“But we can change what’s happening. I’ll ask Naleek about that woman and see if she’s from Samlir. We’ll just have to work on the rest. Korgan and Alisa know I’m here and talking to you. Korgan was starting to have discussions with Lakewood at the CIA even before I left the village. It was too risky to bring a phone or weapon into the castle, but once I had a description of the setup here, I asked Korgan to drop off phones and weapons where I could retrieve them. He chose the toolshed at the back of the garden area. Tomorrow morning I’ll locate them, and tomorrow night you’ll have a phone and can talk to Alisa.”

A phone. It was strange and wonderful how those words raised her spirits. She’d be able to actually speak to Alisa for the first time since that chilling night when she’d seen her shot and all hope had turned into a disaster. They’d be able to talk and plan and find a way to fight all this ugliness around them. Suddenly everything seemed brighter and more manageable.

“That will be great. I’ve been so worried about her.” She was thinking, going over everything he’d said. Much of it she’d already been doing anyway. The only thing different was that she’d have to try to be less argumentative. She’d been telling herself that since that first day at the racetrack, but she hadn’t been doing a very good job of controlling her temper. “I’ll keep on being as normal as I can be. You should probably leave now. I’ll go back to the suite now and take a shower; if I run into Masenak, I’ll try to convince him he’s going to get everything he wants.” She turned to go. “But we should both think about where to hide those phones. If it was too risky for you to bring them here, we have to make sure they’re going to be safe.” She reached for the latch to open the stable door. “Wait here in this stall. Don’t go near Chaos while I’m gone. Believe me, even Indiana Jones wouldn’t have a chance with him.”

“Don’t worry. I’ve heard of Chaos’s reputation and I’m properly terrified.”

“That’s good. It will save a lot of trouble.” She stopped abruptly as she was opening the door. “Perhaps more than a little,” she murmured as a thought struck her. “We could put the phones and weapons under the straw in Chaos’s stall. No one would think of going in there if they had a choice. These days I’m the only one who works with him.”

“Providing he doesn’t smash them underfoot. You mentioned stomping.”