The Becić Connection

by Estelle Ryan

  “Francine.” I waited until she looked at me. “Did you find any more emails between Rene and the Collector?”

  “I did.” Pink leaned away from his tablet. “There are emails dating back three years and five months ago. I’m ninety-nine percent sure this was their first contact.” He picked up his tablet from the table and tapped the screen a few times. “I’m sending you everything I have.”

  For a few minutes it was quiet around the table while everyone read. I concurred with Pink’s interpretation of the first email. It was introductory—the Collector was soliciting Rene’s trolling services. The other twenty-six emails were at most seven sentences, on average four. On their own it was hard to extrapolate any information about the personalities communicating. Put together, I now had a better profile of both Rene and the Collector. By no means did this comfort me.

  “We’re not allowed on the ship.” Luka sat down hard on his chair and dropped his phone on the table. “I trust my boss. He’s not one to be bought by the Collector, so I spoke to him. He doesn’t want to go to his boss or to the prosecutor”—Luka looked at Zork—“because of the people in that office possibly connected to Rene.” He looked back at us. “Zork showed me the names of the people who’d hired Rene’s trolling services. The judge we always use for emergency permission to breach is also on that list.” He nodded towards Francine’s laptop. “My boss says that we don’t have enough to even claim extenuating circumstances. We need definitive proof that either Rene or the Collector has explosives on that ship. If we breach without permission and this doesn’t pan out, it will be an international, political, damn... it will be a catastrophe that will end all of our careers.”

  “Maybe not for you guys, but our careers here in Croatia will be over.” Zork crossed his arms and stared at Luka. “Boss? I got in this business to help people, to save lives. If I have to choose between saving my career and saving those almost two thousand people on that ship... well, it isn’t a choice. I’m getting on that ship. I’d rather ask forgiveness than permission.”

  Luka gave a tight nod and closed his eyes for a few seconds. There were moments that I wondered about the heavy responsibility that rested on Luka’s shoulders the same as it did on Daniel’s. Not only were they in charge of the team’s actions during a rescue, but they were also responsible for the lives of their team as well as all the civilians in the vicinity.

  Luka cleared his throat and picked up his phone. “I know a few people like you.” He looked at Zork. “People who don’t care about politics or optics, only the safety of those they vowed to protect.” He got up. “I’ll get a team together.”

  “We’ll look for that evidence.” Manny pointed at Francine. “Get on it.”

  “Sir, yes, sir!” Even though Francine’s words were playful, her expression conveyed the tension we all felt.

  “I’ll help.” Pink turned to Zork. “Go with Luka. We’ll update you on any intel we uncover.”

  “Stay safe.” Nikki blinked up at Zork when he got up.

  Zork’s smile was soft. “Done.”

  Luka walked back to us. “Find out what kind of explosives and where they are on the ship. I have the best bomb guy on the line.”

  “Marko?” Zork asked.

  Luka nodded.

  “Um... guys?” Pink frowned at his tablet, then looked up at Zork. “You might need to stay behind. I’m looking at another one of Rene’s email accounts and there are a bunch of emails in Croatian.”

  “What about an online tran...” Nikki stopped when Pink shook his head.

  “In this situation, we can’t afford even the slightest mistake in translation, Nix. We can’t use any translation app.” Pink raised his eyebrows at Zork. “We need someone who can read between the lines. A native speaker.”

  “Stay.” Luka nodded at Zork. “Bruno and Mikula are already on their way. We need you here.”

  Zork didn’t look pleased, but sat down again. “Show me those emails.”

  Pink and Zork huddled together as Luka left. Zork was working on his laptop again, Pink tapping away on his large tablet. Francine was working on both her tablet and laptop. I barely had time to worry about Luka’s safety when Francine pointed at her laptop screen. “I’m looking at emails between the Collector and Rene. In English. It’s a different email account from before, but they’re discussing the ship. I’m connecting my laptop screen with yours. With everyone’s.”

  My tablet pinged and I swiped the screen. I was seeing everything she was looking at on her laptop monitor. The mouse cursor moved to the top of an email inbox and clicked on the last email. It contained only one word. ‘Done.’

  “That email was sent two days ago.” Francine lifted her tablet and tapped the screen a few times. “They were docked in Bari.”

  “Italy,” Colin added. “Bari is across the Adriatic sea from Dubrovnik. A hop, skip and a jump away.” He smiled at me. “It’s close.”

  “Not that close.” Zork looked up from his laptop. “It’s an eight-hour ferry ride. I suppose in the context of being on a cruise, it’s not that far.”

  Pink brought his attention back to the emails and I looked back at my tablet screen. “What about the other emails, Francine?”

  “Click on the ones you want to read. Your screen is my screen.” She winked, but there was no humour on her face. “I’m going to search for more on my tablet.”

  I clicked on an email that was sent three weeks ago. Again, it was only a short sentence sent by Rene. ‘the ship’s name?’

  I clicked to the next email. The Collector. ‘Why the new email address? Have you been compromised?’

  Rene replied, ‘no. all secure. ship?’

  ‘Ved-ava. Get it done.’

  A few days later the Collector sent another email. ‘I have additional work connected to the ship. Interested?’

  ‘yes.’

  ‘Get into the ship’s system. I need access.’

  A day later, Rene replied, ‘i’m sending link to their system. anything else?’

  ‘Do you have access to explosives?’

  ‘yes.’

  ‘An explosives expert to plant them?’

  ‘yes.’

  ‘I will have a team do some work on the last day of the cruise.’ This led me to believe that the Collector kept the trolling and theft separate. I read on. ‘That evening, there will be a firework display. I want the ship destroyed during the display. Nothing must remain.’

  I gasped. Francine’s head jerked up. She must’ve seen something in my expression, because her eyes widened and she looked at her laptop screen. It was displaying what I was looking at. Her eyes widened even more. “Oh, shit.”

  “We have Luka’s evidence.” Vinnie was holding his phone in the air. “It’s all here.”

  “It’s not enough.” Manny grunted. “But we have a lot more than a few minutes ago. Doc, we need to know where the explosives are.” He glanced at his phone. “It’s thirty-four minutes before the fireworks start. Luka needs to know what they’re walking into when they board that ship.”

  Blackness entered my peripheral vision. The responsibility for the safety of Luka, Bruno, Mikula and all the passengers felt like a ten-tonne weight resting on my chest. I pushed Mozart’s Violin Sonata in D minor into my mind and clicked on the next message. And the next.

  Nothing. Only emails from Rene confirming that he’d accessed the ship’s system.

  “Holy frigging moly.” Pink straightened in his chair. “Guys, this is it. Shit.”

  “Speak.” Manny’s tone was tight, his scowl pulling his brows together.

  Pink shook his head. “Tell them, Zork.”

  “We were looking at emails between Rene and some locals.” He glanced up. “All in Croatian. Rene was first looking for explosives. Then for someone who could set things up.” He looked down at his laptop again. “This is from an Abdyl. ‘I have the C4. When and where?’ Rene then answers, ‘Bari. The Ved-ava will be docked for a few hours. Pick up your vendor access c
ard from the usual place. I’m attaching the ship’s layout and I’ve marked where I want the explosives.’”

  “Holy fucking hell.” Manny got up. “Where are the explosives?”

  Zork clicked a few times, then looked at Manny. “In the engine room.”

  Manny tapped his phone screen and walked towards the front door.

  “Oh, no. This is so not good.” Francine put her hands in her hair. Then lowered them to type a few commands on her laptop. She drew a sharp breath. “I’m finding some really bad stuff here.”

  “What are you talking about?” Manny sat down heavily and put the phone on the table. “I have Luka on speakerphone, but the connection is iffy.”

  Francine looked up. Her face had lost all colour. “Rene is using his IoT and trolling skills to hack all cell phones in Rovinj.” She swallowed. “He’s going to live-stream the fireworks and explosion to all the contacts on every phone he has access to.”

  “Bloody hell!” Manny glowered at his phone when static sounded from it. “Luka?”

  No response. The only sound in the room was the hissing noise coming from Manny’s phone. He disconnected and phoned again. This time the call didn’t even connect.

  “Does Luka know where the explosives are?” Zork asked.

  “Yes.” Manny tapped his phone screen again, but the call didn’t go through.

  Something didn’t make sense to me. I took a shaky breath to calm my brittle nerves and allow my cerebral cortex to access this subconscious concern. It hit me. “Why is he live-streaming this? The profile I have of Rene doesn’t indicate a need for level of graphic horror. He’s motivated by money.”

  Francine’s eyebrows shot up. “Give me a... min...” She tapped on her tablet screen for a few seconds. “Oh, my God. He’s selling access on the darknet.” She closed her eyes. When she looked at me, her distress triggered mine. “And Rene sold bragging rights to the Kosovo Liberation Army. They’re claiming the glory for blowing up the ship. Oh, God. We have to stop this.”

  “Holy hellfire.” Manny leaned forward to look at Francine. “How is he live-streaming this?”

  “He’s already online.” Zork turned his laptop screen for us to see. On the screen was a view of the marina. It was being shot from the main square that led to the long promenade.

  “Do we know if this is Rene?” Pink asked.

  “It is.” Francine tapped her tablet screen. “He’s using one of his darknet accounts for this streaming.”

  The view on Zork’s laptop monitor shifted as Rene walked down to the water. At any time, the marina could have a hundred and ninety-six boats. It looked like almost all the berths were taken. Rene walked down the pier and let the camera pan over the vessels. Some boats were small and looked merely functional. Others looked like expensive yachts.

  People were sitting on the boats, legs hanging over the sides or sitting on the deck, sipping wine. Others were strolling along the pier. He turned the camera back to the promenade. Along the waterfront, all the restaurants had tables outside. I could not see one empty table.

  There were people everywhere. Along the promenade, filling up the main square, the restaurants, even looking from the windows and balconies of the buildings facing the marina.

  “We have to stop this motherfucker.” Vinnie got up and walked to Manny. “I can’t be on that ship to disarm the bomb, but I have to do something. I have to stop this man from glorifying a disaster.”

  “Um... guys?” The fear around Francine’s eyes sent a spike of adrenaline through my body. Her brows pulled together. “I’m looking at emails he sent to people buying this live-stream. He’s talking about blowing up a church as well.”

  “Shit.” Colin raked his fingers through his hair. “The Church of St. Euphemia is right here. In the centre of this tourist district.”

  I pushed back into my chair. That church was a two-minute walk from our villa. It was close. Too close. I took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, trying desperately to regain control over the anxious thoughts running rampant in my mind. I had to focus on something else. I looked at my tablet to see if it was linked to Francine’s tablet screen. It wasn’t. “What else does the email say?”

  She scrolled on her tablet for a second. “Um... It looks like the bomb on the ship is on a timer and that is all connected to the fireworks. But he’s going to detonate the bomb in the church remotely after... after the ship blows up.”

  “Bloody hellfire.” Manny looked at Zork. “Where is this arsehole now?”

  Zork looked at the live-stream on his laptop monitor. “Still in the main market square by the marina.”

  “Go.” Francine waved her hand towards the door. “Find Rene and stop him blowing up the church. I’m going to try to disable his streaming. He has incredible encryption. I don’t know if I’ll stop it in time.” She glanced at her wristwatch. “Oh, God. It’s only sixteen minutes until the fireworks start.”

  “Shit.” Nikki’s quiet whisper held a lot of fear. “But what about Luka and the other guys?”

  “We can’t worry about them now, Nikki,” Manny said. “We have to trust that they will do their job. And we need to do ours.” He snapped his fingers at me. “Get a move on, Doc.”

  I pushed back in my chair. “No.”

  “I don’t have time to argue with your sensitivities now. We need your eye to spot Rene in the crowds out there.” He snapped his fingers again and pointed sharply to the door. “Now, missy!”

  Chapter TWENTY-ONE

  I HAD WANTED TO RESIST Manny’s order, but didn’t. Too many lives were at stake and Zork had reiterated that he didn’t know who else to trust, who else to ask for assistance.

  So I followed Colin out the front door of the villa and looked to my left. There it was. The three-nave Baroque church. On the top of the hill, it dominated this side of the historical Old Town, its tower high above the buildings, the focal point of many panoramic photos showing the charming skyline of Rovinj.

  “He’s still in the main square.” Zork had connected his phone to the live-stream we’d seen on his laptop.

  Pink nodded and stepped to the left behind Zork. Vinnie followed with Colin and me in tow, Manny at the back. They’d decided on this order so as to have an armed person at both the front and back. Their guns weren’t drawn, but the possibility of such a situation didn’t help the anxiety suffocating me.

  We rushed down our cobblestone street and turned left into another narrow street that ran parallel to the waterfront. Three- and four-story buildings lined both sides of the street. My breath caught at the sight of the many people strolling and peering into the few shops that were still open. Most were heading towards the marina, no doubt to see the firework display.

  Zork glanced at his phone and started jogging. We followed. I didn’t know what he’d seen, but the increased tension in his muscles didn’t bode well. I swallowed. I didn’t know how I was going to be able to focus on spotting Rene when all I could see were the many people in the street blocking our way.

  Zork shouted something in Croatian, then, “Make way!”

  People turned around and stepped to the side to allow us to pass. Most nonverbal cues showed curiosity. A few had been startled, but no one showed fear. Both Zork and Pink exuded that singular focus I’d observed while they were in action. But they didn’t communicate danger or a threat. People only reacted when Vinnie passed them. That was when I noticed stronger apprehension flashing across faces, arms being crossed and torsos leaning away.

  We reached the far left side of the marina and continued towards the water fountain in the main square.

  “Hold up.” Manny’s voice behind us was loud enough to hear, but not to alarm anyone.

  I stopped. Pink and Zork turned around, a deep frown showing Zork’s confusion. “We’ve got to move. He’s walking away.”

  Manny lowered his brow and looked at Zork for a moment. “I know this is your jurisdiction, Zork, but—”

  “I’ll take any suggestions you can
give. I’m not a leader in these things, Manny.”

  Manny nodded towards the crowd on the marina. “Phone in a bomb threat. We need to evacuate.”

  As far as I could see, people were standing in groups, laughing and chatting. Already, most people were facing the water, their eyes wide in anticipation. I turned away from the restaurants lining the marina and blinked.

  The cruise ship was here.

  I estimated it to be five to seven hundred metres from the marina. All the balconies were lit and a string of lights at the very top of the ship formed an outline. It was a beautiful sight.

  And terrifying.

  A group of people next to us cheered, then laughed at one of their companions as he did a silly dance. The three children in the group joined him, which made the parents laugh even harder. These people, these children were in danger.

  I turned back to tell Zork I agreed with Manny, but he was already speaking into his phone. He ended the call, swiped the screen twice, his frown deepening. “Rene is no longer here.”

  “What did your boss say?” Manny asked.

  “He agr...” Zork’s head turned when two police officers walked up to the family group next to us.

  At first they spoke in Croatian, but then changed to stilted English and pointed away from the marina. “Evacuate. Calm. Leave. Now. Please.”

  A few more officers appeared and within a few seconds the noise level around us rose as people asked questions. People started walking calmly up the street leading to the fountain.

  Then someone screamed and chaos ensued. People started pushing and shoving, rushing away. Restaurant patrons jumped up from their outdoor tables and ran, leaving behind overturned chairs and half-eaten plates of food.

  “Doc! Bloody hell!” Manny’s furious shout brought my focus back. He clapped his hands once in front of my face. “We have to move, missy.”

  I nodded woodenly. This was too much chaos. Too much stimulation for my brain. Colin took my hand and I felt a level of calm settle over me. I gripped his hand tightly and followed Vinnie.