Black chuckled. “This blows away my preconceived idea of what a terrorist is supposed to look like.”
“Welcome to the twenty-first century,” Alex said, “where you can be a stay-at-home mom and terrorist. The sky’s the limit.”
“Maybe it’s how these Muslim women are getting rid of deadbeat husbands,” Black cracked. “Just convince them to blow themselves up in the name of Islam and you don’t have to worry about the shame of divorce, which I hear is quite the burden for Muslims.”
“Cute,” Blunt said. “But that’s enough conjecture. Let’s just go get Dr. Becker and ask him these questions ourselves.”
“Sounds like a great idea to me,” Alex said. “Now all we have to do is break into his literal fortress of a home located in the Swiss Alps that used to be a castle.”
“And I’m sure you have a plan,” Blunt said.
“Of course I do. We’re just going to walk through the front door,” Alex said before turning to Hawk and Black. “Wheels up in twenty-four hours, gentlemen.”
CHAPTER 7
Saint-Cergue, Switzerland
ALEX GRIPPED THE LEATHER steering wheel tightly as she wove up the twisting mountain road. She flashed her lights at a slow car before speeding past it on a short straightaway. Her hair whipped in the wind, nearly destroying the hair-do she had spent over an hour perfecting back at the hotel.
She slowed down and depressed the button recalling the car’s roof. Glancing over at Black, she noticed the white knuckles from his hands gripping the car door.
“You all right over there?” she asked.
Black nodded. “You know, when I get into a shootout with a dozen bad guys with semi-automatics guns, I’m not even half afraid as I am right now with you whipping around these corners here.”
She chuckled. “Maybe Hawk is justified for insisting on being behind the steering wheel whenever we go somewhere together.”
“Maybe I should’ve been more persistent.”
“No, you’re just fine,” she said. “And you haven’t gotten into an accident with me at the helm, have you?”
He shook his head slowly. “We’re still not there yet—or back.”
“Fine,” she said. “You can drive back, but don’t complain about how this car handles. It’s made for going fast, not for a luxurious ride.”
As Alex approached the top of the mountain, less than a mile away from the entrance to the property, she eased off the accelerator and reviewed different elements of the mission with him.
“Do you understand what your role is tonight?” she asked.
He nodded. “Make them think we're indeed a power couple, and do whatever I can to ensure that we get Dr. Becker alone for a while.”
“No running around waving your gun,” she said.
“And keep your hands to yourself,” Hawk said over the coms device.
He was set up nearby in a van to monitor the proceedings via audio and the security camera feed Alex had tapped into before leaving for the gala at Dr. Becker’s estate.
Black shook his head. “Don’t worry, Hawk. I’ll be the perfect gentlemen, only stealing a kiss if it’s absolutely necessary.”
Hawk chuckled. “You better be joking.”
Alex welcomed the opportunity to dress up in a shimmering silver sequined dress, something she didn’t get to do all that often while working for Blunt. Her most common attire consisted of jeans and a sweatshirt. But tonight was different.
Despite such short notice, Alex had secured entrance to the event by calling two Americans—Phillip and Angela Muncie—with invitations and requesting to go in their place. Phillip, who had worked in intelligence for the U.S. government, readily agreed but had to come up with a valid excuse to dissuade his wife from attending. She was passionate about saving the environment and told her husband that she'd been looking forward to the environmental fundraiser for months so she could meet several of her conservation heroes. But in the end, Phillip convinced her to yield her ticket by promising to take her to another event later in the month in Bali.
The event was a who's who in the environmental world with many world leaders there. Because Black looked more like Phillip naturally and that it was possible Hawk had crossed paths with several of the attendees with scurrilous backgrounds, Black earned the nod as the one to escort Alex, posing as the Muncies.
“Are you sure no one is going to recognize you?” Alex asked Black.
He nodded. “I do my best work undercover. Infiltrating impenetrable groups is where Blunt has assigned me for the past several years. And, to be quite frank, I'm not sure I would ever willingly seek out anyone from this group.”
“You’re not a fan of recycling?” she chided.
“I do my part for the planet. But what really irks me are these elitist snobs who act as if they care about saving the world and implementing harsh sanctions on the regular person while flitting about the globe on their gas-guzzling private jets, unaffected by even the slightest heightened cost for their indulgences. What they don’t realize is that we’ll probably all end up killing each other before the planet reaches a critical level.”
“Don’t we both know that all too well,” Alex said. “However, I’d ask that you put aside your disdain for these people and be polite and smile and make friendly banter. Can you do that for me?”
Black sighed. “I promise to be good.”
“That’s all I can ask for. That and that you don’t go charging into the fray again, no matter how likely it seems that danger is imminent.”
Black held up his middle and index fingers together. “Scout’s honor.”
She cast a sideways glance at him. “You were never a boy scout.”
“I should’ve known better than to try and sneak that past you.”
“This should be a simple assignment,” she said. “We get in and out with the information. And then we’re back on a plane to Washington by midnight.”
“Sounds easy enough.”
They came around the bend and were face to face with Dr. Becker’s estate, which was surrounded by a ten-foot high wall constructed from stone. The only entrance
