“What about Noah?” I asked. “Any contact since the missed meeting?”
Brie shook her head. “Nothing we know of. The last number he used to contact Scarlett hasn’t sent any messages, and I haven’t been able to ping it.”
“Could Martinelli have discovered Noah was feeding us information?” Drew asked.
“It’s possible,” Scarlett said grimly. “If Enzo suspected Noah…”
It would explain the blood in the alley, leading to the tire tracks. Despite our complicated history, I wouldn’t wish Enzo’swrath on anyone, but I was almost certain that was what happened. “That means we have two targets: the concert and the lab.”
“Reynolds focuses on the concert while Pendragon handles the lab?” Brooke suggested. “My team has the hazmat training and is familiar with containment protocols. Our protective suits won’t look out of place if we go in there.”
“Makes sense.” I nodded. “We’ll need to confer with them, but Pendragon will need authorization for an operation against the lab. And they need to coordinate with us. Go in when we confirm we’ve identified the materials under the amphitheater, so we don’t risk them hiding the chemicals.”
She frowned. “They’re already working through channels to secure authorization for some sort of action, but given our timeframe and the concern we may have a second mole, we shouldn’t count on official green light.”
“Will they act without approval?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time.”
“What about Will’s suits?” I asked. “When will they be ready for us?”
“I got a text from Dr. Norris while we were—” Her eyes met mine, but only briefly. “—discussing things upstairs. The suits are curing from the last treatment and should be ready for pickup early tomorrow morning.”
“The only thing that leaves?—”
“Is the risk they have another facility,” Brooke said, picking up my sentence, as though our shared moment upstairs unlocked our working rhythm. “We need to secure his research to prevent anyone else from replicating it.”
“My team’s on it,” chipped in Brie from the monitor. “Now that we have a name to connect everything and have unraveled several of the shell companies, I think we’ll be able to speed up our research.”
“I’ll call Bobcat,” Brooke said. “Brie, can you patch in with us, so we can transfer what’s needed?”
“Tell him not to share the specifics.” I refrained from stepping any closer to her or squeezing her shoulder. “Keep Martinelli’s name and the lab’s location close to the vest. We can’t risk Fenix knowing we’ve figured this out.”
“Will do.”
Timing would be critical. If either of us acted too fast, we risked showing our hand and ruining the entire plan. The Greek Fire could get out early, or somewhere we weren’t ready for it. Perhaps outside of Naples, or outside of Italy.
We couldn’t tip them off.
Over the next couple of hours, the villa gradually quieted as team members retired for the night. When Brooke finally announced she needed sleep before the morning suit pickup, I fought the instinct to follow her upstairs.
It was exactly like the old days. Stealing moments when we could, hiding our feelings from the team. But this was one thing I didn’t want to be like the old days. I wanted to yell from the rooftops, ‘Brooke McAllister is the most wonderful woman in the world!’
I wanted to gather her up in my arms and never let her go again.
You have two days left, Rav. You’ve waited this long.
Drew and I were the last ones left. He frowned at the screen displaying the video feeds from under the amphitheater. He tapped the screen as though it could respond to him.
“What’s the matter?”
“They’re flickering, and there’s no sound,” he muttered.
“The tunnel’s empty. Of course, there’s no sound.”
But therehadbeen sound from each of the cameras—tiny noises from vibrations, from rodents, from gentle gusts of air blowing through the drainage system.
“Which ones?”
