Chapter 4 #2
Finally, she answered, “I don’t think they did.”
“Did you get the file copied?” Owen asked.
A chair squeaked, then Callie said, “Unfortunately, no. There was too much information. What I did get was his address, email, and a phone number. I’m digging through that now.”
Silence stretched as Maks finished off the protein bar and downed some water. He didn’t know when he’d get to eat again. If there was time, he’d get a few minutes of sleep, but that would have to wait until he found a better location.
Minutes felt like years before Callie’s voice reached him again. “Maks, how well did you know Luka?”
“Not well. I met him a couple of years ago. I wasn’t part of his department.
We attended a few of the same meetings. It was more just a nod in passing, though, nothing more.
I think the most we spoke was in an elevator once where he said he had seen my record and was impressed by it.
He wanted to know who had trained me because I was so good.
I knew from those who worked for him that he was hard but fair. ”
Wyatt then said, “He had your file. Or at least a copy of it. It’s on his desk in his home.”
Maks wasn’t surprised that Callie had managed to get into the surveillance cameras of Luka’s home. “I knew he’d read it. He told me as much.”
“When was that?” Natalie asked.
Maks shrugged. “About a year ago.”
“Then why would he have it now?” Owen questioned.
Maks shook his head. “Maybe he wanted to recruit me to his division?”
“Or perhaps he wanted to know if you were someone he could trust,” Callie said.
Maks leaned against the wall and considered that. “Maybe. There is any number of reasons he could have my file.”
“Could he have known you were really CIA?” Natalie asked.
Owen made a sound in the back of his throat. “It’s possible.”
“Give me another few minutes,” Callie said.
Wyatt quickly seconded his wife. “You can’t see, Maks, but she’s getting a lot of information. We’re copying it now in case the FSB tries to wipe this, as well.”
“Understood,” Maks said.
He might have learned patience as a spy, but that didn’t mean he liked it. His mind began to drift, thinking over the last few hours, when the sound of a chair being rolled brought him back to the present.
“Uh, guys,” Natalie said. “Look at this.”
Maks wanted to demand that they tell him what it was, but he held his tongue.
“I hate to be the bearer of bad news, my friend, but your face is plastered everywhere in Europe,” Wyatt said.
That certainly got Maks’ attention. “Why? What does it say?”
“Just that you’re wanted for questioning, and to detain you if seen,” Own answered.
Callie halted that line of talk when she said, “I think Luka had a second phone. I can’t find any texts or calls going to either of your mobiles.
I’m taking the encrypted line you gave me and reversing the search.
Yep, there it is.” A few keystrokes later, she said, “This was a burner, so there’s no record. ”
Maks had hoped there would be something for him to go on, but it wasn’t looking as if that would happen. “Thanks for trying.”
“I didn’t say I was finished,” Callie told him, still typing.
Owen said, “Both Callie and Natalie are working. Hell, Callie even has Wyatt at a computer, going through what she copied from Luka’s home computer.”
“Please tell me there’s something,” Maks said. But he knew there wouldn’t be. Luka was too smart to get caught like that.
“Damn,” Wyatt said. “I honestly thought I’d come up empty, but I’m on my third email, and I’ve figured out who killed him.”
Maks braced himself. “Who?”
“The Saints. In an email, he mentions a private, world organization that is taking over. We’ll have to do more digging to figure out what he found, but I think it’s a safe bet to say that the Saints are responsible.”
Maks swallowed, his thoughts racing. “Since Luka texted me, they must think I’m part of whatever he was doing.”
“Uh…I think that’s a good assumption,” Natalie said. “Callie showed me a couple of tricks, and I just used one to figure out who plastered your face everywhere.”
Owen said, “It’s the Saints.”
“But they’re hiding behind a company,” Callie said. “Right?”
“Yep,” Natalie agreed. “It’s called SynTech, and it’s based in Vienna.”
Maks wasn’t that far from Vienna.
Wyatt interrupted his thoughts by saying, “Don’t do it. You can’t go into a company like that and erase everything about you.”
“He’s right,” Natalie said. “They’re information brokers. That’s all they do.”
Callie made a sound of frustration. “Which means that they’re not just looking for your name, they’re looking for your face everywhere. I hope you covered your tracks well because IBs dig deep to uncover everything about whoever or whatever they’re looking into.”
Maks pushed away from the wall. “I can’t just sit here doing nothing. I’m here, undercover in the FSB, specifically to gather intel on the Saints.”
“We can get you back to the States,” Owen said.
“We all know there isn’t anywhere I can go where the Saints won’t find me. I won’t put all of you in jeopardy like that. Thanks for the offer, but I’m staying here.”
Callie said, “We’ll keep digging. If we find anything else, I’ll let you know.”
“Until then, be safe,” Wyatt told him.
Maks disconnected the call and strode from the building.