Poseidon's Ransom

Chapter Thirty Six

The sun was coming up over the bay. Bogdan had fallen asleep, but Jack had spent the night concealed and awake. He looked at his watch, almost 4am.

‘Bogdan.’

The big Russian jumped. ‘Yeah, boss?’

‘I think we’ve lost him.’

‘What is time?’

‘Four o’clock. Sun’s coming up.’

‘What now?’

‘Let’s get back to the car.’

‘Okay, da. We take the guns, boss?

Jack grinned. ‘We take the guns, buddy.’

In the garden, Jack helped the big man over the wall and they trotted back to the Range Rover.

‘Now what?’ said Bogdan.

‘We’ll wait a couple more hours, see if he shows.’

Bogdan reclined the big comfy seat and smiled. ‘Okay.’

It was five-thirty when Jack decided to call the Castelo San Lorenzo.

A sleepy voice answered. ‘Si, prego?’

‘Giovanni. Hi, it’s Jack. Sorry to call so early.’

‘Jack. Buongiorno. What can I do for you?’

‘I know you’ve helped us a great deal. But could I ask if you’ve heard from your guys here in Monaco? We’ve been at Washington’s villa all night and there’s no sign.’

‘Hmm… Hold on a moment. I’ll need to speak to security.’

Several minutes past, and then. ‘Jack?’

‘Yes, I’m here.’

‘There seems to be an issue. Our men have not checked-in as usual.’

‘When did you hear from them last?’

‘We have a strict protocol. All our field operatives must send a pre-formatted message every eight hours.’

‘And you’ve not heard from your men since?’

‘Midday yesterday.’

‘Seventeen hours!’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you have a redundancy protocol? If they fail to check-in, is there a fall-back position?’

‘No, Jack. They must make contact every eight hours. No redundancy.’

Jack paused a few moments… ‘So, your understanding would be they’re dead?’

‘I’m afraid so.’

‘I’m sorry, Giovanni. So, what’s your next move?’

‘Security tells me we have the location of their vehicle.’

‘Of, course… you’ll have a tracker.’

‘That’s correct. I’m told the car is a few kilometres north of the city.’

‘Send me the co-ordinates. We can check it out for you?’

‘Thank you, Jack, but we don’t usually seek outside assistance.’

‘Giovanni. You’ve helped us. The least we can do is find the car. It might help to find your agents.’

‘Wait a moment, please.’

‘Okay.’

‘What happens, boss?’ said Bogdan.

Jack put the phone to his chest and said, ‘Sounds like the Templari’s agents have been killed.’

‘Fuck,’ said the Russian.

Jack put the phone back to his ear. ‘Giovanni?’ No reply.

A few more minutes passed, and then. ‘Jack, hello?’

‘Yes, I’m here.’

‘I’ve spoken with the Contessa. Our security will send the vehicle’s location to your phone. She says you must not interact with the local police. We will take care of that.’

‘Not a problem. Last thing we want is to get tangled up with the cops.’

‘Sorry, Jack. I didn’t get that?’

‘I said, yes. No police interaction.’

‘There is at least a little good news.’

‘Yeah? And that is?’

‘We have a tracker in Washington’s vehicle as well.’

Jack smiled. ‘Great. That’s great, Giovani. Okay, we’ll check out your guys’ car first. Then, is there any way you can relay Washington’s position to us?’

‘Just a second, please.’

Again, Jack waited, and again Bogdan asked, ‘What happens now?’

Jack raised his hand. ‘Hold on, buddy.’

‘Jack?’

‘Yeah, go ahead, Giovanni.’

‘Our security will send location updates to your cell-phone.’

‘Okay good. We’ll be in touch. And thank you again, Giovanni.’

‘Jack?’

‘Yes?’

‘The Contessa asked me to tell you, to be careful.’

Jack smiled. ‘Tell her, always.’

The line went silent.

It only took about fifteen minutes to get to the location they’d been given. On the way, Jack had messaged Mathew with an update and their intentions. The road through the woods was quiet, but there was the odd car. Mostly locals by the look of the vehicles, as not too many of the wealthier Monaco residents would venture to this part of the Principality.

They pulled into the side of the road and got out. Jack was concentrating on the phone’s screen, when Bogdan said, ‘Here, boss. Look.’

Tyre tracks ran from the road into the woods. The soil had been churned-up and there were lots of broken plants. Several trees had obviously been hit by a car.

‘This way, boss.’

It didn’t take them long to find the VW.

Bogdan was about to open it when, Jack said, ‘Hold on, big man. Don’t touch it.’

They looked in the windows. A pair of binoculars on the back seat. Some discarded food wrappers and several bottles of water. Jack’s phone pinged constantly, confirming they were at the location.

‘Da. So this is it. What now?’

‘They’ll be here somewhere. He wouldn’t want to hang around, so they won’t be too far into the trees. Okay, we’ll search parallel with the road, Ten yards apart.’

It was Bogdan who found the bodies. ‘Boss!’

Together they looked down at the two young men. Probably no more than thirty-five or six. Shot in the back, and the head. Execution style.

Jack knelt beside them, and said quietly, ‘Bastard.’

The big Russian made the sign of the cross on his torso. ‘A least it is quick, boss.’

Jack stood and said nothing for several seconds. Then took a photo of the scene. He saved the co-ordinates on his phone and stood for a few more seconds.

‘Okay, buddy let’s go get this fucker.’

Back in the Range Rover, Jack tapped out a message and sent the photo and location of the bodies to Giovanni. Then he sent the same to Mathew.

‘Where to, boss?’

Jack looked at the phone again. ‘West.’