“I have to go, Ash,” Gordian said after a while, nothing amused about his tone now. Her dead-serious expression had made him feel a little guilty. “I couldn’t avoid the trip to Gabon even when it was all about closing with Sedco. But now it’s become about a lot more.”

“You feel you have to make a point.”

Gordian nodded.

“A show of commitment,” he said. “The surveillance on our advance team . . . that hit-and-run on the supply convoy . . . whether or not they’re tied together, they make it vital that we move forward as planned. We can’t seem to be intimidated by anyone.”

She looked at him. “Sedco knows what’s been happening to your people in Africa?”

“Dan Parker was briefed, and he’s informed Hugh Bennett and the rest of its company officers.”

“And they’re with you on going ahead with things.”

“All the way. Especially Bennett. On Sedco’s board, he’s got the last word.”

Ashley considered that a second.

“I understand your reasons,” she said. “But what are his? From what you’ve told me, he doesn’t share your particular interest in supporting nation builders.”

Gordian thought a moment.

“King Hughie’s used to doing business in difficult environments. He would realize you can’t be effective in the region, build upon any accomplishments you’ve made, by backing down from threats,” he said. “And our joint venture aside, my guess is that he believes UpLink to be the prime target of hostile interests in Gabon, figures we’ll be the ones to bear the brunt of any escalation.” Gordian shrugged. “I also suppose it’s possible he simply won’t be deterred from staging a corporate tent show with himself as ringmaster. Probably it’s a little of this, and a little of that. I’m sure it doesn’t hurt that we’re providing extra security for everyone and footing the entire tab. In the end, though, it doesn’t make a difference. I can be concerned only with my own motivations.”

Ashley continued looking at him across the room.

“I know,” she said. “And you know better than to think I’d suggest that you cancel. But I’m not talking about now. This conversation is about our future.”

“I’ve never asked my people to do what I won’t.”

“Things have changed, Roger. Sometimes I think everyone knows and recognizes it except you,” Ashley said. “You can admit to your physical limitations, handle them, or choose to pretend they don’t exist.”

Gordian stood by the bed, his gray eyes holding on her green ones.

“I feel fine,” he said. “The doctors gave me their full consent.”

She shook her head.

“I probably know the results of your checkup better than you do. And all things considered, I’m happy with them. But they don’t mean we can erase the damage that’s been done to your body.” She sighed and leveled her voice. “Two years ago I came closer to losing you than I like to remember. But I’m not able to wish away those memories. We can’t afford the luxury. It isn’t for nothing that I packed away a nebulizer of albuterol. There’s scar tissue in your lungs. Fibrosis. You have shortness of breath sometimes—”