“Once we realized that they actually knew each other, Vogel dug very deep and found out a few surprising facts. He paid heavy bribes to all and sundry and traced their relationship back at least eight years. Two very addicted gamblers who were also highly competitive decided they would stage a private race of their own once a year with enormous stakes to make it worth their while. But of course, Reardon couldn’t be publicly associated with Masenak, so they arranged for the races to take place at Masenak’s castle in the Atlas Mountains.”

“Enormous stakes,” she murmured as a chilling thought struck her. “Maybe Reardon wouldn’t have had to pay Masenak for attacking Noura and those other countries.”

“The thought occurred to me.” He held up his hand as she opened her lips to speak again. “Later.” He grimaced. “Or figure it out for yourself.” He turned and was heading back toward the munitions shed.

“I will.” She called after him, “And I’ll find Masenak for you. I keep my promises. I’ll throw in that scum Reardon, too.”

He chuckled. “Two for one? My deepest gratitude. I must have impressed you.”

“No, Karim is the one who impressed me.”

His smile faded. “Me, too.” He disappeared into the munitions shed.

*  *  *

“Tired of being Korgan’s shadow?” Margaret asked teasingly when Alisa came into her tent fifteen minutes later. “Find out anything interesting today?”

“Half and half.” For some reason at the moment she was reluctant to tell Margaret about Karim and the relationship forged between him and Korgan. Ridiculous. Margaret was her friend and ally. Yet it seemed almost like a breach of trust, because Korgan had lowered his defenses and shown her a very personal side of the man he was this morning. Trust. It was a word that had been used by both of them today…“Korgan is always interesting, but he did mention a few things I didn’t know about Masenak. I’ll tell you about them later.”

“You’re right, he’s never dull,” Margaret said as she slipped a water bottle into her knapsack. “That could be a very dangerous thing for you. Being boring is a deadly sin as far as you’re concerned.” She snapped her fingers for Juno and headed for the door. “And it must be for me, too, or I wouldn’t have let him talk me into this hike.”

“Hike?” Alisa repeated. “What did he talk you into?”