Operation Heartbreaker (7 page)

“And, what’s your specialty?”

Ally’s brain was running at full speed. What should she tell him? Julie decided this very moment, to enter the lounge. Her eyes were a bit puffy from sleeping and the blonde mane looked like a crow’s nest. “What’s going on?” She tiptoed around the broken glass and yawned.

“Um,” Ally started, but Jean interrupted her.

“You didn’t come alone?”

“She’s okay, I mean…this is Julie, my best friend. She’s helping.”

“Is she in the loop?”

“What do you think? I’m practically the brain of this operation,” Julie replied and ran her hand through her hair. When she noticed her bedhead, she shrieked. “I’ll be right back.”

Her interruption helped Ally to sort her thoughts.

“Apropos ‘being in the loop’: How did you get my number and who told you where I am?”

She liked it better when he was the one answering not the other way around.

“David informed my dad about your disappearance and set him onto you. I overheard the phone call. Your uncle said you’d terminated the contact.” There was a pause. “He’s quite concerned,” he added more quietly.

She felt a twinge of remorse. She didn’t want him to worry about her and regretted the grief she was causing him. Deep inside she didn’t believe he’d harm her on purpose, though she couldn’t explain the staged assault. But every defendant got the chance to plead and she wouldn’t deny David this opportunity.

“Listen,” Jean interrupted her thoughts, “I’d love to chat with you, but we’re running out of time.”

“Just answer me one more question: How does your father know my uncle?”

“My dad is the head of the department
Central Services
of the
GIGN
. That’s a special forces unit, similar to your
SWAT-Team
.”

Strictly speaking, he hadn’t answered her question.

“Now it’s my turn.”

Ally swallowed her anger, but nodded. She wouldn’t be able to bug him with questions forever. Also, she had to keep him in a good mood to get information.

“Where is Cole?”

Her heart skipped a beat. Of all the questions he wanted to know the whereabouts of her father? “Who?”, she asked to buy time.

“Stop the bull. I know your father is in Paris right now. When the project blew up in the government’s face he went into hiding like everybody else. But he’s been here for a couple of weeks, n’est-ce pas?”

Julie reappeared at this moment. Freshly coiffed, she sat down cross-legged next to Ally, giving Jean the sweetest smile.

“Does she have to join?” he asked annoyed.

“No idea who you are, but there is nothing going on without me!”

Although the situation was anything but funny, Ally had to grin. Without her friend she’d be lost. Her presence alone gave her the strength to stay calm.

“Alright. Couldn’t care less. All I’m interested in is Cole.”

Ally opened her mouth, but Julie took her hand and briefly squeezed it.

“And why should we tell you of all people where he is? We don’t know you and, between ourselves, you don’t exactly look trustworthy.”

Jean’s jaw was grinding and for a moment she feared he’d do something stupid, like smashing a vase over Julie’s head. At least that’s what his energy told her, which darkened all at once. Luckily, it was over as quickly as it had come. He took a deep breath and shook his head. “I don’t think you get the situation. You don’t stand a chance alone. They’ll get to you, it’s only a matter of time.”

They looked at each other, then back at Jean, who was busy hacking at his keyboard.

“I’m sending you some photos, maybe you’ll understand then.”

A moment later, half a dozen of images opened up in fast sequence. All of them showed pictures of places where something had blown up. Ally had seen stuff like this on the news before, the typical pictures of destruction. Charred car wrecks, dazed people walking around confused and disoriented. What did that have anything to do with her?

“What you see here is Cole’s work.”

“Are you implying that my dad is a terrorist?”

Jean shrugged as if it wasn’t a big deal. “It’s his way of thanking the government for destroying his life.”

“Are you mental?”

Another shrug. “They’re all doing this.”

“Who the heck are
all
?”

“Well, the survivors of course.
Merde
, I thought you knew.”

“That my dad is supposed to be a murderer?”

“What do you expect? That’s what he was trained for. And, contrary to the government, he only kills the ones responsible. You should thank him, after all they are responsible for your mother’s death.” More quietly, he added: “My mother was taken away, that’s why my father’s hands are tied. But believe me, he prefers Cole’s way and would love to give these bastards what they deserve.” He shook his head. “Your father must have gone bonkers when he heard you came. He kept you hidden this whole time and now you’re running right into the line of fire. Now they’ve got what they’ve been looking for all these years.”

“What?” Ally asked under her breath, though she knew the answer.

“A leverage,” he said. “If they get you, Cole is finished. Then everything was in vain.”

Ally took in a shaky breath.

“Well, then tell me why I should lead you to him?”

“I…have to talk to him.”

“Sorry, but that’s not good enough.”

Jean rubbed his neck. “Let’s just say, he has something I really need.”

“What?”

A blood vessel in his temple began to throb, but even without that she knew he was boiling inside.

“Do you even know where he is?”

She tilted her head back and forth. “Maybe.” Who was this guy and what did he want from her dad?

“What exactly do you have to offer?” Julie piped up.

“Your protection. If you tell me where I can find him, I’ll bring you to a safe house. At this very moment almost every government on this side of the equator is after you, Ally.” 

“Because of the bombs my dad supposedly laid?”

Jean made a grunting sound, a sign of his frustration. “Are you really this dense or do you only pretend to be? Because of your skills, of course. They’re also after me and they want Cole as well. After all, they aren’t interested in a premature death. But the biggest problem is the current elections in the US.”

The elections? This was getting better by the minute. And it was all Greek to her.

“What does that have anything to do with Cole?”

He leaned back, shaking his head.

“I’ve told you enough already. You’ll get more info if you tell me where I can find your father.” He crossed his arms in front of his chest and threw her a furious glance. “What do you say?”

She felt Julie next to her, getting tense. Ally pursed her lips. “Now listen up, Jean Lacroix. You’re not half as smart as you think. If I don’t feel safe, I’ll do the same as my dad and go into hiding. By the way, I can also get your so-called protection from your father.” Thanks to the info Jean had given her, she knew that his dad was the head of
Central Services
at GIGN. Any concierge could tell her where she could find their headquarters, she didn’t need Jean for that.

He looked as if she’d just punched him in the gut. “You’ve got no idea who you’re messing with,” he snapped. “The CIA is the least of your problems. If the Mafia gets wind of you being in town…”

Ally lifted her hand, waved her fingers and breathed a “bye bye” into the camera before she cut the connection.

“We’re screwed,” Julie remarked while still starring at the screen. “Or this guy is completely loco.” She frowned and tapped her index finger against her lower lip. “I think I prefer the second alternative.”

Ally plunked herself down on the couch and sighed. “I can’t believe it. My father is a terrorist!”

Julie grimaced. “Better than being a lawyer.”

“A Bomb-er!”, she said as if her friend was dense.

“So? There are crazies everywhere. You have the misfortune of it being your dad.”

“Hello?”

“We don’t even know if it’s true. Who knows how Cole is really involved. Just because this guy sends you a bunch of pictures doesn’t prove your dad’s involvement. I mean, maybe he’s a spy or something like that.”

Ally hadn’t thought of that. What did she know? David had fed her lies for years. So far they had nothing but claims. Records, pictures, files…

Where was the proof?

The only person who knew the truth was Cole. Only he could tell her why he’d left her.

06

Thanks to the jetlag they’d slept through half the day. That’s why Ally didn’t have much time left to prepare herself for the interview in the afternoon.

She hadn’t intended to show, she’d needed the tickets to get to Paris. Moreover, Renée had fired her, so why should she talk to Viktor anyway? At the moment, there were way more important things on her to-do list, and the Russian wasn’t really on it.

But after the chaos that was threatening to drown her, the prospect of something she’d actually enjoy was like a silver lining. Besides, it would only take an hour. Afterwards, she’d be back in the same trouble that’d be patiently waiting for her. So what?

For weeks the thought of this day had lifted her up. She couldn’t count the times she’d changed her questioning tactics. She’d fine-tuned every single sentence until she was able to present it like an anchor woman on the news. She did it because she wanted to come across professional by all means, not like the beginner she was, a seventeen year old, still going to high school. And then she got herself canned.

While she was mentally preparing herself, Julie was going through the data files. In between, they ordered room service, little patties as well as sweet cake called
Tarte
. And coffee. Lots of it, to be exact. As it seemed, Julie had developed a weakness for this strong stuff that tasted much different from the watery glop that they were being served back home.

After they stuffed themselves with delicious cookies, Julie leaned back into the soft lounge sofa and sighed satisfied.

“I wish Andrea could see us now.” She was beaming, her eyes wandering through the suite.

Ally crinkled her nose. “He’ll find out soon enough that his credit card is missing. After the interview we’ll have to look for a new place.”

“I was afraid you’d say something like that.” Julie pouted.

“I’m sure you’ll find something new...”

“I had hoped you’d say something like that,” Julie interjected, “and I’ve already found something.”

“Maybe this time you won’t pick such a fancy place.”

“We’re safer in these luxury joints than in musty shacks where you only have to cough to open the doors.”

She had a point.

“I’m dreading the day David presents me the bill for our little trip,” Ally uttered and buried her nose into her questions.

“I’ll be by your side and defend you till the end,” Julie promised, smiling as if she was looking forward to it.

Ally lowered the papers and lifted an eyebrow. “Are you really enjoying this?”

Julie nodded, but then thought better and sat down next to Ally on the sofa. “Don’t get me wrong. I know how hard this must be for you. But, well, let’s be honest; Redmond really is Nowheresville, there’s nothing ever going on. And now we’re in Paris, getting to experience all those cool stuff. It’s awesome! We’ll tell our grandchildren about it, don’t you think?”

“To be honest, I’m not sure anymore if I made the right decision.”

“But…”

Ally lifted her hand. “If even half of what Jean told us is true, we really have a problem. And after the incident at the airport, I’m more than willing to believe him.”

“But Ally…”

“Julie, those were full grown tough guys. Maybe next time we’ll be out of luck.”

“But what about your dad? I thought you wanted to meet him.”

The sudden sting came unexpected and brought tears to her eyes. She took a shaky breath and covered her heart with one hand to calm it down. Did she want to meet her dad? More than anything in the world. But this was not some action movie, it could end in a disaster. Besides, Julie had brought up a question, she’d successfully ignored so far. “What if he doesn’t want to see me?” Her voice was a whisper and she blinked away tears.

“Oh Ally, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it like that!”

“It’s not your fault.”

“I only meant that we are so close. And then, well, the thing with the interview.”

“What about it?”

“It’s destiny, don’t you understand? You’re supposed to be here, the stars decided it years ago.”

Oh no, not again please.

“Don’t give me that look. The fact that we’re here today is predestined.”

Objecting would only lead to a speech about astral constellations in general and their ascendants in particular. Thanks, but no thanks. “If this is fate, then where is my dad? And why can’t we get more info from this useless pc? During the last ten minutes Jean has given us more to think about than hours of hunting down those stupid data.”

“You’ve got it all wrong. Jean was sent to us so we would take a step in the right direction.”

“And which direction would that be?”

“Well, I’m still thinking about that,” Julie feebly replied.

How could someone who spend most of the day with algorithms get carried away in esoteric stuff like astrology? Where was the sense in that?

~ * ~

Cole’s jaw was clenched. Slowly he turned the little pin between his thumb and index finger and concentrated for the hundred thousandth time…nothing! It was driving him insane. To avoid direct contact with the metal he was wearing gloves. The last thing he needed was to contaminate the energetic signature. It was flawless, the trace clean. But he couldn’t detect this filthy rat. Someone was helping him–screening him. Probably one of his men, someone gifted like him who prevented him from tracking down his worst enemy.

   Frowning, he contemplated. Only Marie had the talent to screen herself off. Judging by the strength of the protection, she had to be concentrating all her powers on Cole to deflect his locating efforts. But she had to sleep at some point or how would she be able to manage keeping it up for hours and hours every day? Or had he found new people? Cole doubted that. Espers like Marie were rare. But the deputy director of the
Firm
was under pressure. The election campaign was advancing and he knew he was atop of Cole’s hit list.

And the time for the kill had come. Unfortunately, he couldn’t get to him, so he had to find a way to get to this son of a bitsh. He was probably in a safe house near Washington D.C. He couldn’t be too far from his workplace, one, maybe two hours by car.

Cole leaned back and gently put the pin back in its case. Sooner or later he would get him, after all, this bastard couldn’t hide forever. He would make a mistake at some point and then it would be Cole’s turn.