Page 18 of Dagger’s Shield

“A headache, that is all. It passes. How are you, ma chérie?”

“I’m coming home for the holidays.”

She gasped. “How wonderful. When shall we look forward to seeing you?”

“Soon. Within the next couple of days.”

“Is everything all right?”

“Everything is fine.” I hated lying to her, but what choice was there? I’m coming home because I believe Papa is somehow involved with a man who almost killed me? “I have news. I’ll tell you all of it when I’m there. I love you, Maman.”

“I love you too, ma chérie.” She was quiet for a moment. “Bring something warm. The house never warms up properly this time of year.”

“I will, Maman. À bientôt.”

After ending the call, I sat on the edge of the bed and put my head in my hands. Not only had I lied to my mother in the call, but I was about to spend the next several days doing little else. I told myself it was necessary, but it didn’t make me feel better.

The team briefing was easier than the phone call had been.

We all gathered in the command center. Dagger sat at the table closest to me and loaded one of the Geneva photographs on the screen.

“Last night, after everyone left, I kept working through the DGSE batch,” I began. “As you now know, the man on the left is Géraud.”

Dagger advanced to the next image.

“The man seated across from him is Bertrand Valais—my father,” I said.

No one spoke, so I continued.

“He’s in several of the photographs. The dates show they met in Geneva two or three times a year, for the past nine years. Dagger and I will travel to France to find out what my father’s connection to him is. I’ll be bringing my fiancé home for Christmas.”

Dagger stood.

“Before we leave, someone should stay on the Hellmer charter. Whoever signed it with Vasiliev put up the money, and those records are in a sealed registry in Liechtenstein.”

He looked at Hornet. “Who do you want to bring in on this?”

“Cohen Shepherd will have the most resources in the area.”

I’d previously worked on missions with the man whose code name was Preacher, and Hornet was right to suggest him for the job.

He was formerly with the US Defense Intelligence Agency, specializing in counterproliferation. He’d worked arms deals from the money end, which meant he’d spent most of that time following payments into private banks, along the Zurich–Zug–Vaduz corridor, where he still had a network of sources. He also had the capabilities we needed. Preacher could get into records that had never been on a network, including anything sealed.

“Someone should go in with him,” Blackjack suggested.

Delfino raised her head. “Parker Mills, code name Cassidy, is on standby, and she’s here in the States. She can plan ops on the fly.”

“Who can make contact?” I asked.

“We’ll handle both,” said Hornet, motioning between himself and Delfino.

“Great,” I responded. “What’s next?”

“We started the deeper look last night,” Dagger said. “I’ve sent the photographs to my contacts at the CIA and MI6, and asked them for everything they have on Bertrand Valais. Not only this set. All of it.”

“I’ve asked the DGSE for the same,” I said.

“There’s also some work to be done on my cover identity,” said Dagger.