A Cold Dark Promise

by Toni Anderson

  “I picked up all the favors for the groomsmen, maid of honor and bridesmaids,” Mallory told her, searching for a neutral topic of conversation.

  Her mother shook her head with disapproval. “When I was twenty-seven weeks pregnant I wasn’t working full-time and planning a wedding. I was on bed rest.”

  Mallory touched her mother’s arm. “You were having twins, Mom. I’m fine. Honestly.” She repeated firmly. “Don’t fuss.”

  Footsteps approached, and Mal looked up to see Art Hanrahan, former head of BAU-4, approaching them warily. Art and her mother were dating and although things were a little strained because of what had happened last year, Mallory liked the guy.

  “Can I carry those things into the dining room for you?” he asked.

  “Sure.” She smiled her thanks. “I told the General”—the wedding planner—“that the color of the anemones wasn’t a big deal, and we’d use the ones that had streaks of pink on the edges. And I picked up the candy canes.” They’d been specially made with hers and Alex’s name shot through them. “She said to remember to put Grandma’s cake knife with these other things and she’ll pick up everything from here on Thursday night.”

  Her mother frowned thoughtfully. “Where’s Alex?”

  In a strange twist of events her mother had become very fond of Mallory’s fiancé. Maybe it was guilt.

  “Busy at work.” No way was she telling them he was away. Her mother would insist on moving in with her, and Mal had spent the last six months trying to repair their relationship. Being pregnant had given her a different perspective on what her parents had gone through when her twin sister, Payton, had been abducted. Even though they’d disagreed on her mother’s tactics over the years, Mal wasn’t sure she’d have been half as graceful.

  Her stomach rumbled, and she rested her hand against her taut belly. “I need to eat before junior starts to do an Alien on me. Would you like to go out to dinner?”

  “We were just about to sit down to eat. Join us,” Margret insisted. “Cook always makes far too much.”

  Cook was a French chef who made Mallory’s thighs expand an inch every time she walked in the door. What the hell, she’d go swimming tomorrow to make up for it.

  “I’ll go and set another place,” Hanrahan offered cheerily. He held out his hand for Rex’s leash and then let him off. Her mother’s eyes widened, and she forced herself to look away from where the dog was sniffing the stairs.

  “Come on, boy.” Hanrahan called him, and Rex darted to follow.

  A smile curled her lips as Mallory watched them go. “You two seem cozy.”

  Her mother’s cheeks reddened, and her hands wrung each other. “Art asked me to marry him.”

  Mal’s eyes widened.

  Her mother raised her hand and stared at her naked finger. “I said no—for now. I didn’t want to steal the limelight on your big day.”

  Mallory shook her head slowly from side to side and took her mother’s hands in hers. “That’s not how Alex and I roll. The more good news the better. Do you love him?” she asked softly.

  Her mother gave a self-conscious laugh and looked away. “I do. After your father, I didn’t expect to ever fall in love again but…”

  Tears filled Mallory’s eyes. Man, she couldn’t wait for the pregnancy hormones to be over. “I’ll leave you two to have a nice romantic dinner and you tell him yes—”

  “No.” Her mother held on to her hands tighter. “I want to see you put your feet up, and I want to see you eat. I’ll tell Art that I changed my mind when we’re alone together…later.”

  Mallory’s brows stretched high.

  “What?” her mother queried. “You think old people don’t have sex?”

  Mallory choked out a laugh. “One, you’re not old. Two, no one wants to think of their parents getting it on with someone. Seriously.”

  Margret’s answering smile was soft. “I know. I love you, Mallory. I never said it enough after we lost Payton. It was like I lost everything good in my heart, and I became a bitter and hateful woman.” She looked away and swallowed hard. “I died that day. There are no words or deeds that can take away a parent’s guilt in that situation. Every day I berated myself for keeping you girls in a bedroom so far away from mine, for not having fifty guard dogs and an alarm system and bodyguards. When I wasn’t blaming myself, I was blaming your father.” Her lips firmed, but she kept going. “And you.”

  The honesty was as shocking as it was refreshing.

  Her mother’s fingers squeezed until it was almost painful. “I’m sorry. I’m sorry I wasn’t a better person. I’m sorry I wasn’t the sort of mother you deserved especially after you lost your sister. I failed you terribly. I should have been stronger for the ones left behind.”

  Now Mallory was flat out crying as she pulled her mother into an embrace. “It was a terrible time. I can’t imagine what you went through. I love you, Mom. You and Dad. I love you both. I want you both to be happy.”

  After a few minutes her mother pulled away and wiped a finger under each eye. “That’s all I want for you, too.”

  Mallory coaxed her mother into the smaller eating area inside the kitchen, rather than the huge formal dining room. And as she started to eat she sent up a little prayer that Alex was safe. She understood her mom so much better nowadays, and life was too short to hang onto old grievances. This wedding was exactly what her parents needed to focus on the future and let go of the past. Alex was all that Mallory needed. He was all she’d ever need.

  Chapter Twelve

  As soon as it got dark the team set up a command center at the chateau while Alex pushed thoughts of Mallory and their upcoming wedding to the back of his mind. He needed to concentrate on the mission if he was going to retrieve Taylor safely.

  He and Ashley Chen were in the process of hooking up computers to the listening devices Matt Lazlo had attached to each of the larger boats in the marina earlier that evening. They both wore headphones and suddenly Ashley gave a huge smile. It wasn’t that long ago neither one of them had trusted the other, now she was in the wedding party.

  She unplugged the headset so everyone could hear. Everyone quieted down. This feed was from Masook’s boat.

  Tinny, indistinct voices came over the speakers. Ashley enhanced the feed as much as she could, boosted the volume, and suddenly a female voice piped up something in English about going horse riding the next day.

  Alex glanced to where Jane hovered uncertainly near the door, watching everyone with a mixture of hope and trepidation. At the girl’s voice Jane put her hand over her mouth and appeared to hold back a sob.

  What would it feel like to hear your child’s voice after four long years of silence? Heart-wrenching, and not nearly enough.

  Jane knew all these people wouldn’t all be here if it were a simple extraction, and yet, she’d said nothing. She wasn’t a stupid woman. She was a desperate mother. He exchanged a look with Reilly who acknowledged him almost imperceptibly.

  They couldn’t afford for Jane to fuck up this op by being too emotionally invested in the outcome and doing something rash.

  “Listen.” Ashley grabbed his sleeve and tugged him down beside her. She’d filtered and refined the audio further. It was even clearer now.

  “It’s safe?” An unknown speaker asked. The voice was muffled.

  “As long as no one opens the containers, it’s safe.”

  Every person in the room froze and looked at one another. What the hell was in the containers?

  “Is that Masook?” Alex asked Jane. Her eyes had gone huge with horror. She nodded.

  “That’s the antidote?” asked the first man.

  Something about the other voice in the room niggled at Alex’s memory, but he couldn’t place it.

  “The vaccine. Yes.”

  Well, shit. Vaccine suggested biological. He exchanged a look with Frazer.

  “There doesn’t seem to be very much of it.” The voice held a trace of irony.

  “Who
is that?” Alex demanded. Sound quality was poor. “Anyone got an image or an ID?” They’d been photographing everyone going on and off the boat.

  “My supplier is working on making more.”

  “How do I know it’s real?”

  There was a laugh. “Have I ever let you down in the past?”

  There was a jumbled confusion of words as several different conversations were picked up at the same time. Ashley bent to try and zero in on Masook. Alex checked the camera feed and sure enough a group of well-dressed people were coming onboard the boat—presumably for drinks or dinner.

  “Can you isolate Masook and the buyer?” he asked Ashley.

  She pulled a face. “I’m not sure. This isn’t my expertise.”

  Alex nodded. “Mine either. We can untangle it later.” Everything was being recorded. But they might miss something vital in the meantime.

  “We could get Scarlett in here…” Ashley looked at Frazer. “She’d be better at this than any of us.”

  Frazer said nothing for a moment. Matt and Scarlett weren’t supposed to get any more involved than they already were.

  Masook’s voice suddenly came through, as clearly as if he were standing beside the listening device. “Tell the captain we set sail on the morning tide.”

  “He’s leaving?” asked Jane in a panicked voice while taking a step forward.

  Alex exchanged a glance with Frazer. “Can we get an ID on the buyer? Is he taking anything with him? Because if he is we need to grab him now, before he disappears with whatever the hell Masook is trying to sell.”

  “Noah’s on it,” said Logan, talking into his cell. Noah and Lucas were back on Greenburg’s boat, Ascension, watching the live surveillance feed and keeping a close eye on their prey.

  A door banged on the boat.

  “We’re leaving? You promised Taylor she could go riding tomorrow. What should I tell her?” Josette’s voice came through the speakers. She sounded a little breathless.

  “Tell her I’ll buy her a pony when we get home. After this trip, I can buy her an entire stable if she wishes. But I didn’t come here to talk about Taylor.” Masook’s voice grew low and husky.

  Josette laughed. “But your dinner guests just arrived.”

  “They can wait. I can’t.”

  There was a bump and indistinct rustle of material being moved aside and heavy breathing. Then grunting as two people had fast, rough sex against thin cabin walls.

  “I guess that answers the question about the nanny.” Killion grimaced.

  Alex glanced at Frazer. “Sounds like he’s celebrating a sale.”

  “What about Taylor?” Jane demanded loudly.

  Alex held her gaze. “We’ll get her back.” But things had become a lot more complicated. A lot more dangerous.

  “Here’s an image of the person we believe Masook was just talking to,” Logan interrupted. “Noah says he’s now on deck with the other dinner guests sans biological weapon unless it’s small enough to fit in his jacket pocket, which it could be. He’ll try to get a better shot. I’m sending the first picture to your cells.” Logan pressed a button.

  Alex downloaded it onto his phone. Despite the shadows, Noah had managed to isolate an image of a swarthy, good-looking guy with a sharp nose and an elegant demeanor. He wore a hat and sunglasses even in the gloom—effective at fooling facial recognition programs, but not humans.

  Alex never forgot a face.

  Hatred rose inside him like smoke and bile. Charles Salamander. The guy Alex had been ordered to assassinate by the US government years ago. Unfortunately, Alex had frozen when the man’s young daughter had walked into the room, and he couldn’t go through with it. Alex had been captured and imprisoned, the US government cutting ties and denying any association. Salamander had extracted some excruciating personal revenge in that Moroccan jail, revenge Alex still wore on his skin today.

  No one here knew of the connection between Alex and Salamander though Killion had also recognized the man’s face and was cursing.

  “That motherfucker is bad news. Interpol has issued several Red Notices for his arrest.”

  “So, there are at least four people in Antibes tonight who have active warrants out on them. Whatever is in those canisters has a lot of people taking some serious risks,” mulled Frazer.

  “Are we assuming the supplier is Ranich?” Logan put in.

  Alex slowly shook his head. “If it’s a new biological Ranich could as easily be a buyer as a seller. We need to take a look at Masook’s computer. We need to figure out who is supplying this stuff to Masook.”

  “We need to know what it is,” Frazer added.

  And they needed to know now. Before that canister disappeared.

  “We don’t have the manpower or authority to arrest all these people without spooking the others,” said Alex. They had five FBI agents on the ground, but none of them had powers of arrest in a foreign country.

  “I’ll talk to Interpol,” said Frazer. “As long as they know where the bad guys are they can grab them using local cops when we tell them to. They can take the credit. This will be a big scoop for them and they could do with some good publicity when it comes to crushing terrorists.”

  “We need to spring this simultaneously, and we’ll need eyes on each of the players,” said Frazer. “Killion watch Salamander. Lucas can take the Indian contingent, Logan the Hezbollah representative, Noah can monitor the Russians from Ascension, Matt the Israelis. I’ll follow the Al Qaeda contact. Alex takes Masook.”

  Alex shook his head. “I’ll need Matt in a boat. Let’s get Scarlett up here and she and Ashley can run comms and keep up the remote surveillance to warn us of any unexpected developments,” he said. “We can’t watch everyone, but if we monitor critical points we should be able to spot most of the players if they try to leave Antibes. I go in first. As soon as I have the weapon in hand, the kid, and Masook’s computer, you give Interpol the word to go. Everyone rendezvous on Ascension when we are done.”

  “How are you going to achieve all that without Masook seeing you?” Frazer asked sardonically.

  Alex looked at Jane. “Easy. We’re going to create a diversion. Jane’s going to help.” He watched her face turn ashen, and she swayed slightly.

  He was asking her to face her greatest fear.

  Reilly stepped forward, wearing a dark frown. “How exactly is Jane going to cause a distraction?”

  “She just has to make a scene,” Alex said.

  “I don’t like that plan,” said Reilly.

  “Why not?” asked Alex.

  “I’ve spent the last few days keeping her away from that asshole,” Reilly said bluntly.

  It was one of the things Alex liked about him. Jack Reilly was a no bullshit kind of guy.

  “Masook isn’t going to harm Jane in front of witnesses, and she’s going to stay firmly on the quay and not get on the boat. While Masook is looking at her, and likely panicking if he hasn’t made the exchange of the bioweapon for money yet, I’m going to be below deck, grabbing the bioweapon and computer, which I’ll pass over the side to Matt who is going to immediately bring them back here. As soon as they are off the boat I’ll grab Taylor.”

  “She’s not going to go willingly,” Jane warned. Alex watched her as her teeth started to chatter. She was genuinely terrified, and he wished there was another way. He couldn’t think of one that wouldn’t leave the weapon or the kid vulnerable.

  “I won’t hurt Taylor, but I’m not drugging a child,” said Alex. But he might scare her. There was no way to prevent that.

  “What’s to stop Masook from dragging Jane onboard and beating the crap out of her?” Reilly asked with his arms crossed over his chest.

  Alex blinked. Reilly had never balked at a plan before. Then Alex got it. The usually professional, unflappable bodyguard had developed feelings for Jane. But Alex’s plan wouldn’t put her in real jeopardy. As long as everyone did their job she’d be fine.

  “You are. Pretend t
o be a tourist taking a walk. Step in if Masook turns threatening.”

  Jane exchanged a look with Reilly and Alex noticed her expression soften when she took in the former Green Beret.

  As a man due to get married in a few days’ time, Alex wasn’t about to get in the way of a budding romance, but he also didn’t want to fuck up this op. There were too many people he cared about involved, in addition to the presence of an unspecified bioweapon and a child.

  He checked his watch. “Wheels up in thirty minutes. Frazer, talk to Matt and tell him what’s going down. Get Scarlett up here pronto. Everyone else, gear up.”

  “Aye aye, Captain,” Frazer said cheerfully.

  “Ashley. I want every piece of information we can get on the whereabouts of each of these players. Let’s see if we can use street cameras for real time surveillance and track cell phones to fix locations until we get eyes-on. Can we talk to Langley and get some additional resources on this?”

  Killion nodded and started dialing. “I’ll ask.”

  Alex checked his weapon.

  Frazer threw him a flak-jacket. “Put that on.”

  Alex made a face.

  “I need to get you to the altar without any missing pieces or 9mm body piercings. Everyone wears body armor,” Frazer said loudly. “French police will step in to make the arrests. As soon as Alex gets the weapon and girl off the boat Interpol calls in the cops. Even if Masook is warned at that point he can do very little about it, except run.” Frazer eyed Alex. “Perhaps it would be an idea to stop by the helicopter and make sure it can’t take off?”

  “What about the Russian’s machine?” Ashley asked.

  “Pilot just went to refuel,” Logan said. “Think Interpol could figure out an excuse to make sure the roundtrip lasts longer than necessary?”

  Frazer nodded. “I’ll call my contact.”

  “That contact better be solidly on our side,” warned Alex. Just call him cynical, but he’d been in the business long enough not to trust any unknown factors.

  “I guess we’ll find out,” Frazer said cryptically.

  “Here goes nothing.” Alex stood. As much as he wanted to call Mallory he didn’t. He needed to focus on the mission.