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Feeling her pulse tick up, she hurried back. As the door clicked and she stepped inside, she found Benny leaning over his desk wearing a strange headband with magnifying glasses studying the tiny black cube. Stepping closer, she could see Benny had removed a panel to expose tiny inner workings.
“Do you know what it is or what it does?”
Wordlessly straightening up and removing his head gear, he nodded.
“Yes.”
“Please tell me. I promise I won’t panic or freak out or anything.”
He waited a moment, as if trying to make up his mind.
“Without going into the how, I’ll tell you the what,” he began. “It’s capable of shutting down everything in this compound, and when I say everything, I mean everything, including the security system. I’m calling Marco now.”
Moving away as Benny picked up his phone, she wondered why the Zeppelins would want to shut down the compound’s security.
A horrifying thought blazed suddenly through her head.
“Benny, the meeting at the farmhouse is just a ruse,” she exclaimed, rushing back to his side. “They want the art collection. That’s been their goal all along.”
Chapter 31
Twenty minutes from the farmhouse Marco’s anxiety grew. Though he’d spoken to Max and been assured Liam had arrived with a team and everything appeared to be in order, Marco eased his foot back from the accelerator.
“Why did you slow down, boss?” Joe asked.
“My gut is churning,” Marco replied, glancing across at him. “It’s as if something is burning and I can smell it, but I can’t see any smoke.”
“I’m really glad to hear you say that. I feel the same. I thought it was just the last-minute change making me edgy.”
“We have a choice. I either keep driving or turn around and go back. It’s not like there are many alternatives. If we—”
But a loudbangcut him off.
His SUV suddenly jerked to one side.
Slamming on his brakes and wrestling for control, he finally managed to bring the vehicle trundling to a stop, but not before ending nose down in a shallow ditch at the side of the road.
“Fuck!” Joe exclaimed breathlessly. “I thought we were being shot at.”
“I knew it was a blowout,” Marco panted, trying to calm his jangled nerves, “but I wasn’t sure if it was caused by a bullet or something on the road.”
“Thank God you’d slowed down.”
Taking in a long breath, a dark frown crossed Marco’s brow.
“I don’t like this.”
“What’s there to like?” Joe grunted, unbuckling his seatbelt. “I’ll get the spare.”
“No! Wait! I mean—I don’t think the blowout is coincidental,” Marco said solemnly, squinting as he looked at the road ahead. “Look around. Do you see anyone?”
“Fuck,” Joe muttered, staring out his window at the dark, tree-scattered terrain. “No, but I sure as fuck feel exposed.”
Hastily retrieving his sat phone from the center console, Marco placed a call to Max. It went straight to voicemail.
“Dammit,” he said testily, punching in Benny’s number.
“Hey, boss,” Benny exclaimed, instantly answering the call. “I was just about to call you. That bug Ivan put under the table was nothing but a distraction. While you were watching him, Oleg took off a cufflink, but we found it. If I’m right it can disable the house, all of the house, including the security system,” Benny blurted out hurriedly. “I think the Zeppelins might be after the art collection, and the farmhouse was just a way to get you—”
