Match Play (14 page)

Tight-jawed, Dayna jammed the bottle almost to the woman's tonsils. “Her mother's dead.”

“No!” the masseuse got out between gagging gurgles. “Mother alive. Held by government.”

“So you made the girl choose between her mother and her father? He skips, she stays.”

“Dr. Wu no traitor! Just—Just pretend. Learn secrets. Bring back to Korea. Return to wife.”

So neither of the Wus had really intended to defect. The realization that they'd played Dayna and Hawk like twin accordions made her ache to give the bottle's plastic sides a teensy-weensy little squeeze.

“Rogue! What's going on?”

Hawk rushed into the storage facility. With a twinge of real regret, Dayna sat back on her heels. The stall was cramped enough with just her and sumo-mama. When Hawk, Luke and Jilly crowded in, she barely had breathing room.

“This is Kim Li's masseuse. She didn't care for my attempts to proselytize her protégée and decided to flavor my drink. Again.”

Extracting the water bottle from the woman's mouth, Dayna tipped it upright. The plastic cap was still firmly in place.

When the Korean realized she'd never been in danger of swallowing any of the tainted liquid, she gave a bellow of pure rage.

“You lie!” Her bulk heaving, she struggled upright. “You lie like dog.”

Dayna tossed the bottle into her other hand, hefted the eight-iron again and swung. The woman dropped like a stone.

Jilly's blue eyes rounded. “You don't mess around, do you?”

“Not with someone who tried to poison me.” Swiftly, she related the gist of the masseuse's revelations. “Here, Hawk. Have the lab analyze this water. I think it'll provide sufficient justification for the Brits to keep sumo-mama on ice until the tournament's over.”

“What do we gain by keeping her on ice? From what you just told us, neither Kim Li nor her father wants to come over to our side.”

“The Wus don't know
we
know that.” Dayna bit her lip, trying to sort things out in her head. “And
we
don't know for sure Kim Li's mother is still alive. All we have is mama-san's word for that. We need to get hold of Lightning and see what our people in Asia can ferret out about Madam Wu.”

“I'll take care of that,” Jilly volunteered. “I have a few contacts in Asia that might prove useful.”

With that piece of the puzzle taken care of, Dayna mulled over the outrageous plan taking shape in her head. Her glance zinged to Luke.

“Dr. Wu's mission is to ferret out America's nuclear secrets,” she said slowly. “What do you think? Could we feed him some?”

“Depends on what you have in mind.”

“We're taking him to the base for transport. What if he saw some things he wasn't supposed to? Some things that might give him and his pals a false idea about our own nuclear-weapons program?”

“You mean, we should feed him deliberately erroneous information about the B-2?”

“Something like that?”

“It might work.” His brows slashing, he considered the possibilities. “Hell, we'll
make
it work.”

“You guys discuss it while you haul sumo-mama's carcass out of here. I've got to hustle to make my tee time. Oh, and check the bag boy in the stall over there. I think he's okay, but I suspect he'll have the mother of all headaches when he wakes up.”

Adrenaline surging, Dayna hooked the strap of her golf bag over her shoulder. Its familiar weight bumped against her hip as she exited the storage facility into the bright, sunlit morning.

The other three had already gathered in the hot zone with their caddies, awaiting the call to the first tee. Dayna's partner looked relieved to see her. Kim Li's partner smiled a greeting. The Korean, however, scowled and sliced her driver back and forth across the grass.

“You late.”

Was she aware of her muscle-bound masseuse's plans to spike the water bottle? If so, she hid it well behind a mask of pouty impatience.

“Sorry 'bout that,” Dayna said easily. “Anyone know what happened to my caddie?”

Kim Li raised her driver and stabbed it at the short, bowlegged Scot hurrying toward them. “He's there.”

The bandy-legged local huffed up. Pouring out apologies, he identified himself as Angus MacDougall as he relieved her of her bag.

“I'm verra sorry, Ms. Duncan. They told me you were waiting for me at the clubhouse. I don't know how the signals got so crossed.”

She had a good idea. Hawk and Luke were no doubt piling the crossee into a golf cart as they spoke.

“No problem,” she said, smiling to put him at ease.

Clearly upset, he hoisted her bag over his shoulder. “I hope this doesna throw you off your game.”

“It won't.”

The utter confidence in her reply deepened Kim Li's scowl. Notoriously temperamental and impatient before a game, Tigress Wu didn't handle delays or miscues well.

“They call us to the tee. We play now.”

T
he suspicion that Wu Kim Li didn't really intend to skip to the States freed Dayna from the necessity of catering to the girl's ego on and off the links.

A sizzling, crackling energy coursed through Dayna's veins as she waited her turn on the first hole. Off to her left, the ancient buildings and chimneys of St. Andrews looked down on the course. To her right, the leaden waters of St. Andrews Bay lapped at marshy shores.

Dead ahead lay the Old Course, with its savage gorse, monster double greens and one hundred and twelve bunkers that included the infamous Hell on the fourteenth hole, Strath on number eleven and the Road Bunker on number seventeen—probably the most famous hole in all golf.

The first hole was three hundred and thirty-nine yards of flat, barren fairway. Flat, that is, until the Swilcan Burn, an undulating loop that guarded the front edge of the green. Joan teed off first, whacking her ball far right and dangerously close to out-of-bounds.

Kim Li clicked her tongue at her partner's inauspicious start. The Korean was dressed in black today. Her slacks, stretchy turtleneck, windbreaker and visor were all in sleek ebony that prominently displayed her sponsor's logo done in gleaming gold.

Ignoring her caddy's offer of assistance in reading the fairway slope, she teed up and took a couple of practice swings before exploding in a perfect fusion of grace and power.

“Nice shot,” Dayna commented, exchanging places with the girl.

They couldn't have made more of contrast, she thought as she loosened up with a practice swing. Small, delicate Kim Li with her black hair, black eyes and black uniform. Dayna, taller, blond, wearing the bright colors she preferred—glowing, jewel-toned amethyst slacks and windbreaker, a white silk turtleneck, a ball cap studded with iridescent spangles.

Their stance and swings were almost identical, though. Feet spread to shoulder width. Ball forward. Slow and steady on the backswing. Rocket speed and power on the downswing. All weight on the left foot at the finish.

A roar from the gallery signaled their approval when Dayna's drive rolled to a stop just left of the fairway's center, mere inches from Kim Li's.

“Yes!”

The normally reserved and intense Allison Kendall gave her partner a high five and stepped onto the tee box. She, too, powered her drive.

The chase was on.

 

It took the foursome just a little over two hours to reach the midpoint of the match. Dayna and Allison both posted a two-under par at the turn. Kim Li came in at a blazing four under. Since her partner's handicap was three strokes higher than Dayna's, Wu and Ryson-Smith had a solid lead.

Not for long, Dayna vowed while she waited her turn on number ten. Hands crossed on the rubber grip of her driver, she searched the gallery.

She'd spotted Dr. Wu earlier. Bundled against the breeze in plaid Burberry scarf and jacket, he'd followed Kim Li's foursome from hole to hole. Two of his countrymen stuck close to his elbow.

Jilly had joined the gallery ringing the tee box. Her glossy, wind-tossed hair made her an easy standout. Her gleeful grin and thumbs-up conveyed support and encouragement to the casual observer. To Dayna, they were a signal that Luke and Hawk had succeeded in dumping sumo-mama into the loving arms of the British authorities.

Sure enough, Hawk strolled out of the clubhouse just as Dayna prepared to tee off. She acknowledged his presence with a nod. He returned it, looking relaxed and sporty in a flat-billed tweed cap. By the time the group had reached the green, Hawk had struck up a seemingly idle conversation with his drinking buddy, Dr. Wu.

The only missing member of their team was Luke. Dayna felt his absence more than she'd expected to. She knew he'd raced back to RAF Leuchars to explore the wild scheme she'd suggested. He was probably locked away with his detachment commander at this very minute, trying to figure out whether it was possible to feed one of North Korea's foremost scientists misleading and totally inaccurate information about the United States's nuclear-weapons program.

So she shouldn't miss seeing his broad shoulders and easy, hands-in-pocket stance in the gallery. Or wish he'd witnessed her spectacular bunker shot on number five. And she sure as hell shouldn't be thinking about a private, posttournament celebration that might or might not involve butties!

“Focus, Duncan,” she muttered, shoving the image of a naked, sweat-slicked Luke out of her head. “Focus.”

 

The back nine tested the skills of each member of the foursome to the max.

Allison went out of bounds on ten. Joan got trapped in Strath Bunker on eleven and needed three strokes to climb out. Kim Li bogeyed twelve
and
thirteen. Dayna hit the nasty clump of bunkers known as the Beardies on fourteen, but managed to save par.

By the time they teed up on fifteen, Kim Li's temper was manifesting itself with a vengeance. After each less-than-perfect swing, she thumped the ground angrily with her club before shoving it at her caddy and stalking off. The cameras caught her berating a spectator who pressed too close to the ropes. Supersensitive microphones recorded curses in both Korean and broken English.

World-famous number eighteen almost proved the straw that broke the camel's back. Technically, eighteen wasn't that difficult a hole. Three hundred and forty-two yards straight to the Royal and Ancient Golf Clubhouse. The challenge came in the form of Swilcan Bridge, spanning the creek that snaked through the fairway and the Valley of Sin that guarded the green.

Kim Li powered her drive, but it went low and smacked into the stone bridge. Zinging away at a sharp right angle, the ball flew across the road, ricocheted off the roof of a passing car and shattered a plate-glass shop window.

“Out of bounds,” the course official intoned solemnly while the gallery burst into cheers and laughter.

Furious, Kim Li slung her club at her caddy. The laughter died. A few scattered boos came from the normally decorous gallery as the disapproving course official delivered a stern warning.

“Here now, Miss. We'll have no more of that.”

The chastisement did little to improve Kim Li's mood. It deteriorated even further when the foursome holed out, and Dayna and Allison's combined scores topped the leaderboard. Kim Li and her partner ranked second, which meant they'd make up the same foursome again for the last round of the tournament.

“We play again tomorrow,” the Korean acknowledged with a distinct lack of enthusiasm. Her obligatory handshake was curt and forced.

“So we will,” Dayna agreed blandly. “Tomorrow will be a big day—in more ways than one.”

With so many people milling around, she didn't dare make more than a veiled reference to the Wus' supposed desire to escape to the States after the tournament.

Even that subtle reminder was enough to wipe the temper from Kim Li's face. Her glance darted left, then right. For the barest fraction of a second, uncertainty darkened her eyes. Or was that fear? It came and went so swiftly, Dayna couldn't decide.

During the brief pause, unanswered questions rolled around inside her head like loose ball bearings. How far would the Wus go with their double deception? Was the daughter merely playing along until the father actually boarded a plane to the U.S.? How did Dr. Wu plan to leave the States once he'd gathered the information he'd been sent to collect? Was Kim Li's mother really alive and being held as surety for her husband and daughter's return to Korea, or was that, too, a lie?

“Perhaps we should discuss tomorrow's agenda,” Dayna suggested, reminding the teenaged superstar that they hadn't yet confirmed the details of the escape.

“Yes,” Kim Li muttered. “We must discuss tomorrow.”

With the Korean's trainer and manager swiftly converging on their protégée, Dayna thought fast. Any meeting outside the scope of the tournament would raise instant suspicion. Best to do it in the open, under the guise of a business-slash-social event.

“As you may know,” she said loudly enough for Kim Li's handlers to overhear, “I work for the largest outdoor recreation training facility in the United States. We're in the process of organizing a one-time mega event to promote health and fitness among kids. We've lined up a host of international sponsors and extensive media coverage. I'd like to talk to you about participating. Perhaps you—and your father, of course—could join me for dinner this evening?”

“Dinner. Yes.” Kim Li glanced to the left, received an almost imperceptible nod from her trainer. “Will Captain Harper also come?”

“Luke?”

“My father has heard…That is, he's seen rumors in papers about this plane the captain flies.”

Dayna just bet he had! If she'd needed any further verification of the Wus' intended duplicity, Kim Li had just handed it to her.

“I'll invite Captain Harper to join us. The hotel dining room, seven o'clock?”

Dayna hoped Luke would be back by then. She needed him in on this meeting. She also needed to know whether they could pull off the wild scheme they'd hatched earlier.

“My father and I will be there,” Kim Li confirmed.

 

Dayna relayed the dinner engagement to Luke by phone, wondering how had he become such a vital part of her op. And her thoughts, dammit. The man had been in her head, if not in her direct line of sight, throughout the entire day. He promised to make the appointment, but didn't have time to brief her on his activities until he made it back to the hotel.

When he arrived at her room at six-twenty, he would have appeared cool and in control to a casual observer. Dayna's antennae had become so resensitized to the man, however, that one glance at the glint of excitement in his eyes kicked her pulse into overdrive.

“Tell us,” she demanded as he shed his jacket and tossed it over the back of a chair.

“We had to go all the way to the top brass at the Pentagon but we got the green light for what could be the scam of the century.”

Too revved to sit, he paced the sitting room and laid out a hastily contrived, incredibly complex scheme for Dayna, Hawk and Jilly.

“As soon as we got the go-ahead, Colonel Anderson activated a total detachment recall. Our ground crews and contractors are already fabricating fake engine cowlings, cockpit shields and wing mounts for one of our birds.

“The changes will be so subtle no one except a B-2 crewdog could detect them, but they'll alter the aircraft's radar signature enough to return an erroneous signal. We'll arrange for Dr. Wu to get a glimpse of the modified bird through the hangar doors when you take him to the aircraft that's supposed to transport him to the States. If his people outfit him with a hidden camera or digital-imaging device…”

“We have to assume they will,” Dayna said.

“Then he'll transmit some very precise, very false images of the B-2.”

A savage satisfaction roughened Luke's voice as he described the furor of activity occurring at the base.

“We're also scrambling to concoct an altered formula for the radar-absorbent coating we spray on the skin. The plan is to let Dr. Wu pocket a minute sample of something sprayed with the fake coating. The North Koreans will blow their supercomputers trying to reverse-engineer the altered formula and figure out how the hell to get it to stick.”

“What about nukes?” Hawk asked. “Those are Dr. Wu's specialty. He knows the B-2 is nuclear-capable, although it's more than proven its worth by delivering conventional munitions in the current conflict. You planning to blow smoke up his ass about that, too?”

“We're sure gonna try. In fact, we figured we'd kill two birds with one stone.”

Luke's manner, his stance, his energy all conveyed a single, intent focus. He'd unleashed his hunting instincts and had locked on his prey.

They were so much more alike than she'd been willing to admit, Dayna thought as an answering thrill shivered down her spine. Both hunters, both zeroed in on their mission. A well-matched pair, she acknowledged silently.

“Colonel Anderson and I decided to let our friend, Ms. Brodie, feed the good doctor and his pals a treasure trove of misinformation.”

Dayna and Jilly gaped in surprise. Hawk, who'd missed Ms. Brodie's harangue during the media conference yesterday, had to be reminded of who she was.

“Hold on a minute,” he protested. “Are you saying Colonel Anderson and the Pentagon brass have decided to reveal the B-2's presence at RAF Leuchars to a bunch of rabid antiwar activists?”

“Not quite. One of our crewdogs, however, will down a pint too many tonight at a pub regularly frequented by several of these activists.” His glance caught Dayna's. “Alan Parks has volunteered for this dangerous mission, by the way.”

“Why am I not surprised?” she drawled, recalling the pilot's cocky assertiveness. “What happens after he gets inebriated? Or appears to?”

“He'll act confused and swear he didn't so much as mention nukes
or
a plasma separator.”