“Could be a trap.”
“She got another call.”
Gunner told him, word for word, what the caller said. Before he finished his sentence, he had a theory.
“How much do you know about Evasov.”
“Onyx and Monk are putting together a file as we speak.”
“What about Razor?”
“What about me?” he asked, coming downstairs with Ava behind him.
Gunner stood and walked over to her. “Long time, no see,” he said. He’d always have a soft spot in his heart for Razor’s wife, and by the look on her face, she felt the same way.
“I heard you had a rough day.”
“Pimm did. I didn’t.”
Ava led him back over to the sofa and sat down next to him. “I know you better than that, Gunner.”
“To be honest, I’ve never felt more ashamed.” The words were meant for Ava’s ears only, but he’d make the same confession to Doc and Razor.
“What do you want to eat, Avarie?” Razor asked from the doorway to the kitchen.
“Pancakes. Pizza. Pasta.” She rubbed her belly. “This little nugget likes carbs.”
“I’m happy for you,” he told her.
“I know you are. I’ve missed you.”
“What do you think your mom and Aine would like?” Razor hollered.
“They’re fine with whatever I want.” Ava moved closer to Gunner. “How’s Raketa?” she whispered.
“Stressed. Scared.”
Ava nodded. “I’d really like to meet her.”
Gunner hadn’t realized until right now how much the two women looked alike. Raketa was more petite than Ava, who took after her mother, but there were enough similarities that he might guess they were related if he didn’t know for sure.
“She wants to keep you safe.”
“But we’re both here, and so is Aine.”
“It isn’t my decision, sweetheart.”
“I know. I just—”
“Hi.”
Gunner looked up and saw Raketa in the doorway.
“Hi,” said Ava, standing.
Gunner could see Razor in the kitchen, behind Raketa, watching like he was.
Raketa came farther into the room; Ava met her halfway.
“I feel like I should thank you,” said Ava.
“What for?”
Ava smiled. “From what I’ve heard, you saved my life. Aine’s too.”
“I don’t really think so…” Raketa’s eyes met Gunner’s. She was way out of her element. That was evident.
“I know Aine would really like to meet you too.”
“I…I…um…that would be nice.”
“I’ll go get her. I’ll spare you Peggy, though. I think she’s napping anyway.”
“You don’t have to do this,” Gunner said when he knew Ava was out of earshot.
“I do now,” she snapped. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have come in here. I thought I could but…”
“Come on. We’ll go for a walk.”
Gunner took her hand and led her outside.
“Talk to me, Rocket Girl.”
She smiled.
“I’m not her sister.”
“No. You’re not. You share DNA.”
“That’s the way I’ve always thought of it, at least in the last few months. I’m not anybody’s sister. Whatever she’s looking for…I don’t know how to give her.”
“Two things. First, I don’t know that Ava is looking for you to give her anything. Second, you said that you don’t know how to give it to her. Does that mean you want to learn?”
Raketa didn’t answer right away. She walked through the garden, stopping every so often to smell the flowers.
“Things grow year-round in California. Nothing grows in Moscow.”
Gunner nodded, waiting to see where she was going with this.
“She cannot understand the life I’ve led.”
“There is no reason for you to share that with her.”
“But she will ask.”
Gunner shook his head. “She’s married to Razor. Not asking is part of her everyday life.”
“And if she does?”
Gunner walked closer and put his arms around her waist. “Tell her it’s something you don’t want to talk about.”
Raketa rolled her eyes.
“If that is your only fear, it’s unwarranted.”
She cocked her head. “What do you mean?”
“You have no reason to be concerned.”
“What about the sister?”
“She’s no different. In fact, Aine is the quieter of the two.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head.
“You aren’t the only one who’s had a difficult life, Rocket Girl. Petrov is their father too.”
“They grew up with him. Did he beat them?”
She already knew the answer to that question. “They rarely saw him, or their mother. Like you, they were alone. Shipped off to boarding school.” Gunner looked over at the house. “You know all this, Raketa. If you aren’t interested in learning more or spending time with them, you don’t have to justify it to me.”
“I don’t.”
“Not a problem. I mean that.”
Gunner heard the front door open and was relieved to see Doc walking toward them rather than the twins.
“It’s set. You, Shiv, and McTiernan will meet with UR the day after tomorrow.”
“Where?”
“Los Angeles.”
Raketa put her arm through Gunner’s.
“You’ll be safer here.”
She shook her head.
“Do they know what we’re after?”
“Affirmative. And they know what we’re offering.”
“Give us a minute?” Gunner asked him.
“Take all the time you need. I believe Razor is making arrangements to take Ava, her sister, and her mother to the house in Cambria.”
“Roger that.” It wasn’t fair that everyone had descended on Doc and Merrigan, particularly with the baby. There were two houses less than three hours from Montecito where most everyone could stay, depending on which of the partners were needed elsewhere. Gunner wasn’t aware of any other ops going on, but that didn’t mean there weren’t any.
“Raketa and I can stay up there too,” he told Doc.
“Who do you want with you?”
“What are my choices?”
Doc laughed. “Razor is off the table, and so is Pimm. Otherwise, you have your pick.”
“Mantis and Alegria.”
Doc frowned.
“What?”
“Not a good idea.”
“Okay, so much for having my pick. Onyx and Alegria.”
“Good. I’ll set it up. Monk and Dutch will go with Razor. Striker and Mantis will set up in the Harmony house, and Mercer and Quinn can go home. That everybody?”
“McTiernan.”
“Right. He’ll go with Striker and Mantis.”
“That just leaves Shiv.”
“He’ll stay here with us.”
Gunner raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“Nothin’.”
“He can buy a damn pair of earplugs.” Doc turned to Raketa. “Sorry, you two wanted to talk.”
“Where are we going?” she asked when Doc walked away.
“We have a place in Cambria. Not too far from here. We’ll head there tonight.”
“And so will Razor?”
“Two houses, sweetheart, and we’ll take separate cars.”
She nodded.
“It’ll be okay. In forty-eight hours, the deal will be made with United Russia and Azarpassillo, securing your freedom. Before Petrov can get wind of it, we’ll go after him. It’s almost over.”
“I hope you’re right.”
So did he, because right now, even he had a hard time believing what he’d just said.
21
“Hey, Raze. What do you know about Topor Evasov?”
“Not a lot more than you do. He was thought to have been executed by Azerbaijan’s military as part of that mass wave of arrests made last year.”
“That’s right, he’s Armenian. A double agent.”
“There’s a theory that he secretly ran everything in Azerbaijan for Petrov when he was living as Conor McNamara. Couldn’t have done it alone, though.”
“What else?”
“Late forties. Cut his chops in the Armenian National Security Service.”
“So Petrov turned him?”
“Yeah, probably.”
Gunner knew Razor almost better than he knew himself. Something was on his friend’s mind, and whatever it was, Razor was piecing it together on the fly.
“Tell me again what the mystery caller said.”
Gunner reiterated every word.
“That last part…‘I can no longer protect you.’”
“It’s odd,” said Gunner. “That’s what made Raketa think it was Petrov. While she was at his compound, he told her she was there for her protection.”
“I can no longer protect you.”
“What are you getting at, Raze?”
“But he was able to protect her when the chip was still implanted.”
Gunner was usually able to be patient when Razor was thinking out loud. Not this time. “Get to the point.”
When Razor opened his laptop, Gunner sat down.
“Where’s Raketa?” Razor asked, but he didn’t answer. He knew his friend was too lost in what he was doing to hear his answer anyway.
Earlier, when he and Raketa had come back inside, she’d asked if he’d mind if she talked to Ava alone for a few minutes. He’d wanted to ask why since she’d just told him she didn’t want to, but he’d let it go and went in search of Razor.
“I had a feeling…”
“Jesus,” Gunner growled. “What? Get to the damn point!”
“Ivashov, Evasov.”
“Both common Eastern European names.”
“Not so much.”
“Raze, I love ya like a brother, but if you don’t get to the point, I’ll…”
Razor looked up at him.
“Never mind. I’m not in a position to make threats, even if I’m not serious.”
“Take it easy on yourself, Gunner. You’ve never seen my bat-shit crazy.”
“If I haven’t, has anybody?”
Razor shrugged. “No, but…”
“I changed my mind, if you don’t tell me where you’re going with this in the next ten seconds, I’ll rip your face off.”
“Svetlana Ivashov is Armenian.”
“But Petrov isn’t?”
“Nope. Azerbaijani all the way.”
“He had to know his wife’s nationality before he married her.”
“We need some inside intel on this. Too bad Pimm…sorry, man.”
“What are you getting at?” Gunner asked, his voice low.
“Who else have we got that’s far enough inside?”
“Grigor Bedrossian.”
“Shiv.” Gunner stood and greeted the man who’d just joined them. “How’s Pimm?”
“I’ll be fine, you stupid fucking asshole.”
Shiv stepped aside, and Pimm walked toward Gunner and reached out his hand.
“You armed?”
“Shake my hand, ya wanker.”
Gunner did. “I’m sorry.”
“Forgiven.”
“Why?”
“Gunner, thank the man for accepting your bloody apology,” said Shiv. “We have an op to finish.”
“What do you want to know about Bedrossian?” Pimm asked.
“Nothing,” answered Razor. “I want to track Svetlana Ivashov’s whereabouts for the last twenty years.”
“Bedrossian would be the man.”
“Is your cover blown?” asked Gunner.
“What cover? He knew I was MI6. So was he, actually. At one point anyway. When his uncle became president, he immediately appointed Grigor as ambassador to the UK. Now that the pres needs more help from you Yanks, he sent him to DC.”
“Get me everything you can on Svetlana and Topor Evasov,” Razor said to Pimm.
“Svetlana’s brother?”
“What?” gasped Gunner and Razor simultaneously.
“I’m beginning to think we don’t work together on jack shit,” Gunner shot at Shiv.
“He’s actually her step-brother. Different fathers,” added Pimm.
Gunner peeked his head out of the room they were in but didn’t see Raketa. “Excuse me, gentlemen,” he said before leaving to search for her.
He found her sitting outside, looking up at the sky. “Hey, Rocket Girl.”
“Hi,” she answered, nuzzling into him when he sat next to her.
“How’d your chat with Ava go?”
“It was fine. You were right.”
“She didn’t ask questions.”
“None at all.”
“Good.”
“What have you been doing?”
Gunner told her that he’d asked Razor what he knew about Topor Evasov. “What about you? What’s his background?”
“I don’t know much of anything.”
“He’s your step-uncle.”
Raketa raised her head and then turned to look at him. “Explain.”
Gunner reiterated the conversation he and Razor had had with Shiv and Pimm.
“Wow,” she said, looking up at the sky again and shaking her head. “He hates me so much.”
“Maybe he doesn’t.”
“You should’ve seen him.”
“Who else saw him?”
“What do you mean?”
“Surveillance, right?”
Raketa nodded.
“How do you think it would’ve gone down if Petrov thought Topor’s behavior to you was too…familiar? Did he ever hurt you?”
“Not really. He used to get rough and drag me by my arm, but nothing worse than that.”
They both heard the front door open, and Shiv came outside.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but we need to wrap things up so you can leave.”
“Come on,” he said to Raketa, taking her hand in his.
The K19 team had reassembled in the main room of Doc and Merrigan’s house. All eyes were on Gunner and Shiv when they came inside.
“The meeting with UR has been accelerated,” Doc told them.
“Meaning what?” asked Gunner.
“It’s going down in about thirty minutes.”
“How?”
“They’re coming here,” Doc answered.
“Have you lost your mind?” Gunner was incredulous that Doc would allow UR anywhere near his compound, let alone his wife and baby.
“They aren’t coming to the house. You, Shiv, and McTiernan are meeting them at San Ysidro Ranch. We’ve made arrangements for a cottage. You’ll have plenty of cover.”
“Why the change?” asked Shiv.
“There’s new intel on Petrov’s twenty.”
Gunner’s head was about to explode. “Where is he, Doc?”
“On the move. It appears he’s heading south.”
“Where’d the intel come from?”
“Ambassador Bedrossian,” answered Pimm.
Gunner nodded and then looked at Raketa. She had no visible reaction to anything that had been said, and that was her training kicking in. It occurred to Gunner that the only times she had a visceral reaction, was when they were alone.
“Are you ready?” Gunner asked McTiernan.
“Yes.”
The answer was simple, and Gunner didn’t need more than that.
“Who’s staying, who’s going?” he asked Doc, who rattled off each of the teams. Half of the K19 team would stay put with Raketa, Doc, Merrigan, and Quinn along with Ava, her sister, and mother. The rest were going with Gunner and Shiv.
“When this deal is done, we’re leaving Doc and Merrigan alone for a long while,” Gunner told the group.
“Roger tha
t,” said Razor.
For the most part, Razor kept his facial reactions to a minimum, but he had two tells. One, when he was lying. That one his wife had recognized early on. The second was when he was stressed. Tonight his anxiety level was through the roof, and Gunner understood why. In fact, he’d guess Doc and Shiv were equally stressed. To them, this was personal; to the rest, it was a mission.
—:—
There was a mental routine Raketa implemented when the stress of whatever situation she was in threatened to undermine her focus.
Regardless of whether she stayed here or went with the team meeting with United Russia, she was in grave danger. Until the deal was made—if it was made—UR could mount a full-bore attack and kill not just her, but anyone around her. She knew this from experience.
Gunner was at an equal level of risk. There was no question that United Russia knew exactly how important he was to her, and would use that as a means to punish her for what she’d done when she left their employ.
“Come with me,” Merrigan said, leading her upstairs. “I think I have a good idea of your mental state presently, and I’d like to offer some perspective.”
Raketa nodded while she waited for Merrigan to close the door to the room they were in.
“If anyone from K19, MI6, or the agency weren’t completely confident that this deal was viable, this meeting wouldn’t be taking place.”
“I understand.”
“If United Russia didn’t see what’s in it for them, it wouldn’t be taking place either, and they certainly wouldn’t have agreed to move it up forty-eight hours.”
Unless they were planning an annihilation. Raketa recognized that their doing so would mean the equivalent of World War III. Taking out that number of operatives with connections to both the CIA and MI6 would spell political and financial ruin for UR. Even China wouldn’t step in to help them if they put themselves in that position.
Without money and support from the members of the United Nations Security Council, UR would be ripe for a coup. It didn’t matter how many friends their current leader had inside his homeland; no world power could continue as such without allies.
“I can see you’re lost in thought, adding to my list of considerations.”
Raketa nodded. “It’s logical they would not jeopardize the Russian Federation’s position in the UN or among its members.”
“Exactly,” said Merrigan. “You also know that UR’s enemies within the federation are many.”
Gunner (K19 Security Solutions Book 2) Page 17