by Estelle Ryan
“Hey.” Francine nudged me with her shoulder. “Whatcha got?”
I turned to her. “Did you find his location?”
“No. He very effectively rerouted his location. I would’ve found him, but I would’ve needed about twenty or thirty minutes.” She raised her eyebrows. “What did you make of the conversation?”
I turned to Manny. “His anger is dangerous.”
“He didn’t sound very angry. Just totally psycho.” Francine raised both shoulders. “What? We all know he’s sick in his head.”
I thought about his reaction. “For some reason he expected me to support his plans. I don’t know what action he’ll take now that he thinks I’ve betrayed him as well.”
“These bloody idiots are always most dangerous when they think they have nothing to lose. Or when their plans are completely screwed.”
“What are we going to do when Fradkov phones again?” Cold fear flooded me just thinking about it. “He wants me in exchange for Alexis.”
“No way.” Vinnie walked closer, his posture aggressive. “There’s no way you’re giving yourself to that psycho.”
“What other solution is there?” I certainly couldn’t see any other way.
Francine was back at her computer, typing furiously. She turned to look at me, then continued working. “He must’ve removed the battery from the phone he used earlier. I can’t even turn it on remotely. And I definitely can’t find his location. But I’m not giving up. I’m widening my facial recognition search for anyone remotely resembling him or Alexis.”
An unsurprising argument ensued between Manny, Vinnie, Colin and Daniel about using me to draw Fradkov from wherever he was hiding. Luc also became involved in the argument and became the one who turned it into a discussion about strategy. Isabelle looked proud.
“Love?” Colin touched my forearm. I hadn’t noticed him sitting down on my other side. “These guys are talking about using you to lure Fradkov out. How do you feel about it?”
I considered my answer. “Rationally, it is a workable plan.”
Colin squeezed my forearm. “That wasn’t my question.”
“I know.” The resentment that had been building for the last few months, my shame at being manipulated, and the constant and overwhelming concern for my friends made me hesitate. It was not easy admitting weaknesses. “I don’t know how reliable I am at the moment. Daniel’s kidnapping and Pink’s injuries have affected my control. I can’t guarantee that I won’t shut down at a strategic moment.”
“We’re never going to let it get that far, Genevieve.” Daniel’s expression revealed the confidence in his team and this plan. “You know Fradkov. Where do you think he’ll want to meet you?”
I thought about this. “Somewhere public. He will use Alexis’ and the other people’s safety to control my behaviour.”
“That’s what we thought.” Daniel glanced at his team and they all nodded. “We have a very good plan.”
“What we need you to do is agree to whatever Fradkov demands when he phones.” Manny pushed Alexis’ phone across the table towards me. “But first put up enough fight to make it believable.”
Daniel lowered his brow, his concern sincere. “Will you do this?”
“You don’t have to.” Colin took both my hands in his. “If you have any doubts, just say no. We will find another way.”
I swallowed at the tightness in my throat. What other way? I was confident that I had the ability to get more information from Fradkov. His need to have my support, to have me work with him was something I would use. He wouldn’t have this vulnerability with anyone else. How could I not agree to this plan?
An unfamiliar ringtone jerked me from my thoughts. Alexis’ phone was ringing. I looked at Manny, Vinnie, then at Colin. He squeezed my forearms again. “Only if you want to.”
I nodded stiffly and picked up the call. Again I put it on speakerphone. “Hello?”
“Ready to work for me, Doctor Genevieve Lenard?”
“No.”
Fradkov laughed softly. “Oh, you will. I have so many interesting projects. You’ll love getting your hands on all the data to analyse it. We’ll make a great team.”
“I don’t want to be on your team.”
“Wait until you see what I have to offer. You’ll change your mind.”
“I doubt it.” I ignored Manny’s gestures to engage more with Fradkov.
“Then I’ll just have to convince you.” Underneath Fradkov’s calm tone was a smugness that I hoped to use against him. “Little Alexis is ready to go home to her granny. Are you ready to change places with her?”
“No.” I made sure my sigh was audible. “Do I have any other choice?”
“Of course you do.” He made it sound as if we were having a quiet chat. “You always have a choice. You can miss out on the opportunity to work with me, but that would mean I will take my time with Alexis. I will start with her fingers. One by one. When I run out of fingers to cut off, I’ll go for her toes. Then I’ll leave her as a nicely tied up gift in a conveniently abandoned building. I’m sure the local rats would love something warm and fresh to snack on.”
“Why should I care about Alexis?”
“I suppose you shouldn’t. But she is a very smart girl. Twice I’ve had to tie her up again after she managed to almost free herself. She’s quite frustrated with me at the moment.” He chuckled. “But she’s only one of the thousands who will die today if you don’t join my team.”
“Thousands?” What other plan did he have apart from the dirty bombs?
“Join me.” The trace of impatience in his tone was revealing. “I’ll bring Alexis to our meeting. But please know that I’m not inviting anyone else but you. If you bring some friends along, many people will die immediately. Understood?”
I was silent for a few seconds. “I understand. Where do you want to meet?”
“There is a concert at Zénith de Strasbourg. They’ve already started the opening shows. The headline concert will start in an hour. I think that will be a good time for us to meet. Keep this phone with you. I will let you know exactly where to meet.” He lowered his voice. “Don’t for one second think I won’t see if you bring an entourage. I have a nice little trigger in my jacket pocket. I just have to press the red button and boom. Come alone.”
The call disconnected and I stared at the phone. “He knows I won’t come alone.”
“But he won’t know who or how many will join you.” Daniel got up and looked at his team. “We have work to do.”
They walked with him to the elevator. Manny joined them. “Let me know when you have everyone in place.”
“Doc G?” The fear in Nikki’s voice pulled my attention away from the elevator doors.
I turned to her and studied her pallor. “You will be safe here until I return.”
She shook her head. “It’s not that.”
The micro-expressions on her face had my heart racing. I got up and sat down next to her. “What’s wrong?”
“I...” She glanced at Luc and Isabelle. The vulnerability in her tone had drawn everyone’s attention. The hint of hysteria when she giggled sent a rush of adrenaline through my system. She sighed, groaned, giggled again and put her hands over her blushing cheeks. “My water broke.”
Chapter TWENTY-FOUR
“But I promised.” My voice was hoarse from the emotion tightening the muscles in my throat. Not only did I loathe breaking the promise I’d made to be with Nikki during her giving birth to Eric, I despised the internal conflict bringing me closer to a complete shutdown.
Nikki’s announcement had caused a moment of panic in the team room. I had barely registered that it had only been the men who’d lost colour in their faces and looked like they were entering a gunfight without any weapons. My focus was on Nikki and only on her.
“I’ve got her, Genevieve.” Roxy put her arm around Nikki’s shoulders. She looked excited. “You know I can take care of her.”
“I’ll be there
as well.” Isabelle got up and snapped her fingers at Luc. “Get the whole security detail. We’re taking this girl to the hospital and keeping her safe.”
“Doc G?” Nikki’s eyes were wide in her pale face.
I imagined my expression mirrored hers. I didn’t know what to do. I thought about how Phillip would handle the situation, but my mind was pulled in too many directions to settle on a strategy. I stopped breathing when Nikki winced. “Are you in pain? Have your contractions started?”
“No.” She breathed through her nose loudly a few times. I watched in panicked wonder as she blinked a few times and pulled her shoulders back. She patted Roxy’s hand on her shoulder. “I’ll be okay. Roxy and Madame Isabelle will be with me. Everything will be fine.”
Tears blurred my vision. “You’re lying.”
“No.” She pulled her shoulders even further back and lifted her chin. “I’m convincing myself. It’s like totally different.”
My breathing was erratic and darkness was pushing its way into my peripheral vision. I looked at Colin. “I don’t know what to do.”
I jerked when Alexis’ phone vibrated in my hand before Colin could answer. I had forgotten that it was still in my hand. I dropped it on the table and glared at it.
Manny took the phone and tapped on the screen. “It’s Fradkov.”
“Jenny, look at me.” Colin sat down on my other side and tugged at my hand. “Look at me, love.”
It felt like an impossible task to take my eyes off the phone in Manny’s hands. Too much was happening all at once. Too much stimuli. Too many emotions.
I turned my back on Manny and the phone, and faced Colin. I tried to speak, but my mouth refused to form words. I grabbed Colin’s hands and focused on the strength of his grip for a few seconds. “I don’t know what to do.”
“It’s an impossible decision, love.” He moved closer until his nose almost touched mine. “But we’re all being brave. I don’t want you to walk into that insanely dangerous situation. I want us to go with Nikki and wait for Eric to join our family. But that is not a real possibility now.”
“We need you, Doc,” Manny said from behind me. “Fradkov is saying in this SMS that he will blow up the Zénith and all the concertgoers if you don’t keep to your agreement to join him.”
I had to keep to an agreement I made with a psychopathic criminal, but I wouldn’t be able to keep my promise to Nikki. The emotional toll this was taking on me was outrageous. Had this been five years ago, the decision would’ve been instant and easy. Then I hadn’t had the people in the room who were now ingrained in my life and emotions.
I inhaled deeply and turned to Nikki. She was sitting quietly, leaning into Roxy’s embrace. I lowered my chin and studied her face. She was scared. But the determination visible in her shoulders and jutted jaw was evidence that she was going to face her fears. Again tears filled my eyes. She was much braver than me.
Her smile was soft and genuine. She took my hand and pressed it against her stomach. “I will wait for you, Doc G. Just maybe, Eric will also wait. Or he’ll already be there when you join us.”
I swallowed. I didn’t want to leave her. And I most definitely didn’t want to enter a crowded venue with blaring rock music to confront Fradkov. But if Nikki was willing to enter this new phase of her life differently than we’d been planning for months, I would find it within myself to face Fradkov. I took a shaky breath. “I love you, Nikki.”
Roxy lifted one shoulder to wipe tears from her cheek and glared at Nikki when she snorted. Nikki rolled her eyes. “Doc G is being all irrational and like overly emotional. It’s not like I’m the first woman in the history of mankind to push a ginormous human being out of my hoo-hah.”
“Oh, bloody hell!” Manny slapped both hands on the table. “Stop this nonsense right now. Roxy, get this silly girl to the hospital.” He scowled at Nikki. “Go to the hospital and behave yourself. No embarrassing the doctors and nurses.” He straightened and turned to me. “We have to get this show on the road, Doc. Fradkov is only giving us twenty-five minutes to get to the Zénith de Strasbourg.”
“Go, Doc G.” Nikki sounded surer of herself. “The president’s wife is going to be with me. It’s going to be epic.”
“Our people will be in place in another fifteen minutes.” Daniel walked closer, putting his smartphone in his pocket. “Even before we get there.”
I was still shocked at Nikki’s earlier observation. At first, I was going to refute it, but I realised that I was being irrational. Only a few times in my life had my emotions been so overwhelming that they overrode my usual rational behaviour. I mirrored Nikki’s behaviour and pulled my shoulders back. “I wasn’t paying attention when you were working on your strategy. You’ll have to brief me on the way there.”
“Done.” Manny pointed at the elevator and turned his attention back to Nikki. “Are you going to sit there all day or are you going to the hospital?”
Her cheeks gained colour, then she shrugged and got up with Roxy and Isabelle’s assistance. “I was going to wait until there were fewer people to see my wet pants, but what the heck. Soon half the country is going to stare at my hoo-hah while Eric is...”
“For the love of all that is holy, get her out of here!” Manny’s lips twitched when Nikki blew him a kiss and winked at me. His body relaxed marginally when the elevator doors closed behind Nikki, Isabelle and Luc. Roxy was tapping her foot, staring impatiently at the doors. The elevator was too small for her to join them.
“The old man and I will brief Jen-girl on the way over.” Vinnie walked to Roxy and hugged her. “I’ll go down with Roxy and get suited up. I’ll meet you guys at the SUV.”
The next twenty minutes were excruciating. I tried pushing my favourite Mozart compositions into my mind, but my thoughts were too chaotic. As much as I tried to focus on the plan Vinnie and Manny were laying out, my mind kept returning to Nikki. It was only when we drove by the parked cars towards the entrance of the large, circular concert venue that I managed to gain control over my thoughts.
Daniel opened my door as soon as the SUV stopped. “Everyone’s in place.”
“Stand still for a sec.” Claudette approached me, holding something small between her thumb and index finger. “Your coat is perfect for this camera. Can I attach this to your breast pocket?”
I looked at the silver device and was grateful for the advancement in technology. I nodded and she stepped closer.
“This camera is top of the range and we have full control of it. The whole team has similar cameras. It gives us more intel and more control over the situation. Yours is also for the unlikely event that you get separated from us.” Daniel glanced behind him. “Francine’s in the truck and will turn the camera off if someone checks you for electronic devices. She’ll turn it on again obviously, but after a few minutes. Unfortunately, we have no other alternative. But the rest of the time, we’ll have visual as well as audio. You won’t be alone. We’ve got your back.” Claudette narrowed her eyes at the button on my coat pocket, then nodded and stepped back. “We decided against an earpiece. It’s too risky that Fradkov will see it.”
I exhaled in relief. Not only did putting something in my ear cause me great distress, I found someone’s voice speaking directly into my head most disconcerting.
Manny jerked and took Alexis’ smartphone from his pocket. “Another SMS.” He tapped the screen. “He wants you to enter the building alone and go to staircase twenty-five to the left of the hall. You should leave this phone out here. Someone will meet you inside and escort you from there.”
I wished I had time to close my eyes and mentally write Mozart’s entire Symphony in D major. I didn’t have that luxury. Instead I mentally turned it on and let it flood my chaotic mind.
“We have people placed everywhere in the entrance, the auditorium as well as numerous other places.” Daniel glanced at the main doors. “There’s already a strong police presence because of the heightened terrorist threat in Europe and a
ll of them have received notification to be on alert for communication from us. We have an army in there.” He pointed at the GIPN truck parked a few metres away. “I’ll be in there with Francine.”
I nodded. I was glad Daniel wasn’t one of those men who felt they had to prove their masculinity by ignoring their physical limitations. He was still favouring his side and numerous times I’d noticed pain marring his expression.
“Let’s do this.” Vinnie looked at Justine. She’d won the argument when Manny had insisted she stay at Rousseau & Rousseau. She had given her word not to get in anyone’s way, but she wanted to be here when Alexis was freed. Vinnie winked at her. “I’ll bring Alexis back to you.”
“And kill him, Vin.” Hatred dominated her face. “He should not share the same air as any of us.”
“No one is bloody getting killed today.” Manny pointed at the GIPN truck. “Go with Daniel. We’ll let you know when we need you.”
“You won’t see all our people, but know that there are a lot of us looking out for you today.” Claudette adjusted the strap of her assault rifle. “Are you ready?”
“No.” I pulled at my coat. The bulletproof vest caused my coat to sit much tighter than usual. It was not comfortable. At least I knew that part of my torso was protected. As was Colin’s, Vinnie’s and everyone else’s. Colin had only a handgun, but it was in its holster on his belt. He hated weapons and I hoped he wouldn’t have to use it at all.
We walked through the front doors and I took a shaky breath. Francine had hacked the security cameras. She would follow me wherever I went inside this enormous building.
The hall before the auditorium was large with numerous entrances leading into the concert hall. All those doors were closed, yet rock music overwhelmed me. I made my way to the sign with a large twenty-five on it, knowing that Colin was following a few steps behind me. There were a surprising number of people milling around, as well as many security guards. I wondered if any of them were the police officers looking out for me.