King reached his glass forward. Omari followed, and Sam pushed in her glass of Pinot Noir. The three of them clinked glasses.
“It’s how you roll now too,” King said. “Welcome to the team.”
“How the hell does this not make you soft, King?”
King thought for a moment. “I guess because I’m usually flying into places where people are trying to kill me and take down my country.”
Omari nodded. “Touché.”
The engines roared and the jet shot forward. In a matter of seconds they were off the ground, and the plane was gliding through the London gray into the deep blue sky.
Omari looked out the window. “Never gets old.” Then back to Sam and King. “On the way into missions I would just stare into that deep blue and listen to the hum of the airplane until it calmed my nerves.”
“Tell us more about yourself,” Sam said.
Omari took another sip of bourbon. “Well, I guess like most frogmen, shit wasn’t easy growing up. Mom was single—it was me and my brother. We had to endure the wrath of the bad boyfriends who would come in and out of our lives. So I ended up spending all the time I could at my grandmother’s. As I got older, I didn’t know what the hell I wanted to be. I just knew I was tired of getting the shit kicked out of me. Then one day a friend did a report on the book Men with Green Faces, a book about being a Navy SEAL, and I was hooked after that. It was the only thing I ever wanted to be. Many wars later, and apparently a turn of good luck, and here I am on a plane with you two.”
“Not sure I’d call it good luck yet,” King said. “People are trying to kill us.”
“Yeah? Hmm, I guess I’d rather fly toward people trying to kill us in a luxury jet with this bourbon than fly coach on Cheapo Airlines with a flat Coca Cola in my hand.” Omari winked.
“You got me there.”
“So you mind filling me in on just what the hell is going on? Those dudes at the bank weren’t the best I’ve seen, but they weren’t amateurs either.”
King and Sam shared a look. Sam nodded for King to answer the question.
“To be honest, we’re not exactly sure. It’s a long story.”
“Always is.”
“The reason we are going to Monte Carlo and what happened at the bank may or may not be connected. Kyle and Dbie, whom you haven’t met, are working on two different things while we run down a clue. One, there might be a top secret operation that is compromised, affecting over half a dozen agents and their cover.”
“Shit. That ain’t good.”
“No. And what’s worse, the CIA is putting us off on the subject. And we don’t know why.”
“Yeah, that is worse,” Omari said.
“Exactly. So, in typical Sam fashion, even though Director Lucas says don’t touch it, she has to disobey the rules and continue to look into it.”
“Yes,” Sam said with the wine glass to her lips. “It is I who is the defiant one.”
Omari laughed. King shrugged his shoulders.
“Okay, so that’s one,” Omari said. “What’s two?”
“Sam?” King said.
She got right to it. “I have an ex-husband who left me a safety deposit box, which upon his death I was meant to open. Inside was a photo of our honeymoon, on the back, the room number in which we stayed.”
“That’s it? That’s why people were trying to kill you at Barclays?”
“We don’t know. That was Xander’s point: it could be why those men were there, and it could be something else. We’ve made a lot of enemies over the years.”
King jumped in. “Yeah, but most of them are dead.”
“Anyway,” Sam said. “We feel like we have to follow this lead now since people were willing to shoot us for it. We just have no idea where it will lead. If anywhere at all.”
“All right. So what do you need from me?”
“Hopefully nothing,” Sam said. “We need to act as though you aren’t with us. So when we get off the plane, hang back for an hour or so.”
“Open bar?”
“Always,” King said with a laugh.
Sam was all business. “When we go to check out the room for whatever wild goose chase we’ve been led on, we’ll just need you to stay around the perimeter and keep an eye out for anything suspicious.”
“So, I’m just there to watch your back?”
“That’s right.”
“I can do that.” Omari finished the whiskey in his glass. “So we are headed to the south of France for a little mystery? Beats teaching soccer moms gun safety in Texas.”
“You have any other questions?” Sam said.
“Sure. But we don’t have to get into it now.”
“Fire away,” King said.
“Okay, since you asked, is this a permanent gig or what? Just need to know what to tell my people. Also need to make sure I’m feeding them.”
“Let’s just wait and see—”
“You saved our ass back there at the bank,” King cut Sam off. “You didn’t have to do that. Let’s just say you’re on a one-year contract, and we can renegotiate after six months.”
“Works for me. As long as I have a warm bed and I can feed my family, I’m good.”
“You certainly won’t have to worry about that,” Sam said. “X is notorious for grossly overpaying his employees. Including me.”
“Aw, Sam,” King said. “It’s just because you’re priceless.”
“I like the way you two get down. How you know when to interject for the other and so forth. It’s like you’ve got one mind. No wonder you have such a reputation in the world we work in.”
“I assure you I think nothing like Xander,” Sam said as she poured a little more wine. “I have more on the brain than whiskey and women.”
Omari smiled.
“So do I, Sam,” King said. “Give me some credit. I think about cigars too.”
“My man,” Omari said.
With that, Sam got up from her seat and started toward the back of the plane. “I’ll let you boys be boys. Glad to see you have another like Kyle for your testosterone-fueled conversations. I’ll be in the back actually working.”
“The more things change . . .” King flashed her a smile. Then he poured Omari another. “Don’t worry, Omari—”
“Call me O.”
King nodded. “Don’t worry, O. She’ll never dazzle you with her personality, but when shit gets real, she’s the real one you want fighting by your side.”
“Cheers to that.”
They clinked glasses once again.
“And cheers to letting me come along for the ride.”
King sat back in his seat and took a long sip from his glass. Then he smiled. “You didn’t really give us much choice.”
11
Istanbul, Turkey
“What the hell do you mean they got away?”
Marcus Christian stood from behind his desk. The city of Istanbul, Turkey, filled the wall of windows behind him. He wasn’t a large man, but the power he wielded made him intimidating enough. And the anger he felt showed through in his squinted eyes and the bulging vein in his neck.
“I don’t know. Someone must have tipped them. I’m not sure.”
Marcus turned his back to his right-hand man, Kenneth Sizemore, and stared out at the city.
Kenneth continued. “They killed two of our men, then disappeared. The two men left couldn’t follow them because two more of King’s people showed up. Jones said he wouldn’t have made the man from King’s team that showed up, but the girl he was with was looking around like she’d lost her puppy.”
Marcus turned back to Kenneth, his scowl still holding strong below his finely combed brown hair. “What about the banker they paid off? What did he say?”
“He left too. They haven’t seen him since. That was over three hours ago.”
“You said these men were trained. You said they were good!”
“They are, Marcus. But wasn’t it you who said this King and his partner,
Samantha, are the best? Isn’t that the very reason we went after them in the first place?”
The vein thumping in Marcus’s neck subsided, and he took a deep breath. “Yes. That’s what I said. Because that’s what I was told. And now the very thing I didn’t want is going to happen anyway.”
“If so, we are ready. We know exactly where they’re going now. Carol at the airport called and confirmed immediately when King’s pilot filed the flight plan. This is actually better. We know what was in that safety deposit box, so now we know where they are going.”
“Yes. But I wanted them out of the way in London. The longer King hangs around, the more dangerous he is.”
“I understand. But you’ve got what you wanted.”
“I don’t have anything yet.”
“Okay, but we will take care of them. I don’t understand the problem here.”
“The problem, for the last time, is that the first place the CIA, the NSA, and any other acronym from the US will turn if they do find out what we’re doing is to Alexander King and his merry men and women. I’ve heard about them doing it too many times, since the first time I heard their names a couple of years ago. The feds have been sniffing all around us. I need them out of the way tonight. You know why. I’m not playing checkers here, Kenny. In order for us to pull this power move off, we have to be three steps ahead. And I’m pissed because you just lost me a step. Now, if your people can’t handle this in Monaco, I’m taking over. And you know if I have to do your job, too, I don’t need you, now do I?”
Kenneth didn’t like the inference that he couldn’t handle his job, but his men had failed in London, so he was forced to bite his tongue. “I’ve already made arrangements in Monte Carlo. Ryan Declan’s team was in Paris, and I pulled them away.”
“Declan? He the guy we used in Milan?”
“Yes. They’ll be ready for King and Samantha. I had a helicopter arranged for them.”
“What about the other two in King’s crew that you said arrived late at the bank but never went inside? The man and the puppy-dog woman?”
“We still have eyes on them in London. They didn’t leave the hotel when King and Samantha did.”
“Okay,” Marcus said, wagging his finger. “But don’t underestimate King and his girl just because there’s only two of them. I want them out of the way before they get in our way, and I want it done tonight. Just make sure they’re gone so we don’t have to deal with them later.”
“I’ll do my best.”
“Do better than that.” Marcus’s phone began to ring. “Give me regular updates.”
“You’ll know when I know.”
Marcus waved Kenneth off and answered his phone.
“We’ve hit a bit of a snag.”
“Bit of a snag? We’re not working with cookie delivery here, Juice. This is a mass amount of illegal weapons! Don’t fucking call here and tell me there’s a snag!”
“I’m on it, that’s why it’s a snag and not a problem. Just wanted to call because it will delay us. How long I can’t be sure.”
Marcus leaned against his desk. “I don’t have time for delays. There are a lot of moving parts I’m working on here, Juice. I’m creating windows for you to deliver them successfully. If my windows close because of your delays, your snags turn into my problems. Then my problems turn into your nightmares.”
“I get it. I’ll get it fixed fast.”
Marcus was calm. “Anything I can do to help move it along?”
“Maybe,” Juice said. “I need to talk to Raúl Ortega directly. Or you do. It’s his man who is complicating this delivery.”
“Shit. Okay, I’ll call him. And next time let James call me. That’s why he’s there.”
“No thank you,” Juice said. “If I have a problem, I’m not wasting time with your middleman.”
“I’ll call Ortega. I’ll get back to you ASAP.”
Marcus ended the call and immediately dialed Ortega. It rang over and over again without an answer. He tried three more times with no luck. He set his phone on his desk and pinched the bridge of his nose and massaged. He could feel a migraine coming on. Of course he knew that with any endeavor there were always complications. But these weren’t the everyday business hiccups he had been dealing with most of his life; this was a history-altering event. And he couldn’t let the ball get dropped at any point.
He picked up the phone and got his assistant. “Have them ready the plane.”
“Where will you be going, sir?”
“Never mind that, just have the plane ready to go. And I need to leave right now.”
12
Monte Carlo, Monaco
The sun was beginning to fade in Monte Carlo at eight thirty in the evening. The eighty-five degrees didn’t feel too hot to King, especially under the umbrella at the table he was sharing with Sam on the patio of Cafe de Paris. They’d flown into Nice and taken a forty-minute cab ride there. The patio overlooked the grass-covered landmark in the plaza that fronted the Monte Carlo Casino. However, the reason they chose the table they did was because it also faced the entrance of the Hotel de Paris. Sam sipped on a latte as King polished off his first beer. They were both on the lookout for anything suspicious, but since they had no idea who might be after them, and the plaza was a never-ending stream of tourists, they were really just waiting for sundown.
King gestured with his hand toward the casino. “So the poker room in that building was the beginning of the end for Mr. and Mrs. Samantha Harrison?”
That drew an eye-narrowing glare. “Are you going to do this the entire time we’re here?”
“Yeah, probably.”
“What if I told you it cuts deep to a place of hurt that I’ve had buried for a long time when you make jokes about my failed marriage?”
King took a bite of his cheeseburger. “Well . . . does it?”
Sam wiped a bead of sweat from her brow. “No.”
King laughed. “So what exactly are we looking for here?”
“Nothing really, I’m just trying to decide the best way to get into room 323 without raising any alarms.”
“And?”
“I don’t know yet.”
King took a sip of water. “Do you think there’s a chance the men at the bank will be here too?”
“Meaning, do I think they know the clue Thomas left the back of the photo that was in the deposit box? No. But it is possible they somehow followed us to the airport and mined the information that your plane brought us here.”
“Yeah, I was thinking the same.”
“Not sure they have the means to get here as fast as we did, but we have to work as if they are here, already watching our every move.”
King nodded. “Isn’t that our entire lives? Living as if someone who wants to kill us is watching our every move?”
“A bit exhausting, isn’t it?” Sam tipped up her latte for the last drops, then set the mug on the saucer with a clank.
“Ever think about stopping? I mean, you’re not getting any younger.”
Sam reached in the pocket of her black jeans, and when she pulled out her hand, she was flipping him the bird.
King laughed. “Seriously, though, how much longer we going to do this?”
“I really don’t know.”
“You haven’t thought about it?”
“I think about it every day, but what else shall I do?”
“Yeah, you’re not really the Under the Tuscan Sun type. Though you do favor a younger Diane Lane. With darker hair and an even darker heart.”
“You’re on a roll tonight, aren’t you?”
“Ah, it’s not the same without Kyle here to laugh with me.”
“What about you, X? Now that you’re not dead to the world, and not the most wanted man on the planet, do you ever consider going back to your posh civilian life? Maybe go back to horse racing and finally settle down with one woman to make some babies?”
“Honestly, that sounds like a dream.”
“W
ell, you’re only thirty-three years old. You could easily have that.”
“Yeah. Maybe. I’ve thought about it. But then I think about what happens when I have my perfect little family and I read a headline that something awful has happened and America is in danger. Or worse, I get a call that either you or Kyle has been kidnapped. What am I supposed to do then?”
“You’d be expected to stay with your family, but I see what you’re saying. You would have to come running.”
“Exactly. Guess it’s just how I’m made.” King looked around for a moment. “Do you think one day we’ll ever just sit around and talk about movies or music or whatever? It’s always about this kind of shit, or about the mission, or the next mission. And you’re worse than I am, Sam. You never really relax and cut up. Last night out was a perfect example. You had a few, then left us for the hotel. Why can’t you ever just really enjoy yourself and not worry about the next minute, or hour, or day?”
Sam took a deep breath and let out a sigh. “Guess it’s just how I’m made.”
King leaned over and kissed Sam on the forehead. “I know I am constantly giving you shit, but you know you can talk to me, right? If this ex-husband stuff actually is bringing up old wounds, I’m here. I can stop the jabs long enough to listen. I promise.”
Sam pulled her sunglasses down the bridge of her nose and smirked. “A sweet gesture, X. But you’re entirely incapable of not giving me hell. It may not be right when I confide in you, but rest assured whatever I say would come back in a backhanded quip at some point. And I know I’ll regret saying this, but I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“I knew you liked it.”
Sam’s phone rang.
“Dbie?” King said. Sam had tasked Dbie with checking the hotel to see if room 323 was actually available in the hopes of making everything so much easier.
Sam nodded and put the call on speaker. “What have you got, Dbie?”
“I’ve got you booked in room 323 at the Hotel de Paris.”
“Not only is the room empty, but you’ve booked us? Well done.”
“Had to do some begging. The room was actually occupied, but they asked the couple staying there if they would switch rooms, and they agreed to.”
Power Move (Alexander King Book 4) Page 5