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Zeppelin nudged me. “May I?” he asked with a wink.
“You may have to grovel,” I said under my breath, also winking but at Schön.
“Nah, she’s forgiven me for being a complete horse’s arse. Plus, I’m the one who lost out here. I could’ve had her on the Swiss task force, but I blew it.”
“I’m where I belong,” she said, returning his embrace.
“I don’t know what’s going on, except I feel that if I don’t hug you, I’ll be missing out,” said Poseidon, the last to approach her.
“Thank you, everyone. Like Poseidon, I’m not sure what instigated the hug-fest, but I’m very happy something did. Just so you know, I don’t feel responsible for the actions of Mrs. Strousberg—as I knew her—nor do I question whether I should’ve picked up on something sooner. Believe me, that has rolled over in my mind many times. I’ve come to accept that maybe when she and I met, a series of events began that led us to where we are now.”
“I agree,” said Verity. “And while it appears she is A, we don’t know that for certain yet.”
“Your ride has arrived,” said Macht, coming in the front door. “Ah, Schön, good morning. I hoped to see you before you left.”
I watched as she approached him. “Thank you for saving my life, Macht.”
“Stay alive, Schön.”
She cocked her head.
“It’s what they all say, isn’t it?” he responded, chuckling.
“Right. Stay alive, Macht.”
“See you in Zurich,” said Poseidon, waving.
“You are going too. I arranged for a bigger helicopter,” Macht told him.
“Please extend our thanks to Herr Benzinger,” I added before climbing into the helicopter and taking the seat next to Schön. “I’m sorry you didn’t get to spend time at your chalet,” I said when we lifted off and flew over the area where it was located.
“I’ll be back.”
My eyes met hers. “I hope I will be too.”
She smiled. “You will.”
Once teams were determinedand decisions were made as to where they’d be positioned both for my conversation with Charlene Vella-Borg and Schön’s with Francesca, all that was left was to outline the objectives and then review the plan of action.
“Well, here we are,” said Nemesis when everyone had gathered in the makeshift situation room. “I think I speak for everyone when I say my gut is telling me this is it. We may not know exactly who A is yet, or where she is, but my every instinct is telling me that by the end of this op, we will know both. Not only that, but she will be in custody.” She turned to me. “Magnet, you and the Albanian task force own this op. Anything you want to say at this time?”
I nodded and stood. “The goal in every mission is to keep the suspects alive. It is imperative we do everything in our power to keep A alive. We need to dismantle the entirety of the AMPS network, and in order to do that, we need her to talk and keep talking.”
“If that’s all, I’ll let Ares review the objectives of each team.”
Philip “Ares” Kappas was not just the commander of the US task force; he was one of the best strategic planners I’d ever worked with. Every op we’d run in this mission had been crafted with incredible precision designed to achieve the best possible outcomes.
Where we’d fallen short was in keeping the suspects alive. Mithras, Pharaoh, and Sheka were all dead, and in every case but the first, we’d had no choice. It had boiled down to kill or be killed.
I sat and listened as Ares ran down different scenarios with each team leader. “We are ready for almost everything. Barring nuclear war.”
I noticed Nem raise a brow at him.
“Okay, okay. I’ll make a plan for that too,” he said, walking over to embrace her after she ended the briefing.
“I feel like we’re the only single people here,” I overheard Flick say to Grey.
“You’re right to think a lot of couples were brought together via their work for the coalition. Myself and Ares were the first, I believe,” said Nem.