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BARCELONA
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UNDER THE WATCHFUL scrutiny of a pair of officers, who showed every sign of being ready to fire at the first hint of trouble, Bright followed Meteiros up the ladder from the speedboat to the deck of the yacht.
Their identities had already been checked before they were brought out to the yacht, but they were still asked for their ID the moment they reached the top of the ladder.
“I feel like I’m meeting a head of state or royalty,” Bright remarked as his ID was carefully scrutinised before being handed back.
“I’m not sure I’d go that far,” Meteiros said, “but the president has apparently taken an interest in this case. I was told he has insisted this case be given the highest priority. I understand he isn’t happy that a French national believes he can get away with killing so many Spanish citizens.”
“I don’t blame him. I wouldn’t be very happy with the idea if I was in his position either. Where’s Miss Torres?” Bright asked of the officer who had checked his identity as he slipped his ID card back into his pocket.
“I couldn’t say for sure, sir, but I doubt you’ll have much difficulty finding her, it isn’t a big boat.”
“Did you really think it would be difficult to find her?” Meteiros asked.
“No, but I wanted to avoid wandering around blindly if I could,” Bright said as he crossed the deck to the hatchway that led down to the cabins. “I’m not sure it would be a good idea given how nervous the security detail is.”
His footsteps echoed down the companionway and summoned another officer, who had his weapon aimed in their direction before he even saw them. He lowered his weapon when he recognised Meteiros.
“Miss Torres is this way, sir,” the officer announced, indicating the doorway through which he had appeared.
“Are you certain this is the best way to protect Miss Torres?” Bright asked of Meteiros. He hadn’t previously questioned the decision to put Sofia Torres on a boat to keep her safe, but now he had seen it, he wondered if it was the right way to protect her. “All an attacker would have to do is set fire to the boat or punch a hole in the hull and then wait for her to either burn to death or drown as the boat sinks.” He kept his voice low to avoid being overheard by Sofia Torres.
“They’d have to get close enough to manage either of those things,” Meteiros said. “I think that’s why Sergeant Cortez came up with the idea in the first place. With four officers patrolling the deck and a radar system that’s monitored constantly, it’s nearly impossible for someone to get close without being spotted. And if they can’t get close, they can’t do anything to the boat.”
“I suppose that’s true. Good morning, Miss Torres,” Bright said as he entered the lounge and saw Sofia sitting at a table.
“Agent Bright, DCI Meteiros. Have there been any developments in the case?” Sofia asked. She was torn between eagerness to hear that some positive progress had been made and that she was closer to being able to return to the life she had had before, and concern that any developments would be bad for her.
“We’re just here to see how you’re doing,” Meteiros told her. “Is everything alright? Are you coping with the situation okay? Are you happy with everything?”
“What do you think? The only guy I really trusted to protect me, and someone I thought of as a friend, is dead, I’m stuck out here on a boat that belonged to my dead employer, and someone wants to kill me. You’ll forgive me if I’m finding it a little difficult to be happy with anything right now.”
“I can’t say I’m surprised,” Bright said sympathetically. “I don’t think I’ve had a chance yet to tell you how sorry I am that your friend died. I don’t imagine it’s much of a comfort to know that he did so protecting you.”
Sofia was surprised by the sincerity in Bright’s voice and kept her head down, her eyes on the table in front of her to avoid showing her tears. “Miguel did what he thought was the best thing he could to protect me. If he hadn’t led those men away, they might have figured out where I was. I’d be dead as well as him if that had happened, and you wouldn’t have a case anymore. I know that’s what you’re both really concerned about.”
“Yes,” Bright admitted with a nod. “Noir’s in a cell right now and won’t ever get out, we hope, but I’m not prepared to take any more risks with your life than necessary.”
“And you think because I’m out here on the water, I’ll be safe from the men Noir will send to kill me?” Sofia asked. “For all you know he could send a battleship to make sure I can’t testify against him.”
Meteiros smiled briefly at that. “If Noir can get his hands on a battleship to send after you, I think we all might as well give up and find other lines of work. I think it unlikely that he’ll discover where we have you, so I don’t think there’s much cause to worry, especially since the boat can be moved whenever and wherever we want, which we intend doing. I suspect that’s one of the reasons Sergeant Cortez suggested it.”
“Perhaps if you’d listened to Miguel, he’d still be alive,” Sofia said bitterly.
“I regret what happened to Miguel as much as you, perhaps even more, but we cannot change what has already happened.” Meteiros could tell from the look on Sofia’s face that she didn’t believe him but that didn’t matter. “Is there anything I can arrange to make you more comfortable.”
“Some films, or maybe some books. Anything to keep me occupied. Mr Abrantes’ library is pretty boring. Or maybe a quick trial. The sooner all of this is over, the better I’ll feel.”
“I understand that, and I assure you, we are doing everything possible to get Mr Noir into our custody and into court as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, I am told that Mr Noir’s lawyer is fighting hard to have the extradition request dismissed. If you give me a list of books and films you’d like, I’ll arrange for you to have them.”