There was a few moments’ silence.
“Okay, Hell. This is your call.”
“This is Eight. I’ll back her up from behind,” Heath’s voice interrupted.
“Ten-four. Hell?”
“I’m almost there.”
Jumping off the banister onto the walkway below, Helen started sprinting.
JED BLINKED, BETRAYINGnothing as he listened to Weber. That prickle of awareness, light as a feather stroke. He’d had that sensation before, not too long ago, in fact.Elena.
“I need to show you certain files but it has to be done in my limousine, away from any cameras. My man’s bringing it around over there, far from arrivals.” Weber told him. “We don’t have much time before the official ceremonies begin.”
Jed nodded. He had dealt with Weber before. A hard-nosed bureaucrat who had been one of the original founders of Deutsche International, he was also one of the few inside the think tank today who was aware that its involvement in international politics wasn’t all black and white. Weber and his group would have to have a very good reason to involve Deutsche International in the business of buying weapons, though, what with the think tank’s mission statement being world peace and disarmament. From the last operation with Helen, it didn’t look like they were disarming the decoder for world unity.
That Deutsche International had been invited as one of the VIP visitors today illustrated its influence within the political circles. A conference filled with the emerging powers of Eastern European countries slowly coming out from the umbrella of the former Soviet Union and their internal strife, watched by the media of the world community, was the perfect place for D.I. to find financiers and supporters for its main cause. But of course, as Jed very well knew and understood, there were covert political deals being haggled by different powers even as the front was a united coalition. There were many different kinds of warfare. He just needed to find the connection that would click the whole puzzle into place.
According to Weber, there was something more than business treaties afoot at this convention and it was something troubling enough that he approached Jed, of whom he seldom had direct contact. They had an understanding, the kind that allowed covert information to be exchanged without too many questions.
“Surely you can tell me who you want disposed without showing files? You have never needed to give me the background so thoroughly,” Jed mused, speaking in German.
Weber furtively looked around. There were no late arrivals. “This is not for me. It is for the foundation and its future.” He paused, nodding to his bodyguard to walk ahead toward the waiting car. He added, lowering his voice, “Stefan, there are only two copies of what I am going to show you, one in that car, and the other in a special security box in a Swiss bank. It will be worth a fortune in the market if it is released by the right person.”
Jed lifted his brows. “And what’s the catch?” he asked cynically.
“You’ll understand once you see what I have.”
“Number Nine,” De Clerq’s voice came over Jed’s micro-earpiece. “Hell instructs not to enter any vehicle. Repeat. Code Red. Stay away from vehicle. She’s heading your way, right behind two men. She said to tell you they’re from Stratter’s, that you’ll understand.”
Jed didn’t miss a step as he walked alongside Weber toward the limousine, his gaze measuring the distance between him and the vehicle. His word for today had been providence. Indeed, it looked like he needed some quick intervention right now.
HELEN HEARD A CRASHand, pulling out a weapon, ran even faster toward its direction. Curses, men barking orders at each other. A thin high cry from further left, beyond a wall that acted as a buffer for VIPs arriving or leaving in their vehicles. That didn’t sound like Jed.
Since it was already late, there were no moving cars in the vicinity. Everyone who had to be in the auditorium should already bethere, ready for the treaty speech. Everyone but Jed and those who had tricked him to come down here.
“Jed signaled. We created a short power outage, elevators included. You have twelve minutes to get Jed out before Macedonian security reach you, over,” de Clerq instructed.
“Ten-four,” Helen acknowledged, peering around the corner. Semi-darkness.
It was silent now. From memory, she retraced the underground parking schematics in her head. Buffer wall. That meant the elevator was ten feet from her, closer to her than that first yelp of pain.
She stepped into the darkness that was illuminated by the strips of emergency lights here and there on the walls.Danger.She sensed rather than saw the movement behind her and reflex kicked in as she bent forward and moved sideways. Air whooshed where her head had been. She heard the snick of a weapon being cocked. Making a rapid judgment call, she turned, and fired hers. Its silencer emitted a quiet “pop” and the dark shadow before her crumpled to the ground. Helen crouched behind a column.
One down. There was at least one more close by. Where the hell was Jed? She couldn’t just shoot at every moving shadow, not without knowing his location.
In answer, a familiar shape dropped down next to her. It would have startled her if she hadn’t trusted the instincts that usually warned her of danger. She smiled grimly in the darkness. Easy. She thought of Jed, and he just appeared, silent as death itself. He leaned forward, his lips brushing her ear.
“Weber’s driver sold him out. Shot the bodyguard. He’s out of the vehicle, looking for Weber. Possibly two hostiles without yours.”
Okay, so Weber wasn’t one of the bad guys. Helen moved closer and whispered back, “I shot one of mine. Pretty sure it’s one of the CIA operatives. One more.”
His hand touched the nape of her neck briefly. “I have to get to Weber. They want him as well. We need him alive. Cover me.”
He didn’t wait for an answer, standing and disappearing into the darkness in seconds. Helen frowned. How was she supposed to cover him? She didn’t know where he was heading and it was too dark to tell one shape from another.
She blinked, realization dawning. Of course. Today was the day for decoys. She stood and started to run noisily toward the elevator, making scraping sounds with her shoes. Almost immediately, footsteps came from behind her. She ducked behind another post, pulled out a piece of metal and flipped it at the wall across from her. It hit, thudding loudly. She repeated this, each time aiming a little further, as if “she” were going that direction. Bait.
