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Back in Virginia, Stephanie came into Elizabeth's office. She'd dressed in a loose gray blouse and navy blue skirt. A half dozen thin gold bracelets graced her left wrist. She looked tired.
"Steph, are you getting enough sleep? You have shadows under your eyes."
"Matthew is sick. I was up most of the night."
"Oh dear. It's not serious, is it?"
"I don't think so. He's running a low fever. Lucas is home with him."
When Clarence Hood was still running the CIA, Stephanie's husband had held down one of the key positions at Langley. That had ended when Hood left. President Hopkins had pushed his own people into the agency. It didn't take long for Lucas to realize that they were a bunch of political incompetents. He'd seen the writing on the wall and resigned. At the moment, he was at loose ends. Elizabeth had been thinking about how she could work him into the Harker Group.
"Freddie has found out where Alvarez is hiding," Stephanie said. "He owns a house in the country, several hours away from Cuzco. We have satellite shots of the area."
"Let's see them."
Stephanie went to her console. Her fingers darted across her keyboard. The photos came up on the wall monitor. She moved the mouse pointer around on the screen.
"You can see the main house, here," Stephanie said. The pointer moved. "This building looks like a barn, probably a horse barn from when it was a working ranch."
"It doesn't look like there's much happening there," Elizabeth said. "Can you zoom in?"
The picture got bigger.
"You can see that the place has been neglected," Stephanie said. "The fields are overgrown. There are no animals grazing. Weeds are growing in the driveway. Now watch this next shot. It was taken a few days ago."
The still photograph was similar to the other, except now there were two vehicles parked near the barn, a Jeep and a covered Army truck. The barn door was open. A man in uniform had just come out of the barn.
Stephanie zoomed in.
"That has to be Alvarez," she said. "You can see his insignia."
"Well done, Steph. I'll bet he had the gold in that truck. He probably stashed it in the barn."
That is a logical conclusion, Elizabeth.
"Thank you for keeping the volume down, Freddie," Elizabeth said. "I'm glad you agree."
I have re-tasked a CIA satellite for continuous coverage of the location. It will be in position within the next twelve hours.
"I'll bet Langley is going to love that," Elizabeth said.
They will be unaware of the change. I have set up a continuous twenty-four hour loop of previous satellite passes. It is unlikely they will notice that the satellite is no longer in position.
"That is really sneaky, Freddie," Stephanie said.
Thank you, Stephanie. I am always endeavoring to imitate human thinking and behavior.
"I'm not sure that's a compliment," Elizabeth said, "but that's excellent work, Freddie."
Hmmmm.
The sound filled the office.
"Freddie, what's that sound you're making?" Stephanie asked.
I have observed that when humans acknowledge a compliment, they express pleasure and gratitude. Since I am unable to use body language to convey acknowledgment of a compliment, I have decided to employ an audio response in place of a human smile.
"So that sound is the equivalent of you smiling?"
That is correct.
"Fascinating," Elizabeth said. "Freddie, as soon as you have continuous surveillance, please put it on the monitor."
Certainly, Elizabeth.
Her satellite phone signaled a call.
"It's Nick," she said.
She made the connection.
"Yes, Nick?"
"Director, things are getting complicated."
"What do you mean?"
"An agent from MI6 just showed up here. Her name is Welbourn."
"MI6? Why?"
"Turns out Livingston was working for them. She's not happy about him getting killed. I get the feeling she thinks we're responsible. I've explained who we are. It would help if you'd talk to her."
Elizabeth felt a headache start.
"Put her on."
Elizabeth activated the speakerphone so Stephanie could hear the conversation.
"This is Sarah Welbourn. With whom am I speaking?"
"Elizabeth Harker. I understand you are with British intelligence?"
"That's correct, Harker."
Her tone was hostile. Stephanie raised her eyebrows. Okay, Elizabeth thought. I can play hardball, too.
"Before I discuss anything more with you, I need to confirm your credentials," Elizabeth said. "There's a secure fax machine at the Villa. Use number one on the speed dial and send me a picture of your identification."
"I don't think you understand, Harker," the woman said. "I have the full cooperation of the Peruvian authorities. I'm going to arrest your people if I don't get answers to my questions."
"You are the one who doesn't understand, Agent Welbourn. You're not talking to someone who is impressed because you work for MI6. As a matter of fact, the director of your service is a good friend of mine. Now, your credentials to me. If you're who you say you are, I'll be happy to cooperate with you. Or would you like me to make a call to Sir Charles? I'm sure he'll be curious to know why you are threatening to arrest my people."
Stephanie gave Elizabeth a thumbs up.
Elizabeth covered the mouthpiece of the phone.
"Steph, find out who this woman is."
Elizabeth heard Welbourn ask Nick where the fax machine was. A moment later, the fax came through. An image of Welbourn's identification appeared.
Stephanie was busy entering commands on her keyboard.
"Thank you, Agent Welbourn," Elizabeth said. "How can I help you?"
"Sir Jeffrey Livingston was a valued asset working for her Majesty's government. I've been in Cuzco for several days, waiting for his return. Your people show up without him."
"Didn't they tell you what happened to him?"
"They told me, but I have trouble believing it. It's a little too convenient. How likely is it Livingston would be killed by an ancient trap? Surely you can see how suspicious that sounds. He's sent to confirm the existence of a priceless treasure and ends up dead, but your people are very much alive."
Elizabeth made an effort to control her anger at this woman's assumptions.
"How much have they told you about what happened?"
"Only how Sir Jeffrey died. Then your man Carter called you."
"He's not 'my man Carter,' Agent Welbourn," Elizabeth said. "He's a dedicated, decorated leader who's committed to the safety of our country and its allies. That includes the UK, by the way. He hasn't briefed you about Colonel Alvarez?"
"No. What has Alvarez got to do with this?"
Stephanie signaled Elizabeth to look at the monitor. On screen was a picture of Welbourn and a complete history of her career with MI6. It was noticeably brief.
"I'm looking at a copy of your official file, Agent Welbourn." Elizabeth said.
"What? How did you get that? That's classified information."
Elizabeth ignored her and continued.
"I can see you are inexperienced. You can be excused for being overly enthusiastic in pursuing your mission. However, you're making a serious mistake by accusing my team of causing Livingston's death. It's clear you don't have all the facts. Put Colonel Carter on the phone. I'll instruct him to give you a full briefing."
Elizabeth had thrown in Nick's military rank to emphasize his authority. She heard Welbourn tell Nick she was giving him the phone. She sounded annoyed.
"Director."
"Nick, I want you to give this woman a full briefing. Everything that happened. Now that MI6 is involved, see if you can get her support. You need to know that she's new in the job."
"Great. That explains a lot."
"If she continues to be a problem, put her someplace where she can't interfere and I'll deal with the fallout. It would be much better if you can get her to cooperate with you. Under no circumstance allow her to get in the way of tracking down Alvarez. We think we know where he is. I'm going to send the coordinates to your phone. Take her with you when you go after him."
"That's not a good idea, Director. She seems convinced Livingston's death is our fault. Plus Alvarez will be armed. It could go bad, really fast. She's new. She doesn't have the field experience needed for something like this. It could put us all at risk."
"It's an order, Nick, but I understand your concern."
"That won't be any comfort if she screws everything up."
"Sorry, Nick."
"Very well, Director. I'll brief her."
"I'm sending the coordinates of Alvarez's location now and a satellite photo."
"Got it."
"I know I don't have to say this, but I'm going to say it anyway. You don't have much time. Alvarez is going to get that gold out of the country as fast as he can. You have to stop him."