Renee read the message board Wednesday morning, the news in front of her sending a bevy of emotions through her. Sean Caspar had been found.
A fake passport card had allowed him to board a cruise ship in Miami, and he had traveled as far as Jamaica. From there, he had chartered a boat to take him to Cuba, followed by a flight to Paris.
Whatever guardian used the initial A had made those notes. She guessed it was Ace since Kade’s notes were all preceded by the initial K.
Whoever Ghost C was had picked up the trail in Paris where Caspar took a train to Bucharest and rented a car. The GPS signal from the rental showed he, or at least his car, was in Odessa, Ukraine.
With the senator at work and Kade doing something in his trailer, Renee picked up her phone and called Hannah. “What’s the latest on Caspar? Are we sending someone after him?”
“I was just discussing the possibilities with Ace,” Hannah said. “Caspar only arrived in Odessa a few hours ago. Our guess is that he’s going to hop on a freighter and head to Turkey on his way into Asia.”
“Do you have any clue what his end destination is?”
“We have no idea. Russia, Turkey, China. Obviously if he gets past us in Odessa, the likelihood of us finding him and uncovering who he has been working with practically disappears.”
“How big of a window do you think we have?”
“Best guess, between six and forty-eight hours. Odessa is a busy port, but I think he would allow himself a bit of a window to get to the docks from where he’s parked now,” Hannah said. “I’m trying to narrow down possible escape routes, but the list is long.”
“What can I do to help?”
“I know it’s boring, but you can watch the security feed from the docks. It’s a long shot, but you’ve at least seen him in person.”
“If you narrow down the possible vessels he could be on, it will help me focus my efforts,” Renee suggested. “What we really need to do is send someone in there after him.”
“One of our guardians is on her way, but like I said, it’s a busy port, and Caspar is not going to be easy to find.”
“Where is the Saint Squad right now?” Renee asked. If they really had shipped out last week, maybe . . .
“They’re on an aircraft carrier in the Med.” Excitement crept into her voice. “They could be in Odessa in a few hours.”
“It’s worth putting in the request,” Renee said. “That squad is already well versed in the problem and the importance of capturing Sean Caspar.”
“I’m putting it in now.”
“How long will it take for you to get a response?”
“It’s going in as a priority,” Hannah said. “I’ll call you as soon as I hear anything. In the meantime, I’m putting the link for the security cameras at the port in Odessa onto the message board.”
“I’ll get started on those right now.”
“Thanks, Renee.”
Renee hung up, and within five minutes, she was once again staring at a computer screen, looking for a familiar face. Though Hannah seemed confident that Caspar would be on one of the outgoing freighters leaving in the morning, she focused on the next freighter scheduled to leave port, a Turkish freighter on its way to Sochi. She blinked in surprise when twenty minutes later, Caspar crossed into the camera’s view. He was only visible for four seconds, but it was long enough for Renee to gauge his direction.
She snatched up her phone. “Hannah, you aren’t going to believe this, but I found him. He’s on pier thirty-nine heading for the Damiranov.”
Renee could hear Hannah typing in the background. “It’s supposed to leave port in twenty minutes. There’s no way I can have anyone there before then.”
“What are we going to do?”
“SEAL stands for sea, air, and land. Looks like we’re about to find out how efficient they are in the water.”
* * *
What are the chances? Brent thought when he hung up the phone with the command center. He had spent more than two weeks trying to protect the guardians, concerned the entire time that he would bring his men and their families into danger, and had had to drop the mission before it was even through. And now they were in the perfect location to help finish the job. With time being of the essence, he left Amy in charge of finalizing their transportation and went in search of his squad.
He found Seth first. “Get everyone together. We fly out within the hour.”
“What’s going on?” Seth asked. “We weren’t scheduled for any exercises until tomorrow.”
“It’s not an exercise. We’re going to Odessa in search of Caspar.”
“The guy messing with the guardians?”
“That’s right. Looks like we’re going to get the chance to close this case down after all,” Brent said. “We’ll meet in the boardroom to go over the mission plan.”
Before Seth had made it two steps in an effort to find everyone else, Brent’s phone rang with an unfamiliar number on the screen.
Brent signaled for Seth to wait, then answered his phone. “Miller.”
“Brent, it’s Renee. We have a problem.”
“What’s wrong?”
“We spotted our target and know what ship he’s on. It’s the Damiranov, but it’s leaving port any minute,” she said, a sense of urgency carrying over the line. “I have its itinerary; it’s heading for Sochi.”
“The higher ups will never give us permission to enter Russia’s territorial waters.”
“I agree.”
“How long until it reaches its first port?” Brent asked.
“Eleven hours.”
“What flag does the ship fly under?”
“Turkey.”
“This might be a time to involve the state department. If they reach out to Turkey, we could feasibly have the captain allow us to come on board to take Caspar into custody.”
“The time is still short for diplomatic negotiations.”
“But Turkey shouldn’t have any reason to harbor this guy.”
“Hopefully that’s true,” Renee said. “I’ll put in the request, but I want you to develop a backup plan in case we need to use a military option beyond picking our guy up.”
“We’ll be ready for whatever you need.”
“Thank you. I’ll get back to you as soon as I know anything.”
Brent made his way to the boardroom his squad had been assigned and found several of his teammates inside. He closed the hatch behind him. “Amy, I need everything you can find on the Turkish freighter Damiranov.”
Amy nodded and turned to her computer to access her intelligence databases.
“What’s going on?” Jay asked.
“Caspar was seen boarding the Damiranov in Odessa. We need a plan of action to retrieve him while the ship’s at sea,” Brent said. “We’re hoping the diplomats will pave the way for us to pick him up, but we need to prepare for other contingencies.”
Seth took a step toward the computer station next to Amy. “I’ll get started on their communication abilities.”
“Good,” Brent said. “Jay and Craig, work up a mission plan for if we do have Turkey’s assistance. Tristan, Quinn, and Damian, I want you to plan one for worst-case scenario.” Brent moved to the phone attached to the wall. “I’m going to see what I can get for us in the way of air support.”
“In our worst-case scenario, do we assume the crew is hostile?” Craig asked.
“We have to be prepared for both possibilities. Check with the armory and see if we can get some tranquilizer guns. That will let us neutralize crew members without waiting to find out if they’re armed.”
“Will do.”
* * *
Kade opened his supply cabinet, the air conditioning unit in his trailer humming. Everything was changing so fast, and he wasn’t sure he was prepared for the fallout.
Sean Caspar had fled the country and, in all likelihood, no longer posed a threat to Renee. Hannah had alerted Interpol and put out BOLOs with all the local law-enforcement agencies to help in the search for Werthcamp. In a matter of days, the budget would go up for a vote. Whether he was ready for it or not, Renee’s need for a personal guardian was coming to an end.
The very thought sent an ache deep into Kade’s heart and spread into every part of his being. Before he met her, he had been fine with his solitude, had enjoyed it even. Now the thought of being isolated and alone left him feeling empty.
It was his own fault. He’d known better than to get emotionally involved with a client. He knew he never should have acted on his attraction, but he couldn’t bring himself to regret the time he had spent with her. Those thoughts did nothing to ease the pain now.
He looked down at the sapphire ring on his worktable. The transponder planted beneath the square cut stone was well concealed, the frequency coded so only he would be able to access it.
He had used similar items for his clients in the past to allow him to track them in case they needed his help in the future, but never before had he wished the gift could hold meaning.
His heart heavy, he stored his tools and pocketed the ring. After adjusting the air conditioning in the trailer so it wouldn’t draw so heavily on the Whitmores’ electric bill, he headed to the house in search of Renee.
The moment he walked into the security office, he felt Renee’s sense of urgency. “What’s going on?”
“We found Caspar. He’s on a freighter in the Black Sea. Hannah is trying to send the Saint Squad in after him.”
Kade didn’t wait for her to give him all the details. Instead, he logged into the guardian database with the computer beside hers and scanned through the correspondence. “Looks like the state department is still waiting on Turkey to respond to their request.”
“What happens if they don’t give the Saint Squad permission to go get Caspar? By reaching out to Turkey, we tip our hand that it’s the U.S. boarding their ship.”
“It’s not in Turkey’s best interest to harbor a fugitive. And if state was willing to come to the negotiating table, I’m sure they have something to offer that Turkey is interested in getting.”
“I hope so.”
An update flashed across his screen. “This isn’t good.”
“They said no?”
“They said yes, but the freighter isn’t responding.”
“What does that mean?” Renee asked.
“Either our friend Caspar has someone working with him who is monitoring communications, or the ship isn’t really a freighter.”
“I saw the ship on the security feed from Odessa’s port cameras. It’s definitely a freighter.”
“Or it’s a ship full of smugglers designed to look like a freighter.”
Renee’s eyes met his. “That’s bad.”
“Yeah.”
“What now?”
“Hannah will feed the new information to the Saint Squad and cut orders for them to pursue. For us, we have to wait.”
“I’m not very good at waiting.”
“Neither am I.”