Oath of Loyalty (Mitch Rapp #21)(66)

With her communications application active and a wired headset inserted in her ear, she scanned the empty landscape and waited. Her two colleagues would be in similarly remote locations, but she had no idea where—not even what continent. With modern technology there was no need for the others to be physically present during an operation. That was her role, and hers alone.

A tone sounded and she was connected a few moments later.

“Everyone is well?”

Affirmatives all around in the precise wording they’d agreed upon. Any deviation would signal a problem and result in them going to ground until contact could be safely reestablished. Likely never.

“With our recent stroke of luck, can I assume you’ve made some progress?”

“Some,” Nasrin said. “But I can’t help wondering why they’ve returned.”

“Meaning what?”

“Meaning that Burhan had stabilized the house and looked to be preparing to move their things to a storage unit before he unexpectedly disappeared. Now, suddenly they’re not only back, but back with a servant.”

“It seems likely that Claudia decided she wanted to take a more hands-on role in repairing the place,” Cyrah said. “It’s perfectly livable—particularly the second floor. And with the Guatemalan threat neutralized, why not?”

“Then why didn’t they bring back the daughter?”

“Because she’s traumatized by what happened there? Because the ground floor is still badly damaged? Because she’d be underfoot with what they have to do? Your distaste for this mission is making you overly suspicious, Nasrin.”

“And your passion for it is making you incautious.”

“Then between the two of you, we’re exactly where we need to be,” Yasmin interjected. Always the peacemaker.

“I’m going to say this one more time, though I shouldn’t have to,” Cyrah said. “We’ve taken the contract and we’ve been paid. Our decision has been made. What we need to concentrate on now is the fact that Claudia Gould is within reach. For how long, we don’t know. What we do know is that the sooner this gets done, the sooner we can move on.”

Silence reigned for a few seconds before Nasrin broke it. “They don’t appear to be planning on leaving anytime soon. The furniture has been replaced—though haphazardly. We’re continuing to monitor everyone they’ve contracted to work on the renovation as well as people and organizations that might be called upon later.”

“Are there opportunities there?” Cyrah asked.

“I’m skeptical that they’ll need much construction help in the short term. In the event that they do, it will be for random repairs. Work with the architect will be more predictable because meetings will be necessary—likely not all at the house. Their architect’s office has very little security and it’s also possible that they’ll go to places with sample construction materials. We’ve identified all the companies the firm works with and should be able to get prior warning if appointments are made. Also, once the work starts in earnest, they’ll have to move back out.”

“Construction site accident?” Cyrah mused but then decided to move on. “What about Anna? Have we made any progress?”

“We managed to get hold of her best friend’s phone long enough to load spyware,” Yasmin said. “That’s given us access to all her comms and social media accounts. She communicates with Anna primarily via WhatsApp. Thus far no actionable information.”

“And there’s no way to track where she’s transmitting from?” Cyrah asked.

“No. It’s well hidden.”

“Again, suggesting they still sense some threat,” Nasrin said.

“Of course they do,” Cyrah responded. “Gustavo Marroqui isn’t the only enemy Claudia left behind and her partner may have similar problems. I wouldn’t expect them to just leave the girl with a babysitter down the street.”

“The sarcasm isn’t helpful,” Yasmin pointed out.

Cyrah sighed quietly and pulled up her hood against the intensifying rain. “I’m sorry. What I meant to say is that if we could find her, maybe it would be possible to injure her in some kind of accident. If so, I think we could expect her mother to come to her without much thought to security.”

“No collateral damage.”

“No collateral damage,” Cyrah agreed. “But at her age, things like broken bones heal quickly and don’t leave any permanent damage. Let’s try to keep thinking creatively on that front but for now move on to the servant.”

“Bebe Davis,” Nasrin said. “We haven’t had time to do in-depth research, but based on a search of the Internet, she’s never been married, has no children, and has had a fairly varied work history. Primary school teacher, realtor, bookkeeper, librarian. Before taking this position, she seemed to be between jobs. She lives in a modest home with no mortgage and drives a fifteen-year-old Subaru, suggesting she doesn’t have many expenses.”

“Interesting that she would accept a job based in a foreign country. Particularly under the circumstances,” Cyrah said.

“We agree,” Yasmin responded. “It might suggest a past relationship with either Claudia or Burhan.”

“Can we use that to potentially learn more about them? I’m particularly interested in Burhan and whether he’s who he says he is.”