“It was more of a request than a question of ability, shit-gibbon.”
“Nice. Kubrick strikes again.”
There was a pause as everyone thought about Waters’ partner, leading to thoughts of the man himself. Everyone had to be feeling a little guilty about any sort of humor or enjoyment when their friend was in trouble.
Midas cleared his throat. “Routing it now.”
The picture flashed up on the television screen that Midas had commandeered. Steel walked in front of the television, just a few feet from its center, and stared at the man they could only see in profile. Tingles moved throughout his body, skittering along his bones and tickling his nervous system. A soft glow formed around the unknown man.
Knit hat. Black-tinted sunglasses. High jacket collar pulled up to hide portions of his lips and jawline. Age anywhere from thirties to forties. Midas was going to have a hell of a time trying to match him to another photo, let alone a name, unless he was wearing the same gear. He really looked like any other tourist in the city.
God walked up beside him. “I can always tell when an idea is forming. What is it?”
“We sent Waters to my family in the hopes that it would lure out someone higher up in Salieri, someone pulling the strings.”
“Yes,” he agreed, puzzled.
“After being collected by my brother’s men, Waters would have been presented to my brother and then taken to my father.”
“In Córdoba, where his trackers were dug out and sent to twodifferent locations, he was then moved to Bariloche with an ally. How does this connect to this new face?”
“Daleyza’s family was only important inside cartel business because her father owned a small shipping company. My father found him somehow when he was just starting out. Manipulated him into moving product until he was in so deep, even if he’d wanted to leave and go straight, he couldn’t. Basically, her family owned the company, but my father determined how the business was used.”
“And because we have an eyewitness to multiple business visits from Zion Norton to her family home, we know the tie to the Salieri is valid.”
“Exactly. So why did my family give a minor ally such an important job of housing the Salieri’s prize?”
“The oubliettes?” God suggested. “The remoteness of their location and the ease of guarding them?”
“While I’d agree with the second half, maybe, it’s still a tourist location. A lot of eyes on the surrounding area, which means a lot of chances for someone to be seen. As for the oubliettes, those are just a feature of this location. Any of my father’s properties would have detainment facilities that maybe weren’t as primitive, but no less difficult to get out of.
“What interests me is that now we have a man we don’t know meeting with a known member of the Salieri, and they’re doing so in a place where we know our bait is.” He looked at each one of the men in the room in turn, then pointed at the screen. “Gentlemen, meet Mr. X. Our puppeteer.”
The three men with him looked at the screen.
“What are the odds? A completely unknown male meeting with Howard is able to spot TB and Demon? Not fucking likely. But if he’s part of the Salieri and higher up than Howard or Norton, it’s possible he could have spotted them because he knows who they are. They had surveillance on all of us.”
Loki filled in the final piece. “And now they know we’re here.”
“I’m willing to bet they spotted us long before we spotted them.”
“Midas!” God barked.
“Yes, boss?”
“Pull everybody back immediately. We no longer have time for stealth. If Howard and our puppet master know we’re here, we may have just signed Waters’ death sentence. We need to get to him yesterday.”
“Calling them now.”
“Steel. I’m sorry to do this?—”
“You need Daleyza to help with the interior features of the mission. I’ll go wake her.”
He was out the door with purpose. Every second mattered.
25
AUGUST 24, 2024
