Chapter 19
Harbinger bolted from the car into his building. The chatter in his ear had been nonstop, and things seemed to be moving fast. When he opened the door, the first thing he noticed was a lack of bodies on the floor.
“That was quick.”
“Nah, not really. We’re just tidy. The dead ones are on ice until tonight, and then we’ll move them. The injured one died of shock, we think, or his heart gave out. But you’ve got a clean sweep. There are no witnesses except the woman.” The man who’d followed him and Ysabel to the car earlier extended his hand. “I’m Ranger, team skipper. That’s Giovanni, best damn interrogator in the world. Over there with the comm pack is Radar. He’s got that sense of when shit is going to happen, like the guy on the old sitcom. Our medic and explosives expert, Crash, is over there, and our entry specialist, Dock.”
“Don’t they have their call signs switched?” Harbinger asked as he shook hands with each of the team members. “Nah, Crash hasn’t met a vehicle he can’t demolish, and Dock’s name is actually Docker, so we shortened it.”
“Where are we at?” he asked when he saw Con come into the front room.
“Boss man wants you to check in for a conference. Ranger and Jinx, too.” Con headed into the kitchen. “But I’m getting some food first. No breakfast, past lunch. How does anyone expect me to pound the keyboard when my blood sugar dips.”
“He talks a lot,” Jinx said as he exited the kitchen with Spike in his arms. The cat seemed to be asleep as Jinx stroked the animal’s fur. “Nice cat.”
“Try having Con live with you. He talks nonstop, and thanks. I rescued Spike from a trio of trash who were torturing him when he was about five weeks old.”
“Fuckers. Did you end them?” Jinx leveled a glare at him.
“They won’t be messing with kittens any longer.” Harbinger rubbed the back of his neck. “Did you get information from Nadia?” He looked around. “Where is she?”
“Tied up in the bathroom,” Giovanni said. “She’s a mean girl with some inflated sense of self-worth. Seems her boyfriend is going to kill me, and if he fails, she’s sure her father will complete the mission.”
“I got the same threat,” Harbinger told her. “I’m shaking in my boots.”
“I can tell. Well, doll face is on ice for a while. I’ll chip away at her, but she needs to marinate before I roast her.” Giovanni walked over and stroked Spike’s fur. “Ranger, I think we need a team cat.”
Ranger snorted. “Nope. But I’d give my left nut for one of those bomb dogs.”
Giovanni snorted, “That would be cool, too. You giving up your nut, I mean. You’re all the horndog we need on this team.” The rest of the team busted up laughing. The woman winked at Jinx, although no one but Harbinger could see the interaction.
Con exited the kitchen with a full baguette, a package of cheese, a plateful of prosciutto, and two bottles of water. “Let’s go.” He headed into the comm room.
Harbinger let the others go first, then followed them into the secure area. He shut the door behind him and moved to one of the vacant seats.
“Sitrep,” Archangel said as soon as they signed in.
“Three dead. Nadia is on ice, according to the interrogator. Smith, Val, the doctor, and Ysabel are in the air heading your way.” Harbinger started his report. “I had a discussion with Nadia this morning after her men tried to kill me. I don’t know how much of what she said was true, but based on the information Con was able to get from the documents and her immediate reaction, she and Pierre are stealing from Abrasha. Nadia said Pierre had a program that could go through firewalls but not the chains on the crypto. Something about needing a supercomputer to break through.”
“Yeah, we have experience trying to break those types of passwords. Does he have access to a supercomputer?” Jewell asked from her panel in the video squares.
“Yep,” Con replied. “Confirmation email from the French government about an hour ago. I did some digging. He bought it on the auspice of allowing the French government to use the system. He’s been granted a license to run one and is charging huge amounts of money for the French establishments to use it.”
“In the meantime, he uses it to break the crypto chains and steal money,” Archangel said. “Have we determined the location he’s setting up?”
“Yes,” Jinx said and nodded to Con, who hit a few keys. A map popped onto the screen as Jinx continued, “The uninterrupted power supply needed for the system he’ll be using has been installed here, and there’s three-sixty security on sight. Cameras, alarm systems, and armed guards inside the facility. Generators are in the back, and there are three Dobies running free inside the enclosure. Nice dogs.”
“Did you stop to pet them?” Fury sneered.
“Actually, yes, I did. I like animals more than I like people.” Harbinger could believe it. Spike only cuddled with Ysabel, and yet he was asleep in Jinx’s arms. “I believe they’re close, if not finished, with the installation of equipment. There are no work trucks and no installations happening. Without breaking in, I can’t guarantee it, but my gut is telling me it’ll be soon.”
“You said there was a surveillance camera?” Con interrupted.
“Yes, I did,” Jinx answered in that precise manner of his.
Con put down his sandwich. “Jewell?”
“Yep, let’s do it.” Con wiped his fingers and started typing. “Hopefully, it isn’t fiber.”
Ranger looked confused. “What isn’t fiber?”
“The camera system,” Jacob King answered before adding, “Hang around them enough, and you start deciphering the language.”
“The firewall is scalable,” Jewell said as she and Con continued to type.
“Yeah, hold on, try this.” Con’s fingers flew across the keyboard.
“Great, yeah, that’ll work …”
“We’re in.” Con hit a couple of keys, and the screen changed into a grid of video feeds.
“Any chance of them knowing you’re monitoring?” Archangel asked.
“Always, but we’re damn good,” Con replied.
“Look, there’s people working in that room. Second square down.” Jacob pointed to the screen he was viewing.
“Hold on.” Jewell made the picture bigger. “Five stations. We were right.” Jewell chuckled. “Only two are at their stations right now. When they leave, we can try to get in. I don’t want anyone to be online and figure out what we’re doing.”
“That would allow you to reroute the money?” Archangel wanted clarification.
“No, but it would allow us to monitor where money is going, and once it’s deposited, we hack that institution and bounce it out,” Con replied.
“So, you said all those words to say yes,” Fury growled.
Con looked up at the camera and smiled before answering, “Yeah, basically.”
Fury rolled his eyes so hard Harbinger swore he could hear the motion over the video feed. Harbinger tried not to laugh. Con was unique, but the man was a freaking genius. He could live with his mouth for the support Con gave to the mission. Fury turned his attention elsewhere. “Jinx, do you have a way in?”
“Yes, through the back. The door to the dog area is alarmed, but it isn’t active. They think it is, but I disabled it by looping the power and disabling the sensors.”
“There isn’t a camera for the back,” Jewell said.
“There could be,” Con answered. “Panel fourteen isn’t active.”
“There is a camera, but by staying behind the generator and vehicles, there’s a four- to five-foot gap we’d have to span to gain access.” Jinx continued to stroke Spike. The cat was flat out on his back, paws up in the air, head hanging off Jinx’s arm, and sound asleep. The guy had a way with animals; that was for sure.
“Movement on Pierre?”
Harbinger blinked and then bolted forward. “Shit, boss, I have a source who was supposed to get me information on Pierre’s movement within the criminal element of the city. With everything that happened, I haven’t called him back.”
“Not like you haven’t had enough on your plate. We’re still ahead of the bastard, but get that information for us. CCS, get into that system. I want everything in place for when this goes down. We’ll meet again in six hours.”
“Rog-O,” Jewell chimed in.
“On it,” Con said at the same time.
“Ranger, do you need help taking out the trash?” Jacob asked before Archangel could end the call.
“Nah, we’ll handle it. Not our first dumpster run.”
“Make sure Con validates there are no cameras where you’re dumping,” Jewell said distractedly.
“Cool. Less driving around for us.” Ranger fist-bumped Con. “What do you want done with the woman?”
“Turn Giovanni loose,” Fury snapped.
“Nadia is a wanted person because of her association with her father and his alleged actions in conjunction with the Rostova group. We’re detaining her for the proper authorities. I’ve officially requested to be that authority from our French and Swiss government liaisons. Fortunately, the French want nothing to do with Abrasha, and the Swiss have deferred jurisdiction to us for the Rostova incident, so I feel confident we’ll be transporting her back to the States. Between Jared and Giovanni, we’ll get the information we need.” Archangel crossed his arms. “Our focus now is on this crypto heist and gathering as much information about Abrasha and Pierre as possible. The more ammo we have, the better.”
Fury asked, “Has Archambeau become a person of interest outside this situation?”
“Unknown at this time.” Archangel hedged on his answer, but that was fine by Harbinger. He knew the bastard was shady as fuck. “The names listed by Pierre are probably all lies, but he did make a mistake. Several of the names are United States citizens. Again, we’re asking for primary jurisdiction because our company is the only entity with the intel, technology, and people in place to act immediately.”
Archangel looked at the screen. “Anything else?”
“Pierre might come looking for Nadia.” Harbinger shrugged. “I don’t think he’d tip his hand that way, but she thinks they’re a couple.”
Archangel blinked. “A couple? His niece?”
“According to Nadia, they’re not related by blood. Léonie and Pierre were adopted and not siblings,” Con said. A set of birth certificates flashed on the screen. “Adopted, as Nadia said.”
Archangel took off his glasses and shook his head. “And still, things surprise me. You’d think I’ve seen it all. Anyway, deal with him if he shows up. He can’t know we’re working on the crypto issue. I want him to make a grab for the money. Catching him in the act only bolsters our case against him and gets us closer to Abrasha. Removing Abrasha’s money is poking the bear. I need a damn sharp stick. I want that bear mad enough to make mistakes.”
“I copy.” Harbinger leaned back in his chair.
“Anything else?” Archangel waited for a moment. “Six hours. Archangel is clear.”
Harbinger listened to everyone sign out. “I need to make a call, gentlemen.” Harbinger stood up, as did Ranger and Jinx.
“Con, we’re going to take a drive around the city,” Ranger said. “We’ll give you the addresses as we pick them if you can check for cameras in the area.”
“You got it.”
Jinx turned to him. “If it’s not an imposition, I’ll stay and watch the woman for Giovanni.”
“Not an imposition at all, and I appreciate it. Food and drink are in the kitchen.” Harbinger looked at his cat and smiled, scratching the animal under the chin. Spike didn’t move. “He’s comatose.”
“He was very stressed. Animals are astute, and the events in your home were not exactly Zen.”
“Don’t I know it?” Harbinger shut the door behind Jinx, then turned to Con, who’d just taken a huge bite of his sandwich. “You. No talking, no typing. Just eat. If this guy thinks someone else is in the room, I won’t get shit.”
Con’s eyes widened, but he nodded and popped the top off a bottle of water.
Harbinger dialed Mathieu and put it on speaker. “Ah, my friend, you did not forget about me.”
“Life became … complicated. Do you have the information I requested?”
“I do. This, of course, cannot be corroborated without due diligence on your part. Any action taken on my understanding of what is being said is … rumors.”
“I’m not a cop, Mathieu, I don’t give a fuck about evidence. I want to know what the son of a bitch is doing.” Harbinger sat down and stared at the table. “Talk.”
“Pierre Archambeau is an interesting man. He has a small army working for him. Recently, they were involved in an incident in the catacombs. People died.”
“I am aware.” And he wished like hell he’d been there for Smith. “What else do you have?”
“Drugs, girls, firearms, and blackmail. The scale is large.”
“Running or receiving?”
“His army would never do anything but drive the car and transport the items from one place to another or perhaps deliver messages anonymously. Our friend is always one or two spaces removed from any possible repercussion.”
“What kind of repercussions?”
“Russian and Corsican are the flavor of the day. There have been others, but not lately.”
“Is he connected to Molchalin?”
There was a long pause at the other end of the phone. “Intimately, shall we say.”
“His lover is Molchalin’s daughter.”
Mathieu chuckled. “Which makes things complicated. This woman is not in Molchalin’s good graces. My sources in Russia tell me she was sent here for Archambeau to keep her out of trouble. She was caught going through his private office. If she wasn’t related …”
“She’d be dead.”
“An assumption, but based on history …” Mathieu let the sentence hang.
“Anything else?” Harbinger asked.
Again, Mathieu paused. “This will clear all debt I owe to you, correct?”
Harbinger assured him, “Yes, a clean slate.”
“It’s rumored Archambeau is working on something big. My people don’t know what, but they know it’ll happen very soon. Very soon. His people are absolutely silent about what’s going on. That’s all I know.”
“Have a good life, Mathieu.”
“Wish me a long life, my friend. Good is not in my nature.”
Hanging up the phone, Harbinger glanced at Con. “Can you send that information to Archangel?”
Con nodded and finished chewing. “You have some interesting contacts. Dare I ask what favors he owed you for?”
“Not if you want to live.” Harbinger stood up.
“Man, are all you Shadows in the habit of threatening people?” Con laughed as he wadded up his napkin and tossed it on the empty plate.
Harbinger clasped Con on the shoulder on his way out of the room. Con lifted his water bottle to his mouth as Harbinger spoke. “See, Con, you’ve misunderstood a basic principle. A shadow never threatens; we execute.”
He couldn’t help the smile as he shut the door on Con’s coughing and sputtering.