Close Protection

Chapter 35 Milosh

35 MILOSH

I’m looking around for the organic blueberries when my burner rings.

Major Davis.

‘Sir,’ I answer.

‘Petrov, we just got some intel,’ he starts. ‘We were able to hack into one of the doorbell cameras of the houses opposite the cottage in France on the day of the break-in. After confirming with Ryan Moore, we know that he wasn’t alone that day.’

My blood runs cold.

‘He had a partner with him who waited outside and hid just before you came back to the house. He stayed around the side of a neighbouring cottage. When Interpol and the sketch artist showed up he waited until they were inside before leaving his hiding place and putting a tracker under the cars. One of which you took to the safe house. You need to get out now, take another vehicle and go somewhere secure.’

Daphne.

She’s at the house.

Alone.

‘Sir, I need to call you back.’ I end the call without waiting for his response, making my way out of the store while calling Daphne’s burner.

I try three times with no answer. Picking up my speed I break into a run just as I see two black SUVs turning onto the road of the safe house.

Running up the street I stop and hide behind a car as I watch four men and one woman with visible holstered handguns get out of their cars and walk up to the house.

They wait at the door for a second before entering, presumably while they pick the lock.

Pulling out my phone I dial Davis back. He picks up after just one ring.

‘Write these licence plates down,’ I say in a low voice, listing them off one after the other. When I’m finished, I leave the car I’m hidden behind and run to get a better vantage point.

I move to the other side of the road, walk down the driveway of the house opposite Daphne’s and hide behind a very conveniently placed bush.

I keep my voice down as I bring my phone back up to my ear. ‘Sir, you still there?’

‘Yeah, I wrote the licence plates down. Do they need to be run?’

‘Yeah,’ I bite out, anger building in my veins. I have to focus. That’s the only way I’ll be able to make sure Daphne’s all right. Follow protocol and stick to my training.

‘I was out at the shop when you called me so as soon as you told me what happened I raced back,’ I start to explain, watching the house vigilantly for any movement. ‘But before I could get back I saw two big SUVs parked outside. Four armed men and one woman broke in and entered.’

I hate that I left her by herself. I shouldn’t have done it but I didn’t know what else to do. Not when she started panicking after realizing there were no blueberries. ‘I can’t see into the house, but I’m hidden in front of it, so I’ll know when there’s movement. I don’t know if there are any more people in the cars but I’m almost certain these are the same vehicles driven by whoever ransacked the Greens’ house a couple of days ago,’ I rattle off.

I want to go in there.

I want to storm in there and sort this out. But I know that’s an extremely stupid idea.

There’s one of me and at least five of them.

Four of them with guns.

Realistically, I know they won’t hurt Daphne. They want to use her as collateral and she’s no good to them dead. But that doesn’t stop the roar in my ears and how my heart sinks thinking about the fact she’s practically defenceless against them.

‘I just ran the licence plates and they’re all registered to the same fake company,’ Davis reports. ‘When they start moving, we’ll track them. That should take us to a Daveeno base of some sort.’

‘Okay—’ Before I can finish, the safe house door opens and a woman who looks eerily similar to Daphne steps out.

Wait.

No.

‘Sir. Daphne’s mother’s alive.’

‘What?’

‘She just walked out of the house, it’s definitely her.’

‘Well, that explains a lot.’

‘What?’

‘We had a suspicion that she was a Daveeno agent and faked her own death, but didn’t have enough evidence to be sure of it. If she’s there, then Daveeno must be getting desperate. They need that formula more than we thought if they’re pulling out all the stops, bringing people back to life, just for the chance of getting the location.’

Wait. The formula.

The necklace is still inside Daphne’s perfume bottle, but did they find it?

My train of thought falters when the door opens again and the men walk out, one after another.

Three of them are carrying nothing.

One man is holding Daphne.

A very unconscious Daphne.

My vision blurs as my heart plummets and my palms sweat.

‘They have Daphne.’ My voice is unnaturally calm. So calm it’s scaring me.

The fourth man places her in the car, then rounds the back, slipping in the other side as the others also enter the car. Two engines roar to life instantaneously and set off.

‘I’ll start tracking them now,’ says Davis, as I rush back into the house. ‘As soon as the cars settle in a location I’ll mobilize a unit and we will breach. I want you with them. You know this family better than any of us.’

I rush into the living room only to find our bags practically torn apart, clothes strewn everywhere. A cold weight settles in my heart as I think of one of those grubby men rifling through her intimate things. Disgust burrows into my skin but I damp it down, forcing myself to think.

The perfume.

I need to find the perfume.

I tear through the chaos of mine and Daphne’s clothes, relief surging through me when I spot the perfume bottle still intact.

I stalk into the kitchen and take out a plastic bowl, placing it on the floor. With force I hurl the bottle hard into the bowl, where it cracks on impact. The scent of the perfume fills my nose as I bend down and fish out the necklace. I don’t know why Daphne loves this scent so much. Hers is much better.

This one is too much, it gets caught in your throat and it assaults your nose whereas Daphne’s wraps around you, the orange blossom and marshmallow mixture soothing your senses.

Grabbing a rag, I dry the necklace off and open it up. The worn picture of Daphne and her mother stares up at me as I remove it. Turning the picture around I see a tiny laminated sheet of paper, which has chemistry symbols scribbled over it.

‘Sir, I believe I have eyes on the antidote and toxin formulas.’

‘Good. Keep them safe and under no circumstances let them out of your sight. I don’t care if it’s between the girl’s life or the necklace. You will choose the necklace.’

Yeah, that won’t be happening, but I’m not gonna start arguing over hypotheticals now.

‘I’m going to send you the rendezvous point for the unit. Join them and wait for further instruction.’ He hangs up abruptly, and I’m enveloped in silence.

For all those Daveeno people to come and get her something must’ve gone wrong with the fake drop that should’ve happened this morning. I walk back into the living room before I leave, just to check if I missed anything, and my eyes settle on a small pink object on the floor.

Bending down, I pick up the birthday present I gave Daphne this morning and check the time before dropping it into my pocket. I need to leave. I need to get to the rendezvous point, and I don’t have a car.

Looks like I’m going back into my short-lived life of crime.

It’s 4:32 p.m. when I get to the rendezvous point. I arrive at a warehouse, punch the code in the door and walk through.

Snipers, assault rifles, handguns, grenades, bulletproof vests, gas masks and body cams decorate the long tables that run the length of the space. The smell of ammunition and stuffy air, with the addition of the awful artificial lighting, brings me back to when I was on active duty.

‘Special Agent Petrov?’ a short, blond woman asks as I close the door behind me.

I nod, meeting her outstretched hand in a quick shake. ‘Milosh.’

‘Lucy Peterson. I’m the commanding officer and I’ll be overseeing this breach. Let’s get you set up and debriefed.’

After securing my vest and bodycam and picking out another handgun with some extra rounds, I follow Peterson into a separate room where around fifteen guys are sitting, geared up and ready to go. I take a seat in the empty chair looking over to the board at the front which displays blueprints to a house.

‘All right, listen up. For those of you who don’t know me, I’m Lucy Peterson and I’ll be your commanding officer tonight. We’re looking to take out the head of Daveeno, who we now know is currently at this location.’ She points to the screen as the slideshow changes and shows a road not twenty minutes from the Greens’ house.

‘We’ve been able to hack into their security camera footage and have located seven hostages. There are nine hostages total, so as we proceed, be wary of civilians.’

The two held separately must be Daphne and George.

The slide changes to pictures of the seven staff that were taken, as well as a picture of George and Daphne.

Lucy runs through everyone on the board, giving a basic description.

My jaw tightens as I think about what could be happening to Daphne right now and what she must be feeling knowing her mother’s alive.

How a mother could do all of this to her own child is beyond me, but I can’t think of that right now. I need to focus.

Lucy rattles off the stations and plan of attack, and what each person is doing. After the first extraction team and the exterior surrounding squad has been allocated, I hear my name.

‘Petrov, Cooper and Scott will be the second extraction team. Head for the two other hostages. There will most likely be heavier security around them, so be cautious. Any questions?’

Everyone shakes their heads.

‘All right, people. Let’s move.’