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“Patch her in.”
“Hello, Nemesis. I’ve got Zep on the line too.”
“Hi, Nem. I was just telling Magnet that I agree with Schön’s suggestion about returning to St. Moritz and that Ehren’s role in the op should end immediately,” he told her.
“I also agree. While you are her task force leader, Zeppelin, Magnet is the op commander. One of you must release her from duty and instruct her to report back to Bern.”
“Roger that,” Zep responded. “I’ll handle it.”
The feeling that settled in my gut was telling me it couldn’t possibly be that simple. “I’ll be deploying with Schön,” I announced to Nem like I had Zeppelin.
“A wise decision, Magnet. What about Rogue and Magnolia?” Nem asked.
“We’ll meet as a team in the morning and decide,” I responded.
“Excellent and, Mag?”
“Yes, ma’am?”
“Give Schön the positive feedback she deserves.”
“Roger that.”
I’d gone into the bedroom to answer Zep’s call, and when I returned to the living room, I found Schön sitting at the dining table, working on her laptop.
“Zeppelin is officially releasing Ehren from her coalition assignment. He’ll instruct her to return to Bern in the morning.”
She nodded.
“The op is a go and will be carried out by the Albanian task force. You and I will travel to St. Moritz, where we’ll join forces with Macht. The question is, do we want Rogue’s and Magnolia’s support as well?”
“Are you asking me?”
“In a way. I’m discussing it with you. By the way, did you and Macht stay at the resort where Zeppelin and Verity were?”
“No. I have a chalet in town, not far from Châteaux Relais.”
“Oh. I see. Well, we’ll figure out lodging and undercover roles once we determine whether Rogue or Magnolia will travel with us.”
There was a glimmer in her eyes when she looked up at me.
I sighed. “What are you thinking?”
“Will you be undercover as my father again?” she winked.
“I suppose I must, just on the off chance our mystery woman was either on Gozo or has connections who were.”
“As far as lodging is concerned, my chalet has three bedrooms. Only one with a king-sized bed. There’s a full-size bed in one of the others, and the third has bunk beds.” The glimmer in her eyes remained.
“Bunk beds, eh?”
“They’re small. More for children, really.”
“I cannot imagine Macht staying in such a place.”
“Is that your way of asking if he did?”
I walked over to where she was seated, bent at the waist, and rested my folded arms on the table, beside her computer. Our faces were close enough that if either of us leaned in, we could kiss. “Did he?”