Rise of the Order (22 page)

“Who were you talking with?” he asked her once she got in and took her seat behind the wheel.

“One of the local wives.”

“So that's the polizei team?”

“Right. A little irony there. Looks like Conrad's boys are taking it out on the local cops in a big way. You plant all the receivers?”

“All I had.” Kurt had a smile on his face.

“What'd you do?”

“I thought about the coat, but figured Miko would hang it up somewhere and we would only get his conversation back to the castle.”

“Good point.”

“So I put it somewhere else.” He waited for her to guess, and when she didn't, he continued, “His shoes.”

“His shoes. Will we still pick up his conversation?”

“Should be no problem. These new ones are highly sensitive. I'll crank up the output.”

“And the others?”

He explained how he had slit the back collar on a couple of shirts and then glued it shut with the device inside.

“You sure you didn't bug one of the cops,” she asked.

“They were using the other locker room. Besides, I remembered what these guys were wearing.”

“Good.” Toni started her Alfa Romeo. “Then let's get back to the gasthaus for some breakfast and wait for these Bozos to go back to Conrad's castle.”

She pulled away, her front tires spinning on the packed snow.

●

Franz Martini sat at his desk in Vienna, contemplating what he should do with the information he had just received from his associate, Jack Donicht.

Cracking a window, Martini lit a cigarette and then slid his chair closer to the draft from the window. “I know I'm not supposed to smoke in the office, Jack, but I really need this one.”

“Do we tell Anna Schult?” Donicht asked. He had his third cup of morning coffee in his hands and he sipped it now.

“Just because this woman has no past beyond a few months ago. . .does that mean anything?”

“Sir, she has no past.”

Martini knew that all too well. He had brought up the subject himself after they had run her finger prints. “I know. But the bigger question is, what do we do with the information?”

Donicht shrugged. “It's beyond my pay grade, Franz.”

His too, really. But he did still have the triple murders to investigate, along with the Interpol liaison now. And that man's murder bothered him even more than the other three. What in the hell were nanoprobes? A bullet he understood. But this? Tiny objects flowing through a body having their way with his cells. How could you combat that? Maybe it was time for him to retire back to Tirol. He'd keep telling himself that until it came true.

“I think we need to play this out, Jack,” Martini said, taking another long hit on his cigarette. He let out the smoke in a stream and said, “Anna should know what we know.”

With that, Martini picked up his secure cell and punched in a number.

●

When Anna's cell phone rang, she was in the bakery in Uttendorf, sitting at a window table. Jake was ordering and waiting at the counter for the coffee. He shrugged at her as she picked up the phone from inside her jacket. He guessed it was Martini in Vienna.

“Ja?”

She listened carefully for more than two minutes and then simply said, “Understood.” She flipped off her cell and took a cup of coffee from Jake. He put a plate of pastries on the table between them.

“Who was that?”

She told him about what Franz Martini had told her and then she took a bite of an apple pastry.

“What does it mean?” she asked him.

“I don't know. She could be a criminal. She could have changed her name to get away from an ex-husband. Of course we already know about these nanoprobes. Crazy shit. Things you can't see taking over your body. What the hell's that?”

Washing down a piece of pastry with coffee, Anna then said, “I guess it's the future.”

“Right here and now, though.”

They finished up and left in a hurry, Anna driving with more determination now.

Jake knew this was getting much more complex than he initially thought, and that was a bitch. How in the hell did things always get screwed up like this? Well, if he had wanted safe he could have become an accountant. He shook with that thought.

It took Jake and Anna almost two hours to make it over the pass and back down into the St. Johann in Tirol area. Cars littered the edge of the highway like roadkill, some sticking out of the snow bank like they had been dropped from the sky.

They had stopped at a store on the outskirts of town to pick up some power bars and coffee for a thermos. While there Jake found a trail guide for the local cross country ski trails. They had viewed them online, but the folding map was a lot easier to carry than a laptop computer. Anna had skied most of the trails in her past. That was years ago, though.

She found a trailhead parking spot on the southwest side of town. The parking lot was nearly empty—only three cars—and they were all with local St. Johann license plates.

“Tourists will wait for the trails to be groomed,” Anna said, slinging her backpack over her shoulders and centering it on her back. She was wearing her skin-tight black ski outfit, with an orange and gold stripe from the ankle to under her arm, and then from her neck down to her wrists on both sides. She didn't look too happy about the extra weight in the backpack.

“Sorry about the gear,” Jake said. “We might need everything in there, though.” His pack was even heavier, and he adjusted it on his back, snapping the waist strap.

She swung her rifle over her back like she had so many times during biathlon competitions. “The rifle is four kilos, not including all of the extra bullets.”

Jake smiled at her. “Maybe that'll slow you down a little. Remember, I'm mostly a downhill skier. Take it easy on me, Fraulein Olympian.”

She skated off and said over her shoulder, “Just keep up.”

“Great,” Jake said, slinging Anna's second rifle over his shoulder, and following in hot pursuit.

Although the sun was out, the temperature had dropped significantly once the snow stopped. It didn't take long for ice to form on Jake's eyebrows and his exposed hair, where the sweat had made it wet.

Once they got up onto the trail, Anna did slow down. Jake wasn't sure if that was for his sake, or if the weight had become a problem for her. Regardless, he was glad she was now taking her time. Only problem was her distractingly fine ass in the tight suit ahead of him. He almost ran off the trail a few times. The snow was deep, but a few other skiers had made a trail, allowing them to simply stay in those tracks.

She stopped on the trail ahead and waited for Jake. When he caught up she said, “There. Up ahead.”

Through the trees a couple of kilometers around a bend in the mountain, a massive castle rose up from the base, surrounded by thick pines.

“Wow. That's some place.” If it looked that big from this distance, it would be even more impressive up close.

Anna pulled out her map. “The trail rises up about a kilometer ahead. Then it switches back over that ridge and comes back around to the west and south to form the loop.”

“We'll need to take our time now,” Jake said. “Just like normal recreational skiers.”

“Tired?” She had a grin that would not end.

“A little.”

“I like a man who tells the truth.”

“I do that when I must,” he said. “I figured the heavy breathing and the sweat would be a dead giveaway anyhow.”

She shuffled her skis to the side and slipped backward into Jake. Then she kissed him on the lips and pulled away. “Salt. Yeah, you might want to take a drink of water.”

He licked his lips and shook his head.

She headed out again at a slow, gradual slide. He followed, and she had been right, the trail rose up and became quite steep. Luckily, Anna had used the right wax on both sets of skis.

Soon they came to a flat stretch and Jake could see the castle coming up on their right. He could hear cars approaching the castle, and then they came into view as six vehicles went through the front gate. Moving forward more cautiously now, he guessed when they got even with the castle it would be some two hundred meters below them, as the raven flew. Perhaps two fifty on foot. But the snow was deep there. It would not be easy.

Stopping before she came upon the castle, Anna waited for Jake. He put up one finger to his lips as he approached.

“Sound really carries,” he whispered. He didn't see anyone outside near the castle, but that didn't mean they weren't there. He glanced about and saw that the trees on the entire ridge were mostly pines of various size. They would have plenty of cover. He had her wait there while he slid along the trail past the castle, looking for the best location. It didn't take him long. There was a rock formation with short, bushy pines around it, protecting it from view from the bottom and from the trail above. He waved for her to come forward. He had stopped along a group of pines, where he could step out of the skis onto the snow under them and not alert a skier that he had departed the trail. He had her do the same thing, and then they stepped down through the trees to the precipice surrounded by trees.

Quietly, they pushed snow aside like a nest. Within an hour they were settled into place on the southwest corner of Conrad's castle. From there they had a view of the back garden, one side of the structure, and the drive and gate out front. They could see part of the parking lot out front, but most of the cars were out of view. Now they would wait for dark.

●

Inside the castle, Conrad's men wandered about the place like they owned it—grabbing beer from the refrigerator and Scotch and schnapps from the bar in the sitting room on the first floor.

Conrad, a beer in his hand, rubbed his shoulder with his free hand.

Alexandra came up behind him and started massaging his shoulders. She had slept in and stayed behind. “You take a hit?”

“You should have seen it,” Conrad said, his eyes bright. “I felt like a kid again.”

Miko approached, taking a long swig of beer. “He scored two goals today,” he said to Alexandra. “Almost a hat trick.”

“I had no idea you were so good,” she said. Although she had heard he was a fine player for the German team many years ago.

“Well, we were playing local boys.”

Miko laughed and said, “Polizei. We smashed them.”

Conrad shook his head. “You're lucky they didn't arrest you for assault. Two of their players had to go for stitches. I must shower.” He left Alexandra there with Miko.

The Czech, making sure Conrad had gone upstairs, shifted his gaze on Alexandra. “You like hockey?”

“Not really,” she said, wanting to get the hell out of there. The man was always eating radishes, and his breath was foul.

“No?” He stepped closer, his lips next to her ear. “But I hear you like to fuck.” He ran his hand to her shapely buttocks and squeezed down.

She took his little finger and pulled back, bringing instant pain to him, until he slowly pulled his hand away. He seemed to enjoy the pain.

“Hermann gives me plenty,” she whispered back at him.

He took another swig of his beer, finishing it. “I've seen him in the locker room. I can give you so much more.”

Wanting to spit in his face, she held back. She had to calm herself. This man meant nothing. He was a lower-level player. Conrad was the man. She simply brushed by Miko and whispered, “I thought you liked little boys.”

Not knowing his expression, she kept walking until she reached the master suite, locking the door behind her. Moving to the window, she looked out at the back yard and the dead garden, the snow glimmering in the sunlight. Was that movement on the mountainside? A deer looking for food, perhaps. Her mind drifted and she wondered how long it would take before the first man hit on her. Less than twenty-four hours. Not a record, but not too unimpressive. Maybe she could use that tension to her advantage. Backing away from the window, she smiled and lay back onto the bed, the shower echoing through the wall at her.

●

Toni and Kurt had watched from the gasthaus as the cars rushed past their window back toward Conrad's castle. Kurt had set up the bugs to stream to a recorder. He could listen to only one at a time, though.

“Did you just hear that?” Kurt said to Toni, who was laying on the bed, her eyes closed.

“Hear what?”

“It was Miko. He just asked Conrad's girlfriend for a fuck.”

Toni's eyes opened. “Really? What'd she say?”

“First, it sounded like she did something physical to him. Maybe grabbed him in the balls. Then said she gets plenty from Conrad, and said she thought Miko liked young boys.”

She sat up in the bed. “That's balls,” Toni said. “Doesn't she know this guy is a killer?”

“I don't know. Maybe she knows Conrad will protect her. Anyway, the bugs are working. Conrad is taking a shower.”

“Hope he puts the same shoes back on.”

“If he's a real guy, he probably only has the one pair with him.”

She looked down at Kurt's hiking cross-trainers. “Maybe you're right. Why don't you call Jake.” She lay back down on the bed.

He took out his cell phone and tried calling, but there was no answer. “Doesn't answer.”

“If I know Jake, he's probably already in place with his phone off.”

Kurt picked up an earpiece with a thin microphone. “When it gets closer to the time, we can get him on this.”

She patted the bed. “Better get some rest. Could be a long night.”

●

The small plane flew over the peaks of the Austrian Alps, Franz Martini in a seat just behind the pilot, his eyes on the snowy mountains below, and his assistant, Jack Donicht, sat in the seat next to his boss, trying his best to keep down his lunch. He hated to fly, and only Martini's order had made him come along.