Her gaze tracedhis cheeks, down his bold nose, along his chin, and toward the edge of the scarbeneath the hem of his shirt curving the underside of his neck.
ExecutiveFoucault had every intention of punishing John for slapping their suspect. He’dapproached the table, according to John, all brooding and bluster… And then theSerb had bitten the executive’s hand.
Adele tried notto smirk at the memory of John’s recounting. The nightmare had nearly fadedcompletely from memory now.
ExecutiveFoucault had forgotten all about John’s indiscretion in the face of his ownpain. The executive had kicked the Serbian’s chair over, screaming forantiseptic and demanding they rush him to the hospital. Adele had only arrivedas he’d rushed out of the room, his two lackeys flanking him as he mutteredcontinually about germs and infections. The sound of the Serbian’s laughter hadspilled out from the interrogation room behind them.
Adele leanedback in her seat, still staring out the window. At least this way John hadn’tbeen punished.
Adele had beenforced to communicate with Ms. Jayne. After talking with Robert, they hadbooked their tickets, and Ms. Jayne had informed them the BKA would be waitingfor them in Germany. Adele turned the business card in her hand once more andset it on the tray table lowered before her.
They were headedto meet one of John’s old military buddies. A German Special Operations officerwho’d worked joint missions with the Commandos Marine when John had served. Ifthis officer was anything like John… Adele shook her head.
She glanced at themedical card, eyes narrowing. If the German doctor was to be believed, theBerlin Medical Depot served as a launching pad for the organ traffickers. BKAwas already running their own intelligence gathering to confirm the intel.Adele looked out the window once more as the plan tilted, circling for descent.
Below, shespotted the familiar, hunched glass and gray of the Berlin-Tegel Airport. Theplane continued to circle, giving her a long look of Lake Tegel, the circlingwood and concrete piers framed by the forest on the opposite shore. The planecontinued to circle, and in the distance, Adele spotted the cream-tan structureof Charlottenburg Palace adjacent the Spree River.
Adele found herhands gripping the armrests, and she turned away from the window, staring sightlessat the back of the headrest in front of her. The bastards were unaware andunprepared—if she had it her way, they wouldn’t know what hit them until it wastoo late.
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
Major Hewerbarked orders in German to the assembled officers. They all wore tacticalgear—black—and carried heavy military-style weapons—also black, though oneofficer had spray-painted his camo. Adele tried not to yawn, as wearinessdescended; she forced herself to listen as the special operations leader continuedto rehearse the plan with his men.
He glancedtoward Adele, past the two rows of nearly fourteen fully armed and armored men.His lips tightened a bit and his eyes narrowed.
Adele didn’tlook away.
Twice, already,he’d approached her about staying back during the operation.
Adele looked upat the water tower above them; in peeling blue letters, it read Kienwerder.Nearly a mile from the facility with the organ harvesting ring. The residue ofdust wafted on the air, churning past the two Humvees, also military—set in thecover and shade of the colossal gray structure.
John stood atAdele’s side, listening intently to Major Hewer.
The two of themhad greeted each other with grim countenance, but otherwise hadn’t exchangedwords. With men like this, old friendships and reunions took a backseat toimminent violence, it would seem.
“…alive,preferably,” Major Hewer was saying in German, brushing a hand through hisimpressive, orange-brown beard. His eyes fixed on the men, peering out frombeneath his helmet.
One of theofficers at the front of the huddled group raised a hand and called out, “Areall occupants of the compound considered hostile?”
Major Hewerglanced over at John and Adele once more before answering. “The compound isowned by Bermer Solutions—a dummy corporation supposedly owned by aninternational conglomerate. Except, Bermer Solutions isn’t a real corporation.Their employees, as they are—are heavily armed. Drone surveillance has spottednearly twenty assailants with weapons.”
“Armed how?”asked the same officer as before; he was taller than most of the others, thoughnot as tall as John.
Major Hewerfrowned. “Automatics—from what we could tell. Obviously, illegal in Germany. Noweapon’s licenses, nor reports to the labor department for securityregistrations. Whoever is at the compound—they know what they’re doing isillegal.” Major Hewer turned from the operative who’d asked the question andregarded the rest. “Two lines. Stick to the plan. Jones and Aufa, you are withAgent Sharp, yes?”
Two men glancedover to where John and Adele stood, but both nodded without complaint.
John nudgedAdele and, in barely a whisper, said, “Maybe you should stay back,” hemurmured. “We’re trained for this sort of operation. It’s not like—”
“My case, mycollar,” Adele grunted, without whispering in return.
A couple more ofthe gathered team looked toward Adele, but then Major Hewer regained theirattention by shouting, “All right! This is it. We’ve had final confirmation; it’sgreen!”
He waved withhis hand and the men split, hurrying to the two Humvees. Adele was swept up inthe tide and the men named Jones and Aufa came over and ushered her toward thenearest mottled brown vehicle with a turret on top. Adele pushed into the backseat, watching through a gap between large men and an even larger metalmachine, as John moved to the second vehicle, gripped Major Hewer’s offeredhand in a sort of macho embrace, and then took the front passenger seat next tothe driver.
Then, with a lowgrowl of engines and the whine of wheels on dirt, the vehicles jolted forward.
Adele sat,jammed between two enormous men, with six others also filling the vehicle,trying to stare out what little she could see of the glass ahead of them. Allaround, dust billowed up from the roads, making it difficult to see much.
Adele focused onher breathing, calming herself, adjusting the bulletproof vest and the chinstrap to the helmet she’d been forced to wear.
This was biggerthan a single killer now. Whatever happened next would put an end to all ofthis.
***
Adele clenchedher teeth, her eyes straight ahead as the military vehicle rushed toward thegates.
