As Torres started to answer, there was an incoming call. It was a US area code he didn’t recognize. He held it up to Kane.
“Montana,” he mouthed.
Jackpot!
“Carlson, we have an urgent call from one of our contacts that we have to take. We’ll get back to you as soon as possible.”
“But—”
“Later,” Asher said as he hung up on the man.
Asher watched as Kane walked over to brief Max, Ezio, Nic, and Raiden on the information that Torres had provided. They were going to need that to figure out if there was any way to debilitate or sabotage the jeeps and snipers.
He switched over to the other line.
“Hello?”
“This is Eden York. Asher, right?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“Thank God, the code word worked. I guess Rafa is with you.”
“Yes! How’s Aunt Suzanne? Is she okay?” Rafa interjected. He was clearly upset.
“She’s going to be just fine.” Her voice was low and calm for the young man.
“Are you telling me the truth, or just what you want me to hear?”
“I wouldn’t do that to you. Your aunt has put her trust in you, Rafa, and she has told me that you have a good head on your shoulders and that you’re going to be helping the Americans get in here and rescue us.”
Asher watched as the kid preened. Damn, she’s good at this.
“Can I talk to her?” Rafa asked.
“I’m talking in the women’s bathroom. It’s the only place I could think of that Carlson and Becker wouldn’t be able to hear me. But I’m worried that Dr. Nilsson might be in on this, too. I don’t know who we can trust at this point.”
“Becker? You think that Becker might be a mole for Maduro?” Asher asked. That changed everything. If they had two potential bad guys, they were in a world of hurt.
“Suzanne slipped me some notes while the men were occupied. She said that Becker was doing some hinky things with his investments. It looked like he might be busy feathering his nest with money from Maduro.”
“Asshole,” Asher breathed.
“What are you talking about?” Cullen said over his shoulder. “That’s one twisted asshole. You’re telling me one of the guys who is supposed to be doing good in the world is actually helping to steal from starving people? There is a special place in hell for that type of motherfucker.”
“You got that right,” Eden said with feeling. Asher cracked a smile. She’s a bloodthirsty little thing. He liked it. “But,” she started, “so far, we only have a theory. Suzanne needs to wake up and fill us in more on what she saw and heard. It would be great if someone could follow that bastard’s money. That is not my forte.”
“But you work for the International Money Fund, aren’t you some kind of accounting genius?” Cullen asked.
“She’s a translator,” Asher answered. “She’s a genius in languages. According to her file, she speaks six different ones fluently.”
“Seven,” Eden said. “But who’s counting? Look, the other problem we have is Carlson. Suzanne didn’t explain why she didn’t trust him, just that she didn’t. I figure it had to do with his boss leaving us high and dry as he flew off to Aruba. What a pissant.” Her voice dripped with disgust.
“Yeah, the entire Special Operations Forces community has gone batshit crazy over the Nomad situation. They can’t believe that Bradshaw left you hanging like that. Everybody wants to know if the entire Nomad team in Venezuela has been compromised.”
“The Señora only mentioned Carlson, but if he’s under the microscope, I have to assume Patel could be rogue, too,” Eden agreed.
“Lyons, quit with the bullshit and get over here. We need to talk about the intel that Kane just shared,” Max called from across the room.
Cullen rubbed his hands in anticipation and double-timed it over to the small group. Asher turned his attention back to Eden. “You’re right to be wary of Patel. We have someone doing checks on both of them. Now that you gave us Becker’s name, he’ll follow the money.”
“I don’t see how. He’s a banker, for God’s sake. If anybody can hide money, it’s him.”
“You don’t know Kane. Trust me, we’ll know.”
“I’ll believe it when I see it.”
Asher laughed. “Have trust issues much?”
Leo snorted.
“No, I trust my family implicitly. Anyone else? It takes a little bit more than a minute.”
Asher winced.
“Is this going to be a problem with you helping us?” he finally asked.
“Nope. I see you as our best shot out of here. I’d have to be an idiot not to help in our rescue. With that said, don’t think I’m just going to follow orders blindly. You better give me a good reason if something seems stupid.”
Leo rolled his eyes.
“That’s not going to be a problem, Eden. We’re going to have damn good reasons for everything we ask you to do. First thing? Put your phone on vibrate. Second, do you have someplace you can conceal it on your person?”
“Yes, and yes.”
“Third, check your settings, make sure that when you get a text, it only vibrates once. This will be the way we will communicate back and forth. One vibration means you have ten minutes to get back to us. Two immediate vibrations in a row means drop everything and find a way to get us on the phone. Three immediate vibrations in a row means you have one minute to duck and cover.”
“And in one of our many tête-à-têtes, will you have appraised me of the duck and cover potential?” He heard laughter in her voice.
His lip twitched. “If all goes to plan, then yes.”
“So, there is a plan?”
“One is beginning to take shape.”
“That’s what my brothers used to say when they
