Chapter 9
Saul heard the approaching ATV and assumed Sadie had returned.
But when there was a decidedly heavy knock on the door, he automatically went into defense mode, pulling out the handgun he’d had stashed in the go-bag he’d brought from his helicopter, and darting to the side of the doorway ready to peer through the peephole.
“Put the gun away, Saul… it’s me, Luca,” the voice of a man who knew him far too well called out. Good job there were no close neighbors.
Pulling open the door, Saul grinned at his old friend and deliberately waved him in with the firearm before stowing it away. Luca rolled his eyes.
“I’m glad you confided in Sadie,” Luca declared as he seated himself on one of the lounge chairs on the private balcony.
Saul shook his head. “Is there anything you don’t know? Honestly, you should consider a job with the agency yourself.”
Luca raised his hands. “Oh no! I’ll leave that to the hotshots like you. But as you well know, I make a point of knowing what’s going on here.”
And Saul just bet having him turn up unexpectedly grated on his friend big time. “Sadie’s remarkably easy to talk to, and possibly as paranoid about security as I am.” He nodded towards the laptop. “You want to share why she’s got a machine and software that rivals any intelligence agency?”
Luca quirked an eyebrow. “Like you haven’t already run a background check on her?”
Saul had the decency to look mildly chagrined.
Yes, he’d used her laptop to contact his handler who had immediately told him he was burnt and disavowed him, so Saul had to commission an independent check to be done…
but he hadn’t asked for details, just whether she was trustworthy, or if they thought he should change location.
For some reason, it was more important that Sadie chose to confide in him herself, so it made no sense that he’d asked Luca.
He couldn’t deny he was curious, though.
The woman heated his blood, and Saul had the uncommon desire to know everything about her.
“Just the basics,” he assured the other man. “To check if being here with her was a go or a no.”
Luca speared him with a withering look. “Like I’d have anyone working here who might be any kind of security risk,” he scoffed. “So, how do things stand?”
Saul wasn’t surprised his friend wasted no time getting down to the facts.
Luca was nothing if not direct, and Saul owed him the reassurance of the truth.
Pouring them both a glass of the mango juice Sadie had left for him, he told his friend what he’d confided in Sadie, with a few of the additional details he’d managed to uncover.
“According to HQ, I managed to take out the two goons, so I don’t need to worry about any flapping lips.
That just leaves Eduardo Jimenez himself, and he won’t say anything while the auction is still active.
The first thing I need to do is deactivate that without tipping Jimenez off that it’s happened.
With any luck, he’ll get mad, shoot a few people for being incompetent, but hopefully think it was a glitch and set up another one.
He’ll likely have to soothe a few ruffled feathers for people who think he’s leading them on some kind of merry dance, especially since he’s done it all anonymously, so I’m banking on him not setting up another auction immediately.
But even if he does, I should have time to track it and, more importantly, him, and take care of the issue. ”
“And if it doesn’t go to plan?”
“Then make sure you give me a freaking fantastic send-off.”
Luca frowned and looked him in the eye. “Don’t joke like that, Saul.”
Saul sighed and clapped him on the shoulder.
“I’m afraid it’s no joke, my friend. If this information gets out, I’m as good as dead.
There are a lot of bad men out there who will put two and two together and then put a target on my back and a price on my head.
And I don’t want to put anyone else at risk in the interim, so I need to find a bolt hole. ”
Luca narrowed flinty eyes at him. “I doubt there are many places you can go that are more secure than here. Neither your property nor your business interests in Elysium can’t be traced back to you, and random people can’t just turn up here.”
Saul plowed his fingers through his thick hair. “I know all that, Luca, but jeez, this is a holiday resort.”
“Which is booked up months in advance,” his friend reminded him.
“Noted. But it wouldn’t be the first time someone was put in danger here.”
“And that was a complete fluke,” Luca returned, pointing a stern finger at him. “And you know it.”
Last year, Shelly, who had witnessed a drug deal, followed by a hit on the club where she’d worked, had been recognized by a cartel member who was a bona fide guest at the resort.
“I still don’t like it,” Saul argued. “Plus, there are other issues…”
“Like what?” Luca asked, clearly refusing to let it go.
“Like I need better tech support. A way to monitor incoming threats. Dark web dives that I can’t do with Sadie’s laptop because they’ll take time, and she’ll need it for work.
I need state-of-the-art hardware with a wide bandwidth and multiple layers of security, and someone to help do all that because this shit is beyond my expertise. ”
Luca frowned. “I don’t know a lot about your undercover work, but can’t the agency do all this for you?”
Saul sighed. This was where talking about his shit got tricky. “Ah… I don’t actually work for the agency, per se,” he admitted.
Luca’s eyebrows raised in surprise. “What’s that supposed to mean?” he asked, his expression dissolving into a frown.
“It means I’m more of an… independent contractor.”
“You mean a mercenary?”
“I dislike that term,” Saul objected, pressing his lips together. “It implies self-interest and lawlessness, when nothing could be further from the truth. I’m not a hired gun, and I don’t work for the highest bidder.”
Saul rubbed his good hand over his face. Luca was covering for him. He deserved the truth. “I work for several western governments, but I don’t appear on any records as an employee. That’s one of the reasons my identity is so valuable.”
Luca stuffed his hands in his pockets and paced. “Then how do they contact you?”
“I have a code name. I work with specific handlers for specific agencies. But if things go wrong, like now, there’s no support system.”
“What?! You put your life on the line, and they just turn their back on you?” Luca’s indignation was palpable.
“It’s standard practice to disavow a compromised operative. This stuff is… shady. The authorities have to have plausible deniability. As far as they’re concerned, I’ve been burnt.”
“And that means?”
Saul shrugged, then winced. “It means they consider my cover to be blown, and I’m no longer of use to them.”
“So, they just wash their hands of you? Assholes!”
“Pretty much.”
“Well, your cover isn’t blown yet, is it? So what you need is expert help to maintain the status quo.”
“Do not tell me you can provide all that!” Saul interrupted. “Because I won’t believe you.”
Luca gave an enigmatic grin. “Well… I can’t, but as it happens… I know a man who can.”
“Of course you do.” Saul rolled his eyes. Luca knew everybody.
“So who is this magician you think you can conjure at the drop of a hat?”
“Zack Kincaid.”
Saul whistled. He knew of the billionaire investment broker who dealt heavily in cutting-edge technology, and who had his fingers in more pies in the tech industry than anyone else he knew.
He also knew Zack was one of the ten investors in Elysium, like Saul.
But their paths rarely crossed, since, to his knowledge, Zack had never visited the resort.
“I didn’t think he came here after the opening weekend.
” That’s when Saul had met him… which triggered another memory.
“And wasn’t there something going on with him and your cousin?
I’m not sure Dani will appreciate him being here. ”
Luca pursed his lips and rubbed his fingers over his chin. “No, he doesn’t. And yes, there is. But I think it’s about time those two buried the hatchet.”
Saul couldn’t help the laugh that erupted through his lips.
“Well, either that or Dani will bury the hatchet in him.” There was no love lost between the two, despite the obvious chemistry that had sparked off each of them during their inaugural weekend, the first and last time all the investors had been here together.
Luca chuckled, and the mood between them was lifted. “So, is that a yes?”
“Sure. If you can get Zack Kincaid here with everything I need, I’ll stay.” What he didn’t say was that he didn’t think Luca would be able to pull off such a feat - never mind at short notice.