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Then I waited for O to make contact and inform me of her departure. She didn’t.
Four hours later, I learned the raid had been successful, with two exceptions. Everdeen hadn’t been found on the premises. Neither had Mithras.
By the following day, with help from the US National Reconnaissance Office, we learned Mithras had been on the compound right before the raid took place. Overhead footage showed the man being taken away on a stretcher, then transported via helicopter to the main island of Malta.
Satellite feeds had also picked up Bexli Everdeen’s escape minutes before Mithras’ departure. Hours later, she was found being harbored by a woman who’d discovered her in the alley behind her restaurant.
“Oleander is agitated,” Z himself informed me.
“She still hasn’t made contact,” I reported.
“I predict you’ll be hearing from her soon. She needs you to connect her with Antaeus.”
Of course, I’d already considered his involvement. The code name Antaeus belonged to my younger brother Joshua, who, coincidentally, was the prison boss at Corradino Correctional Facility. As the largest facility of its kind in Malta, it would be where all those arrested on Gozo would await trial.
“She wants to interrogate them,” I muttered.
“Correct, and we have thirty-six hours to do so before they have to be charged or released,” said Z.
“Understood. How soon can you get her there?” I asked.
“Less than an hour.”
I ended the call with Z and rang Joshua.
“Leviticus, have you arrived in Malta yet?”
I chuckled. The country was the equivalent of a small town. Word traveled fast on the three inhabited islands. A fact that raised some concerns.
“How did this get past you, Ant?”
“If you mean the women being held on Gozo, it’s a never-ending battle against corruption over there. If I were to suggest the commissioner clean house, the result would be lawlessness. It’s hard enough to recruit law enforcement on the main island, let alone the smaller two.”
“What about MSI?”
“Don’t get me started. The security service hardly qualifies as an intelligence agency. We’re not the UK, brother.”
“You’re the one who decided you wanted to live in Malta instead of working for me,” I reminded him.
He laughed. “As if I could ever. I’m not cut out to do what you do, Typhon. As far as choosing to live here, where else would I have been hired as warden at my age?”
“True enough.” I told him about Oleander’s impending arrival and that she wanted access to those arrested on the compound.
An alert appeared on my laptop just as I was about to end the call. “Take Oleander aside when she arrives and tell her to make contact.”
“Why?”
“I just received a piece of intel she’ll want to know about.”
“Oleander.” I answered her video call. “I have good news for you.”
“You’ve caught Mithras?”
“Sadly, not yet. Although, somehow, I think you’d be disappointed to not have that honor yourself. Which is why you should know he’s been spotted in Sharm el-Sheikh.”
“Of course that’s where he’d return,” she muttered.
“I expected to hear from you before now. How are things going with the coalition?”