Reading Residence
Whitehall, London, England
I
nterpol Agent Hugh Reading leaped to his feet along with his son Spencer as they cheered England scoring a goal, a tie that had lasted until the last ten minutes of the game finally broken. Football might not be high scoring, but when one’s team did, it made the entire wait worthwhile.
They both pounded their beers then sat back down. His phone vibrated on the table in front of them, and he picked it up to see a news alert about a bombing at the Guggenheim Bilbao.
His stomach churned as bile filled his mouth.
He grabbed the remote and switched to BBC News.
“Hey, what about the game?”
“There was a terrorist attack at the Guggenheim in Spain.”
Spencer grunted. “What else is new?”
“You don’t understand. Jim and Laura were there.”
His son’s jaw dropped. “What? Call them!”
Reading cursed for not thinking to do it himself. He dialed Acton’s number and it went straight to voicemail. He tried Laura and found the same. He fell back on the couch, his chest tight, his ears pounding. “Oh my God, I think I just lost my best friends.”
His son reached over and squeezed his arm. “You don’t know that yet. Look.” He pointed at the television. “They’re bringing out somebody on a stretcher. They don’t have him covered over. That means he’s alive. There are survivors.”
Reading struggled to control his emotions. He dialed his partner, Michelle Humphrey.
“Hi Hugh, a little late, isn’t it? Aren’t you off the clock?”
“Did you hear about the bombing in Spain?”
“Yeah, it just came up on my phone a moment ago.”
He took a deep breath. “Jim Acton and Laura Palmer were there.”
“Oh no! Are they okay?”
“I don’t know.” His voice cracked as his eyes burned. “I need to get there. I need to find out what’s going on.”
“Just a second, I’m logging into the office right now.” He heard her tapping on her laptop, then a gasp. “Oh my God, you’re not going to believe this.”
He tensed. “What?”
“International arrest warrants have just been issued for them.”
“For whom?”
“For your friends. Right now, Professor James Acton and Professor Laura Palmer are at the top of the Red Notices list as those behind the bombing of the Guggenheim.”
