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Suddenly, my cell phone buzzed.
When I checked it, I saw a text message from UNKNOWN.
Meet me at our normal spot tomorrow at 10AM. Bring the phone, leftover money, and documents from your trip.
‘Documents’ meant the passport and driver’s license. I made a mental note to get them out of my room safe before I went to meet him.
I pocketed my phone and went about the rest of my day, my head filled with visions of a cottage and a little girl with black hair… and the ring glittering on Rachel’s hand as she held onto my arms around her.
79
When Saturday morning came, I told Rachel I had to run an errand and let her sleep in. I was a little concerned she might try to follow me, so I walked aimlessly for an hour before arriving at my destination.
At 10 AM, I was sitting outside the café, bundled up in a pea coat and sipping a cup of coffee. The weather was cold and drizzly. No one else was around because no one else was stupid enough to be sitting outside.
Alistair walked over in a tan trench coat and took the seat opposite me.
“Good job in Norway,” he said by way of greeting.
“Thank you.”
“Phone, please,” he said as he extended his hand.
I gave him the burner. He checked it was powered off, then put it inside his jacket.
“Do you have the money and passports?” he asked.
I handed them over.
“We’ve got something else for you,” he said as he pulled out a manila envelope and pushed it across the table.
I frowned as I picked it up. “Is the turnaround normally this quick?”
“No. The first mission was a test run to make sure you could handle yourself. This one is the priority.”
I opened the envelope and found a new burner phone – along with a passport, driver’s license, and credit card with the name Lars Andersen.
“Why don’t you ever give me a fake first name?” I asked.
“If you’re in a situation where your last name is called and you don’t react, the other person chalks it up to you being distracted. But if they call you by your first name and you don’t respond, it makes them suspicious. We don’t need to make anyone unnecessarily suspicious, so you’ll continue to be ‘Lars’ for the foreseeable future.”
Among the papers was a photo of a 40-something man with slicked-back blond hair and a wart on his cheek. He wore an expensive suit and a scowl.
“Jan van der Linden, Dutch arms merchant,” Alistair said. “He’s selling weapons under the table to North Korea in exchange for enriched plutonium, enough to make a small nuclear bomb. From what we know, there will be an auction in five weeks. Iran is said to be the favorite with a rumored opening bid of half a billion dollars. That auction obviously must not happen, and we can’t depend on diplomacy to stop it. Which is why you’re being sent in.”
“Seems like a pretty important job for the ‘new guy.’”
“We think van der Linden has highly placed moles and knows the identities of most of our top agents… but he doesn’t know about you yet. This job is precisely why you were recruited in the first place.
“I have to warn you, though, this outing will be much more difficult than your last. His security detail is far more extensive than Solberg’s, and they’ll be extremely cautious. Van der Linden has dodged several attempts on his life over the years – rivals and angry ex-clients – so he’s very careful. You should be, too.
“We have word that he’s going to his house at Lake Como, north of Milan. We’ve arranged a chateau for you across the water from his residence. You’ll need to do your own reconnaissance – we don’t have anyone on the inside who can give us details about his routine.” Alistair leaned forward, his face grim. “This mission is incredibly important… but you should not make an attempt unless you’re sure it will succeed.”
I raised one eyebrow. “You can’t ever be 100% sure – not even at point-blank range.”
“I know that,” Alistair said testily. “The point is, we don’t want you rushing into it. You have three weeks to get it done. If you can’t complete the mission within that time frame, we’ll need to figure out something else.”
“Three weeks?” I asked in shock.
