‘He’s the only one of us who’s going to get a hot meal,’ said Eva. ‘The canteen just opened.’
Decker glanced over his shoulder and grinned at the truck as he began to ascend the steel staircase out of the hull, evidently guessing they’d be watching him through the gap in the curtains.
‘Bastard,’ said Nathan. ‘He’s done it again.’
Fifteen
Prague
* * *
Eva inserted the key into the lock, and pushed open the back door of the bookshop, her legs weary.
After arriving in Rotterdam, she and Nathan had climbed back into the compartment behind the driver’s seat of the truck as Decker drove the vehicle off the ferry and away from the terminus.
Half an hour later, she’d felt the vehicle swerve to the right before braking to a standstill, and the engine died.
Decker had parked in a secluded lay-by off the main road, hidden from passing motorists by a thin line of trees that shielded the occupants of the truck as they climbed from the cab.
The older assassin locked the doors and hid the keys under the wheel arch.
‘No sense in him getting into more trouble,’ he’d said.
Eva had smiled as she and Nathan had followed him through a gate into a neighbouring field and begun their hike towards a distant village.
Decker could be one of the most frightening assassins she’d ever known, but every now and again he let his guard down and became the man he must have once been.
If people didn’t deserve to die, or be inconvenienced by his actions, he made sure he looked out for them.
It was what made her turn to him when she was in trouble.
They’d stolen a car on the outskirts of the village and had spent eight hours taking it in turns to drive away from The Netherlands, across a quiet unmanned border gate in the countryside and then through Germany towards the Czech border.
Switching vehicles, they’d then made their way to Prague, ditching that car three miles away from the safe house.
Now, Eva staggered up the stairs, punched in the security code, and led the way into the apartment.
‘Food,’ said Nathan, and began to sort through the refrigerator and cupboards.
Soon, the aroma of garlic and onions wafted through the room, and within half an hour they were sitting around the kitchen table, eating their way through a large pot full of spaghetti bolognese.
Eva eventually pushed back her plate, and reached out for her wine glass.
‘That was great – I feel human again.’
‘What do we do now?’ said Nathan. ‘Wait until we hear from Miles?’
Decker shook his head. ‘We need to keep moving. All the intelligence seems to suggest that Maxim is planning an imminent attack. We need to work on the basis that we’re working alone. Despite what Newcombe said.’
‘I agree,’ said Eva. ‘We can’t rely on anybody but ourselves. The sooner we can get over the border into Poland, the better. It’s too risky to leave it until Maxim’s men reach Prague. We have to take the fight to them.’
‘But there’s only three of us!’
‘We can use that to our advantage,’ said Decker. ‘We stand less chance of being spotted by any guards that Maxim has placed around the facility.’
‘Doesn’t sound like much of an advantage to me.’
Eva pushed back her chair, carried the plates over to the sink, and dumped them in the soapy water before turning back to the two men.
‘There is one person who might be able to help us with regard to what’s going on at that facility, or at least how many men Maxim has there, given that Miles suspects him anyway.’
Nathan’s brow furrowed. ‘Who?’
‘Scott Lancaster.’
‘The guy from the gallery? The one who probably set us up, and got me shot?’
‘Well, we can’t get to Petersen, and someone told Maxim’s hit squad that we were in town. Lancaster is an arrogant prick, but there was something else that time – it was like he knew he’d be putting our lives in danger, and he did it anyway. So, that makes me think he knows more about Maxim’s operation than we thought. I think Miles is right about him.’
Decker reached for the wine bottle, and topped up their glasses. ‘We’d need to recce the American Embassy first. Watch his movements, find out which cafés he frequents for lunch, that sort of thing. We don’t have a lot of time.’
‘So,’ said Eva, ‘we start tomorrow. What do you think?’
‘I think it’s time to have another word with Scott Lancaster,’ said Decker, a gleam in his eye.
Sixteen
Eva sipped an espresso, and turned the page of her book before raising her gaze to the group of three men sitting on the far side of the café.
Despite Nathan’s misgivings about the lack of time they had available to them, and the fact they still needed to travel to Poland, Eva was adamant that they make sure Scott Lancaster divulged any information that they could use to their advantage before they went. If that meant waiting another twenty-four hours, she was content to do so – as it was, for a tactical operation, she couldn’t help feeling that they were rushing ahead blind.
She had no doubt that Lancaster knew more about the laboratory facility, given his connections with the CIA.
And, the more she and Decker discussed tactics the previous night, a sense of justice began to prevail – she was sure Lancaster was somehow involved in the hit on Douglas three years ago, and she intended to make him pay for it.
They needed as much information as possible to finalise their plans for their assault on Maxim’s base first, though.
The up-to-date satellite images provided by Knox gave a sporadic account of movement on the ground; they needed actual figures and a proper sense of the layout. The satellites could only tell them so much – no doubt Maxim had camouflaged as much of the facility as possible from prying eyes, let alone what was buried underneath ground level.
Lancaster had appeared from the embassy building an hour before. He wasn’t senior enough to warrant a security detail, and given the way he took a convoluted route to the café, he was doing his best to implement his own counter surveillance tactics to compensate.
Eva and Decker had taken turns following the man, acting as a tag team until he finally approached the café where he now sat, greeting the two men as if they were old friends.
Decker had retreated to the opposite side of the road and taken photographs, messaging them to Nathan back at the bookstore, who had then run the images through the database.
Eva had received a text message ten minutes before, confirming the two men worked for a manufacturing firm in France who were hoping to bid for work through an American subsidiary.
She had relaxed then, satisfied that they posed no threat to her.
She turned another page in her book, and smiled at the waiter as he brought her a fresh pastry.
Lancaster’s tradecraft had become sloppy over the years – she had noticed at the gallery that he had put on weight, and he had relaxed too easily upon meeting the two men at the café.
Now, despite it being another thirty minutes until the rest of the city’s workers took their lunch break, the three men were indulging in a second bottle of wine.
She texted an update to Decker.
An inebriated target could either be a blessing, or a curse.
She had to rely on Decker’s ability and strength once their plan had been set in motion.
She picked at the pastry, and let the rest of her coffee turn cold.
Loud laughter from Lancaster’s table caught her attention.
The embassy official rose unsteadily to his feet, shook hands with the two men, and then buttoned his jacket and turned to leave the café.
Eva tucked some Koruna notes under the plate in front of her, and then sauntered towards the door, letting it swing shut in front of her before she followed.
She couldn’t afford to let Lancaster know she was there – not yet.
She pulled her phone from her pocket as she stepped onto the pavement and dialled Decker’s number.
‘He’s on his way. He’s taking the shorter route back, but he’ll still be at the pinch point within two minutes.’
She didn’t wait for an answer, and ended the call before tucking the phone back into her pocket and concentrating on the man several paces in front of her.
She planned to weave in and out of the crowd without being noticed by Lancaster should he glance over his shoulder. In case he turned around, she had tied her hair back and pulled a woollen beanie onto her head. She looked nothing like the person Lancaster had met at the art gallery a few weeks ago.
As predicted, he turned left into a cobbled street that was quieter than the main thoroughfare.
Eva let him gain some distance – she had no intention of letting him hear her footsteps, or sensing that someone was following him. She was more exposed here, and took a moment to crouch next to a rack of bicycles to tie an imaginary shoelace, even though she kept an eye on his progress.
He wavered a little; obviously the effects of the wine were beginning to take hold.
She wondered how effective his work would have been in the afternoon – not that he was going to see his office again.
A white panel van turned into the street at the far end, the rumble of its engine echoing off the sides of the buildings.
She glanced up, but it seemed that it was all residential housing along the street, with no shopfronts or brass plaques signifying offices tucked away.
Bright coloured laundry hung from several of the ornate balconies, and somewhere she could hear an exotic songbird tweeting from one of the apartments.
She rose to her feet and picked up her pace as the van drew closer.
Now, she could make out Nathan behind the wheel, a baseball cap pulled down low over his eyes.
She had worried at first about bringing him out into the field like this, but there was no other way – all three of them had to be a part of this to make it work.
Ahead, Lancaster’s gait began to slow as the incline of the street took its toll on the poor physical condition of his body.
As Eva drew closer, she could hear his laboured breathing.
A moment later, he was level with the van, and all hell broke loose.
Nathan swerved the vehicle over to the pavement and braked, a moment before the side door was wrenched open and Decker emerged.
Eva ran – it was imperative they bundled Lancaster into the van before anyone saw what was going on and raised the alarm.
At the sound of her running feet, Lancaster spun around, his eyes wide, as if he was only then realising what was happening.
He opened his mouth to cry out, but Decker was onto him too fast, slapping his hand over the man’s mouth as he began to drag him backwards towards the vehicle.
Lancaster fought back, twisting and grasping at Decker’s arms as he was hauled closer to the van.
Eva used the forward motion she had gained from running towards the two men to punch Lancaster in the stomach.
He dropped instantly, the air escaping his lungs in a loud gasp before he fell to his knees.
‘Help me,’ said Decker.
They manhandled Lancaster into the back of the van, and Decker slammed the door shut.
Eva braced herself against the opposite side of the vehicle, and then called out to Nathan.
‘Go, go!’
Seventeen
Eva paced the floor as Decker adjusted the bindings that held Lancaster to the wooden chair placed on top of a sheet of clear plastic, and then turned to Nathan.
‘I saw an old office back along the corridor there. Why don’t you go and wait for us inside?’
His face paled, and his expression became troubled. ‘Why?’
‘I think you can guess why. You might not want to see this.’
She didn’t admit it to him, but she also didn’t want him to see her like this.
Especially when she knew someone she had trusted had endangered her life – and that of someone she cared about.
Nathan’s eyes travelled over the unconscious man, and then back to Eva.
‘What’s going to happen to him?’
‘That depends on what he tells us. And whether we think he’s lying. We need answers, Nathan – and we’re running out of time.’
‘This isn’t right. We can’t do this.’
‘We don’t have a choice. Like I said, it’s best if you leave us alone for a while. We’ll find you when we’re finished.’
The sound of a slap reached her ears, and Nathan winced as a groan emanated from Lancaster as he recoiled from Decker’s strike to his cheek.
‘I think you’re probably right,’ said Nathan, and began to walk away. After a few paces, he stopped and turned back to her. ‘I keep forgetting this is your job.’
Eva folded her arms across her chest, and ignored the expression on his face. He looked as terrified as Lancaster.
‘This is who I am.’
She waited until the door closed after him, then stepped over to where Decker stood over Lancaster, the double agent’s eyes glazing over briefly before he shook his head and glared up at them both.
‘You can’t do this.’
‘Want to bet?’
Decker moved over to the corner of the room, returning with a coil of hosepipe and a thin towel which he tossed to Eva.
Lancaster’s eyes darted between them, his breathing ragged.
‘What do you want?’
‘What’s your involvement with Maxim Kowalski?’ said Eva.
‘You’ve got to be kidding me.’
He hawked a gob of spit at her, and she stepped back, her footsteps crackling on the clear plastic.
Decker closed the distance between him and Lancaster in an instant, swiping his hand across the man’s face.
Eva heard the crack moments before Lancaster spat out part of a tooth.
‘That’s no way to talk to a lady,’ said Decker. ‘So, mind your manners.’
Eva wrapped the ends of the towel around her hands and moved until she was standing behind Lancaster.
His shoulders heaved with the effort of his breathing, and she reckoned he was sobering up fast after his early lunchtime drinking session.
She raised her gaze to Decker, who nodded once, and then she swept her hands up and over Lancaster’s head and pulled the towel flat across his face, forcing his head backwards.
Decker didn’t hang around – he turned the hosepipe on and held it so the water flowed over Lancaster’s covered face.
The man began to struggle against his bindings, and Eva had to use all her weight to stop him from moving his head from side to side to try to escape the water that cascaded over him.
After twenty seconds, Decker turned off the water and jerked his chin at her.
‘Let’s see if he’s a bit more talkative now.’
Eva swept the towel away, wringing it out to lose the moisture.
Lancaster’s head fell forward, a coughing fit sending spasms through his body before he spat out the water from his mouth.
Decker sneered at him. ‘Right, let’s have some answers. What’s your involvement with Maxim Kowalski?’
Lancaster snuffled, his eyes red. ‘I can’t tell you. He’ll kill me.’
‘Who’s your contact in the Section? Who’s feeding you information to pass on to Kowalski?’
Lancaster swore, and dropped his head to his chest.
Eva held her breath and waited.
Then Decker signalled, and she grabbed Lancaster’s hair.
Jerking him backwards, she slipped the towel over his head again as Decker advanced with the hosepipe.
A muffled cry escaped the thick cotton material before the man began to struggle once more.
She lifted her eyes to Decker, noticing the grim expression on his face.
His jaw clenched, and then he stepped away and held the hose to one side, water splashin
g onto the concrete floor and plastic sheeting.
She loosened the towel and pushed Lancaster’s head upright.
He leaned forward and vomited between his legs, his breathing ragged.
‘We’ve got all day,’ said Decker. ‘How long do you think you can keep this up?’
Lancaster’s eyes shot to the water spouting from the hose as sweat poured down his face.
Decker leaned closer. ‘It’s a bit different when you’re on the receiving end, isn’t it, Scott? Did you ever think about what it was like when you tortured those innocent souls in the Middle East?’
‘I wasn’t in the Middle East.’
‘’Course not.’ Decker waved his hand. ‘You had illegal sites for this sort of thing, didn’t you?’
Lancaster bit back a sob.
Eva moved until she was within the man’s line of sight, and began to wrap the towel around her hands.
His eyes opened wide, and then a sigh escaped his lips.
‘All right. Stop. I’ll talk.’
‘What sort of weaponry does Maxim have?’ she said.
Lancaster swallowed. ‘Nothing too heavy. Handguns, semiautomatics. They’re stashed away from site, underground. He’s too paranoid about an uprising, so no-one that has access to the lower levels of the bunker is armed. Only Maxim, and about ten guards have weapons at any one time.’
Decker picked up the hosepipe and circled the chair so he was standing behind Lancaster, and then bent down to his ear.
‘I don’t believe you. Maxim would never leave the facility so lightly guarded. He’s got too much invested in this.’
Lancaster tried to twist around in his seat, but his bindings held him tight.
‘It’s true! It’s because the forest around the facility is full of traps. Tripwires, landmines – that sort of thing. It means he doesn’t need a lot of guards around him. You’ve got to remember, he’s paranoid.’
‘What about the leak in the Section?’
He snorted. ‘I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about. Mind you, it wouldn’t surprise me – someone put that Code One on both of you. Makes me think someone wants to keep you quiet.’
Assassins Retribution Page 7
