"You're proving my point! The law would punish me more than them! And as for my life, it ended more than forty years ago!"

"Then you're a fool!" Ephraim stiffened so abruptly Joseph feared he'd pull the trigger on his pistol. "Yes, a fool!" Erika said. "By a miracle, you survived! But instead of giving thanks to God, instead of savoring life, you savored death! God granted you a gift, and you threw it away!" Ephraim aimed toward Halloway's father. "No!" Joseph yelled.

Erika ran to her father. 'Tell him! Convince him! If you love me, make him stop!" She grabbed his shoulders. "Do it! For me! I'm begging you! Tell him these monsters aren't worth destroying your lives! You've got a grandson you've seldom seen! You could watch him grow up! You could learn about innocence and maybe even regain your own! You could be young again!" Tears streamed down her face. "For God's sake, do it!

If you love me!" Joseph felt a tightness in his chest that took his breath away. It was overpowering, frighteningly different from the pressure that had brought him here. Produced by love, not hate.

"Ephraim..." It was difficult to speak. "She's right"

He sounded raspy, in pain, though the feeling was quite the opposite.

"Let's get out of here." Ephraim squinted down the barrel of his pistol toward Halloway's father. "It would be so easy to squeeze the trigger.

It would be so satisfying."

"You didn't see yourself when you whipped them. You reminded me of the commandant of the work force at Treblinka."

"Don't compare me with--!"

"You aren't relieving my nightmares. You're bringing my nightmares back. I'm ashamed that my daughter saw us doing this. Ephraim, please,

I know now what I want. To forget."

"And let them go?"

"What difference will it make? Killing them won't bring our loved ones back. It won't stop hate. But if you kill them, you'll be a part of hate." Like Erika, Ephraim had tears running down his face. "But what's to become of me?" Joseph took his gun away and held him. "With luck... both of us... we'll learn to live."

24.

There were five of them now in the rented car. Drew and Arlene in front. Saul, Erika, and Joseph in back. As they drove from Halloway's estate, followed by the truck in which Ephraim brought away the rest of the team, Saul said, "Halloway won't dare call the police. He and the others have too much to hide." Joseph nodded solemnly and turned to

Erika. "How did you find me?"

"I'll need the flight back to Europe to explain."

"I'm afraid I won't be going back with you." She paled. "But I assumed

"I wish I could." Joseph held her. "But there's much to be done. The operation has to be dismantled. Our escape procedures have to be cancelled. Besides"--Joseph glanced sadly toward Ephraim in the cab of the truck behind him--"my friends and I have a lot to talk about To adjust to. It won't be easy. For Ephraim. For any of us."

"Then you have to promise you'll come to visit us, to see your grandson," Erika said. "Of course."

"When?" she asked quickly. 'Two weeks."

"Thank God we got to you in time," Drew said. "I wonder." Joseph brooded. "Ephraim was right about one thing. They'll die peacefully before they're punished."

"No. We'll contact Misha," Erika said. "We'll tell him what you found out. He'll force extradition. They will be punished."

"I want to believe that. But on the other hand..." Joseph smiled at something outside the car. "What do you mean 'on the other hand'? Why are you smiling?"

"No reason." He'd just seen a car go past A big car. Heading toward

Halloway's estate. It was filled with Arabs. Libyans, he was sure.

Angry Libyans. About to demand an explanation from Halloway and

Rosenberg about the hijacked munitions shipment Yes, Joseph thought and hugged Erika again, justice feels satisfying. 25

They caught a night flight back to Rome. Saul slept most of the way, but an hour before landing, he felt a hand grip his shoulder. Waking, he saw that Drew had just passed him and was motioning for him to follow. Careful not to wake Erika, noticing that Arlene was still asleep as well, Saul unbuckled his seat belt and joined Drew where he waited out of sight in a narrow corridor between two rows of rest rooms.

"Before we landed," Drew said, "I wanted to talk with you."

"I figured we could do that in Rome."

"We won't have time. Arlene and I have to report to the Fraternity. We fulfilled our bargain with them. We learned why the cardinal disappeared and who was trying to sabotage the order. We're anxious to arrange for our freedom."

"Are you sure they'll stick by their agreement?"

"They'd better. What I wanted to tell you is I'm glad everything worked out for you and your wife. The way she stepped out of that mansion to face those Uzis--she's remarkable. Good luck to both of you."

"Erika and I couldn't have solved our problems without your help."

"And Arlene and I couldn't have made it without you and Erika. We're grateful."

"This is difficult for me to say." Drew waited. "At the start," Saul said, "I felt an instinctive friendship for you. Because of my dead foster brother. You don't only have the same background mat Chris did.

You even look like him."

"What do you mean 'at the start'? What's changed?"

"Resemblance to someone is a poor basis for a friendship. I want to be friends with you--because of what you are." Drew smiled. "Fair enough."

They clasped each other's shoulders. "There's something I want you to do for me," Drew said. "Name it."

"Convince Gallagher not to look for us. Tell him we've had our fill of networks. We don't want to be recruited. All we want to do is drop out of sight. To live in peace."

"He'll get the message."

"And something else," Drew said. "We can't report to the Fraternity as long as the Agency has Father Dusseault." Saul understood. If the

Fraternity discovered that the priest was a QA prisoner, the order would blame Drew and Arlene for jeopardizing its secrecy. Instead of gaining their freedom, Drew and Arlene would be killed. "The last time I saw mm, the priest was drugged," Drew said. "He doesn't know anything that happened since the night in the Vatican gardens. He doesn't know about you or that he's been questioned by the Agency. Tell Gallagher to learn what he needs to and then leave the priest near the Vatican. Father

Dusseault will seek protection from the Fraternity, but after my report to them, they'll punish him for killing the cardinal and sending

Avidan's group after the Nazis."