Page 95 of Spymaster

When they pulled back into the compound, Harvath called the team out to help Vella unpack and to move all of his equipment into the main building. They then drew up a shift schedule for guarding the property and assisting in the interrogation.

With those tasks complete, he returned to the guesthouse to check on Nicholas and give him the limited dossier that Vella had prepared on their prisoner, Ivan Kuznetsov.

“Did you bring any of the things I asked for?” said Nicholas without turning around.

“They were out of time and money at the store, but I was able to find you a lead,” he replied, setting the folder on his desk.

The little man stopped what he was doing on his computer to take a look at it. “This isn’t a lot to go on.”

“We’ve got a real name. That’s more than we had a half hour ago. See what you can do.”

Saluting, Nicholas turned back to his computer, opened a new screen, and went to work.

Harvath grabbed one of the encrypted laptops the little man had set up and carried it to his room. It was early afternoon back in the States and he thought he would try to reach Lara.

He shot her an email, then plugged his earbuds in and opened the video conferencing program The Carlton Group used.

Moments later, a screen appeared with her face in it. She was at home, in their study, wearing one of the low-cut sweaters he loved. Her long hair was swept to one side. She looked gorgeous.

“Hey,” he said. “What are you up to?”

Lara adjusted her laptop so he could see the TV and the news coverage of the Istanbul bombing.

“Should I even ask where you are?” she said, turning the laptop back around.

He smiled. She not only understood him, she understood what he did, and that he couldn’t always talk about what he was up to.

“Nowhere near Turkey,” he replied. In the background, he could see that she had a fire going in the fireplace. “That cold back home?”

“Cold enough. And overcast. How about where you are?”

“Could be worse. How are things at home?”

“Good,” she replied. “We miss you.”

Harvath smiled again. “I miss you, too. Where’s Marco?”

“Taking a nap. He woke up way too early this morning.”

“What’d you do for breakfast?”

“I offered to make pancakes, but he said he didn’t want ‘mommy’ pancakes, he wanted ‘Scot’ pancakes. So we had eggs instead.”

“Tell him I’ll cook up a huge stack when I get back,” he responded.

“Any idea when that will be?”

Harvath shook his head. “Hopefully, soon.”

Lara appeared about to reply when she heard something and turned to look over her shoulder. “Speak of the devil,” she said, turning back to the camera. “Guess who I think just woke up.”

Harvath laughed. It wasn’t the first time Marco had interrupted an intimate moment. “Go check on him. I’ll catch up with you later.”

“Before I let you go, I talked with Lydia last night.”

“About what?”

“I called to catch up and she told me Reed isn’t doing well, that he’s getting worse.”