Otto was silent for most of it, his usual chatter replaced by the focused intensity of a man who understood that the mission had changed. We were no longer gathering information. We were hunting.
Will sat beside me in the back seat, poring over the documents Engel had provided. There were maps, property records, and financial statements, the paper trail of a conspiracy laid out in columns and figures.
“Huh,” he grunted without looking up.
“What?”
“Adlerhorst means ‘Eagle’s Nest’ in English.”
I let my head fall back onto the seat rest. “Oh, goodie. We’re getting poetic now.”
“The estate was purchased eighteen months ago,” he said quietly, ignoring my sarcasm. “Through a subsidiary of a subsidiary of Sternberg AG. Theofficial owner is a holding company registered in Liechtenstein. The actual owner . . .” He shrugged. “Could be anyone.”
“What do you see about security?”
“It’s significant. Armed guards, around the clock, communication equipment, other line items I don’t understand.” He paused over one entry, then whistled. “Here’s generator fuel. Looks like enough to power a small village for a year.”
“They’re building a bunker,” I said. “Or a prison.”
“Or both.”
I leaned my forehead against the window and stared out. We had left the gentle valleys behind and climbed into the mountains proper. Everywhere I looked, we were surrounded by steep slopes, dense forests, and one road that wound back on itself like a snake trying to swallow its own tail. It was the kind of terrain where you could hide anything, where you could make people disappear.
“I keep thinking about the personnel,” Will said. “The people Engel said they’ve been placing throughout Swiss institutions. He said they were placing communications officers, transportation coordinators, and security personnel.” He looked at me. “That’s not just corruption; that’s preparation.”
“Preparation for what?”
“Command and control. If you have the right people in the right positions, you can control information flow and movement. You can isolate entireregions and cut them off from the outside world.” He paused. “You can make it look like nothing is happening until it’s too late to stop it.”
I thought about that, thought about a network of operatives spread throughout a country waiting for a signal. If they moved together, if they struck simultaneously at communications, transportation, and government, there was no end to what they could accomplish in a single night.
“February 15th,” I said.
“February 15th.”
“We are approaching.” Otto’s voice cut through our conversation. “Another kilometer, perhaps. The estate is on the ridge ahead.”
I leaned forward to look out the windshield, through a gap in the trees. I could see it: a dark shape against the darkening sky perched on a rocky outcrop like a falcon surveying its domain. Even from this distance, I could make out the high walls, the guard towers, and the methodical movements of men who were clearly not servants tending a country retreat.
“That’s not an estate,” I said. “That’s a fortress.”
“Medieval foundation,” Will observed. “But modernized. Look at the communication array on the east tower. And those are definitely not decorative lights along the perimeter.”
Otto pulled the car to the side of the road, tucking it into the shadow of a dense stand of pines. “Icannot go closer without being seen. The approach is too exposed.”
“Then we go on foot.” I checked my watch. We had perhaps two hours of daylight left. “Will and I will scout the perimeter. You stay with the car and keep the engine warm. If we’re not back by midnight, get word to Bisch.”
“To Bisch?” Otto’s eyebrows rose. “You now trust him?”
I hesitated. “I trust him to tell the Baroness. What she does with that information is up to her.”
We left the car and began our approach.
The fortress was monstrous up close.
Will and I spent an hour circling the perimeter, moving from cover to cover, cataloging everything we saw. The walls were thick stone, at least fifteen feet high, topped with razor wire that gleamed in the fading light. Guard towers at each corner were manned by men with rifles who swept the approaches with professional regularity. Giant floodlights glared out. They would turn the surrounding terrain into a killing field the moment darkness fell.
We watched trucks coming and going through a heavily guarded gate, men in dark clothing moving with military precision, and the occasional bark ofcommands in a language I couldn’t quite identify from this distance.
