Valhalla Rising (Dirk Pitt 16)

After they were all settled in the Packard, Kelly in the front with Giordino again, he turned to Pitt and asked, "Where to?"

"Take Telegraph Road to the little town of Rose Hill. There is a restaurant there called the Knox Inn. They serve country-style, home-cooked dishes that send your taste buds to gourmet heaven."

"After that buildup," said Loren, "it had better live up to its laurels."

"Country style sounds good to me," Kelly said happily. "I'm famished."

They chatted on the ride to the inn, mostly small talk. Nothing was mentioned of their past experiences, nor was Cerberus brought up. The women talked mostly of places they'd visited during their travels, while Pitt and Giordino sat in quiet contemplation as they carefully watched the passing cars and the road ahead, ready for any unforeseen complications.

The summer sun set late in the evening, and passengers in other cars stared at the old Packard cruising down the highway like a dignified dowager on her way to a plantation ball. She wasn't nearly as fast as modern automobiles, but Pitt knew that it would take nothing less than a large truck to force the three-ton car off the road. She was also built like a tank. Her huge chassis and body offered her passengers solid protection in case of a collision.

Giordino turned into the parking lot of the inn, and the women left the car under the watchful eye of the men. Pitt and Giordino gazed around the parking lot surrounding the inn, but saw no sign of suspicious activity. They stepped into the inn that had been a stagecoach stop as far back as 1772, and were immediately shown by the maitre d' to a nice table in the courtyard beneath a large oak tree.

"For what we're about to order," said Pitt, "I recommend we skip cocktails or wine and order a premium ale they brew on the premises."

Pitt and Giordino finally began to relax and the time went swiftly, as Giordino ran through his repertoire of crazy jokes that soon had the women clutching their sides in laughter. Pitt merely grinned politely, having heard them all at least fifty times. He scanned the walls of the courtyard and examined the other diners like a TV security camera swinging from side to side, but saw nothing that aroused his interest.

They ordered an assortment of barbecued pork and chicken, grits with shrimp and crab, a southern coleslaw salad and corn on the cob. It was only after they'd finished dinner and were having key lime pie for dessert that Pitt tensed. A man with a tanned face and reddish-brown hair, flanked by two deadpan characters who might as well have worn signs that proclaimed them as armed killers, were approaching their table. The intruder was dressed in an expensive tailor-cut suit and his shoes were solidly made British, not light-crafted Italian. As he walked across the courtyard between the tables, his blue-white eyes locked on Pitt. He walked gracefully, but with an arrogance that suggested that he owned half the world.

An alarm went off in Pitt's brain. He tapped Giordino's leg with his foot and made a gesture that the stocky Italian immediately recognized.

The man came directly to their table and stopped. He looked from face to face as if filing them in his mind for future referral. His eyes lingered on Pitt. "We have never met, Mr. Pitt, but my name is Curtis Merlin Zale."

No one at the table recognized Zale, but they were all well familiar with the name. Their reactions at seeing the legendary monster in the flesh varied. Kelly sucked in her breath, and her eyes widened. Loren explored him with amused curiosity, while Giordino's interest was focused on the two bodyguards. Pitt gazed at Zale with studied indifference despite a cold feeling in his guts. If anything, he was sickened at the sight of the man who seemingly enjoyed barbaric cruelty. He made no effort to rise to his feet.

Zale gave a short, aristocratic bow as he addressed the ladies. "Miss Egan, Congresswoman Smith, it is a pleasure to finally meet you." Then he turned to Pitt and Giordino. "Gentlemen, you are uncommonly stubborn. Your meddling has caused my company a great deal of frustration."

"Your reputation as a greed-driven sociopath precedes you," said Pitt acidly.

The two bodyguards took a step forward, but Zale gestured them back. "I had hoped we might have a congenial conversation of benefit to us all," he said, without a sign of malice.

This guy is smooth, Pitt thought to himself, smooth and slippery as a snake-oil con man. "I fail to see what we have in common. You murder men, women and children. Al and I are just your common, law-abiding, taxpaying citizens who became swept up in your crackpot scheme to create a domestic oil monopoly."

"It will never happen," said Loren.

If Zale was dismayed that Pitt and Loren were aware of his grand design, he didn't show it. "You realize, of course, that my resources far exceed yours. That should be apparent even to you by now."

"You're delusional if you think you're bigger than the U.S. government," argued Loren. "Congress will stop you before any of your plans get off the ground. First thing in the morning, I'm calling for a full congressional investigation into your involvement with the Emerald Dolphin and Golden Marlin disasters."

Zale gave her a patronizing smile. "Are you sure that's wise? No politician is immune from scandal... or accidents."

Loren leaped to her feet so suddenly she knocked her chair over backwards. "Are you threatening me?" she hissed.

Zale did not step back or alter his smile. "Why, no, Congress-woman Smith, simply pointing out the possibilities. If you are set on destroying Cerberus, then you should be prepared to suffer the consequences."

Loren beca

me outraged. She could not believe that an elected government official was being menaced with false dishonor and possible death. She slowly sat down, after Pitt set her chair upright, and stared at Zale, hard. Pitt appeared relaxed and said nothing, almost as if enjoying the fight.

"You're mad!" Loren spat at Zale.

"Actually, I'm quite sane. I know exactly where I stand at all times. Believe me, Congresswoman, do not think you can depend on your fellow legislators for support. I have more friends in the Capitol than you."

"No doubt bribed and blackmailed into submission," injected Pitt.

Loren's eyes blazed. "Yes, and when it's revealed whom you paid off and how much, you and your cohorts will be indicted on more criminal charges than John Gotti."

Zale gave an imperious nod of his head. "I do not think so."