“No names have been released.”
Like all of the men who were in Colchev’s operation, Golgov and Popovich spoke fluent English in a neutral midwestern accent, and their passports were stellar fakes. Still, their deaths added to the mission’s risk.
“Is there anything leading back to us?” Colchev said.
Zotkin shook his head. “I’ve already sent the scramble signal to their phones. Any data or phone numbers on them have been destroyed.”
Colchev pounded the dashboard with his fist, shaking it until the glove box popped open. He closed it, sat back, and sighed. “They were good men.”
“At least they died for their country.”
They had been a loyal part of his foreign intelligence service team before Colchev’s failure, and now the former SVR operatives wouldn’t even get the honor of a Russian state funeral. He unrolled his window and breathed in the cool desert air. When his team had achieved its mission, he would make sure Golgov and Popovich’s part in the operation was recognized, that they would receive the honor they deserved as heroes of the Motherland.
Colchev snapped back to focus on his goal now. Because Fay Turia had no xenobium, their path was clear.
“How are the preparations going?” he asked.
“We’re almost ready. The last shipment arrived this morning, and they should be finished loading it by the time we get back.”
Zotkin turned onto a road going north into Alice Springs.
“What about the CAPEK vehicle?” Colchev asked.
“It is in working order, and we have a meeting set up with the project lead tomorrow morning.”
“Excellent.”
“And your informant still says the Killswitch will arrive on time?”
Colchev thought back to the message on the discussion forum. The username they’d agreed on had been compromised, so the pre-arranged replacement had been used. The only thing it said was, “Confirmed,” meaning the operation was a Go according to plan.
“The Killswitch will be here in the morning,” Colchev said. “Do you have all the documentation in order?”
“The uniforms, vehicles, and papers are all ready.” Zotkin cleared his throat. “What about Nadia? Did you get Icarus from her?”
“Everything went as expected.”
“I knew she’d never join us.”
“I didn’t think she would.”
“But you let her live.”
“We are patriots, Dmitri. So is Nadia. You would have me kill one of our own?”
“If necessary.”
“It wasn’t necessary.”
Zotkin grunted but didn’t say more. How to deal with Bedova was the one disagreement he and Colchev had. Zotkin had advocated wiping out her whole team as soon as she delivered Icarus, but Colchev knew that killing a fellow member of the SVR would make their reintegration into Russia much more difficult once the mission was over.
“If we see her again, we’ll do what we have to,” Colchev said.
Zotkin gave another grunt, but he seemed satisfied.
As they continued driving, they went over details of the operation. Although they had planned it down to the last detail, there were always contingencies to consider. A mission this complex required precise timing and complete understanding of the situation by all involved. The biggest question mark was his man on the inside of Lightfall. If he came through, the rest of the operation would go smoothly.
By the time Zotkin turned into the warehouse parking lot, Colchev was confident they were as ready as they could be.
The depot had once been used as a transfer station for trucks bound for Darwin and Adelaide, but it had been shut down years ago. Through a shell company, Colchev had rented it out as a staging point for their own operation, and the owners had asked no questions about their business.
Four semi trailers and a shorter truck were backed up to the warehouse loading platforms, and two SUVs occupied the lot. He and Zotkin got out and went into the warehouse, where a forklift was busy moving a pallet from the small truck to one of the trailers. Half a dozen men were assisting in the work.
Colchev stopped the forklift driver. “How long until you’re done?”
The driver pointed at the trailer closest to them. “This is the last load. We should be done setting the rest of it up in two hours.”
“What about the detonators?”
“Ready for rigging.”
“We’ll do it tonight. From now on, I want two men on watch, rotating every four hours.”
“Yes, sir.” The forklift driver carefully set down the pallet and went back to the small truck for another one.
His men formed a chain to move the pallet’s load, twenty-five-pound clear plastic bags full of tiny pink pellets. Golgov and Popovich had been instrumental in obtaining them.
Colchev smiled as he read the bag’s large block letters. ANFO. It had taken his team months to acquire the quantity they needed. And just as he’d planned, the last payload had arrived in time for the operation to be set in motion.
Short for ammonium nitrate/fuel oil, ANFO was one of the most common explosives in the world. Colchev walked over to the trailer to get a good look inside. His smile widened when he saw the fruition of so much hard work.
For the entire length of the interior, bags of ANFO were stacked from floor to ceiling.
SEVEN
After four hours in the police station, Tyler was famished. Before he’d had a chance to talk to Jess, they’d all been hauled away from the jet boat dock to be questioned at the Queenstown police department. An incident like this was extremely unusual for peaceful New Zealand, so he was sure they’d already made the worldwide news reports.
Tyler lost count of how many times he went over the story for the interrogating officers, all without stopping for lunch. No doubt they were comparing his tale to Grant’s and Fay’s. They were eventually convinced that Tyler was telling the truth, that unknown assailants attacked Fay and that Tyler and Grant had come to her rescue, although Tyler wasn’t so sure that she had really needed rescuing.
What the police wanted to know now was why she’d been targeted. So did Tyler. As he told the investigators, it must have something to do with her Roswell artifacts, but he had no idea why anyone would want them.
By mid-afternoon Tyler had told the detectives all he could, and he was released. The police seemed content to chalk this up to a strange robbery gone awry, and with both assailants dead, they considered the danger over.
The policeman who escorted Tyler out told him that someone would be coming by shortly to return the Audi using the keys Grant had given them. Tyler met Grant at the front of the station. When they saw the mass of news media outside, they took a seat in the waiting area.
“Well, this has been fun,” Tyler said. “Where’s Fay?”
“The cops interviewed her before they got to us,” Grant said. “They told me she left two hours ago to check out what’s left of her house.”
“I hope she’s able to salvage something.”
“At least she’s alive.”
Tyler couldn’t disagree, but the attitude that it could have been worse was small consolation for someone who just lost everything they owned.
Grant patted his stomach. “I’m as hungry as a vegan at a pig roast. As soon as we get the car back, we’re heading to that pizza place and I’m ordering an extra-large pepperoni. Then you’re going to tell me all about Jess.”
Tyler rolled his eyes. He should have known that would be Grant’s first topic of conversation.
“I’ll tell you now, because there’s nothing to it. She and I went out for a year at MIT. It didn’t work out and we broke up. End of story.”
“Uh huh. And how come I never heard about her before?”
“Do I know about all your old girlfriends?”
Grant smiled. “Good point. But now that she got us into a shootout in the middle of a foreign nation, maybe it’s time you spilled it.”
Tyler sighed. �
��All right. I was a junior and she was a freshman in a history elective I was taking. She sat next to me one day, and we started talking. I thought she was cute, and after about a week, I asked her to go to a party with me. One thing led to another, and we were a couple.”
“You thought she was cute? When she was a college freshman, did she look anything like she does now? ’Cause I got a look at her down at the dock. She’s not cute. She’s smokin’.”
“I noticed her. Everyone noticed her. A girl at MIT who looks like that had her choice of guys.”
“And she sat next to you? What was wrong with her?”
“Maybe she liked a man in uniform,” Tyler said with a shrug. “I was wearing my ROTC class A’s that day.”
Grant nodded knowingly. “That’s why I wear mine whenever I go to a wedding. Never fails. So why’d you break up?”
“Pretty simple. I wanted a long-term relationship. She was new to college and didn’t want to settle down just yet. So that was it. Three months later I met Karen.”
But in fact their relationship had been far more serious than he was letting on to Grant. The eight months he’d dated her had been intense, but that was a lifetime ago. Jess was the first girl he’d ever fallen in love with, and she’d broken his heart. But he harbored no ill will toward her because if he hadn’t broken up with Jess, he would never have gone out with Karen, his wife and the love of his life. In a way, he owed Jess for giving him the best years he’d ever had.
Grant had been great friends with Karen, though she had teased him mercilessly about his serial love life. Grant had been the only reason Tyler had lived through the terrible year after she was senselessly taken from him in a car accident.
A policeman came in through the front door, and the sounds of shouting reporters briefly invaded the station. He spotted Tyler and Grant.
“Dr. Locke and Mr. Westfield, your car is waiting.”
“They brought the car here?” Grant said. “That’s service for you.”
They walked outside and were immediately surrounded by the growing crowd of news people and cameras. Tyler saw the Audi and silently pushed his way through the cacophony of shouted questions.
He stopped when he saw Jess driving and Fay in the passenger seat.
Fay waved from her open window. “Get in!”
Not wanting to get into a discussion in front of the media, he and Grant crammed into the back seat. Jess hit the accelerator and zoomed down Camp Street.
“What are you doing here?” Tyler said.
“Didn’t you want your car back?” Jess said.
“Yes, but where are we going?”
“Back to my house.”
“Your house?”
“Well, we can’t go back to my house,” Fay said with a mixture of anger and sadness. “It burned to the ground before the fire brigade could get there.” A sob caught in her throat.
“I’m sorry, Fay,” Tyler said.
“I wish we could have done more,” Grant added.
“You boys did all you could. I would have gone up in smoke, too, if you hadn’t shown up when you did.”
“They couldn’t save anything?” Tyler said.
“All that’s left is what I have with me.”
There was silence for a moment until Grant opened his mouth.
“So, Jess, how do you know Tyler?”
Tyler had to stifle a groan.
“Tyler didn’t tell you about our hot love affair?”
“I heard it was quite passionate,” Fay said.
“Good God,” Tyler said. He didn’t think the day could have gotten worse.
“Why did you break up with my granddaughter?”
“Do you think this is really the best time to talk about our dating history?” Tyler said.
“It’s okay, Nana,” Jess said. “He’s always been a little touchy about sharing his feelings.”
“College was a long time ago,” Tyler said.
“Yeah,” Grant said. “Tyler now regularly gets choked up by greeting card commercials.”
“You are not helping.”
“What? This is fun.”
“Can we please get back to the issue at hand?” Tyler said. “Which is that two men burned your house down and tried to kill you this morning for something you supposedly found after the Roswell incident. Do you know why?”
“That’s why I wanted to consult with you,” Fay said. “Jess said you were the best forensic airplane crash analyst in the world.”
“Jess told you to hire me?”
“Not in so many words,” Jess said. “That’s why I was surprised to see you earlier. When Nana said she was looking for someone to look at her piece of wreckage, I must have off-handedly mentioned you worked for Gordian.”
“It wasn’t off-handed,” Fay said.
“Nana!”
“She was reluctant to call you. She had no idea I asked you to consult with me.”
Jess glanced in the mirror at Tyler, then looked at Fay. “Wait a minute. Is this why you asked me over to lunch today and wouldn’t tell me why?”
“I thought it might be nice for you two to get reacquainted.”
“Why are you even here?” Tyler asked Jess.
“In the car or in New Zealand?”
“In Queenstown.”
“I live here now. Moved here three years ago after a stint doing encryption analysis for a global private security firm in Auckland.”
“I thought you were going to be an economist.”
“Oh, right, I was still an economics major then. No, I switched to mathematics. I thought I was going to work for Wall Street, but the thought of spending every day dressed in a suit made me want to throw up, so I went into codebreaking. It paid almost as well, and I could come to work in sweats if I wanted to.”
“What are you doing here?”
“After my parents died, they left me some money, and I wanted to be closer to Nana. Since I have dual citizenship with the US and New Zealand, it was easy to buy a part ownership in a business here.”
“In encryption?” Grant asked.
Fay shook her head. “Jessica has a stake in one of the biggest extreme sports tourism companies in Queenstown.”
“I’m not much more than an investor, but I come up with some of the ideas for new activities. The best perk is that I get to beta test all of the new experiences. Other than that, I spend most of my time on the slopes or the hiking trails around Queenstown.”
Tyler was surprised by none of this. One of the things that had attracted him to Jess in the first place was her outgoing nature, willing to try anything and everything, convincing him to take risks that he might not have without her. She was an excellent skier, rock climber, and swimmer, and she loved spending time outdoors. Jess had always been more interested in play than work, so it sounded like the new gig was a perfect fit for her.
Jess turned into the drive of a small bungalow with an expansive view of the lake and the Remarkables range behind it.
They got out and Fay took Grant’s arm. “I bet you’re as hungry as I am. Come help me make lunch.”
“Happy to,” Grant said, and they went into the house, leaving Jess and Tyler alone outside.
“Nice place,” Tyler said.
“It does the job. I’m not here much so I don’t need a lot of space.” She turned to him and gave him a serious look. “I was sorry to hear about your wife’s passing.”
Tyler did the head bob he always used to acknowledge that kind of sentiment. He’d gotten accustomed to it over the years, and everyone seemed to understand what the gesture meant.
“And I’m sorry about your parents.” After an awkward silence, he said, “Jess, what’s going on here?”
“With my grandmother?”
He nodded.
“She’s told me her story so many times, I’d come to think of it as a myth. Now I don’t know what to think.”
“What story?”
“She’ll have to tell you. She’s much better
at it.”
“I’ll be interested to hear it. Then Grant and I will have to be on our way. Given what happened today, we thought it would be prudent to head back to Seattle tomorrow.”
“That’s why I asked Nana to take Grant inside. I want to hire you.”
Tyler was taken aback. “I wasn’t going to charge Fay for the consult.”
“No, I want to hire you to find out why someone tried to kill her. She’s the only family I have left in the world, and I owe it to her. Especially now that she has nowhere else to go.”
Tyler hesitated, so Jess went on. “If you’re worried about the price, I can afford whatever you charge.”
“It’s not that. It’s just … I mean, Roswell?”
“I know it sounds crazy, but you have to admit there must be something to these artifacts she has if someone wanted them badly enough to chase you down the Shotover River for them.”
Tyler looked out over the water, then back at Jess. “I can’t make any promises. I need to hear what Fay has to say.”
Jess smiled. “Oh, and by the way …” With both hands she pulled Tyler’s head down and planted a kiss on him. For a second he was a college junior again, and his stomach did a flip as he lost himself in the moment.
Jess stepped back and said, “That’s for saving Nana’s life this morning.” She walked into the house, leaving Tyler to wonder what just happened.
EIGHT
Jess was pleased with herself. Not because she had kissed Tyler. Ever since she’d seen him this morning, she’d had the overwhelming urge to do that. What she was proud of was that she had the willpower to go no further.
Tyler had aged well. He used to be as lanky as dried linguini, but obviously he’d filled out during his Army years. Though the sun had weathered him a bit, the lines on his face and long jagged scar on his neck added a rugged dimension to his tousled hair, strong jaw limned with a two-day stubble, and alert blue eyes. Now she recalled why he was the one she’d approached in history class. At first he hadn’t gotten the hint, so she’d maneuvered herself into getting invited to a party he was attending.
She smiled at the memories and opened the front door of her house. Jess turned to Tyler and said, “Well, aren’t you coming?”
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