she had drawn the picture that I slid under the door"

Luca stared at them "A picture of all of you Friends and falossy black identification card It had his photograph fixed with the presidential seal Etched into its surface was a holographic Greek letter

Luca exaraph His eyes widened as he recognized it

While they had talked, Gray had crossed to the girl He sat on his haunches, studying the girl’s work He rubbed his chin Soer, half hidden between his knees, like a catcher signaling a pitcher He pointed toward the girl

Her face shone brighter Her head lolled slightly to one side Her eyes were open, but they were not following the path of her scrabbling piece of charcoal As disturbing as her manner was, it was not what Gray had indicated

Painter had noted it, too Her hair, dalint of steel shone through The shape was une skull

Only here it was on a living subject

What had Archibald delivered to the farther back in the room She pointed toward the wall "Coe of fear

Painter retreated to her side She pointed to the artwork for on the wall Froun to take form He watched the transfor silent minutes

Elizabeth stuttered her amazement "That’s…that’s…"

"…the Taj Mahal," Painter finished

In the silent wonder that followed, a distant sound reached the closer

Gray straightened and reached for the girl "Someone’s found us!"

6:02 AM

Kiev, Ukraine

Nicolas rolled off of Elena and onto his back

The hotel roo body His lower back ached and his shoulders bore deep scratches that still burned Elena rolled sled torise and fall of her buttocks as she strode toward the shower caain He stirred, but he knew he had another interview in a half hour

News of the failed assassination had already spread far and wide He would be on every international newscast He’d already learned that the sniper, shot by the police, had died before reaching the hospital

With the death, no one would suspect that it had all been preplanned Even the sniper--a mine worker from Polevskoy whose brother had been killed in an industrial accident last year--never kne artfully he’d been manipulated into the assassination scheme

It had all unfolded with technical precision Elena had timed her touch perfectly A skill of hers When priree Her statistical analyses of business spreadsheets rivaled the world’s best econo studied the technical specifications on ht arms, she had only to see hoeapon was held and pointed to calculate its precise trajectory

Trusting this, he had put his life in her hands this

And survived

At that moment, behind the podium, he’d never felt such a total lack of control, his very survival at the mercy of another After a lifetirip even for a moment had quickened his pulse Afterward, he could not return to the hotel fast enough

Elena stepped wet from her shower and leaned naked in the doorway The lust in her eyes slowly died--trailing the last spark of erotic sti a sleepy kitten Still, Nicolas studied that last e blend of need and hatred--but even that would fade to a simple cold obedience

Such stimulation of her i intense, but also to trigger the proper physiological response to increase the chance of fertilization Nicolas had read the studies And his mother wanted children from him, even approved of the union of Nicolas and Elena It was a perfect match: his will and her cold calculation