Against the Wall

Solange did so, reluctant to leave the sleeping René. She wondered whether she would see him again if she were forced to stay in this house. It would have to be at the point of his gun. She meant to go with him.

The dark old house looked forbidding. Mercier lifted the ring on the lion’s head doorknocker and rapped once, paused, then tapped four more times in rapid succession.

A tall figure opened the door and emerged immediately, a mere shadow in the weak light of the moon. The doorway and the windows of the house remained dark. Solange noted the silhouette of a weapon in the man’s hand. “You’re late. We’d begun to worry,” he said to Mercier in English. “Everything go okay?”

“Not exactly. Will, this is Dr. Solange Micheaux, the old doctor’s daughter who was filling in for him. You stay here with our passenger while I get her settled upstairs. There’s no point moving young Chari any more than we need to.”

“Ma’am,” the voice acknowledged. “How is the boy?”

Mercier answered for her. “Not as bad as I thought.”

“Great. Then he’ll be able to vouch for you with his father.”

“I’m afraid he slept through everything,” Mercier said, taking Solange’s arm and ushering her inside the dark building.

He led her up a winding stairway to another door and knocked again in the same sequence. A woman answered. She was armed, but when she saw Mercier, she smiled and tucked the pistol into the holster at her waist and stood aside for them to enter. The room was warmly lit, the one window completely covered with heavy black fabric that had been taped securely to the frame.

“It’s about time, boss. We were getting ready to come looking for you.” Her dark brown gaze landed on Solange, who had elected to remain slightly behind Mercier and as unobtrusive as possible.

“Holly Amberson, this is Dr. Solange Micheaux,” he said, stepping away so the woman could see her better.

Solange admired her looks, even as she experienced a twinge of envy. Amberson was an unusual beauty with skin the color of pale caramel. Sleek black hair clipped in a short cap clung to a perfectly shaped head. Her dark brown eyes were long-lashed and slanted upward, giving her a faintly exotic expression. Her figure looked toned for strength beneath her black leggings and cropped chenille sweater. Though she stood only an inch or so taller than Solange’s five-three, she exuded self-confidence.

Jacques Mercier must find this Holly person terribly attractive. Were they involved?

He spoke up then and dispelled her musings about Amberson. “The Chari boy’s still in the car. Solange has him heavily sedated.”

The woman nodded. “So he missed the whole rescue op he was supposed to tell his daddy about. And our option, the elder Dr. Micheaux, is in the hospital. We verified the accident last night. The driver who struck him was a plumber on his way to a job and in a hurry. He checks out clean, no ties to anyone connected with Chari. It was just an unfortunate turn of events. Tough luck, but not insurmountable. She’ll do just as well.”

“No, she’s staying here.”

“What is my father’s condition? Have you heard?” Solange demanded.

“He’s doing very well. Better than expected. You need not worry about him.”

“Thank you for finding out.” Solange knew he would recover. She had checked his condition herself before she had gone to the prison. But it was her prerogative to worry, anyway. Their housekeeper, Marie, would be there for him if he needed anything.

Mercier interrupted her thoughts as he spoke to the woman. “I saw Will as we came in. What are the rest of the troops up to tonight?”

“Heard from Clay a couple of hours ago. He’s on top of things at the office. Joe and Martine are upstairs,” she added with a sly grin. “Eric’s out prowling around somewhere. You want me to raise him?”

“No, that’s all right. Just counting noses.”

He left Solange standing there, subject to the woman’s continued scrutiny and went straight to the coffee maker where he poured two cups. “I can’t take Solange in with me. She’s willing to help, but—”

“She knows the score?” the woman asked, eyeing Solange critically.

“Yes, everything,” he admitted as he turned and handed Solange a steaming cup. He was still addressing the woman, and they were both speaking rapid English, perhaps thinking that might prevent her understanding. “She can be trusted. That’s not the problem. Still, I’ve elected to leave her with you.”

“Why? He’ll need a doctor. You were the one who said—”

“Yes, but she’s not what I…we expected,” Mercier stated flatly, as if Solange had somehow disappointed him.

Amberson gave a little mirthless laugh and shook her head. “If I thought you’d had any time to get acquainted, I’d think you’d gone sweet on her. Maybe that you didn’t want to risk her cute little neck or something.”

Mercier looked away while he drank his coffee, obviously not wanting to dignify that ridiculous supposition. Sweet on her? An idea as facetious as the expression was archaic. But it gave Solange a small lift in spirit that this gorgeous woman might think such a thing was possible. Solange, an ordinary physician, hardly felt she was exotic enough to interest a man such as Mercier. Could she have made this woman a bit jealous?

It was hard to contain her smile. She caught her bottom lip between her teeth and raised her eyebrows at the Amberson woman just because provoking her seemed the thing to do at the time.

“Good grief, man.” Amberson groaned and rolled her eyes. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

“You’re definitely wrong,” Mercier muttered. But he sounded more impatient than outraged. “We don’t know much about Chari, the man. And Solange is so…well, look at her, Holly.” He gestured in her direction rather rudely.

Solange had enough of being talked around as if she were not there at all. She interrupted in English to establish that fact. “Pardon me, but I really must insist that I accompany you, Mercier. René might—”

“She’s right, Jacques,” the woman said. “Who’s going to tell Chari what happened? How you rescued his son?”

“I’ll tell him myself.”

“Yeah, right. You think he’ll believe you if you just waltz in there bragging about the chances you took to get him out? That’s the whole point of your going into the prison in the first place, wasn’t it? To get the kid out and make the dad grateful!”

“I’ll make him believe me.”

Holly threw up her hands. “Jeez, then Will might as well have dragged the boy out when he was there to leave the truck! René Chari can’t toot your horn for you if he’s been out like a light the whole time. He won’t even know who you are when he comes around.”

“He saw me earlier. I interceded for him during the last beating.”

Solange butted in, forming the English clearly and concisely. “But he was hurt then, probably dazed. Perhaps he won’t even recognize that it was you who helped him.”

Mercier growled, “I’ll think of something.”

Amberson threw up her hands in frustration. “Jack, be reasonable! You need her.”

“You do,” Solange agreed. She got right in his face to drive her point home. “If what you have told me about René’s father is true, then I must do everything within my power to help prevent what he is planning. And we must find out if he is the only one doing this. This is what you told me yourself.”

Amberson nodded emphatically. “She might even be able to help assess what Chari has and how much damage it might do. I’ve checked you out, Doc,” she told Solange. “When I did the background search on your father, I did his family, too, so I’m aware of the training you’ve had. I wish you’d been into research in this particular area, but then, I guess you wouldn’t have been where you were at the time, huh?”

Solange smiled politely. “I suppose not. However, with the sort of threats the world has been living under these past few years, I have read extensively of anthrax, smallpox, ricin and other likely weapons of terror. Most of us within the medical community realize what we might be called upon to do if such disasters occur and we have to be prepared.”

“Excellent!” Amberson gave her a smile of approval that looked quite sincere. Solange returned it. She could like this woman who spoke her mind so freely and had no qualms about contradicting a man when she knew she was right.

“I can do this,” Solange stated with conviction. “And I will.”

“You see, Jack? She’s actually better qualified than we’d hoped. Get her inside that lab if you can. See what he’s got.”

Mercier glared at his friend for a moment, then lowered his head. Obviously he was the one in charge of this assignment or whatever they were calling it, but he had to recognize that she and Amberson were right in this instance. In any event the argument seemed to be over for the moment.

Solange sat drinking her coffee while Mercier ignored them both and began typing something on one of the computers.

Holly Amberson smiled her encouragement and offered Solange a pastry from a box near the coffeemaker. “Here, you might need some energy, however this works out.”

“I am going,” Solange said to her, then bit into the orange-glazed confection she had chosen.

“I know,” Holly replied. She winked at Solange and toasted her with a croissant. “Come with me. I’ll show you where to freshen up and we’ll see about getting you immunized.”

“That won’t be necessary,” Mercier said.

“Yes,” Solange argued. “It will.”

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