Fortress

65

The phone woke Tom from a brief but incredibly deep sleep.

‘You find anything?’ Beth was on the move, walking quickly. He heard the sound of a car unlocking.

‘Yeah, maybe. We should talk.’

‘I’ve got a crash meeting with Carter, my contact agent. He’s flying in from DC.’

‘How come?’

‘I called him about Zuabi, asked him to run a check. I guess he has something big, so we should meet after that. I’ll give you the address.’

It was a motel out on an exit from the Loop to the south-west.

‘Why there?’

‘His choice. We should be done by noon. Text me when you’re near.’

He picked up the keys to his hire car at the desk and headed out into the hot, smoggy morning. A silver Toyota Camry was about as anonymous as you could get, the automotive equivalent of a Styrofoam cup. He took out his iPad and tapped in his destination, the Tijuana Motel, then searched for the location of Zuabi’s mosque and put that in as well. He had some time to kill before meeting Beth; a good opportunity to check it out.

Before he set off he called Phoebe again on his throwaway phone. She sounded stressed: phones were ringing and beeping in the background. ‘Tom, have you talked to Rolt?’

‘Why?’

‘He’s over the moon about something, but hasn’t said what. He’s keeping his composure in public but when he’s in the office it’s as though Christmas has come early. And everyone wants to talk to him, government, media — even more than before. It’s gone mental.’

‘Well, he’s got some new investment. Another name for you: Aaron Stutz. That one ever come up there?’

‘Can you give me more of a steer on it?’

‘Big shot. Chairs a software company called Oryxis. He’s the guy Invicta’s getting new funding from. Rolt and Stutz are close. Also anything that cross-references the name “Fortress” with either of them.’

‘Doesn’t mean anything but, as you know, there are whole channels of his activity we don’t have eyes on.’

‘Well, you need to get eyes on them. Woolf needs to raise his game. You need to go a lot deeper.’

‘Why the change of heart?’

‘Because I don’t like what I’m finding out.’