Yawning, Tom tapped his forehead. “No problem—who else? Does Mark know you’re back? How’d you two meet?”
“Don’t ask. There’s still going to be trouble because of that.”
In record time, the two SEALs had donned black pants, T-shirts, and bulletproof vests; were wearing their pistols on their upper thighs; and had stowed other equipment, of which Sandra recognized only plastic handcuffs and combat knives, in their vests.
Daniel put on a headset and tested the headphones and microphone. “Sorry, Sandra—we only have two. I’m glad we have a vest and the Sig for you. How do you like the Sig?”
Sandra weighed the Sig in her hand. “Rests in the hand nicely. I’ll be all right with it, and the vest is quite a bit more flexible than the ones we usually get.”
“Very good. Stay right beside me, and always do what I say. Understood?”
“Yes, but—”
“No, no buts. I’m not taking any chances, and, to be honest, I’ve had enough for today.”
“I just wanted to know how we were going to get there unseen. I mean, anyone out taking a walk is going to run away screaming when he sees you two.”
“No one’s going to see us. Come on, Sandy, this is our specialty. Trust me.”
He opened the front door and took a careful look around. With a wave, Tom disappeared into the darkness, and Sandra, amazed, wondered where he had gone. “That’s . . .”
“. . . impressive,” Daniel said with a wink. “That’s right, we’ll make it easier for ourselves and take the Audi,” he said and sat in the driver’s seat. Despite this, Daniel made no move to start the car. Instead, he reached for his headphones. “Shit. One right away; we’ll take on the other two together.” Taking a deep breath, Daniel turned to Sandra. “Change of plans. You drive. Stop directly outside your kitchen door. Turn on the inside light, and open the door slowly. After all, we want to make sure they can recognize you easily. Don’t be afraid. We’ll make sure nothing happens to you.”
There were a number of questions Sandra wanted to ask, but she put them off until later. “Man, I’m going to be guilty of driving under the influence,” she said.
They switched places in the car, and once Daniel was in the passenger seat, he leaned over and gave her a soft kiss. “That should calm you down a bit,” he said. Then Daniel switched off the dome light. “They should see you right away, not me.”
Sandra nodded, no longer trusting her voice. Her pulse had already sped up, and her palms were wet. She gripped the steering wheel harder as they made their way to her place, and the motor howled when she accidentally pushed the gas pedal too hard. She forced a grin. “Sorry. I don’t know this car yet.”
They were getting near her building. No matter how much she stared into the darkness beyond the area illuminated by the headlights, she saw no one. She was shocked when, without warning, Daniel opened the passenger door and dove out of the car.
“Show-off,” she said and could have sworn she could hear his quiet laughter. As discussed, she drove on and, in violation of traffic laws, stopped directly in front of the side entrance to her apartment. Where there had been a window in the door that morning, there were now boards.
Sandra turned on the dome light as she opened the door and took as much time getting out as possible. When she was finally standing next to the Audi, she held the Sig Sauer tightly against her upper thigh. She listened tensely, but other than a quiet ticking from the engine, she heard nothing. Then suddenly she heard a choking gasp followed by a dull thud.
“What—?” The question came from her right and broke off abruptly. Only the quiet rustling of leaves suggested that the night wasn’t as peaceful as it seemed. A shrill whistle caused her to jerk.
“Don’t shoot me by mistake, Sandy.” Daniel’s voice came from behind her. Despite hearing the whistle and his voice, she still whirled around and held the gun up. Daniel gently pushed her hand aside. “I couldn’t possibly make myself more visible!”
“You surprised me! That’s not sneaking up anymore—it’s being a public nuisance. I almost . . . Oh, forget it.”
With his arms crossed, Tom followed their conversation, relaxed and leaning against the car. “Are you two about done? I’m still half-asleep.”
“And I thought you superheroes could do fine without it. Now I’m really disappointed.” Sandra turned and walked to the door. She looked at the ruined lock and police tape. She had had enough. She opened the door.
“Five minutes,” she said and jumped again when she noticed Daniel directly behind her. “God, that’s enough . . . You two . . . You, oh, forget it.”
“You’re repeating yourself. Are you going to be all right?”
“Of course. What are we going to do with those guys out there?”
“They’ll be picked up by your colleagues in twenty minutes. We should be gone by then. Tom called Stephan. By the way, he said to tell you hello and that you should take it slow over the next few days.”
“It’s not my fault that . . . Oh, forget it.”
“That’s the third time now that . . .”
Sandra snorted with annoyance and grabbed the big backpack she had stored under the kitchen sink and hurried into the bathroom. She slowed when she had to clamber over a chaos of clothes and decorative objects in the hall. “By the way, how is it you have your jacket back? Oh, of course, Stephan . . .” With a curse, she took her cell phone out from underneath the clothes rack. “That’s lucky—it still works.” Her leather jacket and blazer would have to be enough. Achieving a new personal best, she stuffed her clothes and toiletries into the backpack and disappeared into the living room, still closely followed by Daniel. “Don’t you have anything better to do? Oh, forget it . . .”
“Four,” Daniel said, watching with amusement as she put two DVDs and two bottles of wine in the backpack.
“If you shape up starting now, those are the thanks for your help and hospitality.”
Tom kicked aside two jackets and grinned at her. “Great idea. The wine will go perfectly with the salad in the refrigerator and the pepperoni pizza I bought earlier.”
“Pepperoni . . .” Sandra laughed so hard she couldn’t speak. She didn’t care that they only had a few minutes or that they probably thought she was hysterical. She laughed until tears were streaming down her cheeks. She noticed only peripherally that Daniel’s shoulders were twitching, and he finally drew her close. “Tom probably thinks we’re both crazy, but come on now. We have to get out of here.”
Tom’s expression was one big question mark. “I seem to have made a great joke. It’s too bad I don’t understand it.”
Sandra was exhausted and drank the last of the wine. She gazed at the two men, who were so different and whose close friendship was so unmistakable. If someone had told her this morning that the day would end with a second pizza and wine with present company, she would have called the person crazy.
The conversations were casual; a few times Tom and Daniel had evaded her questions, but she could live with that. “Why is it you have these nicknames? Don’t you like your names?” she asked Daniel.
“Well, I’d rather be called Doc than Danny. But no, that’s not it. There’s a tradition. Other units use ranks or last names in the field, too, but we take no chances and use only first names or nicknames. The people who happen to overhear us get no clues as to who we are. Also, differences in rank are hardly of interest to us.”
Tom smiled and imitated an imaginary conversation between two Marines in which every other word was sir or a rank designation. “See, it can be simpler and faster than that.”
“Convinced.” Although she had had enough to drink, Sandra looked at the two empty wine bottles with disappointment. “But one other thing: What is a German doing with the SEALs?”
Daniel furrowed his brow. “Who do you mean?”
“Well, Tom. Don’t tell me you’re an American.”
“He is—that’s . . . ,” Daniel began, but Tom waved it off.
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“That’s all right. Thanks, Daniel. I’m an American, Sandy, but I’ve lived in Northern Germany for seventeen years and went to school here. Mark did, too, by the way—he even took the college placement exams here. What was that business between you and the boss? Doc’s hint sounded promising.”
Sandra was happy to change the subject. She sensed that Tom had already answered her with amazing openness. With a self-deprecating smile, she told them of her unsuccessful attempts to arrest the team leader.
Instead of laughing about her story, Tom remained silent. “Strange coincidence. You two run into each other, of all people. My grandmother would have known what that means.”
“What’s so strange about that? The only coincidence is that Daniel knew Stephan and of course Mark.”
Finally Tom’s smile came back. “That would be true, if there were not also the little circumstance that Daniel had also ended up on the ground pretty quickly when he was trying to arrest Mark.”
Puzzled, Sandra was silent, and Daniel scowled. “Did you have to bring that up?”
“Mark told me about it. That undercover investigation—that was you? You thought the boss was in it with them, and later he reproached himself for not letting you in on it. Sometimes there’s no right and no wrong,” she said, quoting the words Mark had used to help her get over the disgrace.
Tom whistled through his teeth. “Pretty unusual for him to tell you about that. OK, people, thanks for the wine, but it’s time for me to get to bed. I have training tomorrow morning. I’ll see you, and then I’ll tell you what the story with my grandmother is. You’re competing with Sven as an interrogation expert with your spoken and unspoken questions. Good night.” With that, he disappeared before Sandra could return his good night or express her astonishment at his accurate assessment.
“Don’t be surprised. His empathy’s legendary—that’s why he’s so damned good at his job—and he’s right. Tomorrow’s certainly not going to be easier. I hate endless discussions. The bed in the guest room is freshly made; make yourself at home. Take whatever you need.”
“Where are you going to sleep?”
“If you like, with you.” He smiled. “The way you served that up, I couldn’t resist. There’s a double bed in the bedroom, the couch in the study can be turned into a bed, and I could sleep here in the living room, too. I’ve spent nights under worse conditions, although I’m still thinking about how I’m going to get Tom out of the bedroom.”
Daniel’s exaggeratedly desperate tone made Sandra laugh. “Thanks. For everything today.”
Daniel tapped his forehead casually. “Ma’am, it was my pleasure. Except for the business with the spinach.”
CHAPTER 11
Although Tom was quiet entering the study, Daniel woke immediately and buried his face in his pillow, making a growling noise. “It can’t be morning yet. Out of the question.”
“Six o’clock. Do you want to keep sleeping or . . .”
“Define or.”
“Swimming pool. You’ll save yourself a shower.”
“Shit. I guess I’d better. Mac’s patience is going to be at an end anyway, and he’s hardly going to accept jet lag as an excuse.” Yawning, he stood up. “There’s still an eternity before we have to be in Tannhäuser’s office—at least Sandy can catch up on her sleep.”
Although hardly a beam of light illuminated the room, he sensed Tom’s look.
“You’ve got it bad.”
“Wait and see what happens. But I like the girl.”
“She would let you have it for expressing yourself that way.”
“I know—that’s why I like her. You should have seen how she took on Mark and Jake.” But still she was vulnerable, which made him want to keep an eye on her every second. But Tom didn’t need to know that—he probably sensed it anyway.
“Let’s go, then. If we get there late, you’re going to be in more trouble. Also, I’d like to finally know what was or is up with you and Russell.”
During the drive to the swimming complex, Daniel described the encounter with Russell and his sister’s reaction to a possible move to the West Coast.
Tom listened in silence. It wasn’t until Daniel parked Dirk’s car next to Mark’s Audi that he laid a hand on Daniel’s arm. “I’m glad this is your decision. But I also know you’ve left out one point.”
Daniel avoided Tom’s gaze and indicated the swimming complex on the other side of the street. “Sure, I could imagine leading a team together with you, but since that’s not going to happen, we don’t need to think or talk about it.”
“They wouldn’t accept me into the officer training course. That’s why I’ve always rejected that possibility. Even Mark couldn’t manage that,” Tom said with unexpected seriousness.
Great. This discussion was the last thing Daniel needed. “We’ll never know if you don’t give it a try. But that doesn’t matter. Your decision stands. Period.”
“Hang on. Why aren’t you surprised?”
“You mean I ruined your confession? Lord, Tom, think. I’ve been taking care of all the human resources stuff for Jake since last year. I couldn’t avoid seeing your file, no matter how much I tried. But since you’ve never talked to me about your past, I kept my mouth shut. That’s your business. Even if I think what you’ve achieved in the last few years easily makes up for the few stupid things you did in your youth. But it really doesn’t interest me—I’m not the career type and never will be. We’ll keep on going like we have been, and that’s that. If you want a tip: you should finally take care of the business with your German family—but you know that yourself. So enough about that.”
Tom’s grin was pretty weak. “Was that an order?”
“No, a necessity, because there’s someone standing over there watching us without a lot of enthusiasm.”
Tom followed his gaze and cursed when he recognized Mark. “Have fun, Doc. It doesn’t look like he’s in a very good mood.”
With regret, Daniel watched Tom disappear into one of the changing rooms after having uttered a brief greeting in Mark’s direction. Now, of all times, none of the cleaning staff, who were otherwise always around, were present; thus nothing stood in the way of a conversation with his superior. The impenetrable expression wasn’t helping. Finally, he asked, “What have I done wrong, other than not getting in touch?”
“I’d say that’s enough, isn’t it?”
The tone caused Daniel to stand up straight. Cursing, he threw his duffel bag on the floor. “Should I come to attention, sir? You did say I should take as much time as I needed. My decision not to leave the team had already been made before my conversation with Hector because my sister had told me in no uncertain terms how crazy that would have been. I really just wanted to find out from Hector why he had changed his mind. The conversation took a pretty surprising turn, but I guess you knew long before then why he wanted to get me to leave the SEALs, right?”
“Hector?” Mark said with mild derision. But this time it was Daniel who looked at Mark until he relented. “I’m not a psychic, Daniel—I just had a vague suspicion. Too many things didn’t add up, and then your new friend addressed me the last time I was in Coronado. He was familiar with details of the mission on which Tom almost got killed, things he shouldn’t have known about. Since he didn’t have the information from me, I did a little investigating and found out that he and my father knew each other better than I’d known. Then it was clear who had provided him with details of our missions. Did you think I would have done that?”
“No. I mean yes, but only for a few seconds, before I realized you wouldn’t have kept that a secret from me.” Daniel reached into his pocket and pulled out the letter from his father. “Here, read it yourself.”
Mark read the few lines in silence, gave him back the letter, and laid a hand on his shoulder. “Jake has told me what you’re planning now. Stephan and I have taken care of everything. But save your vacation days for something else. Fly to California with your new gir
lfriend later or do something else.” Mark took a folded piece of paper and an identification card from the inside pocket of his leather jacket.
Daniel glanced over the form—more a declaration—which transferred him to the LKA within the framework of legal and administrative cooperation. He paid more attention to the identification card with the passport photograph that otherwise decorated his military identification. “Special investigator? Sounds good. How did you get that taken care of so quickly? And she’s not actually my girlfriend. Well, not yet.”
Mark smiled. “Thank Stephan. It only took a few phone calls, because Tannhäuser was enthusiastic about the cooperation, and a courier brought the things this morning. We took care of part of the conference in advance. Three weeks, Daniel—then the matter has to be resolved. You’ll work closely with Sven and Dirk, but they’ll mostly be active in the background. Keep me posted, and decide for yourself when you pull us in. All we have planned is training; if you need us, we’ll be there.”
Daniel hadn’t counted on this. Complete freedom and full support from the team was more than he had hoped for. “Thanks, boss” was his reply, and his team leader hadn’t expected anything more.
“You’ve earned it. Do you want to keep standing around here or get in the water?”
“The latter, sir. To the extent the LKA leaves me time, I’ll come to training.”
“Good decision, although it would be a pleasure for me to kick you in the rear for a change instead of Pat.”
Smiling at the reference to the Irishman, who had a tendency to slacken the reins so much that he had to go through extra units on the sports field, Daniel took his bag and walked toward the changing rooms, whistling.
Karl-Heinz Friedrichs shifted his weight uncomfortably from one leg to the other. At six thirty in the morning he was usually still in bed. Shivering, he rubbed his palms together. It just wasn’t his time of day, but the boss paid well, and annoying him was the last thing Kalle wanted to do. The regular assignments brought him good money and spared him all the crappy little jobs with which he had kept himself afloat before. He stepped closer to one of the parked trucks to protect himself from the biting wind. For a moment, he considered whether it was unusual that none of the vehicles were on the road or being loaded at this time of day. But that wasn’t his problem; the boss wanted to meet with him on the remote compound of a Lübeck trucking company, and now here he stood, waiting and freezing.
Nemesis: Innocence Sold Page 12
