Dorian Red Gloria, Earl of Gloria, posed unconsciously over his morning coffee as he waited for Bonham and Jones to report back. The little Peruvian village was picturesque, a minor ski resort, but functioned primarily as the supply point for those headed higher into the Andes.

        He was beginning to wish he had brought Mr. James instead of keeping him in the dark about this project, for neither of the men with him was good at haggling. Money was not the problem, though; the guides did not want to go up into the mountains for another two weeks, claiming the spring thaw meant a risk of avalanches until there was more runoff.

        Eroica chafed at being put off, and wondered where he could hire or steal a helicopter. Why hadn't he thought to hire one in Cuzco?

        The Sun God waits impatiently for me. I must take him home. What else is there for me in Peru?

        As if in answer to his thought, a figure emerged from the hotel across the tiny village plaza — the last person he expected to meet here, but the first person he hoped to see anywhere. He refused to let his disbelief show as he watched the raven-haired man glance around, spot him, and stride purposefully across the plaza to take the opposite chair at Eroica's table.

        “Major,” the Earl acknowledged with a warm smile. “What on earth are you doing here?”

        Eberbach replied with a smile of his own, something Eroica had so seldom seen that he thought his heart would melt when its full force was turned on him. His beloved replied, “I've come to interfere with your mission.” Was that actually mischief dancing in the green eyes?

        “Indeed?” Eroica responded, intrigued. “And what mission might that be?”

        “To steal the Inca Sun God that looks so much like you.”

        The Earl frowned. “Only two of my people know why I'm here, and they have accompanied me. I thought I could trust them.”

        “I haven't seen any of your men yet,” the Major told him, lighting one of his ubiquitous cigarettes. “You're not that hard to trace, you know. Every time I asked about the route to the temple where the mosaic is, I heard all about the Englishman with the long blond curls who preceded me. Here,” he gestured, “there is only one hotel catering for Europeans. You had to be staying there, as no one will go up the mountain trails this early.”

        “I don't care how many people know about my arrival,” Eroica agreed. “It's my departure that will be in haste and in secret. However, I still don't understand why you're here. NATO has no interests in Peru.”

        “I'm not here on NATO business,” Eberbach replied casually. “I'm on leave.”

        The Earl felt his heart speed up. “You came on your own? Just because I'm here?” Dared he hope that something had happened when he had simulated making love with his beloved Major to keep him from being raped or killed by Hoffman Gantt? Was it possible that Eberbach had come half-way around the world to find out what the real thing would be like? In a daze of hope, he put one hand over the Major's.

        Eberbach shook him off. “Not for that, you queer! I came to pay you back for saving my life and my last mission. I can't stand owing you a favor! I'm going to pay you back, and then I hope I never lay eyes on you again!”

        It was not the first time his beloved Major had rudely burst one of his fantasies. Eroica merely smiled, and said, “So you are taking a vacation from NATO to play thief? That's something we've done very well together in the past.”

        “I'm here to stop you from walking into a trap. It's a setup, Lord Gloria. Remember when the neo-Nazis tried to blow up the peace conference near your castle?”

        “How could I forget? It was the first time you and I worked together.”

        “Well, you were the one who got all the publicity in the international press. The neo-Nazis have made you their target, and enticed you here with that mosaic. The man who found it is one of them. Anyone who knows the first thing about you knows that once you saw that picture you'd have to steal it.”

        “They'd be right,” Eroica agreed.

        “They'll be waiting to kill you when you try,” Eberbach said. “There — I've told you. Now you can leave, or try to steal the mosaic anyway, knowing neo-Nazis are lying in wait for you.” He got up.

        The Earl leaned back to look up at him. “And now you're just going to leave?”

        “I've fulfilled my obligation.”

        “You have no obligations to me,” said Eroica. “Anything I do for you is because I love you, not because I want you to owe me something. But ... how can you just leave, knowing that if I don't steal the Sun God, it's going to be sold to a drug lord in Columbia? The money paid for it will buy more weapons for neo-Nazi terrorists.”

        “What?!” Eberbach sat back down, heavily. “You already knew?”

        “About the plans to sell it, yes. But no, I didn't know the neo-Nazis were involved, or that I was their target.” He frowned. “I didn't know the archaeologist who found the Sun God was involved in the plan to sell it, either. You're right, then: the only reason to publicize the find if he plans to sell it is specifically to draw me here.” He grinned. “All the more fun to steal it for my collection!”

        “That Sun God is a national cultural heritage of Peru. You have no right to take it away ... but better you than some drug lord. At least you won't contribute to world-wide terrorism.” The Major glowered at him. “You're not planning to sell it to the same drug lord, are you?”

        “Major,” said Eroica in disappointed tones. “Surely you know me better than that.”

        “Some other drug lord?”

        “You're teasing me, Major!” the Earl said in amazement. “I plan to add the Sun God to my own collection. It was made for me — even you can see that.”

        “It belongs to the people of Peru,” Eberbach insisted. “Give me your word that we will turn it over to the museum in Lima, and I'll help you steal it.”

        Eroica stared into the Major's Mosel-green eyes. “That's not fair,” he said. “You're using my love for you to influence me.”

        “Stop saying such perverted things! I'm offering my help against neo-Nazi terrorists. They're expecting you, not the two of us together ... and they're expecting the attempt in two weeks, when the local guides are willing to climb the high passes. If we leave now, we'll be there and back before they get around to setting up the ambush.”

        “I love the way you think, Major!” Eroica said with a grin. “But then, I love everything about you, fool that I am.” Including the fact that you realize that the game is more important than the prize. He sobered. “You do realize what you're doing? It's not a NATO mission. If we're caught by Peruvian officials, you're on exactly the same footing I am: civilian thief.”

        Eberbach took a deep breath. “Maybe the altitude is making me light-headed.” Then he shook his head. “If I leave now, can I trust you to turn the Sun God over to Peruvian authorities?”

        “No. Not even for you, my love. If you want the Peruvians to have it, you'll have to help me steal it.”

        Emerald eyes locked with sapphire. “All right. You said you have two subordinates with you? What kind of equipment and supplies can we obtain quickly, without attracting much notice? And where are we going to get a guide?”

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