His lips pressed together. He wanted to say so much more, but he couldn’t. Not until this was over, she was safe and then he could tell her how he really felt. Until then, he’d hold her hand and revel in the fact that she was there. With him. Safe. Well.
Alive.
What happened in the next twenty-four hours could change all of that.
Chapter 19
Marta woke as the plane landed in Vienna. First thing she checked...was that Crusher still held her hand. The second was that she still clutched the pouch with the container of antiviral.
Crusher leaned close and pressed his lips to her temple. “You okay?”
She nodded, her body warming at his intimate touch.
Before the door opened and the steps lowered, Hammer’s cell phone chirped.
“Hammer,” he answered and listened. “Hold one.” The leader of the Brotherhood Protectors International office put his cell phone on speaker. “Striker, could you say that again so the others can hear?”
“Teuling arrived with his security detail around midnight and went straight to his room in the conference center’s hotel. Ramsey is staking out his room. Vasquez hasn’t left his suite since arriving. His bodyguards are staying close. Three are in the suite with him, and one is on duty outside the door at all times. Only room service is coming in and out.”
“What do we know about the conference center?” Hammer asked. “I know Dmytro got hold of the blueprints.”
“Right,” Striker said. “Dmytro and Swede went over the center's blueprints and traced the ventilation shafts serving the primary conference room for the Summit. There are several points at which someone could introduce the aerosolized virus into the vents that would deliver it to the main conference room.”
“We need people at those locations,” Marta said.
“Swede tapped into the conference center’s surveillance cameras to include the areas that could be used to introduce the virus into the shafts. So far, no one has come near enough to plant the virus. Between Swede in Montana, Kyla in West Yellowstone, and Dmytro and Lucy in Europe, they’re monitoring the cameras and running facial recognition software on anyone entering or exiting the facility, including the loading docks and employee entrances.”
“If Vasquez goes through with his plan to release the virus, he’d have to time it for when the Summit is in session to be most effective,” Marta said. “Are any of the ventilation accesses in hallways where the attendees will pass through on their way to the Summit?”
“Fortunately, no,” Striker said. “They’re on the hidden hallways, where staff members move between main event rooms.”
“What’s the plan for now?” Crusher asked Hammer.
“We monitor the ventilation locations, follow Teuling and Vasquez—and Krauss, when he makes his appearance,” Hammer said.
Crusher’s lips pressed into a tight line. “If he makes an appearance.”
Marta’s fingers squeezed his. “Vasquez won’t trust anyone but the scientist to handle the virus,” she said. “He wouldn’t bring it this far and have someone bumble the delivery.”
“I don’t understand why he’s here in the first place,” Crusher said. “Why would he come to the very place he plans to infect?”
“From what Swede told me about Vasquez, he likes to make a statement,” Hammer said. “He’ll want the delegates to know he’s there, watching what they’re doing. He’ll want them to know he won’t let them shut down his business without a fight.”
“What about Krauss?” Crusher asked. “Any sign of him?”
“None so far,” Striker said.
Fearghas frowned. “There are only so many of us. We can’t be everywhere, especially when all the delegates and their entourages arrive at once.”
“Is it time to call in the local police?” Hammer asked. “Or should we notify Interpol and let them handle it?”
Marta frowned. “The problem is we can’t let the people calling the shots—Vasquez and Teuling—get away with what they’re planning. If the Summit is postponed, they could choose another time to use this virus to kill people.”
“Don’t we have enough evidence to put them away by now?” Crusher asked.
“Dr. Hale has a point.” Hammer’s jaw hardened. “Teuling will only claim ignorance. He’s got high-powered lawyers and government officials in his pocket. He won’t spend any time in jail, and Vasquez could claim ignorance as well and slip out of the country. He’d go back to Colombia and find other ways to terrorize anyone who tries to put a kink in his drug-trade routes.”
“They need to be called out in front of witnesses.” Marta met Crusher’s gaze. “They need to be held accountable. There are too many lives at stake and too many already lost.”
