Mason Keller arrived a few minutes later as Bogdan and the others were being led to the conference room. At the same time, several members of the security team moved past the server room, forcing Lennox and Colt to duck down. Damn, these people were constantly moving.
When Bogdan and the rest of the people were seated in the conference room, Kyla routed one of the listening devices through the radio so Lennox and the rest of the other guys could hear what they were saying. Not that it mattered much since this meeting was intended to wrap up details from previous meetings and listening in was like starting a book in the middle. Keller was going from person to person in the room, asking specific questions, apparently about contributions Bogdan and the others had agreed to provide the organization Keller represented known as Sentinel.
“Kyla, do you know anything about a group called Sentinel?” Lennox asked.
“No. I’ll do a deep dive when we get home and see what I can find out.”
Lennox turned his attention back to what they were saying in the conference room, trying to figure out what Keller wanted out of these people.
“I get that the banking people in the group are being asked to launder money,” he said into his mic. “And that woman who runs the import-export operation seems to have been pulled into some kind of smuggling operation. But I don’t have a clue what Keller wants from the rest of them, especially those manufacturing firms and McDaniel’s bio-tech company.”
“I’m not sure, but I get the feeling that they’re supposed to build him something,” Kyla said. “I’m not sure what though.”
“What about the senator and crime boss?” Darwin asked. “Any thoughts why Keller would bother with those two?”
“No idea,” Kyla admitted. “But from the expressions I can see them making on my video screens, they’re definitely unhappy about being here.”
“I can see Keller blackmailing the congressman to get him here. The guy’s a politician so it’s a given that there are skeletons in his closet,” Kirk murmured. “But how nasty do you have to be in order to get your hooks into a drug lord?”
Nobody bothered to answer that question. Probably because they were all imagining just how bad Keller might be.
The meeting began to break up a little while later, with the attendees leaving in groups of three or four. Soon, only Bogdan, Fredrickson, McDaniel, and Keller were left. Even the advance team security force had started to leave.
“Have you run into any difficulties arranging the ship I requested?” Keller asked, apparently directing the question at Fredrickson. “Our plans to get our asset out of the country is on hold until you have that ship ready.”
Whatasset?
“The container ship is ready,” Fredrickson responded. “In fact, it’s been ready for two days. So it’s not the ship holding up your plans. It’s getting the asset through port security.”
“Bogdan, is it safe to assume you’re dealing with this port security issue?” Keller asked, the barest hint of menace in his tone. “After all, your contacts within the more unsavory elements at the port are part of the reason you’re here.”
Lennox snorted. So Bogdan had his fingers in the city’s criminal element. Or at least the criminal element that controlled the port’s security. He probably shouldn’t be surprised.
“I’m working on it,” Bogdan answered, his words picked up by a microphone somewhere outside the conference room. “But there has recently been some new security procedures implemented at the port by elements outside the control of myunsavorycontacts. Perhaps if I was able to talk to your superiors instead of constantly dealing with mid-level muscle, I’d be more motivated to resolve the dilemma.”
Damn. Bogdan was used to being in charge, and he seemed to be angling for more control over the situation.
“Sorry, but the people I work for at Sentinel don’t bother talking to people like you,” Keller said.
“They will if they want my continued assistance in this matter,” Bogdan said, sounding surprisingly firm with his answer.
Keller only laughed.
Lennox wasn’t sure if that meant Rybak had won the argument or not.
“Keller is getting in his vehicle to leave,” Kyla announced over the radio a few moments later. “The rest of his team are leaving, as well as Bogdan and the other men.”
“Do you think the asset that Keller mentioned is Anna?” Talia asked before anyone else could say anything.
“Maybe,” Lennox said. He didn’t want to get Talia’s hopes up when there was no real evidence that Anna was even alive. “Whether it’s her or not, we need to track down that ship Fredrickson mentioned and be ready to search it.”
“You guys are seriously talking about boarding a container ship docked somewhere here in San Diego?” Katrina asked, her high-pitched words betraying her surprise. “Like pirates?”
“Sorry to interrupt but I think we might have a problem,” Kyla said. “One of those black SUVs from Keller’s advance team has driven past our surveillance van three times in the last couple minutes. I’m pretty sure they’ve made us.”
Crap.
“We’re on our way,” Lennox said.
