Читать книгу Secret Agent Reunion - Caridad Pineiro - Страница 9

Chapter 5

Dani’s gaze skittered from Mitch to the bed and back to Mitch again. Then she understood he was just kidding. For a moment she had thought he might be serious.

Seemingly well aware that he’d pushed her buttons, he shot her a knowing grin. He walked over and motioned to the table. “Want to set up the equipment here?”

“It’s as good a place as any.” She whirled from him quickly, wanting to hide the flush of color heating her cheeks. Grabbing her bag, she tossed it on the bed and immediately unpacked, removing her drab-colored clothes, short black wig and toiletries and efficiently stowing them away so she could get to the laptop and other equipment she had secured beneath the soft goods.

Mitch did the same. As she’d suspected, his bag held a greater assortment of clothing, so by the time she had her equipment assembled on the table, he had only just reached the section in his bag that held his computer and the supplies they had agreed to bring with them.

She held up the DVDs. “I guess I’ll get started with these until you’re ready.”

“I won’t be long. I want to put in some surveillance cameras so we can make sure the room stays secure.”

She nodded and slipped the first DVD into her laptop. It contained information on the murder of the Lazlo agent in Prague. The intelligence consisted of video from the various cameras near the Lazlo Prague offices as well as detailed reports on the investigations into his death. Also on the DVD were copies of all the open files on the cases the operative had been working at the time of his death.

Not wanting to let the reports influence her and possibly lead her to wrong first impressions about the video feeds, she left them for last. As she opened the initial MPEG file, she watched out of the corner of her eye as Mitch worked on slipping a needle-fine fiber-optic camera into a picture frame on the opposite side of the room.

He pulled the PDA from his belt and fiddled with something before he walked to another section of the room and went to work again.

Deciding he had things under control, she started playing the video—footage of the front of an ordinary-looking building, apparently the Lazlo location in Prague. Few pedestrians passed in front, and not much more motor vehicle traffic moved by the site. Either the area was not that well- frequented or it was early in the morning.

She decided morning had made the difference in the traffic conditions since it seemed slightly dark at first, but within a short period of time, the sun rose behind the building. A small alley a few doors down from the building was in shadow thanks to its western-facing opening and the larger structures around it. A good hiding place for an early-morning capture or kill.

Advancing through the video, she noted an occasional car or pedestrian, but not much activity until a well-dressed man walked north toward the Lazlo offices. He looked downward, his attention totally focused on the morning newspaper in one hand. He held a briefcase in the other.

As he passed the alley she had noted earlier, someone grabbed him.

The video lacked sound so it was impossible to tell what was happening in the shadows of the alley. Besides, the killer had probably had a silencer on his weapon.

“Find something?” Mitch asked as he finally sat at his computer, right beside her.

“The agent’s capture and, presumably, where he was killed.” She gestured to her screen and replayed the segment. “He never realized what hit him.”

Mitch detected the mix of condemnation and distress in Dani’s voice. He opted to focus on the first. “He wasn’t really a secret-agent type. More like a bean counter. His latest assignment was to investigate the financial records of a charitable foundation. Maybe he was murdered to stop him from discovering a connection between the foundation and SNAKE.”

“So he probably had no idea he had been targeted or how to handle it.”

Mitch nodded. “Once you get to the report, it will probably indicate that there was little sign of a struggle.”

Dani faced him. “And the rest of the dead operatives? Also non-secret-agent types?”

He winced and rubbed at the scar down the middle of his abdomen. “Not really. The agents killed were a mix, but I’m told they all had one thing in common—each of their cases could possibly be connected to the crime syndicate.”

Dani’s gaze tracked the motion of his hand, but then she ripped it away and back to the screen. “I’d like to make that call for myself after I get a chance to review all this material. It’s also possible there’s no connection between them and SNAKE.”

“Then what’s the reason for targeting them?”

“Do sadistic killers need a reason? Besides, I get the sense Lazlo may have made a few enemies over the years,” she said and focused her attention solely on the video.

She had shut him out. Fine by him, Mitch thought and turned to the copies of the case files on the hard drive. He first downloaded them to his computer and then shut down the portable drive, disconnected it and passed it to Dani.

“Thanks,” she murmured without taking her eyes from her screen, where she reviewed digitally enhanced sections of what video they had. Whoever had done the kills had been very good, leaving few clues for them to follow.

His examination of the case files confirmed there was little information except the killer’s unique MO on the last two kills. The first two attacks…

He once again rubbed his scar, recalling how Kruger had surprised him on one of the narrow side streets not far from their current location. He had been distracted, worried about how Kruger had managed to elude them. He had also been concerned about what might happen if the chase left the narrow, twisting side streets and exploded out onto the more crowded neighborhood avenues. Kruger would have not been above opening fire even with innocents nearby—collateral damage meant nothing to people like him. Dani was right that sadistic killers didn’t care.

Or people like Dani, he thought, shooting a glance at her and wondering whether when she was on duty as the Sparrow she had cared about those around her. About him, he thought, his mind drifting back to the day he had “died.”

An arm snaked around his neck and Mitch instinctively knew what would follow.

Reaching upward, he managed to block the swipe of the knife at his throat, but the blade bit deep, slicing across his forearm.

He ignored the pain and dipped his shoulder, used the shift in his weight to throw his attacker up and over him.

Kruger landed with a thud, but before Mitch could attack, his legs started to buckle. He wondered about it for a second, but then looked down and noticed the handle of the knife buried deep in his midsection.

Staggering back, he shifted to remove the blade, only Kruger swiftly jumped to his feet. He lunged at Mitch, grabbed the knife and drove upward with it, a vicious smile on his face.

As he struggled to stay upright, Mitch hit the wall behind him, which kept him on his feet for only a second as his legs finally gave out and he slumped to the ground.

Kruger bent toward him then, intent on finishing the job.

He tried to raise the hand that still held his gun, but his body refused to cooperate. Kruger didn’t have to worry about him. It would only be a short amount of time before he was dead. He could tell from the way all the warmth in his body pooled at his center, trying to keep his vital organs functioning. It was a futile effort. He sensed the growing trail of heat down the middle of his body from the blood escaping him.

Kruger stopped suddenly and shot a quick glance up the side street. With a look of fear etched on his face, he bolted away and out into one of the bigger thoroughfares.

He had to let Aidan know what was happening, Mitch thought, fumbling for the cell phone at his belt—only, his fingers seemed inflexible. Thick and useless.

A moment later, a shadow passed before his eyes and suddenly Dani appeared, kneeling beside him.

“Oh god, Mitch. God, no,” she said, slipping an arm around his upper body and cradling him close.

“Dani…be…safe,” he somehow managed to say and found the strength to pick up the hand holding the gun. He placed it over hers, where it rested at his midsection, trying to stem the flow of blood. He pressed the gun into her hand.

“Take it. Stay safe…love you.” The words were interspersed with his rough, pain-filled breaths.

Dani stroked his cheek, wet with her tears. “Hold on, love. I’m going to get help.”

“No…time. Be…careful,” he warned her, worried that Kruger would come back to rid himself of Dani as well. He suspected she had likely witnessed all or part of the attack. Kruger would want to leave no witnesses behind.

Dani bent her head, dropped a kiss on his forehead and then another on his lips. “I love you, Mitch. Please, just stay with me a little longer. I’m calling for help.”

A second later, she instructed over her cell phone. “This is Sparrow. I need medical assistance…”

“Mitch?”

He seemed surprised when Dani repeated his name. “Are you okay?”

“When did you find out Kruger’s location?” he asked, apparently shaking off whatever had been troubling him.

The question came out of left field and threw her. “What? Why are you asking—”

“SNAKE. It’s got to be them behind this. I think that we’ll eventually find all the dots connect these attacks to them.”

Dani shrugged. “It may seem that way—”

“May seem that way?” Mitch challenged and shot up off his chair. He paced back and forth before facing her and raking a hand through his hair in frustration. “What kind of proof do you need?”

Proof? She had it every time she looked into a mirror, and so did Mitch. They both bore the scars from the crime organization’s attacks, but the other deaths might be just sheer coincidence.

“Why single out the Lazlo Group? Unless it was because you were all getting too close to SNAKE’s operations, only…”

“Only what?” he challenged.

“These kills. The latest MO indicates there’s more to it. These are personal. A challenge. But how can we determine the motive when we don’t know who really runs the syndicate these days now that Max Dumont is dead?”

“So the Sparrow didn’t even come close to completing her mission?” He placed his hands on his hips and glared at her, egging her on.

Dani refused to take the bait. She rose from her chair and walked to stand before him. Looking up at his greater height, she said, “I didn’t complete my mission because I let my personal feelings get in the way. I’m not going to do that again, Mitch, so you can stop goading me.”

His shoulders slumped and he released a tired sigh. “I’m sorry. It’s just that—”

“You need defenses. I understand. I need them, too.”

She shocked him with her confession almost as much as she surprised herself. She hadn’t meant to admit that she needed to protect herself from the feelings she still had for him. But maybe it was better that it was all out in the open. That both of them were aware of it so as to avoid problems.

When he didn’t say anything else, she said, “It’s time for a break. I need some air.”

“Then let’s roll,” he said and suddenly became all-action guy. He shut down his computer, packed it and the portable hard drive into a small bag that he tossed over his shoulder.

Following his lead, she stowed the DVDs and her laptop in a stylish leather knapsack—her one concession to fashion—and made sure that when she slipped it on she still had easy access to the Glock in the holster at the small of her back.

She watched as Mitch checked the same, but then he slipped another PDA from his bag and walked to the table, which was now devoid of any telltale items. Only the fruit basket and typical hotel paraphernalia rested there.

Mitch slipped the second PDA under the table and pressed upward, apparently adhering it to the underside. “This will broadcast the video signals via a satellite connection to one of the Lazlo servers. We’ll be able to access the recorded videos or live feeds from our PDAs or any PC. That way we’ll know if the area’s been compromised.”

“Sounds good. What about the exterior sector?”

“We should stay out until dark. It’ll be easier to plant the cameras then.”

“So we familiarize ourselves with the area—”

“And grab dinner. I’m hungry,” he said.

She smiled, plucked a pear from the basket and tossed it to him. “It’s too early to eat dinner in Rome. This should tide you over for a few hours.”

He caught the pear and grinned. “You’re a hard taskmaster, Sparrow.”

“I’m glad you figured that out, Agent Lama. Makes life easier for both of us.”

The grin on his face slowly faded and he took a step closer, reached up and cupped her cheek, the action achingly familiar.

In low bedroom tones, he said, “I suspect life with you could never be easy.”

She inched her chin up defiantly. “Are you so sure about that, or are you too afraid to find out?”