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“Probably.”
My sat phone rings, and I rush to answer it, placing the call on speaker. “Tell me you found him.”
“I’ve got him. He’s about four hours from your location in Afin.”
Maxen loads the city in the GPS and sets off. Meanwhile, I focus on the intel Birdie can get on the fly. “What can you tell us about the area?”
“Afin is in a small valley surrounded by about a thousand small foothills. Your guy is situated in a hotel on the edge of the city.”
“Get eyes on that hotel and send us everything you’ve got on the city.”
It’s two-thirty local time, and jet lag is a bitch. But we’ve gone a lot longer than twenty-four hours without sleep before. And this is the most important mission of my life.
Since Maxen is driving, I reach back for my bag, retrieving two bottles of water and four protein bars. Handing some water and two of the bars to Maxen, I settle back in my seat again and open the first of my bars.
From my left, a snicker tickles my ears. “What?”
“Nothing. Our first date, our first couples’ trip, and now you’ve made me din—”
Maxen stops at the knife I’ve unsheathed and now press against his dick. “I wouldn’t finish that statement if I were you.”
Unconcerned by the cold steel at his nether region, he rears back and laughs. Despite the gravity of our situation, I find myself smiling with him.
Throughout the four-hour trek through the numerous mountain passes, Birdie feeds us intel on our new target. While Maxen doesn’t have the advantage of studying the satellite maps she sends, I know his tactical mind. By description alone, somehow, he can grid off an area, constructing a realistic model in his head.
Our target appears to be traveling alone, simplifying our kidnap plans. Making things easier still is the hotel the man chose. The town only has two. The other is in the busiest area, right next to a mosque. We lucked out. The only thing behind our guy’s hotel is a tree-covered hillside.
The white building is square-shaped, with no more than two levels, and features an open atrium in the center. Our approach won’t be invisible, but by Birdie’s account, foot traffic in the area is minimal.
It’s nearly dusk when we reach the northwestern extent of the town. Five more minutes pass, and we park along the side of the hotel. We’ll have to wait for dark to fall before relocating to the grassy knoll off the southwestern corner of the property. From there, we’ll be able to see the front and rear entrances and our guy’s window on the first floor.
From our current location, all we can see is the back of the property. That only helps us if the target comes and goes from the hotel through his window. “How long do you figure we have before it’s safe to move?”
Maxen cranes his neck to look up through the windshield. “Maybe another half-hour or–”
“Guys, your target is on the move. His phone is stationary, but I just watched him walk through the atrium on the live satellite feed I’m monitoring. I’ll track his movements as much as I can, but it’ll be too easy to lose him if he goes into any of these covered or connected spaces.”
Maxen pumps his fist, anxious to make some real progress in our investigation. “Let’s go before he vanishes.”
“Wait,” Birdie says. “Conventional wisdom would say to follow the man, but in this case, I think we stand to gain more from his phone.”
I’d be out the door already, but my instincts tell me that Birdie is right.
Seeing my reluctance to move, Maxen doesn’t even try to hide his surprise, instead appealing my decision. “I want this guy, Sadie.”
I’ve got to hand it to him. Unlike most other men I’d worked with in the Marines, he didn’t try to mutiny or force me to see things his way. Though Maxen won’t be happy about it, I’m with Birdie on this one. “He'll come back. Let's get his phone for Birdie.”
Maxen’s jaw clenches, but he nods. “You're the boss.”
Further showing his submission, he pulls out his own phone while leaning over to talk into my speaker, “Birdie, watch him. Sadie, you should probably cover your head, just in case. I'll update Knot.”
I grab a long, black scarf from my bag for just such occasions. I get all wrapped and covered and scope out the hotel rooms adjacent to our target’s. Time is on our side right now, as our target is likely seeking dinner before evening prayer time.
With my luck, he’s not devout, and we’ll still need to hurry. “Your guy has stepped into a little café about a hundred meters from your location.”
“Ok. We’re switching to radios now. Patch us in and keep an eye on him and us as much as possible,” Maxen orders as he exits the truck.
Maxen returns just as I’ve stepped out of the rugged, old vehicle. He positions his radio inserts in both ears and secures his own head wrap. “I’ve informed Knot of our plan. He agrees with Birdie’s assessment of the phone and is joining her to monitor the situation.”