“The plan is to figure out a way to get the geolabe back from Cavano. Let’s listen to the audio file from Cavano’s office.”
Tyler played it back. The voices on the phone were muffled, and they faded in and out as people walked around the room. He just hoped Stacy could catch enough of it to do them some good.
She peered intently at the computer as she jotted down notes. Tyler admired how she was handling all of this, never complaining, focusing completely on the job at hand. But he could see that the strain was beginning to wear on her. He’d seen it before with soldiers in his command who were suddenly thrust into battle. They wanted to stay strong for their buddies, but the haunted stares and creased brows betrayed their fears.
That’s why he and Grant had joked around when things got too grim on their tour of combat duty. Some of their subordinates appreciated it, but a few found it off-putting. Those were the guys Tyler had to worry about the most. So far, Stacy didn’t worry him.
After a couple of playbacks, Stacy stopped the audio. “Here’s what I could understand. After Cavano finished swearing about the mess you made of her office, a man said, ‘Do you still want to leave on the six-twenty tomorrow?’ Cavano said, ‘No, move my reservation to the eight-thirty. Just make sure the Ferrari is ready to go in Brussels by the time I get there. I’ll call Rodel in the morning and tell him I may not reach Boerst until four. The meeting shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes.’” Stacy looked up from her notes. “Any idea what all that means?”
“Apparently she’s flying to Brussels,” Tyler said. “But you said earlier she was going to Munich.”
“Maybe she’s stopping in Brussels on the way.”
“I’ll see if I can find the flight,” Grant said as he tapped on the keyboard. After a few minutes he said, “Not a flight. Eurostar. The high-speed Chunnel train. Leaves from St. Pancras.”
“So she must be taking the train to Brussels, then driving to Munich from there,” Tyler said. “That’s why the geolabe is in the trunk. The car is being shipped ahead to meet her in Brussels. What about Boerst and Rodel?”
Grant checked again. “I can’t find Rodel, but Boerst is a German commercial real-estate brokerage headquartered in Munich. Rodel might work there.”
“We’ll find out tomorrow. Anything else about the brokerage?”
“Says they specialize in international transactions.” Grant scrolled down the page. “Boring… boring… boring… Wait a second. This is cool. Their new headquarters building in the heart of Munich features a state-of- the-art robotic parking garage.”
“A what?” Stacy said.
Tyler got a distant look in his eye. “You drive into a bay and park your car on a movable platform. You get out, take your ticket, and the platform automatically slides out of sight to an empty spot inside the structure. No valet ever touches the car. The purpose is to maximize space in crowded areas like city centers.”
“You thinking what I’m thinking?” Grant said.
Tyler nodded. “If she leaves the geolabe in the car during her meeting, Munich might be the best opportunity to get it.”
“Do we leave tonight or tomorrow?” Grant asked.
“It’s been a long day,” Tyler said. “Let’s get some sleep and clear our heads.” He looked at Stacy. “You, too. You can try to interpret the tablet in the morning.”
Tyler and Grant stood, but Stacy didn’t turn for her room.
“Can I talk to you for a minute?” she said.
Grant yawned. “I’ll call our pilot and tell him to be ready at seven. Should get us into Munich before nine. Night.” He closed the bedroom door behind him.
Stacy and Tyler sat down. He locked his eyes on hers. Every time she started to speak, the words caught in her throat. Tyler finally interrupted the silence.
“We’re going to catch Orr,” he said. “I promise.”
She gave him a thin smile. “You don’t have to promise. You can’t, really.”
“I know.”
She paused again before speaking. “I was going to say I’ve never been through anything like this before, but I realized how stupid that would sound.”
“That’s okay. I haven’t been through anything like this, either.”
“Yeah, but you’ve been in the Army. You’ve faced death before.”
“So have you.”
“My parents, yeah. But this is different.”
“Yes, it is.”
She held his gaze. “I just wanted you to know that Carol was going to law school because she wanted to become a prosecutor.”
“If she’s anything like you, she’ll make a damn fine one.”
“What I mean is, she wanted to catch the bad guys. She would never forgive me if we let Orr use a nuclear weapon. Even if she… ” Her voice trailed off with the scenario she couldn’t utter.
“My father would feel the same way. But it won’t come to that.”
“I won’t ask how you know that. But thanks for saying it.”
She stood to leave, and Tyler did the same. Before she went into her room, she surprised Tyler and gave him a hug, her hands tight against his back. She barely came up to his shoulder, and he held her head gently to his chest. He soaked in the comforting warmth of her body against his. Until that moment, he hadn’t realized how much he needed it. Before Tyler realized it, he was tenderly caressing her hair.
They stayed like that for a minute, neither wanting to let go, before Stacy silently pulled away and went into her room. Tyler was acutely aware that he was now alone.
He was also exhausted, but before he could go to bed he had one call to make.
“Hey, Tyler,” Aiden said. “Was Stacy able to translate the audio I sent?”
“She was. We now have an idea where the geolabe will be, but we need the tracker location to make sure it’s where we think it is. Did our guys have any luck deciphering the signals that the geolabe was emitting?”
“I’m able to help you there. The recordings you made in the lab ended up being comprehensive enough for them to decode the tracking signal. It’s broadcasting GPS coordinates every thirty seconds. Off-the-shelf technology. I’ll send you the URL where you can get the updates.”
“Will it alert Orr that we’re tapping his feed?”
“You know me better than that. I’ve cloned the Web page where he gets the tracker feed. He’ll never know.”
“Outstanding work.”
“Even better, I’ve got some info on your new lady friend, Gia Cavano.”
Tyler had texted her name to Aiden in the hope that he could track down some information on her. Tyler wanted to know what kind of woman he was dealing with. He was already convinced that she was as dangerous as Orr had warned them.
“What about her?”
“You’re not going to like it.”
“Why?”
“Because I found her name using some creative and not technically legal searching of the Interpol database. Apparently, they think she’s an up-and-comer in the Camorra. I found pictures of what she supposedly did to some of her enemies. The worst involved a meat grinder. The authorities haven’t been able to pin anything on her, though.”
Aiden was right. Tyler didn’t like it.
“What’s the Camorra?” he asked, though he thought he knew the answer.
“The Camorra is to the Naples area what the Cosa Nostra is to Sicily, but more vicious. You’re being chased by the Italian Mafia.”
FRIDAY
