“If you plan on pissing off Putilov,” Elena said, “you’d better watch your ass.”
Elena picked up her Skype phone. It was 7:00 P.M. Stockholm time, and Jules was on the other end. She turned on her computer’s Skype screen and could see her friend’s smiling face. Casually attired in gray workout sweats, Jules had her long ebony hair tied back in a ponytail.
“How’s it going, Jules?” Elena asked. “Still saving the world? Still keeping it safe for democracy?”
“Save it?” Jules laughed. “I can’t even get its attention. I can’t even flag it down.”
“Tell me about it,” Elena said. “I just had Adara here, hounding me to play Crusader Rabbit. She wants me to go back with her to Pakistan on some harebrained rescue operation.”
“She called me too,” Jules said. “Unfortunately, we have a real problem over there.”
“Not you too,” Elena said, suddenly sounding tired.
“I’m not sure,” Jules said, “which is what bothers me. You know my book on Tower’s about to come out.”
“The one that’s so hush-hush. The one you wouldn’t even let me or Jamie read.”
“I’ve been pretty obsessed with it,” Jules had to admit.
“So what did Adara want from you?” Elena asked.
“She wanted me to convince you to help her mount that rescue op in Pashtun.”
“What’s that got to do with you?”
“Rashid told her that Putilov is in a blind rage—as are Tower and Prince Waheed. Even worse, Putilov’s convinced them that because of the UN Expropriation Resolution, they have to do something catastrophic. They plan to stop it even if they have to take out the entire city.”
“So why did Adara think you could help?”
“She wanted to know what I have on Tower,” Jules said. “Everyone seems to think I have enough to put them away.”
“Do you?”
“I have enough to piss off half the planet and make the Putilov/Tower people pretty fucking miserable.”
“If you plan on pissing off Putilov,” Elena said, “you’d better watch your ass.”
“And watch what I eat and drink,” Jules said.
“Putilov kills reporters like you change your underwear.”
There was a long pause. “Who says I wear underwear?” Jules said.
“Goddamn you,” Elena said. “You have to take this seriously.”
“I always take these assholes seriously,” Jules said.
“Well, do they have a reason to want you dead?” Elena asked.
“Maybe.”
“Then tell me why Tower’s so scared and his two buddies are so pissed at you.”
Jules punched up a PDF of her new book on her computer and began searching for passages to show her friend.