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“Did Vladimir ever speak of where his father preferred to visit? A favorite place? Even if you don’t know if he has a safe house there?” Butch pushed.
Rubbing his wrinkled brow, Alex thought. He closed his eyes, rerunning conversations between Vlad and the men. Opening his eyes, he said, “Yerik Alexandrov likes jungle areas. That is why he has a home in the Hawaiian Islands.”
Lauren said, “The state of Guerro is a well-known drug runners paradise. It’s mountainous, and I know drug lords have villas there. Why not Alexandrov?”
“I’ll have my resources check it out,” Butch promised.
Cal growled, “If he likes jungles… where is the closest jungle around here?”
“Central America,” Jack spoke up.
“Alex, does he have a villa in that area?” Cal pressed.
Giving them a frustrated look, Alex said, “Not that I have heard.”
“What’s Alexandrov’s favorite hobby?” Butch demanded.
“I heard he prefers aquariums and falconry,” Alex replied, giving the Master Chief a confused look.
“Fresh or salt water?” Butch shot back.
“Er… I think salt water. I remember Vlad telling us one time his father had one of the largest wall aquariums in the world. That he collected poisonous saltwater fish like the lionfish and the puffer. He said he collected jellyfish and sharks as well.”
Cal grimaced, saying nothing.
“Does the elder Alexandrov scuba dive?”
“No, but I heard Vlad say his father was an avid snorkeler.”
“Okay, those are leads,” Butch said with finality. “What about this falconry angle?”
Alex frowned. “Only that it is a hobby. He prefers raptors. Vlad had no interest in the birds, so he rarely spoke about them to us.”
Cal didn’t ever question how Butch’s mind worked. This was like finding puzzle pieces and then trying later to put them together, so they revealed a larger, more cohesive picture. He gave Alex a look. “What else does the elder Alexandrov like?”
“He likes quiet,” Alex said. “Nature.” Snapping his fingers, he sat up. “Wait… I remember something Vladimir said one time. His father loved the mountains. He said when his father retired, he was going to the cloud forest. But I do not know where that would be.”
“Good work,” Butch murmured, pleased, scribbling down the intel.
“And Vlad said his father preferred Japanese ways of living.”
“Maybe Asia?” Cal wondered. “Lots of jungles and lots of clouds there?”
“Possible,” Butch murmured.
“What we need,” Driscoll said, “is a satellite that saw that seaplane land and take off. Are you checking to see if there was a satellite in the area at the time of the kidnapping?”
“I’m already on it,” Butch said coolly, giving Driscoll a one-eyebrow raised look. He looked at his watch. “I’m hoping to get an email or phone call shortly from another Air Force contact. They’re checking the video feed as I speak.”
No sooner had Butch spoke, when his land line phone, which sat in front of him, sounded off. Because of the lead lining in the room, only land line electronics were utilized.
Cal held his breath as Butch talked on the phone. Everyone sat quiet. Waiting. God, if they had had a satellite passing over at that time, it would be so damned helpful. He watched Butch’s face carefully. But he was a SEAL, unlikely to give anything away. Butch ended the call. Opening his laptop, he growled, “Let’s watch this satellite feed they’re sending me…” and after he hit a few keystrokes, the large screen at one end of the room suddenly lit up with grainy black and white video.
Cal’s stomach knotted. The satellite had caught the entire kidnapping on its overhead cameras in space. His heart started hammering in his chest, he felt adrenaline leaking into his bloodstream. Joe sat at his elbow, and he felt him tense up as they all watched the kidnapping. Just as the satellite moved out of range, the seaplane took off and headed south. The screen went blank. Cal wiped his mouth, trying to settle his emotions down, stuff them in his kill box, trying to not feel anything.
“That plane was heading south,” Butch said quietly. He hit a number on his phone.
Cal heard the Master Chief speaking to someone. Could his source get another satellite fly over? Maybe pick up the path of the seaplane? Pinpoint its location? Maybe where it landed? Cal slowly drew his hand into a fist, feeling an incredible need to do something besides just sitting here. Cal he knew without proper surveillance, good, actionable intel, they were spinning their wheels. He had to be patient. But that was the last thing in the world he wanted to be right now. Closing his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose, Cal tried not to think of Sky. Tried not to worry about how she was. Or worse, about what was happening to her.
