The Brotherhood of the Rose by David Morrell Page A

used a passport Eliot had supplied to him, hoping to go to ground before his trail was spotted.
    When the clerk came back with several sheets of paper, Eliot leaned across the counter, drawing his bony finger down the list. He straightened excitedly when he found one of Chris's cover names on a United flight out of Bangkok to Singapore. He told the clerk, "Departures from Singapore. The last thirteen hours." Again he waited.
    When the clerk brought the second list, Eliot lit another cigarette and concentrated. Chris would have used the same passport. After all, he couldn't risk a customs agent's discovery of other passports with different names in his luggage. He exhaled sharply. There-the same alias on a Trans World flight from Singapore to Honolulu. "Departures from Honolulu," he told the clerk. "The last five hours."
    As the clerk brought the third list of names, Eliot heard the computer room's door hiss shut. Turning, he saw his assistant walking toward him.
    The assistant was a Yale man, class of '70-button-down collar, club ring and tie, a black suit and vest in imitation of Eliot. His eyes crinkled with amusement. "MI-6 just called. They think they found Remus. The Honolulu airport."
    Eliot turned to the new list of names. He found the alias on a Hawaiian Airlines flight. "He's on his way to Mexico City."
    "Not anymore," the assistant said. "He must have noticed his babysitters on the plane. A half minute before takeoff, he popped an emergency door and jumped."
    "On the runway?"
    The assistant nodded. ,'my, my, my-"
    "Surveillance couldn't catch him."
    "I'd be, surprised if they had. He's one of the best. After all, I trained him." Eliot smiled. "So he's on the run in Honolulu. The question is, what would I do if I were Remus? An island's a poor place to hide. I think I'd want to get out of there. Fast."
    "But how? And to where? At least we know where he won't go. He'd be crazy to try for Guatemala or Mexico. He has to figure we'll be waiting for him there."
    "Or maybe he'll figure we won't be waiting since those countries are so damned obvious," Eliot said. "It's check and countercheck. A fascinating problem. In Chris's place, how would I get out of Hawaii? A teacher ought to be able to out-guess his student."
    His smile died as he thought, then why haven't I out-guessed Saul?
    In Atlanta, the azaleas were in bloom, though the only view Saul had of them was from glaring headlights as the truck zoomed past a park, heading into the city. Their pink flowers, mixed with the white of dogwood, seemed like eyes along the road. His bleeding had stopped, though his chest still throbbed from the bullet wound. His fever remained. "As far as you go," the driver said, stopping beneath an overpass, the semi's air brakes hissing. -"My depot's a mile away. I can't let 'em see you. Like I said, taking riders I'd lose my job."
    "This is far enough." Saul opened his door. "And thanks."
    The driver shook his head. "Not good enough. You're forgetting something."
    Saul frowned as he stepped to the road. "No, I don't think so. "Think again. The money. Remember? Half at the start, and half when we got here. You owe me another two hundred bucks."
    Saul nodded. Preoccupied with the problem of why his father was hunting him, he'd forgotten his deal with the driver. It hadn't seemed important.
    The driver slid his hand beneath the seat. "Relax," Saul told him. He needed all his money. But the driver had kept his bargain. Shrugging, Saul gave it to him. "For a minute there." The driver brought his hand from under the seat. "You've been'on the road too long. Your nerves are shot."
    "It's the speed limit."
    "Buy your wife a fur coat."
    "Sure. And go to Mcdonald's with the change." The driver grinned, putting the money in his pocket.
    The air brakes hissed. The semi pulled from the curb. In the dark beneath the overpass, Saul watched the taillights disappear. Hearing traffic roar above him, he started along the shadowy road.
    The last time he'd been