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Jozef waited for Danijel to translate and for Marc to nod his head in agreement.
“Good,” he said. “I reached out to my contacts after Valmir called and received information in return. Your friend here will need to come with me to the town of Ðakovo. He’ll have to find a woman to go with him. Everyone there knows everyone, and a man who’s alone and who looks like a federal agent will— to use an American expression—stick out like a sore thumb. I have friends. They tell me there’s talk of strangers in the area. My friends are willing to help—also for the right monetary compensation. There are many abandoned farmhouses they can take you to.”
Danijel turned to look at Marc. “I assume you got all that, so I’ll just pretend I’m translating for you. Ðakovo is about a forty-minute drive from Osijek. Can you arrange for a female teammate to accompany yo
u? Hopefully, one who speaks both Croatian and Albanian, since this is where I must step out of things. I’ve pushed my boundaries as far as I’m able.”
“I know.” Marc was well aware of how far out on a limb Danijel had gone for them. He was also aware that they were about to move into criminal territory, a reality they’d all known would ultimately be necessary in order to rescue Lauren.
“I’ll go,” Ellie volunteered in Marc’s ear at once.
“So will I,” Philip echoed. “It’s time for me to do recon.”
“My female translator just agreed to help us,” Marc told Danijel. “The one additional change is that Philip, not I, will be the one to accompany her. His background is best suited for this portion of the investigation.”
“His work in covert recon,” Danijel remembered Philip’s dossier aloud.
“Exactly. I know that neither Valmir nor Jozef have met Philip, so I’ll be here when we reconvene to make the introductions. After that, you and I will leave. I’ll be staying in Osijek, but you go ahead and return to Zagreb. We owe you a huge debt of thanks.”
“No thanks are necessary.” A corner of Danijel’s mouth lifted. “I’m pleased that it’s now Aidan who owes a favor to me.”
With that, he turned and explained the situation to Jozef and Valmir.
The men exchanged glances, and Jozef gave a quick nod of agreement. He then ascertained in Croatian that, once their business today was over, Valmir could ride back to Zagreb with Danijel, after which he’d be free to go. Danijel provided that reassurance.
“Very well,” Jozef continued in Croatian. “Valmir can come home with me for breakfast. Meet us back at this same spot with your two new people in an hour. They’ll receive their instructions as we drive to Ðakovo.”
“We’ll be here,” Danijel replied.
Palo Alto, California
1 March
Thursday, 12:05 a.m. local time
Jia li Sung was lying, weak-limbed, in bed, still shivering with the aftermath of her climax, when the arrival tone of a text message sounded on her cell phone.
Reluctantly, she rolled away from her lover, propped herself up on one elbow, and plucked her phone off her nightstand.
“It’s Xu Wei’s private line,” she murmured.
“He’s too smart to call from Jítuán,” the man beside her replied, hoisting himself into a sitting position and tucking a pillow behind his head. “There can be no corporate record of this.”
Jia li nodded and then opened the text, quickly scanning to make sure that what she’d received were indeed the anticipated photos. She didn’t pause to study them more closely, given that she had no training in this area. Instead, her gaze dropped to the accompanying message.
Our experts have examined these and found them to be genuine. Please verify.
“I believe these are what you’ve been waiting for,” she said, handing over the phone.
He scrolled through the photos, his brows knit in concentration as he did. “These appear to be authentic. But I’ll need a while to study the details a little more closely. If I’m satisfied, you can text Xu back and tell him we need the rest immediately.”
With that, he turned and gave her an intimate smile, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “After that, I’m all yours.”
Four Seasons Hotel, Palo Alto
1 March
Thursday, 12:32 a.m. local time
