65 |

Operations Center 3, CIA Headquarters
Langley, Virginia

 

“Sir, I just got a hit.”

Leroux stifled a yawn, his only rack time in the past two days, a couple of hours squeezed in earlier. Since they were restricted by what they could do, they were reliant upon gleaning information from legitimate sources, or sources outside the European Union. There had been jubilation at the word of Acton’s arrest, though short-lived once they realized Laura was still missing.

According to Interpol, a ship had sailed from the Slovenian port of Koper not even an hour ago, and governments were figuring out what to do now that it was in international waters.

He gave up and yawned. “What did you find?” he asked Sonya Tong.

“Laura Palmer just rented a high-speed boat in Slovenia.”

Leroux’s eyes narrowed as he sat up straight. “Huh? Did she escape?”

Tong shook her head. “No, it looks like it was done through an agency in London, with instructions that it would be picked up by Professor Acton.”

Child laughed as he spun in his chair. “That crazy bastard is going after her! He’s certifiable!”

Leroux agreed. “He is that.”

The door opened and Director Morrison entered, waving everybody off as they were about to rise. “Sit, I’m not the President.” He dropped in a seat across from Leroux. “We’ve got a complication.”

Leroux tensed. “What?”

“The Russians are coming.”

Leroux frowned as he processed this new bit of intel. “Let me guess. They want their Amber Room back, and will stop at nothing to get it?”

“Something like that. They caught wind through Interpol, and know about the ship that we think is carrying it. Are our guys still inbound?”

Leroux leaned over and looked at Tong who nodded. “Yes, sir. They just landed at Aviano, Italy. They’re deploying any minute now.”

Morrison pursed his lips, staring at the displays showing a map of where the boat was, the government’s response to the state of affairs, and the pesky Professor Acton about to insert his nose into another dangerous situation, something Leroux was quite certain his boss didn’t know about. “Okay, we’re just observers on this one, so let’s hope the timing works out. The Slovenians agreed to let the boat head into international waters so our guys can hit it.”

“No surprise there,” muttered Child. “They’re probably happy to be rid of it.”

Morrison grunted. “Exactly. The nearest Russian assets are at least an hour out, so if everything goes smoothly, we should get there first.”

Leroux cleared his throat, squirming slightly in his chair. “Umm, I’d hate to throw a wrinkle into the plan, but…”

Morrison closed his eyes, exhaling. “What has Professor Acton done now?”

Leroux was impressed his boss immediately made the leap. “He just rented himself a high-speed boat, and is in the air right now—”

“He’s landed,” interrupted Tong.

“—and has just landed, and is on his way to pick it up.”

Morrison cursed. “He could come up on the boat when our guys are assaulting it.”

Leroux frowned. “Or worse, he could show up when the Russians do.”

Morrison shook his head then rose. “Well, like I said, not our show, but pass that on to Washington so they can decide what to do with it.”

“Yes, sir.”