Chapter 6
Getting to Vienna had been easy. Maybe too easy.
Maks looked at everything and everyone as an enemy now.
He needed to get into SynTech, but the office had security everywhere.
Not only were there badges that let the workers through a gated area, there were also metal detectors that everyone had to walk through.
It would take some time for Maks to find a way into the building.
Time he didn’t have. So, he set up to watch.
He recorded the comings and goings of everyone in the building.
It was the woman who caught his attention that morning.
First because she was one of the first to arrive. Second, because she was breathtaking.
Her shoulder-length dark blond strands caught the morning sun and held him transfixed.
She walked with a confidence he’d not seen in many.
As if she didn’t let the weight of the world affect her.
Her camel-colored coat was buttoned and belted and hung past her knees, preventing him from seeing what she wore beneath.
She had a cream and black plaid scarf around her neck, black gloves on her hands, a large black purse slung over her shoulder, and black stilettos on her feet.
The fact that she was more dressed than half the people who had gone into the office was something he took notice of.
She glanced his way, giving him time to see her oval face, full lips turned up in a greeting, and a cheery disposition.
Besides, someone with a face like hers would catch anyone’s gaze.
A couple of hours later, after most everyone had gone into the office, he went into a neighboring building and made his way to the roof.
With the scope in his backpack, he scanned the windows of those within the building, moving from one floor to the next.
Then he moved to the adjacent building and repeated the surveillance process a second time.
Maks was on the top floor when he froze as he spotted the woman.
She sat at a desk with windows to her back.
It wasn’t an office, nor was it a cubicle, it was something in between.
She wore a black skirt and a goldish-colored top.
When he saw his picture taped to the side of her monitor, his lips flattened.
For several minutes, he watched her scanning the footage from the train station in Amsterdam.
He didn’t wait around to find out if she’d found anything.
Instead, he spun around and went back downstairs.
He kept out of sight, waiting to see if she would come out for lunch.
When she did, he followed her. The temperatures had warmed up enough that she had left her coat open and her gloves and scarf in her purse.
She kept tilting her face to the sky with her eyes closed as if she couldn’t get enough of the sun.
The moment she entered the café for lunch, Maks remained close to watch her.
Maybe too close because he feared she might have seen him.
Something spooked her, because she scanned faces as if she were looking for someone.
She also spoke to herself, seemingly unaware and uncaring if anyone noticed.
Once she had her earbuds in, it was like the outside world didn’t exist for her.
Then she did the strangest thing, she sat in the café with her eyes closed.
He couldn’t figure out what she was doing.
On her way back to the office, she took her time as if she weren’t ready to leave the sun. He’d been so engrossed in watching her that he’d forgotten that he was supposed to be hiding. Then her gaze locked with his. He wore sunglasses and a ball cap, but it didn’t matter. He knew that she saw him.
Maks waited until there were enough people between them before he ducked out of sight and moved to another location to observe her. He waited to see if she would tell someone that he was there. But she didn’t. She kept looking for him, though.
It wasn’t until she used her mobile that he worried she was calling someone about him.
Not that he was worried. He’d been trained by some of the best operatives in the world.
If he wanted to disappear, he could do it.
Maks remained where he was, and a moment later, the woman walked away from the building instead of going inside.
She didn’t seem to be in a hurry or upset.
It was more like she was happy. He kept a safe distance as he trailed her back to a set of flats.
When she was inside, he went to the door and tried it but found it locked.
He looked at the buzzer buttons on the side to see six.
Looking around to see if anyone noticed him, he ran across the street and ducked into an alley to use his scope to locate which floor the woman was on.
He found her on the third floor, south side.
Scanning the flat, he saw no movement within.
It wasn’t until he spotted her in bed that he got an idea.
Maks made his way back to her building. Before he could pick the lock, someone opened the door from the inside, which allowed him entry.
He bypassed the elevator and used the stairs to get to her floor. Then he stood in front of her door.
Maks easily picked the door lock and two deadbolts before he let himself in.
He waited, looking around for an alarm system, but didn’t see or hear one.
Quietly, he walked through the flat. It was an open floor plan.
From the door, he could see the living room, kitchen, and eating space.
A small area to his right held a desk with a computer.
The only other door he saw was the bedroom.
He walked toward it and peered inside. The room, like the rest of the house, was immaculate. Nothing was out of place. Even the clothes the woman had worn earlier were carefully placed on the bench before the bed. The closet door was shut, but he spotted the bathroom from his position.
Unable to resist, he walked into her room and looked at her.
She was on her side, the covers tucked close against her as she slept.
Her dark blond locks fanned out behind her as one foot rested outside of the covers.
Her lips were parted slightly, her breathing deep and even.
He couldn’t help but smile. She’d come home to sleep, not to report on him.
Maks turned around and walked back into the main area.
As he looked around, his gaze landed on her purse.
He went to it and dug out her wallet to find her ID.
Eden Fontaine, originally from Idaho. His gaze locked on her photo, big hazel eyes fringed with thick lashes stared back at him with a smile that made him feel welcome.
He was curious as to what had brought her to Vienna and SynTech.
Maks put her wallet back and then went to her desk.
He hit the spacebar on her keyboard, and the computer woke.
A screen asking for a password waited for him.
In the space, he typed THE SAINTS and left the same way he’d come in.
Once out on the street, he called Callie once more. “I need you to find out everything you can on Eden Fontaine of Idaho, who now lives in Vienna and works for SynTech.”