End of Days (Pike Logan #16)(62)

Raph said, “Are we going to kill them?”

“No. Not yet. I just want you to follow them. It may be nothing, and I don’t want to draw attention. It could be just a simple inquiry. But if it’s not, I want to be ready. And I need some explosives of my own.”

Leonardo said, “Why?”

“I need an ISIS necktie for another problem. Don’t ask.”

The three Turtles looked at each other, each wanting to say something, but none did. Garrett said, “Let’s go. Get on it.”

They left the room in a rush and he rubbed his eyes, wondering if his entire plan was now falling apart. He went to his computer and began his research on the inspector, digging into every database with which he had access. It took him into a vortex of searches, with one after another coming closer, then failing. He slapped his computer keyboard in frustration, wishing he could leverage Leonardo’s skill for the search, but that was impossible.

He continued.

Thirty seconds later, like a miracle, her address spilled out from a search engine. He stared at the screen, wondering if it was a trick. It was not. He had her location in Trastevere.

He clapped his hands and smiled, and heard a knock on his door.

He closed out his search results and said, “Yes?”

The secretary entered and said, “They’re gone. The lieutenant would like to talk.”

She didn’t look like it would be a good conversation. He said, “I’ll be right up. Thank you.”

She left, and he went on Zello, to the Turtle channel they’d created, saying, “Do you have them? They’ve left.”

Raph said, “Yeah, we have them, but they didn’t take a car. They went on foot back to the square.”

What the hell? Why would they leave the car? And it became clear—they were reporting to someone else close by and moving the car would be too much of an effort.

“Okay. Stay on them until they come back to the car. They’re meeting someone.”

“What do you want us to do?”

Aggravated, Garrett said, “Just follow them for now. Nothing more. Find out who they’re meeting and get some pictures. I have to go.”

He went upstairs to Marco’s office, knocked, and entered. The man was still in his robes and didn’t look happy. Without preamble, he said, “Donatello was literally killed during the assassination attempt. According to the U.S., he attempted to run over people trying to prevent it.”

Garrett said, “That’s impossible. You know Donatello. You know he wouldn’t do that. Why would he try to kill a United States naval commander in Bahrain? That makes absolutely no sense. They’re hiding something. Something else is going on.”

Marco turned to gaze out a window, saying, “Perhaps. No doubt it is strange, and I’ve been around politics enough to realize that someone may be asking questions solely to prevent questions about their own conduct, but I’ve also seen enough corruption to realize that something else may be going on. What was Donatello doing in Bahrain?”

“Sir, I told you, I have no idea. I honestly don’t know. What did they ask you?”

“What do you think? They wanted to know what he was doing in Bahrain. He had a damn diplomatic passport from our order, of all things.”

Garrett heard the curse word of “damn” and knew the man was extremely upset. He said, “And how did you explain that?”

Marco turned from the window and said, “I told them he was a functionary. A good kid who helped out with our humanitarian mission. They asked how the name on our passport differed from the name on his Croatian passport and I used that to tell them he’d stolen it. But you and I know that’s not true. I approved that passport with the different name. And now it’s all coming home to roost.”

Garrett said, “Nothing is ‘coming home to roost,’ sir. Donatello protected your activities in Syria, just as I did. I don’t know what he was doing, and as a member of my team, it’s ultimately my fault he traveled with one of your diplomatic passports, but it isn’t the end of the world. What are their next steps?”

Marco said, “They believed me. I told them about his bent toward dispensationalism to throw them off. About how he believed in the End of Days and maybe that had something to do with him being in Bahrain, but it had nothing to do with their naval commander. I made it seem like he was a religious fanatic, searching for the truth. They seemed to buy the theory.”

Garrett wanted to punch the man in the face right there. He’d just given away the keys to the kingdom. But he did not. He said, “Sir, I think that was for the best. We’re good. None of this will blow back on the order. I’m just as sorry as you about Donatello’s death, but that’s not something we could prevent. Every organization has bad seeds. I’m just sorry I brought this one to you.”

Marco nodded and said, “If they reengage, we’ll have to have another talk about how to cut your unit out of our existence. You understand that, right?”

“Of course, sir. I serve at the pleasure of the order.”

Marco nodded, then turned back to the window, letting Garrett know the meeting was over. He stood for a moment, about to say something else, then thought better of it. He left the room and went back down to his office, seeing a satchel on his desk. He opened it and found about a quarter pound of Semtex explosives, blasting caps, motion sensors, and a remote trigger.