by Andrea Kane
“Yes. That’s why I’m capping it at a half hour. Less time, less risk.”
“And the break-in at her apartment?”
“Another device I sent you is an electronic bug Ryan designed— one that needs to be planted in Jia li’s apartment. Quite impressive, it looks like an electronic key fob, so that, even if Jia li were to find it, she’d merely assume that one of her friends left it there. In reality, it’s a one-way microphone that will transmit the conversation in the apartment over an encrypted channel linked to one of our cell phones that’s in close range. Using the Donovan app that I’ve installed on every team member’s cell phone, I’ll be able to listen in on the conversation and record it for evidentiary purposes.”
“By one of our cell phones being in close proximity, you mean Simone’s,” Aidan deduced aloud. “You want Simone to carry out these assignments.”
“Yes. I know what you’re thinking. Unfortunately, there’s no time to call in one of our experienced operatives and bring them up to speed. Plus, I don’t think it’s necessary. The Stanford part will be easy and low risk. The apartment break-in will obviously be a little trickier, but Simone is well-trained to handle it. And that’s where the major impasse lies—if you stick to your decision about her remaining with the Penningtons.”
“I’ll talk to her—and to Vance,” Aidan responded. “They’ll be flying into Santa Clara from Tahoe in an hour or two. It’ll be my job to make Vance realize that babysitting him won’t accomplish what we need to in the next twenty-four hours. Knowing that we’re about to choke off the head of the monster who ordered Lauren’s kidnapping might even pump him up about the imminent success of our mission.”
With that, Aidan paused, mentally assessing the delicate timing taking place in both Silicon Valley and Croatia. “Terri, do the physical setups. But wait to hear from me before you send the text and set the wheels in motion. I’ll tell the same to Simone. I know that will cause you angst because it potentially lengthens the vulnerable time frame when Xu and Jia li could be in contact. But once this arranged meeting happens and Xu doesn’t show up, Jia li and her Nano co-conspirator will realize they’ve been set up, which will set off alarm bells reaching from Santa Clara to Shenzhen. That can’t occur until we’ve pulled off our direct attack and Lauren is safe. She’s our number one priority.”
“Understood. I’ll delay things any way I need to, even if it means filling up Jia li’s voice mailbox and flooding her with junk texts. No matter what, I’ll wait for the go-ahead from you.”
Nodding, Aidan shifted his gaze to Marc. “Any news from Philip?”
“He’s in Đakovo with Ellie and the couple the CI put them in touch with. Recon is well underway.”
“Good. Because regardless of how well I manage Vance, there’s no way we can count on him getting through another videoconference with Lauren, not after what just happened and not when he’s painfully aware that he’ll be down to the final day. Between that and Terri’s plan, we’ve got to move now and get Lauren out of there and headed home before dawn.”
Marc didn’t flinch. “Philip is checking in with me in a matter of hours, after doing as much static recon as he can manage, given our urgent time frame. You and I will use the information he gives us to devise a tactical plan. How long before you land in Osijek?”
“About seven hours.”
“I’ll be waiting at the airport. Đakovo is a quick drive from there. What else did you need to fill me in on?”
“Actually, Terri covered the David Cheng angle for me. The rest—Ethan Gallagher is now in our sights as a potential piece of the puzzle.” Aidan gave Marc a quick rundown on the data that was leading them in that direction, reminding him of the fact that, on top of all the other hints of his involvement, Ethan also spoke fluent Mandarin. “Oh, and I’ll be giving Casey a call later to thank her.”
“You lost me.”
Aidan explained Emma’s role in Operation Bluejack.
Marc began to chuckle. “She must have loved every minute of that. Oh, man, we’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Yeah, well, my jaw was hanging when she brought me the cell phone that fast, together with incriminating info on Gallagher.”
“Don’t ever be fooled into thinking that Emma is a rookie. She’s quite the pro, in her own way.”
“Let’s get back to the message Vance just got from the Chinese.” Aidan brought a close to the brief moment of levity. “With this new verbal threat comes a new possibility. Do the Chinese suspect Ethan of aiding Vance? Is that the close associate they’re referring to? He certainly has the skills to send those photos. We know he didn’t, but they don’t. And based on what Simone reported, he’s certainly living a lifestyle that would suggest he’s getting some extra income. Maybe that’s why Cheng was with him, not to collaborate but to probe. And if that’s the case, then he’s not being paid by the Chinese and he’s definitely not our mole. Simone doesn’t believe that Zoe is either, and I tend to agree with her.”
“And Blockman is clean,” Terri added. “I ran his expense data through the prison algorithm. The only thing he’s guilty of is cheating on his wife by having a girlfriend on the side.”
“Which brings us back to square one,” Aidan said.
“Hopefully, Terri’s bug will give us the answers we need,” Marc responded. “Till that happens, there’s no point in speculating.”
“I agree.” Aidan’s focus returned to the life-or-death mission ahead. “Call me the minute Philip is in contact.”
Abandoned farmhouse
Đakovo, Slavonia
Thursday, 7:10 p.m. local time
Patience was the mark of a good operative, and Philip had been exhibiting the necessary amount of it over the past few hours.
He’d been at the farmhouse since five fifteen, having stashed the gun-metal gray SUV behind a stand of bare-limbed trees and then hunkering down against it with his recon gear. Binoculars. Nikon D-850. Attached AF-S FX Nikkor eight-hundred-millimeter lens.
All was quiet on the grounds. The black sedan was parked in its customary spot. And no other vehicles had arrived, which told Philip that these Albanians had no backup. It was just the handful of them.
There were a few low lights on inside the house, enough to allow Philip to make out a modicum of activity. From the blur of motion he’d seen from the dining area fifty minutes ago, the kidnappers had taken their evening meal. With any luck, it had been accompanied by a few bottles of rakia—enough so they’d be tired, their senses would be dulled, and their awareness of their surroundings would be compromised for the night.
In concurrence with that theory, Mr. Smoker had seemed a little unsteady on his feet when he’d stumbled out to take his last cigarette break—which he did every hour on the hour. There’d been no sign of Mr. Worker Bee since he’d taken out some trash after dinner. Whoever else was in there was a huge question mark. Philip had yet to see anyone who resembled the guy who’d chatted Lauren up at Hofbräuhaus and then physically abducted her. It made him even more convinced that what he’d told Marc was true—that the scumbag had been a cutout—a middleman whose face they realized was likely captured on camera and who’d have to be disposed of to avoid being ID’d.
Still, theories, no matter how compelling, were just that: theories. It was possible he could be inside the farmhouse with an unknown number of others.
Philip had hours to figure it out.
He continued to watch and wait.
26
NanoUSA
1 March
Thursday, 10:50 a.m. local time
Simone left Vance’s office, fairly secure that, between the phone call Aidan had had with Vance and her own calming techniques, they’d gotten both him and Susan under control. At Simone’s urging, Susan had agreed to stay inside her hotel room in Tahoe today, feigning a migraine to her kids, since she was in no shape to pull off acting normal. And Vance was going to apply himself to task-oriented work at Nano for another hour and then fly back
to join his wife. Aidan had bluntly told him that if either he or Susan deviated from this hunkering-down plan, they’d run the risk of compromising the rescue mission—and of further endangering Lauren’s life.
Love for their daughter had kept them in check—that and Aidan’s promise that either he or Simone would keep them in the loop every step of the way.
Simone was about to leave the building and check in with Aidan when she reached Ethan Gallagher’s office, which was adjacent to his boss’s. A woman was just walking in, and Simone caught her profile as she disappeared into the room and shut the door behind her.
June Morris.
Now that was interesting. Ethan had claimed to scarcely interact with the woman, and here she was going into his office for a closeddoor meeting.
Simone glanced around. The hall was empty.
Fortunately, Nano was sleek and modern, with lots of chrome and glass. Using that to her advantage, Simone flattened herself against the wall adjoining the large office window. Glass was much easier to hear through than a solid wall. It also had the advantage of allowing Simone a view of what was taking place.
To an outsider, June was invisible. Which meant she’d pressed herself against the back of the door to avoid being seen. Ethan, on the other hand, was pacing around the room, alternately rubbing the back of his neck and dragging a shaky hand through his hair. Perspiration was beading up on his forehead.
Definitely not the composed Ethan Gallagher who Simone was used to seeing.
“Someone broke into my apartment last night,” he was saying.
“Oh no.” June’s two-word response was low, but not so low that Simone couldn’t tell that she was strung tight. “What did they take?”
“Nothing,” he replied, stopping in his tracks. “That’s what’s got me scared shitless. Stuff was moved around and then put back as carefully as possible. And, June, whoever it was got inside my desk and to my stash.” He paused, staring at the door—and obviously at June—like a terrified rabbit. “My cash and pills were rearranged. Not stolen, just askew. Which means they didn’t want to take them. They either wanted evidence, blackmail ammunition, or I don’t know what. But whatever it was, they got it.”
June was silent for a minute, and Simone strained her ears to hear her response.
“Did you have a client list in there?” she asked tentatively.
“What? No,” Ethan snapped. “My records are all stored electronically, and encrypted. Happy?”
“Of course not.” A tinge of relief, but still a shaky voice. “No one’s contacted you?”
“Not yet, no.” Ethan was pacing again. “But it’s just a matter of time. They didn’t go through all that for nothing. Photos have probably been circulated to whoever’s behind this. I don’t know what to do.”
He looked like a small child about to cry.
“Sit tight.” June sounded so tightly wound that her calming words were almost laughable. “There’s nothing you can do until you’re approached.”
“How cavalier.” Now Ethan was visibly pissed. “May I remind you that if my ass is fried, your deliveries dry up?”
“You don’t need to remind me,” June choked out. “But we have to find out what they want. What else can we do but wait?”
“Right. Great. So it’s business as usual around here until a bomb goes off in my face.” Ethan sucked in his breath, striving desperately for control. “I’ve got to pull myself together. I can’t look or act weird, not when I’m holding down the fort for Vance while he’s in Lake Tahoe.” He ran a palm over his face. “You’d better get out of here,” he said. “The last thing we need is for anyone to make a connection between us. We’re screwed enough as it is.”
Simone shrunk against the wall as Ethan walked over to the window and peered out, perceiving what he believed to be a deserted hallway.
“Go now,” he told June.
“You’ll keep me updated?”
Ethan was nodding, but Simone didn’t wait to hear anything else. She couldn’t risk the door opening and June finding her eavesdropping.
She slid along the wall until she was back outside Vance’s office. There, she paused, opening a file folder and relaxing her stance as she seemingly studied the folder’s contents.
When enough time had passed, she slipped the file folder back in her briefcase and continued on her way.
The area near Ethan’s office was deserted.
* * *
As soon as she’d driven beyond Nano’s gates, Simone called Aidan and filled him in.
“A drug dealer. Nice.” Aidan was still sitting in the same seat on the Gulfstream that he’d been occupying since the team videoconference. “So the Chinese were checking Gallagher out after Cheng reported in. They wanted to know where he was getting his spare change. And what they found will lead them to assume he’s also immoral enough to commit industrial espionage. That only confirms what we already guessed—that Ethan Gallagher is not our mole.”
“It also explains why June Morris is so strung out.” Simone was driving as she spoke. “Sleeping with Robert helped get her the CFO spot. But holding on to that position is another matter entirely. It’s gotten bigger and more overwhelming as Nano has grown. And she no longer has the perk of sharing Robert’s bed to get his support.”
Aidan tapped his pen thoughtfully against his leg. “We’ve got tons of corporate drama going on at Nano and no clue as to who the insider is. Lots of suspects, not a single damn lead.” He blew out his breath, clearly wrestling with the situation. “Our mission is to rescue Lauren,” he stated flatly.
“But you also want the whole case wrapped up and all the involved parties punished.” Simone’s assessment was matter-of-fact. She knew Aidan only too well.
“Yeah, I do. But my attention needs to be focused on where I’m going, what Philip, Marc, and I are planning, and how we’re carrying it all out successfully. I need you to spearhead the other parts of the investigation, Simone—you and Terri. When all this is over, I want everyone who’s guilty to pay for his or her crime, one way or another.”
“Which brings us to this young woman you briefly mentioned—Jia li Sung.”
“I couldn’t get into detail, not with Vance still a loose cannon.
Now I can. Because it’s the reason I asked you to drop everything and leave Nano once Vance was settled in.”
Aidan went on to explain everything to Simone—Terri’s findings, her plans, and their hold-back-but-coiled-to-strike timetable.
Simone listened intently, then said, “The plan is strong and may very well hand us our mole. And while it’s necessary that we wait to initiate the text, I want to maximize my time. I’m supposedly heading back to my hotel to compile a comprehensive report on Vance’s department in preparation for my meeting with Robert and Vance tomorrow. No one expects me to be on-site. Once I’m in my room, I’ll call Terri and get briefed on the details of my job and drive to Stanford Business School right away. As for the electronic devices I’ll be using, you left the package Terri sent you in my hotel room for security purposes, locked in my safe.”
Aidan stated the obvious: “Clearly, you’re all in.”
“Did you doubt it?”
“No. But I’m not happy. Ideally, I’d call in one of our contacts and have him or her do the dirty work.”
“I’m sure you would,” Simone said defensively. “But we don’t have the luxury of time, and I’m perfectly capable of handling this. Plus, I’m as vested as you are in bringing down the insiders who had a hand in Lauren’s kidnapping. A college girl was taken—a vulnerable young woman who’s barely more than a kid. I intend to take an active role in closing this case.”
“And I respect that. But, Simone, planting the bug could be dangerous. You’ll have to work fast and get out of there in a hurry.”
“I’ll be fine, chéri.” Simone’s voice softened as she heard the deep concern in Aidan’s voice. “I managed just fine in Blockman’s office, no?”
“Yes.�
� Aidan blew out a breath. “But in this case, you’re invading someone’s home. And given the players involved, you’re putting yourself in harm’s way. Remember: in America, people can have guns in their homes. So, yeah, I’m worried.”
“You, who are about to put your life on the line by attacking violent killers, are worried about a little breaking and entering?”
The irony of Simone’s words wasn’t lost on Aidan. “Guilty as charged. But we’re talking about you, not me.”
“And I thank you for that. But I’ll take every precaution. You just concentrate on your mission. Terri and I will take care of the rest.”
“Terri’s in New York. You’re the one in Silicon Valley.” Aidan wasn’t ready to wrap up this conversation. “Not only am I worried about you planting the bug, I’m even more worried about what happens afterward. If things go as planned, you’re going to be alone in the car outside the apartment when two desperate people figure out they’ve been played. If I were them, I’d hop the first flight I could out of the country to a place with no extradition. And knowing you, you’d be in hot pursuit to prevent that from happening.”
“You’re right. I would.”
“I’m going to talk to Terri. Once Lauren is safe, I want her to hack into the TSA and place everyone we suspect on the No Fly List. They’ll be stuck in the US until law enforcement picks them up. And if they try to head to Mexico by car, California traffic will prevent them from getting very far.”
“Fine. So there’s no reason for me to follow them. But just in case I’m spotted, I plan on being armed. You have several guns locked in my hotel room safe. One of them is a Glock 27. I’m trained to use that pistol, and you know it.”
“You’ve never shot anyone.”
“And hopefully I won’t have to this time. These are white-collar criminals, not violent offenders. But if one of them has a gun and tries to use it, they’ll be dead before they can pull the trigger. Count on it.”
After they hung up, Aidan looked down to where he was gripping his pen more tightly than he’d realized. He’d never been able to talk Simone out of anything once she made up her stubborn mind. This time had been no different.
