McLean went through a long sequence of photos, mostly of little people in Scotland and then from the last few days in Oslo.
Anna raised her hand and said, “What do they have to do with Victor Petrova?”
“They’re all thick as thieves together,” Jimmy explained. “We suspect Petrova will use these people to spread the virus around the world.”
Kjersti broke in now. “Not to actually spread the virus, though. I’m guessing Petrova has some kind of monetary incentive — like international blackmail. He doesn’t seem like a terrorist without a Euro symbol.”
“Good point,” Jimmy said. “We discussed that at great length last night and came to the same conclusion.” He flipped to the next photo. “This is Colonel Reed, a former American Air Force officer and with the old CIA and the new Agency. He was hired by Petrova to collect the virus in the Arctic. Reed, in turn, hired this man.” A photo of Jake Adams filled the screen.
Anna took a deep breath as she watched the photo of Jake. He was standing in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. He was so handsome, she thought.
“I’m sure most of you know of Jake Adams,” Jimmy said. He went on to brief the others about Jake’s career. When he was done, he said, “That pretty much brings us up to date. Oh, yeah.” He went to the next screen and added, “This is Agency officer Toni Contardo. She is running the operation here in Norway now; however, she is currently with Colonel Reed following Victor Petrova and will brief us by phone in a moment. But first we need to be briefed by the two of you.” Jimmy McLean lay his right hand, palm up, out toward Anna and Kjersti.
When Anna saw Toni’s picture, she couldn’t believe it. Jake’s former lover was running the op. A woman who had haunted her relationship with Jake for two years.
“You all right?” Kjersti asked.
“Yes. If fine. Could you brief them?”
Kjersti nodded and got up. While she ran through everything that had happened to the three of them over the past few days, Anna stared at the last picture that remained on the huge screen. Damn it. It had to be a beautiful photo of Toni also. Why couldn’t it be one with the woman’s hair all messed up?
24
Travel by car was Jake’s favorite form. He had near-complete control over his actions and was not dependent on others. It also allowed him to clear his mind and run everything through, including possible scenarios. Traveling alone was even more cleansing, since he wasn’t required to keep up inane banter. It wasn’t that he was sick of traveling with Anna and Kjersti. They were both great conversationalists and comfortable associates. Christ, what was the matter with him? Now he was thinking of Anna as an associate? She was much more than that. He knew he loved her, even though he had a hard time bringing the words to his lips first. Perhaps he should be more responsive and feeling. He even knew in his heart that he had been a royal pain in the ass the last few months. And why? Hell, he was no shrink. Didn’t believe in them. If a man couldn’t grow a set and straighten himself out, then he didn’t deserve to take up space on this planet. Suck it up. That had always been his mantra. You drink too much; stop the damn drinking. You gain too much weight? Don’t eat so damn much and get the hell off the sofa. Easy to think and easy to say, but not always that easy in practice, he knew. Maybe part of a man questioned if he should live anymore. What was the point? Did he have a purpose on Earth? Without a case to work over the past three months, Jake had fallen into that questioning mode. Wondering if he had anything else to give society. He was tired of playing the game of life. Exhausted by living life on the cold edge of reality. He didn’t even want to consider how many people had died by his hands. And why? Because someone had determined them to be the enemy. Not someone. Society. But still…what kind of man loses count of how many people he has killed? Was the number too high? Was it too much for his conscience to consider?
He contemplated all of these things as he drove through Hamar, Norway and on to Lillehammer. He had never been to this Olympic site, but had heard great things from Anna and seen her photos of her Olympic experience on the Austrian Biathlon Team. The two of them had talked about going to Lillehammer on vacation, but never had. When you live in Austria, the skiing capital of the world, it’s hard to justify going anywhere else, especially an inferior site, just to do the same thing.
When he finally got to Lillehammer, he was reminded somewhat of Austria, although the surrounding mountains were nowhere near as dramatic. Still, the place had its own charm. It was late afternoon.
He went directly to downtown and pulled over to the curb in front of a restaurant. Food. That’s what he needed.
As he ate a late lunch and early dinner, he watched people pass by outside. When he saw a little person shuffling along, his mind immediately went to the recent photo of Victor Petrova. But it wasn’t him. This man was younger and had blond hair spiked up by jell. He finished his meal and drank a cup of coffee. Then he saw another little person walk past. This one, a bald man, was mumbling something aloud, just like the first one had. He didn’t want it too, but his mind considered the possibility that a circus was in town.
After dinner, Jake drove to the outskirts of town, near the Olympic ski jump, and paid for a room at a small B&B with cash. He still had plenty left from cash advances at ATMs along the way in Sweden. He couldn’t use any cards from now on, though. All cash.
He lay down on his bed and rested, knowing he would be up late that night. He crashed immediately into a deep sleep.
Hours later, he startled awake, coming out of a dream. He had dreamt of he and Anna together in a cabin in the Tyrolean mountains, a fire burning in a river-stone fireplace. Anna walked across the hardwood floors in her nightgown carrying something in her arms. And then the windows burst in with gunfire and Anna fell to the floor, dropping what she was carrying. Jake couldn’t respond soon enough to save her. What kind of man was he? Not even able to save the woman he loved in their own home. Their home?
He rubbed his eyes and yawned. It was dark outside. He lit his watch and saw it was an hour from midnight. Time to move out.
Dressing in black clothes, from his military tactical boots to a long-sleeve black Under Armor shirt, he strapped his 9mm auto under his arm and slipped a Gortex jacket over that. He checked the gear in his backpack. Extra magazines. Binoculars and Night Vision Goggles. Handheld GPS. Digital camera. He checked his cell phone and saw it was still turned off. No need to check for messages. He might have one from Anna and another from Kurt Jenkins. Maybe Colonel Reed. Digging deeper into the backpack, he found a lock pick kit and a couple of tools, including a hex-head screw driver, which he shoved into his back pocket. Then he locked up and left.
First he drove back to town and found a car parked in a large hotel parking lot. It was a Saab like his — same year and color. It was also from Sweden. Perfect. In less than a minute, he had swapped the plates from his car to the other. Nobody checked their own plates. Hell, most people didn’t even remember the numbers and letters from their own plates.
Then Jake drove out of town to a remote lake, where large houses sat on the banks, their wealthy occupants saying to anyone looking: “Hey, I’ve got a shitload of money, and you don’t.”
At the far end of the lake, the most impressive place sat on a hill back into the forest, with a long strip of grass leading down to the water’s edge. Jake knew there was a gate ahead that would need a code or buzzing in from someone inside. But he didn’t get that far. Instead, he found a little road that pulled off toward the mountains, where Jake found a place to park.