The Sixth Day (A Brit in the FBI #5)(107)
“Where is Ardelean, Caleb? What does he plan to do for revenge?”
“Sorry, I swear I don’t know what his end game might be. But whatever it is, it will be big. Huge. Since you people killed his brother, he’s not going to run. He’s going to come after all of you with everything he’s got. It’s always personal to him. Very, very personal.”
CHAPTER SEVENTY-FIVE
Upstairs, Nicholas put a frozen pizza in the oven while Mike pulled together a quick salad. Then he, Harry, and Mike sat at the table and ate, discussing their next moves.
Nicholas said, “There’s one thing I believe Temora about. Ardelean is going to come after us. He already has twice, no reason he won’t try a third time. If he blames us for his brother’s death, then we’re in twice as much danger. We have to find him.”
Mike swallowed a bit of pizza. “Let me call Adam, see if he’s found anything yet.”
She put her cell on speaker when Adam answered. “Gray and I were about to call you. Sorry, guys, we don’t have good news. The blueprints for several major London landmarks were on Ardelean’s hard drives. Maps, detailed information, insider stuff, things not available to the public. Seems he used his connections to the servers to lift all the information he could possibly want.”
Nicholas asked, “So how many possible targets?”
“There are eight different spots around London that he’s done epic amounts of research on. I’m talking all the major tourist destinations and government buildings. It’s going to take us a while to find out if there’s one he’s favored over another. He still may try to kill you guys off one at a time, or he may focus on a single huge attack. We don’t know yet. He’s up to something, regardless.”
“Get back to it, Adam. Find everything you can and send it our way.”
Nicholas patted his mouth with a napkin, stood up. “Come on, Mike, let’s go talk to Isabella. She might have heard something, seen something to help us figure out what he plans next.”
Harry said, “I’ll keep talking to Temora, see if I can’t sweeten the deal. If he gives me anything, I’ll let you know.”
When the door shut behind them, Nicholas realized the sun was dropping behind the mews. They stood in ready silence on the stoop for a moment, listening—no drones above them.
Nicholas pulled on his leather jacket, and they started down the street, back toward the church.
Mike saw a garden along the way, chestnut and limes lining the sidewalks, the leaves full and deep. White flowers sprinkled the beds like dropped pieces of cotton. The evening felt calm, and still. There was no one around, only the distant sounds of traffic.
Nicholas glanced at the pink sky. “I didn’t realize it was so late. The car will be waiting on the other side of the church. Let’s cut through to the hospital.”
A man’s deep voice said from the shadows to the left, “And ask that lying bitch why she let my brother die?”
Mike’s hand went immediately to her weapon. Roman Ardelean said very quietly, “Don’t even think about it.” But she didn’t pause and she was fast, her Glock out in instant. Even as she opened her mouth to tell him it was over, he said in that same quiet voice, “Tsk,” followed by a strange word that sounded like Ob?ine.
Mike felt a flash of air and a sharp sting in her hand. Her Glock clattered to the ground, and the tail of a falcon disappeared into the tree-lined street. She started to duck toward the weapon, but the bird took the corner at speed, turned in her wings, and shot between her and her Glock like a missile.
The voice from the shadows called out, “Stop. Arlington does not approve of weapons. She’s been trained to take down drones, but she sometimes acts on her own where handguns are concerned.” He turned to Nicholas. “Wise of you to stay still, Drummond. I believe she would go for your eyes.”
Nicholas said nothing, stepped quickly to Mike to see her hand was bleeding. He said to Ardelean, “A handkerchief to staunch the bleeding,” and he slowly pulled one from his breast pocket. As he did, his other hand reached the gun under his arm.
“Now, Drummond, do be careful where you put your hands.”
Nicholas didn’t move. “Are you too afraid of us to show yourself? All you have going for you is a killer bird?”
Ardelean stepped from the shadow. He was wearing dark jeans, a black T-shirt, and leather jacket, and on his wrist sat a falcon. He held no weapons, only the bird. Nicholas knew he could pull his Glock and kill the bird in a heartbeat.
Ardelean said, “You invaded my home and you killed my brother. However, you have given me what I wanted, so treat this as a warning. Stop. Go home.”
Mike said, as she pressed Nicholas’s handkerchief to her hand, “If we stop, will you stop? Murdering people for their blood, killing Dr. Marin’s fiancé for no reason at all, killing Alexander and Vittorini, Hemmler and Donovan, not to mention sending your drone after us and the train?” Her hand throbbed and burned. The talons had dug deep.
Ardelean said, “Your brains are so . . . limited. You see and understand so very little. Yet again, I have found that true of so many of my fellow human beings. Then there are the corrupt greedy ones, like Barstow. You may leave now, talk to Isabella, ask her why she failed to save my brother.
“Drummond, if you take one more step, Arlington will tear out your eyes and then your throat. She’s hungry. We took down a rabbit earlier, but she’s at her flying weight and fast, and I need to feed her more.” He paused, looking back and forth between Nicholas and Mike. “Will you never learn—”