Chapter 79
79
When Saturday morning came, I told Rachel I had to run an errand and let her sleep in. I was a little concerned she might try to follow me, so I walked aimlessly for an hour before arriving at my destination.
At 10 AM, I was sitting outside the café, bundled up in a pea coat and sipping a cup of coffee. The weather was cold and drizzly. No one else was around because no one else was stupid enough to be sitting outside.
Alistair walked over in a tan trench coat and took the seat opposite me.
“Good job in Norway,” he said by way of greeting.
“Thank you p>
“Phone, please,” he said as he extended his hand.
I gave him the burner. He checked it was powered off, then put it inside his jacket.
“Do you have the money and passports?” he asked.
I handed them over.
“We’ve got something else for you,” he said as he pulled out a manila envelope and pushed it across the table.
I frowned as I picked it up. “Is the turnaround normally this quick p>
“No. The first mission was a test run to make sure you could handle yourself. This one is the priority p>
I opened the envelope and found a new burner phone – along with a passport, driver’s license, and credit card with the name Lars Andersen.
“Why don’t you ever give me a fake first name?” I asked.
“If you’re in a situation where your last name is called and you don’t react, the other person chalks it up to you being distracted. But if they call you by your first name and you don’t respond, it makes them suspicious. We don’t need to make anyone unnecessarily suspicious, so you’ll continue to be ‘Lars’ for the foreseeable future p>
Among the papers was a photo of a 40-something man with slicked-back blond hair and a wart on his cheek. He wore an expensive suit and a scowl.
“Jan van der Linden, Dutch arms merchant,” Alistair said. “He’s selling weapons under the table to North Korea in exchange for enriched plutonium, enough to make a small nuclear bomb. From what we know, there will be an auction in five weeks. Iran is said to be the favorite with a rumored opening bid of half a billion dollars. That auction obviously must not happen, and we can’t depend on diplomacy to stop it. Which is why you’re being sent in p>
“Seems like a pretty important job for the ‘new guy p>
“We think van der Linden has highly placed moles and knows the identities of most of our top agents… but he doesn’t know about you yet. This job is precisely why you were recruited in the first place.
“I have to warn you, though, this outing will be much more difficult than your last. His security detail is far more extensive than Solberg’s, and they’ll be extremely cautious. Van der Linden has dodged several attempts on his life over the years – rivals and angry ex-clients – so he’s very careful. You should be, too.
“We have word that he’s going to his house at Lake Como, north of Milan. We’ve arranged a chateau for you across the water from his residence. You’ll need to do your own reconnaissance – we don’t have anyone on the inside who can give us details about his routine.” Alistair leaned forward, his face grim. “This mission is incredibly important… but you should not make an attempt unless you’re sure it will succeed p>
I raised one eyebrow. “You can’t ever be 100% sure – not even at point-blank range p>
“I know that,” Alistair said testily. “The point is, we don’t want you rushing into it. You have three weeks to get it done. If you can’t complete the mission within that time frame, we’ll need to figure out something else p>
“Three weeks?” I asked in shock.
Rachel wasn’t going to like that.
I already didn’t like it.
“If you can get it done sooner, excellent – but if you can’t, we’d rather you not take the shot. If you miss, Van der Linden will go underground, and we won’t get another chance before the auction. Understood p>
“Understood p>
“Good. You leave Monday morning for Milan. Your ticket is in the envelope, as well as the location where you’ll pick up your car. The chateau has been rented for a month; you’ll purchase your return plane ticket when the mission is either completed or aborted. Any questions p>
“No p>
“Good. Photograph, please p>
I handed over van der Linden’s picture, which Alistair slid inside his trench coat.
“Knock this one out,” he said, “and I’ll give you a month off p>
“Sounds good p>
“One last thing… we noticed that you made a rather large purchase yesterday from a jeweler p>
I looked at him in alarm. “You’re monitoring my bank account p>
“You’re a new employee, and trust has to be earned. Until it is, we monitor everything. I was just curious… was it an engagement ring for Rachel p>
“Why – does that violate the firewall?” I asked sarcastically. “Is it forbidden under ‘company policy p>
“As long as she never finds out who you work for, I can live with it. So – did you buy an engagement ring p>
“Yes p>
Alistair gave me the barest hint of a smile. “Good luck. I hope she says yes p>
“Thanks,” I muttered.
“Just be sure to make it back for the wedding,” he said as he stood up and walked away.