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Wilder studied his phone.“Ah, good news.Mrs.Udele has responded.The service Z used was private.That in itself is troubling.She’s passed on the number.Shall I make contact?”
I nodded when no one else responded.
At zero eight hundred,Quint Alexander and Decker Ashford arrived, along with Quint’s wife, Darrow Whittaker-Alexander—an MI6 agent herself.
“We would’ve been here sooner, but we took Mila and the kids to Whittaker Abbey,” Quint informed us.
The abbey he mentioned was the ducal estate where Wilder, Darrow, and their eldest brother, Thornton Whittaker, aka Shiver, grew up.Shiver, a former MI6 agent, now resided there with his wife and children.
“How did Wells and Huck do on the flight?”Wren asked.
“Far better than their parents managed,” Darrow responded.“They do so enjoy one another’s company.”
From what I recalled, the two boys were quite close in age, neither yet two years old.Wren and Wilder’s daughter, Katherine, was just over four months.
“Huck’s never happier than when his buddy Wells is around,” Decker added.He looked over at me, and I approached.
“I’m not sure if you remember me.I’m Leighton Marietta, aka George.”
“Of course I remember you.”Rather than shake my hand, Decker hugged me.Quint did the same, then Darrow.
Wren hugged her brother first, then Deck.“You look like shit, cowboy,” she said, touching his cheek with her fingertip before looking at her brother.“So do you.”
Decker’s eyes closed briefly, perhaps to mask the tears that filled them.He was unsuccessful.“Let’s get to work, goddammit,” he muttered, then looked at his watch.“Z’s been gone twelve hours, and y’all haven’t found him yet?What kind of intelligence team have you assembled here?”he said to Pinch before the two men embraced.
“Best there is, now that you and Darrow joined us.”
“Yeah, yeah.Give me the rundown.”
I listened as Pinch and Wren briefed the three arrivals.When Wren mentioned Iris, Decker’s mouth hung open.
“She’s withholding information?Where the fuck is she?” His anger mirrored mine.
“I expect her back at any moment,” said Pinch.
“She got exactly three moments before we send half of you out to get her,” Decker muttered, pointing to the other MI5 agents gathered in the situation room.“What else?”he barked.
“We’ve been looking into another now-former agent, DeDe ‘Seshat’ Starkweather,” said Wren.“Apparently, she and Puck?—”
“Yeah, yeah,” Decker repeated.“I know all this.Is there some kind of issue with ‘looking into’ her?”
“She was born in the States,” Nemesis interjected.“We’ve been trying to get a copy of her birth certificate.”
He scratched his head.“Trying?”
“It’s sealed,” said Wren.
Decker looked from her to me to Pinch.“Give me five, and you’ll have it.”
Wilder approached.“Sorry to interrupt.The number Mrs.Udele gave me is no longer in service.”
“They went out of business overnight?”Wren gasped.
Decker leaned into me.“What are they talking about?”
“The car service Z hired.”
“Fuck,” he said under his breath.“They’ve been plannin’ this for a while.”
