Mountains of Dawn

Vermeil, Ontario

Inside the Invicta there was an atmosphere of alertness. "Two actions will take place simultaneously," Malcolm said, his expression impenetrable. He glanced at Judith. Her face held no sign of emotion. "Two cars, a police cruiser and Brian's limousine, will move from the Versifund Tower Building five minutes apart. Two plain clothes policemen will sit in the back of the police car, while the limousine will have agent Carl Finney, disguised as Mike Harrison, driving. Jim Cramer, disguised as Brian Miller, will be sitting in the back seat with you, Judith." He paused, drew a deep breath. She nodded. "I'll keep Brian in the building after Mike drives him there," he said. "He wants to talk to me, and suggested I come over after his business meeting today. Judith, you'll have to behave as you have in the past when you rode with Brian and Mike, make everything look completely normal." Again, Judith nodded.

"The second operation involves Mr. Miller's partner, Jack Benweiser. One of his employees has identified Benweiser as the mastermind behind the assassination attempts on Miller. For that, we need proof. Detective Warner and I-want to catch both parties in action, the killer and Benweiser." He paused, rubbed his hands over his face as if to wipe off the stress of the coming actions. "The first action is probably going to take place on the streets. The arrest of Benweiser will follow immediately thereafter. His communications network is under surveillance." Malcolm stood, walked around his desk, his hands clasped behind him.

"Questions?" he asked.

"No."

"Nervous?"

"A little," Judith replied. "But not much. For the last four days, you gave us similar instructions, and nothing happened. Who knows? Maybe nothing will happen today, either." She grimaced.

"Judith, you know how Brian feels about you, don't you? Anything on your side?" Malcolm looked at her with an avuncular smile, one eyebrow slightly lifted.

"Oh, I don't think so," Judith said. Her cheeks flushed red and she avoided Malcolm's eyes. "Nothing much, just being in such close proximity, I think. That's all it was."

"Maybe. Or maybe not. Brian seemed quite definite about his feelings for you. And for the first time in his life, he's shown a great deal of commitment." Malcolm shook his head. "Not like him, not at all. Not a selfish thought there."

"I was a diversion for him, something different, that's all."

"Perhaps." Malcolm looked doubtful. "By the way, he knows nothing of our plans. I'll brief him as soon as I see him and they're safely underway."