Page 63 of Mountain Shadow

“Alone?”

Gael nodded. “The rest of us were still in the training exercise, which she couldn’t join because of the pregnancy.”

“Where was this?”

There was a long silence on the other line. “Near Argentières,” Gael replied in a soft exhale.

“Fuck!” Jens shouted, slamming his palm onto the dashboard.

“We need to assume this is not a coincidence.”

“You’re on speakerphone. Drake and Hiro are here with me.”

“Stand by. We’re calling Alex. Maybe he can track their phones.”

“I’ll call Luc,” Drake said.

Jens felt a weight settle in the pit of his stomach. He swallowed convulsively.

He has them both.

“Jens,” Damien said loudly. “Lieutenant. Are you with me? I need you with me.”

Jens forced more air into his lungs, pushing the weight on his stomach down until he could speak again.

“I’m here, Damien. I’m here.”

His boss was right.

Sarah and Kat needed him to focus.

“Call Alex.”

“Melkopf,” Alex said, when he picked up. As always, the security expert’s voice sounded like he was smiling.

Jens didn’t waste time with any platitudes.“We need your help, Alex.”

The response was instantaneous. “What do you need?”

“Fifteen minutes ago, Sarah walked outside without disabling the alarm. Now she’s not picking up her phone.”

“Hell.”

“It gets worse. Kat is missing as well. Last time she was seen was near my home.”

“Damn it.”

Jens clenched his hand around the phone to stop it from shaking.

“How can I help?”

“Can you trace their phones?”

Alex sighed on the line.

“It’s not as easy as that, Jens.” This was probably the first time Alex used Jens’s first name.

“Please, Alex. If there’s anything you can do—”