“Yes.” She yawned, blinking her eyes rapidly. “I get the feeling you think they took my passport. Why?”
“That’s one of a lot of possibilities as to what happened. It’s my job to latch onto things that might help in this assignment.” Besides which, the why was something he still needed to figure out. “You look tired, get some rest. We’ll talk about this tomorrow.”
Nodding, she slowly closed her door. And he closed his.
For the next fifteen minutes, Mitch hooked up his OPAQUE communication system. He’d done this so many times, the arrangement and plugs seemed to be wired into his thinking. Computer set. Panels for viewing set. Everything hooked into the jamming system he’d had installed at this house. Power on. Password. Next passcode. System working—clean and clear.
This communication wavelength would be for only the three agents involved in protecting Liz—Josh, Reese, and him. As always, the lines were scrambled, secure access within secure access. There’d never been a breach of the system.
Reese would be his nearest backup if something happened to him, which meant he’d need to be familiar with this location. Mitch had already told him where to find a rental property in close proximity.
Of course, Josh, the secondary backup, could contact others in OPAQUE, even try to keep track of Drake’s whereabouts on a different channel back at headquarters.
He keyed Reese and Josh to get them both in the feed. “You two on board?”
First, Josh’s picture popped on the viewing screen. Followed closely by Reese. The words “mobile station” signaled they weren’t on any direct OPAQUE headquarters system.
“I was beginning to worry,” Josh said
“No need.” Mitch sat down in front of the big screen. “Took longer to get here than I thought. Reese, you settled in your place yet?”
“Yeah, I’m tucked away in my cozy little two-bedroom beach house. At least I think there’s a beach someplace.” Reese cleared his throat. “From what I’m seeing on the GPS and satellite feed, looks like you’re waterfront. Staring out at the Gulf in a”—he clicked the house on the screen—”is this place where you two are hiding out?”
“Yes.”
“What the hell?” Josh questioned. “That place must have cost OPAQUE a buttload to lease.”
Mitch stayed quiet. Until this case was settled, he outranked Drake. He didn’t need to explain anything to anybody. “Bring me up to date on what you’ve found out, Josh.”
“The passport hasn’t been turned in anyplace. Not on the black market. Not on the inner web. Not even on the street. Liz’s dad, Russ, hasn’t shown up anyplace, either. And, as of ten minutes ago, there’s been no contact from Drake.” Josh sighed. “In other words, we’ve got nothing new since you left the boat.”
There were always three options—status quo, attack, or subterfuge. Better known as tactical manipulation to gain an edge. He’d never much liked status quo. And if OPAQUE had nothing more than what they’d been sitting on since the beginning, then there was no chance of going on offense with an attack as long as Liz was in their protection. That left subterfuge. If that backfired it could be the end of all of them. Staying in one spot too long could also be the end.
“We can’t sit and wait for CT to make the first move again,” Mitch said.
Reese nodded. “Any moves they make will be direct and to the point of what they want. Namely, Liz.”
“That’s why I need you to be close at all times. I’m texting you the passcodes and instructions for the security system right now.” Mitch pressed send before looking back at the men on the screen.
“From what I’ve calculated, my place is a two-minute sprint to your location. A lot less by car, but that loses the element of surprise.”
“Do some recon tonight. Again, in the daylight.”
“Will do,” Reese replied.
“Contact me after that, and we’ll plot the strategic points around this place.” Mitch figured that would mean letting him know he owned the house. Had to be done. “After that, I’ll give you a tour of the house and all the security systems. You’re my replacement, if anything happens to me.”
Reese nodded again.
“Josh, I need you to recheck Liz’s bank accounts and credit cards. She mentioned something about them being all jacked up the day her dad’s text came. Ask her again and see if she’s come up with anything new.”
“Got it.”
“If we knew what CT wants her father to do, it could lead us to their location. Suggestions?” Narrowing in on the opponent’s location could lead to taking out their point men. “By the way, have there been updated Coercion Ten Leverage Lists coming through?”
“A couple, but everybody’s still at the same level. Liz. Alive. Fifty thousand. You, Reese, Drake, me and the rest of the OPAQUE crew are the same as always. Alive. Ten grand. Dead, needs approval.” Josh leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling. “I’ll keep working this end, but squeezing the same intel over and over is coming up with a big fat zero.”
Even though a smaller team would be the way to stay hidden, Mitch needed to look at the broader picture. “Would more eyes on the case help?”
