“I hear you.”

The balloon was rising higher and higher, carrying him east, away from Elba, which was to the west. But Robert was not concerned. The wind changed direction at varying altitudes. None of the other balloons had taken off yet. Robert spotted one of the chase cars start up, moving to track him. He dropped ballast and watched the altimeter climb. Six hundred feet … seven hundred feet … nine hundred feet … eleven hundred feet …

At fifteen hundred feet the wind began to weaken. The balloon was almost stationary now. Robert dropped more ballast. He used the stair step technique, stopping at different altitudes to check the wind direction.

At two thousand feet, Robert could feel the wind begin to shift. It swayed in the turbulent air for a moment, then slowly began to reverse direction and move west.

In the distance far below, Robert could see the other balloons rising and moving east toward Yugoslavia. There was no sound at all except for the soft whispering of the wind. It’s so quiet, Robert. It’s like flying on a cloud. I wish we could stay up here forever. She had held him close. Have you ever made love in a balloon? she murmured. Let’s try it.

And later, I’ll bet we’re the only people in the world who have made love in a balloon, darling.

Robert was over the Tyrrhenian Sea now, heading northwest toward the coast of Tuscany. Below, a string of islands stretched in a circle off the coast, with Elba the largest.

Napoleon had been exiled here, and he had probably chosen it because on a clear day, Robert thought, he could see his beloved island of Corsica. In exile, Napoleon’s one thought was how to escape and get to France. Mine, too. Only Napoleon didn’t have Susan and the Halcyon to rescue him.

In the distance, Monte Capanne suddenly loomed up, rising three thousand feet into the sky. Robert pulled the safety line that opened the valve at the top of the balloon to allow the hot air to escape, and the balloon began to descend. Below him, Robert could see the lush pink and green of Elba, the pink that came from the granite outcrops and Tuscan houses, and the green of the heavy forests. Below, pristine white beaches were scattered around the edges of the island.

He landed the balloon at the base of the mountain, away from the city, to attract as little attention to himself as possible. There was a road not far from where he had landed and he walked over to it and waited until a car came by.

“Could you give me a lift into town?” Robert called.

“Certainly. Jump in.”

The driver appeared to be somewhere in his eighties, with an old, wrinkled face.

“I could have sworn I saw a balloon in the sky a little while ago. Did you see it, mister?”

“No,” Robert said.

“Visiting?”

“Just passing through. I’m on my way to Rome.”

The driver nodded. “I was there once.”

The rest of the ride was made in silence.

When they reached Portoferraio, the capital and only city of Elba, Robert stepped down from the car.

“Have a nice day,” the driver said in English.

My God, Robert thought, Califomians have been here.

Robert walked along Via Garibaldi, the main street, crowded with tourists, mostly families, and it was as though time had stood still. Nothing had changed; except (hat I’ve lost Susan, and half the governments in the world are trying to assassinate me. Otherwise, Robert thought wryly, everything is exactly the same.

He bought binoculars in a gift shop, and walked to the waterfront and sat at a table outside the Stella Mariner Restaurant, where he had a clear view of the harbour. There were no suspicious cars, no police boats, and no policemen in sight. They still thought they had him bottled up on the mainland. It would be safe for him to board the Halcyon. All he had to do now was wait for it to arrive.

He sat there sipping procanico, the delicate native white wine, watching for the Halcyon. He went over his plan again. The yacht would drop him off near the coast of Marseilles, and he would make his way to Paris where he had a friend, Li Po, who would help him. It was ironic. He heard Francesco Cesar’s voice saying: I’ve heard you’ve made a deal with the Chinese.

He knew that Li Po would help him, because Li had once saved Robert’s life, and according to ancient Chinese tradition, he had become responsible for Robert. It was a matter of win yu – honour.

Li Po was with the Guojia Anquanbu, the Chinese Ministry of State Security that dealt with espionage. Years earlier, Robert had been caught while trying to smuggle a dissident out of China. He had been sent to Qincheng, the top security prison in Beijing. Li Po was a double agent who had worked with Robert before. He managed to arrange for Robert to escape.

At the Chinese border, Robert had said, “You should get out of this while you’re still alive, Li. Your luck won’t last forever.”

Li Po had smiled. “I have ren – the ability to endure, to survive.”

One year later, Li Po had been transferred to the Chinese Embassy in Paris.

Robert decided that it was time to make his first move. He left the restaurant and wandered down to the waterfront. It was crowded with large and small boats leaving from Portoferraio.

Robert approached a man polishing the hull of a sleek motor boat. It was a Donzi, powered by a V-8 351 inboard engine.

“Nice boat,” Robert said.

The man nodded. “Merci.”

“I wonder if I could rent it to take a little cruise around the harbour?”

The man stopped what he was doing and studied Robert. “That might be possible. Are you familiar with boats?”

“Yes. I have a Donzi back home.”

The man nodded approvingly. “Where are you from?”

“Oregon,” Robert said.

“It will cost you four hundred francs an hour.”

Robert smiled. “That’s fine.”

“And a deposit, of course.”

“Of course.”

“She’s ready to go. Would you like to take her out now?”

“No, I have some errands to run. I thought tomorrow morning.”

“What time?”

“I’ll let you know,” Robert said.

He handed the man some money. “Here’s a partial deposit. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He had decided it would be dangerous to let the Halcyon come into port. There were formalities. The capitano di porto – the harbourmaster – issued each yacht an autorizzazione and recorded its stay. Robert intended for the Halcyon to be as little involved with him as possible. He would meet it at sea.

In the office of the French Marine Ministry, Colonel Cesar and Colonel Johnson were talking to the marine operator. “Are you sure there has been no further communication with the Halcyon?”

“No, sir, not since the last conversation I reported to you.”

“Keep listening.” Colonel Cesar turned to Colonel Johnson and smiled. “Don’t worry. We’ll know the moment Commander Bellamy boards the Halcyon.”

“But I want to get him before he’s aboard.”

The marine operator said, “Colonel Cesar, there is no Palindrome listed on the map of Italy. But I think we’ve pinned it down.”

“Where is it?”

“It’s not a place, sir. It’s a word.”

“What?”

“Yes, sir. A palindrome is a word or sentence that is spelled the same forward or backward. For example, ‘Madam I’m Adam’. We’ve run some through our computers.” He handed him a long list of words.

Colonel Cesar and Colonel Johnson scanned the list. “Kook … deed … bib … bob … boob … dad … dud … eve … gag … mom … non … noon … Otto … pop … sees … tot … toot …” Cesar looked up. “It’s not much help, is it?”

“It might be, sir. They were obviously using some kind of code. And one of the most famous palindromes was supposedly said by Napoleon: ‘Able was I ere I saw Elba.’”

Colonel Cesar and Colonel Johnson looked at each other. “Elba. Jesus Christ! That’s where he is!”

Day Twenty

The Island of Elba

It first appeared as a faint speck on the horizon, rapidly looming larger in the early morning light. Through the binoculars, Robert watched it materialize into the Halcyon. There was no mistaking the ship. There were not many at sea like it.