Saint Peter's Soldiers (A James Acton Thriller, Book #14) (20 page)

Kane had
contacted him not even an hour ago for some help, help he was only too happy to
provide, Kane having saved his ass in Syria just last year. And that was the
nature of this business. You helped each other when you could, usually no
questions asked, nothing expected in return, because you never knew when it
would be your ass on the line, needing that same help.

He
reached over for his phone, his target getting his own call. The man climbed
into his car and shut the door, Abbadelli shaking his head as he watched the
jack move slightly at the shift in weight, then smiled as the engine roared to
life, the Bluetooth he had noted earlier coming to life, his adversary having
foolishly paired the phone.

Allowing
the bug Abbadelli had placed to pick up
both
sides of the conversation.

“Status?”
They were speaking German, a language Abbadelli was fortunately fluent in. And
not much of a surprise after reading Kane’s briefing notes.

“I lost
them.”

“You
idiot! How the hell could you possibly lose them? They’re in a hotel room!”

“They
took a cab to the Vatican then exited a different gate. I followed them on foot
and spotted them getting into a vehicle. I think it was waiting for them.”

There
was a pause. “It sounds like they have somebody helping them.”

“Yes,
sir, it would appear so.”

“Police?”

“I don’t
think so, I never saw any police and the car was definitely not police. Just a
plain old Fiat, nothing even their undercover people would be caught dead in.”

“Your
plan to reacquire them?”

“They
had no luggage, so they’ll have to return to the hotel at some point. I’ll pick
them up there.”

“Can you
track their phones?”

“Negative.
It looks like they left them all behind, at least that’s what the computer is
saying.”

“That
would seem to confirm that they’re up to something.”

“I
agree. I have a flat tire that I’m changing. I’ll be back at the hotel in about
twenty minutes. Hopefully we’ll get lucky.”

“You
better hope you do, otherwise the Doctor will want a word with you.”

Abbadelli’s
eyes narrowed slightly.
Doctor?
Whoever the man was, his mention clearly
had an impact on the man.

“Y-yes,
sir.”

There
was a pause. “Professor Acton seems to have not followed my instructions. He
has obviously contacted someone. It may be time to kill the mother, to assure
him we are serious.”

“Umm,
sir, how would you tell him?”

“Excuse
me?”

“Well,
they left their phones. There’s no way to tell him that his mother is dead.
I’ll get back to the hotel and put the word out on that car that picked him up.
We should be able to trace it eventually.”

“If you
haven’t found them in the next sixty minutes, his mother loses a finger, one
every hour he is missing. We’ll contact Inspector General Giasson to let him
know. Surely he has some way of contacting him.”

“Yes,
sir, I’m sure he does.”

Abbadelli
started his car, pulling out into traffic, it essential he reach the hotel
before his adversary did.

For he
knew something they didn’t.

Mario
Giasson had no way to contact Acton, and Mrs. Acton losing fingers wasn’t part
of the plan.

Leaving Vatican City, Rome, Italy

“Hello?”

“Hey,
Doc, it’s me, Dylan. You guys secure?”

Acton
smiled, mouthing ‘Dylan’ to the others, the tension of the past few minutes
easing slightly knowing his former student was now involved. It didn’t mean his
parents were safe, but it at least meant there was now hope.

“We’re
in the car you sent for us. Not sure if that counts as secure.”

Kane
chuckled. “True. You can trust Mr. Verde, he’s one of my go-to guys. He’s going
to take you to a safe house and we’ll talk more.”

“Dylan,
they’ve got my parents.”

“I know,
I’ve already been called in on that case. Unofficially of course. The phone
calls you’ve received were traced to a castle in northern Italy, same place
your phone was apparently sitting until it was deactivated.”

“That
sounds about right.”

“It
appears to be their base of operations.”

“Any
idea who they are?”

“Not
yet. I found several bugs in your parents’ house so I’m having my own parents’
house checked as well.”

Acton
felt his stomach flip as he listened. To think that his parents’ conversations
had been listened to, that their most intimate moments were recorded, was both
sickening and outrageous.

And
terrifying.

How
long could they have been planning this?

It made
no sense. The portrait hadn’t been known to exist until two days ago. He hadn’t
even become involved until late the first night with Giasson’s phone call. How
could they have possibly known to put bugs in his parents’ house?

“That
doesn’t make sense. How could they have had time to do this?”

“They
couldn’t. I don’t think the bugs have anything to do with the current
situation. I noticed dust on one of the bugs in your parents’ house which means
it had been there some time, long before this situation.”

Acton
could feel a slow burn form in his stomach as his pulse quickened, the thoughts
of someone listening in for weeks or months to his mom and dad’s conversations,
enraging.

“Then
who?”

“The
Assembly would be my guess.”

Acton’s old
shoulder wound throbbed at the mere mention of the organization that had
kidnapped him and Laura, along with two of his students. Acton had been shot,
one of the students severely injured, and they had all been traumatized by the
incident.

But it
was supposed to be over.

His rage
turned to fear. “I thought they were out of our lives.”

“So did
I, but I’m not going to lie to you, Doc, that can always change. In this case,
however, I think the bugs are unrelated.”

“Did you
remove them?”

“No,
just in case they are related, I didn’t want them to know we were onto them.
Once the current crisis is handled I’ll have all our houses swept, along with
anyone else close to us, and make sure everything is removed and monitors put
in place to notify us of any new signals.”

“So you
think these bugs were in there since the Titanic incident.”

“Yes.”

“Somebody
needs to put an end to those people.”

“All in
good time, Doc. All in good time. But for now the primary objective is
retrieving your parents.”

Acton
nodded, pulling on his hair as he tried to calm himself. “Any idea where they
are?”

“Not
yet, but we’re working on it. The only real lead we have at the moment is that
castle. We’re going to have to infiltrate it and gather intel.”

“We’ll
do whatever it takes.”

Kane
laughed. “Doc, I have no doubt you would, and no doubt you’d succeed. You guys
sit tight, I’m arranging for some specialists to join you. I’ll be in touch.”

The call
ended and Acton handed the phone back, frustrated at the notion of sitting idly
by while his parents were possibly tortured or worse.

Who
could the specialists be?

Near Kane Family Residence, Albany, New York

Lee Fang pulled up to the designated coordinates, impressed, the
scene exactly as she had been told to expect. In fact, she was impressed with
the entire operation. Her government always touted the American stereotype of
being fat and lazy, disorganized and weak, all symptoms of their love for
inefficient and undesirable democracy and unbridled capitalism.

But if
Dylan Kane were any indication of those that defended America from its enemies,
she would have to advise her government that their official message was
woefully inaccurate.

Kane had
arranged everything perfectly, the delivery, the phone, the plane, the car, the
supplies in its trunk.

Everything.

With
none of his network comprised.

The only
person she had seen was the pilot, and even then, she barely saw the man. He
had a ball cap and shades, and had sat in the front with her in the back,
directly behind his seat. If she had to describe him, she’d be able to give the
sketch artist a detailed account of his right ear and cheek.

She
climbed out of the SUV, surveying the area, several city vehicles, gas company,
their orange lights flashing, parked in front of the address she had been given,
emergency tape cordoning off the street.

Kane’s
instructions indicated the neighborhood would be evacuated for a fictitious gas
leak, the strong odor of rotten eggs greeting her suggesting the ruse went
beyond a phone call. She headed down a street around the corner from Kane’s
parents’ house and looked to make sure she was alone. She reached up and
grabbed the top of the fence, jumping then swinging her legs over, dropping
silently on the other side.

A dog
barked in the distance.

She
repeated her efforts twice more before she was in the backyard of the Kane
residence, still undetected. Climbing the steps to the rear deck, she tried the
patio door.

Locked.

She pulled
up on the door, the entire frame lifting out of its track, a basic security
flaw of too many older doors. She stepped inside, the alarm system instantly
wailing in protest as she sprinted for the front entrance, quickly entering the
code Kane had provided.

The
alarm stopped.

Five
seconds?

Less
than.

She
listened, there no sound from the street suggesting anyone had taken notice.

But she
couldn’t take the chance someone had called it in, or the security company
following up the alarm with a challenge call. She pulled out the phone and
device Kane had left for her and activated it, quickly finding a listening
device, oddly pleased to find what he had suspected was there.

It meant
she had been useful.

The
house phone rang.

She checked
her watch.

Less
than one minute.

Kudos
to the security company.

She
reset the alarm, leaving the same way she came as the system beeped its
countdown, the phone still ringing. Performing her acrobatics again, she was
soon back in the safety of her vehicle, starting the engine immediately, her
training dictating being prepared for a fast getaway always prudent.

She
dialed the number for Kane.

“Hello?”

“It’s
me.”

“Hey,
Fang. What did you find?”

“Exactly
as you suspected. I found a bug in the phone and left immediately as you
instructed. Did you want me to go back in and do a full sweep and remove them?”

“Negative.
I don’t want them to know we’re onto them.”

“Who set
them?”

“I can’t
say, all I do know is that this pretty much confirms it has nothing to do with
what I’m currently working on.”

She had
to admit she felt disappointed. If this was unrelated, it probably meant he
didn’t need her anymore.

And she
so desperately wanted to be needed.

“Is that
good?”

Kane
chuckled. “I’m not sure.”

“Do you
need any more help?” She hoped her voice didn’t betray her desperation too
much.

“Yes.”

She
grinned, catching herself in the mirror, wiping the excitement from her face.

“Get
yourself to Germantown then call me. The plane is still waiting for you and a
car will be here when you arrive.”

“Okay,
I’m on my way.”

The call
ended and she put the car in gear, pulling away from the curb, her heart racing
with the excitement of being back in the game.

I
missed this!