Acton sighed. “We know. But our first priority has to be Juno.”
Leather agreed. “Of course. But that’s a police matter.” He held up a hand, cutting off any protests. “Let me go find out what’s going on, okay?”
Acton nodded. “You’re right, of course.”
Leather excused himself then left the bank, crossing the street. Within minutes, he returned with two uniformed officers and a man in a suit who, from the arrogant bearing, Acton presumed was the one in charge.
“I am Major Nicolo of the Hellenic Police. I’ll need you all to come to the station so you can be properly interrogated.”
Acton’s eyes narrowed. “You think we had something to do with this?”
Nicolo regarded him for a moment. “Absolutely. You may not be aware, but I’ve taken over the investigation of what happened last night. You four”—he pointed at Acton, Laura, Tommy, and Mai—“arrive, and within hours we have seven dead, another half-dozen wounded, and now Professor Galanos is kidnapped in broad daylight. I think this has everything to do with you. I don’t know what you’re up to, but I intend to find out.”
Acton bit his tongue, and was about to lose the battle when his phone vibrated in his hand.
“Don’t answer that.”
Acton checked the display. It was Reading. He stared at Nicolo. “I’m an American citizen and I’m taking this call.” He swiped his thumb. “Hugh, I think we’re all about to be arrested.”
“What? By who?”
“Greek police. A Major…” Acton looked at the man.
“Nicolo.”
“Nicolo. He thinks Laura and I are behind the attack last night and the kidnapping.”
“Is he daft? Put him on the phone!”
Acton held out the phone for Nicolo. “Agent Reading from Interpol wants to talk with you.”
Nicolo’s eyes bulged slightly and he took the phone, walking away from them, no doubt to keep them from hearing what he was expecting to be an unpleasant call. The discussion was clearly heated, the odd stray word reaching Acton’s ear, but after a few minutes, a more contrite Nicolo returned, handing back the phone.
“It would appear I may have been, umm, mistaken.”
Acton nodded, noting the call was still connected. “Hugh?”
“Hopefully I’ll get there before you two get tossed in prison.”
“Call Laura’s agent. She’ll arrange a private jet. That’ll be the quickest way to get here.”
“You know I hate doing that.”
“Do it.”
A heavy sigh burst through the speaker. “Fine. If I ever win the lottery, all flights are on me.”
Acton grinned. “Have you been buying tickets?”
“Nope.”
“I hear it improves the odds.”
“Sod off. I’ll see you this evening.”
The call ended and Acton pocketed his phone, returning his attention to the slightly calmer major. “Now that that is straightened out, we need to figure out who is behind this.”
Tommy cleared his throat. “Umm, I got a photo of the van. Do you want the license plate number?”
Everyone turned toward the young man, Acton replaying the events of earlier, remembering how Tommy had been on the street with him, rather than inside the restaurant as he had thought. “You got a photo?”
“I got video.”
“How?”
He grinned. “I’m a millennial. We don’t run from danger, we run toward it with our phones so we can go viral on social media.”
Acton chuckled, silently apologizing for cursing the generation earlier.
Kids.
Nicolo had apparently had enough with the delays. “Will you, as witnesses, please come to the station with me for formal statements?”
Acton decided to have some fun. “I thought you’d never ask.”
38 |
Outside the Damos Residence
Athens, Greece
Utkin lowered his binoculars, glancing at Tankov. “Good idea watching him.”
Tankov grunted as they watched the fence, Damos, stuffed into the back of a car, clearly against his will. “I do have one occasionally.”
Utkin chuckled as he started the engine. “Occasionally.” He jabbed a thumb in Tankov’s direction. “That new face wasn’t one of them.”
Tankov lowered his binoculars, running a hand over his plastic surgeon’s latest creation as Utkin followed their target. “I thought it looked pretty good.”
“Do you even remember what you looked like before we got into this business?”
Tankov grunted. He had to admit sometimes he wasn’t sure who stared back at him in the mirror anymore. Sometimes he’d catch a reflection in a store window, or the rearview mirror, and it would startle him, giving him a strange out of body experience that was more disturbing than anything else.
But it was his chosen method of staying anonymous. If his identity was revealed on a job, he had his face redone. It was simple, and a lot more convenient than constantly living in hiding. The only time it ever concerned him was when he visited his mother.
She cried every time, inevitably bringing out the photo album. “You looked like your father! Why would you do this?”
He dared not tell her the truth, instead telling her it was a necessity from his days in Spetsnaz. That she could accept, her belief system rooted in the old Soviet one—she understood sacrificing for the state. If she knew the truth, that he was an international art thief, wanted by pretty much every police force in the world, it would break her heart.
And he could never have that.
He pointed at the vehicle. “Let’s forget about my face, and worry about where they’re headed.”
Utkin nodded. “And about why they took him.”
Tankov agreed. “I don’t think they have it.”
“Why?”
“Why kidnap the fence? If they had it, they’d just deliver it and move on, or keep it for themselves, and move on. Either way, the fence is no longer of any value. He’s just the guy who made the introductions. Even if they wanted to sell it, he wouldn’t be the one you went to. He’s small-time.”
“So then why?”
“Well, if they don’t have it, then they must be thinking he might know who does.”
“He double-crossed them?”
“Possibly. He’s a colossal idiot if he did. You don’t cross people like this.”
Utkin frowned. “Didn’t our intel report on him say he had a wife and kid?”
Tankov nodded. “Maybe an anonymous call to the police is in order.”
“Maybe.”
Tankov arranged it as they continued to tail the kidnapped Damos, and were soon in a residential neighborhood of questionable pedigree. He smiled as the car parked and the doors opened. “Looks like we’re here.”
Utkin drove past them, finding a spot farther down the street. “Lovely neighborhood.”
Tankov had to agree it wasn’t somewhere he’d want to live, but it was exactly the type of place where nobody would pay attention to anything their neighbors did. “Call in the team. I want the area scouted, and cameras in that house. We need to see what we’re facing.”
39 |
Suqut Brigade Safe House
Athens, Greece
Rafiq took a long swig from his bottle of water, satisfied with jobs well done. Damos had been taken without incident, as had the professor’s wife. And if all continued to go well, he’d have what he wanted before the end of the day, then he could leave this wretched city teeming with decadence.
He hated Europe, and looked forward to the day the flag of Islam flew over every capital. It was inevitable. The West kept inviting Muslims in, and Muslims had babies at twice the pace. Demographics assured victory.
Then, and only then, would he feel comfortable in these cities that had given birth to the people who caused him so much pain.
And to win the ultimate victory, to establish the worldwide caliphate, they needed money. And this a
rtifact, once retrieved and handed over to the sheik, would give them a hefty sum for a couple of days work, allowing the cause to buy weapons and ammunition to continue the fight. For though the West thought they had been victorious, all they had done was disperse the members of ISIS throughout the region, and their own homelands.
Pathetic.
The moronic leadership of the West were so obsessed with political correctness, that they were allowing their own citizens, who had gone and fought for ISIS, to return, and in some countries, with little to no consequences. At least he could respect England and France. They were actively killing their own citizens before they returned, because they knew once they did, there was nothing they could do without the Social Justice Warriors taking up the cause of forgiving those who had betrayed their own countries.
He loved it.
He just prayed that he’d see the day when Islam ruled all.
Maybe I’ll move to Belgium.
In less than twenty years, it was predicted Brussels would be majority Muslim. The moment it happened, faithful Muslims would elect a new government, establish Sharia law, and drive out the Christians that remained. Brussels would be the first major Western city to fall.
The first of many.
And to hasten the cause, he needed money. And for that, he needed information.
And leverage.
Which he now had.
He pointed at Zaman. “Get some video of her, but keep her gagged. I don’t want her revealing anything that might lead them to us. We’ll send it to the husband with our demands. I want this over with as quickly as possible. This is way too much heat.”
Zaman rose, pulling out his phone. “As soon as women are involved, the police get too involved.”
“Exactly. Some ancient artifacts, most don’t care. Female flesh, everything changes.” He drew his knife from his belt and headed to the room holding Damos. He smiled at the terrified man, his eyes widening with fear as he spotted the blade. “I think we need to have a talk.”
40 |
Outside the Suqut Brigade Safe House
Athens, Greece
Utkin expertly guided the small drone as Tankov watched in the back of their state of the art van that had arrived just hours ago by transport from a storage facility in Germany. That was one of the lovely things about Europe. It covered such a tiny area geographically, pretty much anything could be delivered overland within less than a day, with no internal borders.
He loved Europe.
When he retired, if he ever survived long enough to do so, he could picture himself settling somewhere on the Mediterranean. Sun, surf, yachts, women, food, alcohol. Not necessarily in that order.
Perhaps it’s time.
But it was the thrill he’d miss. Here he was, working with incredible equipment, illegally armed to the teeth, collecting intel on a terrorist cell that they were going to slaughter, perhaps in a matter of hours.
Good fun.
Something not found on a beach or in a bed.
“Deploying now.” Utkin pressed a button and the camera from the drone showed a small device impale itself on a window. Utkin checked something on the computer. “We’ve got a good signal.” An image appeared on one of the screens showing a woman with her back to the camera, tied to a chair. “Repositioning for the next camera.”
Tankov stared at the one image they had, trying to spot any of their enemy, as Utkin launched the second camera, the tiny devices able to transmit video, as well as sound that it picked up as vibrations of the glass.
I love the tech.
The second camera went live, the fence, Damos, visible from the side, his face bloodied, his shirt heavily stained.
“Somebody did a number on him.”
Utkin glanced at the image and nodded. “We might be doing him a favor if we killed him along with the others.”
Tankov shook his head. “Not our target.”
Utkin deployed the third camera, the image appearing as a black screen.
“What’s going on?”
Utkin pulled the drone back and frowned. “They’ve closed the curtains, but you can hear them, they’re still in that room.”
“That will have to do. Start monitoring. I want to know what they’re up to, and how many there are. And we need to confirm they don’t have the artifact.”
Utkin leaned back in his chair. “This reminds me of Chechnya.”
Tankov chuckled. “It does, doesn’t it? But there, we’d just go in and kill them all once we knew what was what.”
Utkin sighed. “I miss the old days sometimes.”
“But not the paycheck.”
Utkin laughed. “I have more loose change in my couch than I ever made working for Mother Russia.”
Tankov grunted. “Sad but true.” He held up a finger. “They’re talking. Are you recording this?”
“Yup.”
“Good. Let’s see if they can do our job for us.”
41 |
King George Hotel
Athens, Greece
Laura flopped onto the couch of their suite, Acton dropping beside her as Tommy, Mai, and Antoniou occupied other seats while Leather made a quick check of the several rooms.
“I guess dinner with Hugh is off.”
Acton stared at Laura for a moment. “Oh, did I forget to tell you? He’s on his way.” He checked his watch. “In fact, he should be here any minute.”
Laura sighed, rubbing her eyes with her knuckles. “No, you didn’t forget, I did. Wait!” She checked her watch. “Are you kidding me? We spent five hours there? He might as well have arrested us. What a wasted day! We could have been doing something useful!”
“Helping find my wife isn’t useful?”
Laura’s cheeks flushed at Antoniou’s words, words Acton bristled at as they were uncalled for. “Oh, God, that’s not what I meant! I meant we could have been doing something useful to find her.”
Antoniou waved a hand at her, dismissing the apology. “I’m sorry, I’m just so worried. But what can we possibly do that the police couldn’t?”
Acton grinned. “You’d be surprised.” He turned to Tommy. “Can you work your magic?”
Tommy was already attacking the computer in his lap, Acton always amazed at how fast he could work a machine. “Way ahead of you. I’m pulling the traffic camera footage now.”
Antoniou’s eyes narrowed. “How?”
Acton explained, letting the young man continue to work. “Let’s just say Tommy wasn’t always, umm, on the right side of the law?”
Tommy blushed and Mai flushed, the young woman apparently a little excited at the notion.
Likes the bad boys?
Antoniou shook his head. “I don’t understand.”
Tommy looked up from his keyboard. “I used to be a hacker. Not one of the good ones. I got busted and went straight.” He grinned. “Now I only break the law for the professor.”
Acton laughed and Tommy went back to work. “If he can access the cameras, we might be able to track where the van went. Then we can tell the police, and they can rescue your wife.”
“But wouldn’t the police be doing that?”
“I’m sure they will. But they might need to wait for permission, warrants, who knows.” Acton nodded toward Tommy. “And he’s the best I’ve ever seen at this.”
“I’m in.”
Acton grinned. “See?”
Everyone gathered around the laptop and watched video showing the kidnapping. Tommy started working the system, following the van, then stopped.
“Umm, this is going to take a while, and nobody’s brushed their teeth since lunch.”
Everybody backed off, hands covering mouths.
A knock at the door had Leather checking the peephole. “It’s Agent Reading.” He opened the door and their friend from Interpol entered, concern on his face. He slapped Leather on the back.
“Thank God you’re here, Cameron.”
“Likewise.” Leather turned to Laura. “Ma’am, if i
t’s okay, I’d like to bring Miss Burnett up here, just so we’re all in one location.”
“Absolutely, of course.”
Leather bowed his head then left. Reading locked the door then joined them, Laura introducing him to Antoniou.
“Have you heard anything?” asked Acton as their friend sat.
Reading shook his head. “Nothing new that’s of use. They haven’t found the vehicle used in the kidnapping, and they have no idea who is involved, though I think it’s probably safe to say it’s the same group as last night.”
Laura frowned. “The Suqut Brigade.”
“Exactly. The question is, why? They have what they wanted, so why take her?”
Acton leaned back in his chair. “The only thing I’ve been able to think of is that they’re going to use her to authenticate the artifact to whoever the buyer is. That’s why those Russians kept Laura.”
Laura nodded. “And once I did my part, they let me go. Perhaps they’ll do the same?”
Reading shook his head. “I wouldn’t count on it. Not with these guys.” Antoniou paled, and Acton could tell Reading regretted his delivery, though not his words. “I’m sorry, Professor, but I think you deserve the truth. The Russians were businessmen, and because they apparently had a habit of changing their faces as needed, weren’t concerned with Laura surviving. But the Suqut Brigade are fanatics, and they hate everything about us, especially empowered women like your wife. When they’re done with her, we have to expect that they’ll kill her. That means we have to do everything we can to find her before she’s no longer of use to them.”
Tommy muttered a curse.
Acton’s eyes narrowed. “What?”
“I lost them.” He threw up his hands. “Half the damned cameras in this city aren’t working. I think they must have changed vehicles in a blind spot. There’s no way I’m going to find them.”
Antoniou held his face in his hands as he bent forward. “Then what are we going to do?” He leaped to his feet, an accusatory finger stabbing out at everyone there. “I thought you said you could help!” He spun, heading toward the door, Acton about to stop him when the man turned back and stopped. “This is all my fault!”
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