She nodded. “Dr. Ross rarely leaves the building anymore. I think he’s survived on Starbucks for the last forty-eight hours.”
“Maybe we can chat in the morning, then.”
“I hope so.”
Zane turned and walked down the long hallway and tapped on the door at the end.
“Come in.”
Zane opened the door and entered what some called the nicest office in DC, even though it wasn’t technically located in the District. On the far side of the office was floor-to-ceiling glass that gave a stunning view of downtown Arlington and the Potomac beyond. In front of the glass was the Oracle’s massive mahogany desk, although no one was currently sitting there. In fact, the office was strangely dark.
“We’re over here,” Ross said.
Zane looked left toward a casual seating area. A leather couch and four plush chairs encircled a mahogany coffee table. It was the place Ross liked to use when meeting with a small group of people. He often said that the formal setting of a conference room made people more rigid and less likely to speak their mind. He was right.
As Zane walked in that direction, he noticed three people sitting in the dim light.
Ross stood and said, “Come have a seat. We have some important news about Carmen.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“SORRY FOR THE lack of formalities, but we need to get down to it.”
“I understand,” Zane said.
As Zane arrived at the seating area, he recognized Brett Foster sitting in one of the chairs.
“Welcome back, world traveler,” Brett said.
Brett’s official job title was chief technology specialist, but to most, he was known as Delphi’s resident geek. Only in his midthirties, he had a remarkable background. After graduating from MIT with honors, Foster worked for several research and development companies at the famed Research Triangle Park in North Carolina. The last company he worked for served as a consultant to both the FBI and the CIA, then his work caught the eye of several government officials. Like many other first world nations, the United States had long considered cyber war one of its biggest threats, perhaps even larger than the threat of a foreign military. Because of that, they were always on the lookout for more talent, particularly those working in private industry. Unfortunately, brilliant tech workers came at a price that was often too high for government budgets, and that was why the CIA’s head administrator at the Office of Information Technology passed Foster’s name along to Dr. Alexander Ross. If the government couldn’t find enough funds to hire someone like Brett Foster, then perhaps one of their contractors could.
Fortunately, Dr. Alexander Ross wasn’t just skilled in espionage and geopolitics, but he also had an astounding ability to identify and bring in talent. When interviewing Foster, he not only matched the young techie’s salary at the RTP firm, but he also sealed the deal by selling him on the excitement of covert work. It was the latter that won Brett over. Defying the stereotype of someone sitting at a desk all day, he had a spirit of adventure that hadn’t been satisfied in his previous work.
“It’s good to be back.” Zane took a seat. “I just wish it was under different circumstances.”
“I must say, you look a little rough, Zane Watson.” The speaker was Keiko, the world’s most advanced humanoid. She looked like an Asian woman in her thirties, and she could move, think, and speak in a way that blurred the line between human and machine. She had been developed by an organization connected to criminal activities. When Delphi had come up against that organization, Keiko was eventually recruited to switch sides, something made possible by the ethics programming she had received from Ian Higgs. Higgs was a NASA engineer who had been hired by the organization to build Keiko. When Higgs uncovered the group’s evil intentions, he left them and went on the run. He was killed a few days later by an assassin.
Higgs had been a genius in the world of technology, and he also happened to be the father of Delphi operative Amanda Higgs.
Zane smiled at Keiko. “You haven’t seen me in weeks, and that’s the first thing out of your mouth?”
“She can’t help herself,” Brett said with a smile. “She cannot tell a lie.”
Ross walked over to a small kitchenette behind the seating area. “Can I get you something to drink before we get started? A bottle of water?”
Zane held up his coffee. “I’m good. I may need more later, depending on how long we go.”
“We’re going to be here a while, that I can tell you.”
“I’ll take a water,” Brett said.
Ross opened a tiny stainless-steel refrigerator and removed two bottles. He gave one to Brett then sat down with the other. On any other night, Zane knew his boss would have shunned water for something stronger. The Oracle, as he was sometimes called by the Delphi team, would typically end the day with a trip to the roof of the building, which was accessed by a small spiral staircase next to the kitchenette. Once out in the open air, he would sip a glass of Scotch and smoke a cigar as he sorted through the events of the day. He said his best thinking happened there, away from electronic devices and the constant interruptions.
Ross looked at Zane. “First, let me fill you in on something you don’t know.”
Zane felt a pinch in his gut. Whatever Ross was about to say, it wasn’t going to be good.
“Dr. Noah Lind has been taken,” Ross said. “We believe it was the same group that took Carmen.”
Zane frowned. “What happened? The last I heard, the CIA was sending a team to pick him up.”
“They did. Unfortunately, one of Brehmer’s men got to him first. We believe the man posed as one of our agents.”
“Why do you say that?” Zane asked.
“One, there was no sign of forced entry at Lind’s home, nor was there any sign of a struggle.” Ross took a swig of water then set the bottle on the table. “But we also discovered something else. The NSA searched CCTV in the area and picked up a vehicle leaving the scene around the time we believe Lind was taken. The driver looked the part of an agent: dark suit, aviator sunglasses, the whole nine yards. We all know most agents don’t really dress like that, but that’s the Hollywood image, and it’s probably what someone like Lind would expect.”
“Was Lind in the car?” Zane asked.
“Yes, and that’s another reason we believe he was duped. He was riding in the back seat, and he had a calm look on his face. It was almost a look of relief.”
Zane nodded. “He thought he was being whisked to safety.”
Ross took another swig of water. “So now we know Brehmer has both Lind and Carmen. If I was looking for a silver lining, it’s that we might be able to kill the proverbial two birds with one stone. There’s a good chance they’ll both be taken to the same place, which means our work can be focused on tracking Brehmer and his entourage. We find them, and we likely find our two missing persons.”
Zane didn’t necessarily think it was a given that the two captives would be taken to the same place, but he understood why Ross was acting on that premise. “So what’s the latest on that?” he asked.
“I’ll let Brett take it from here.”
Brett lifted a remote control and pressed a button, lowering a screen from the ceiling. Seconds later, an image appeared. It seemed to be an aerial photograph of the end of a paved runway. Just to one side were three structures that looked like aircraft hangars.
“You’re looking at a private airfield about thirty kilometers outside of Milan,” Brett noted.
He pressed another button and zoomed in on one of the hangars. Zane leaned forward for a better look. A helicopter was parked on one side of the hangar, and a number of people were gathered around it.
Zane looked at Brett. “The chopper that left Brehmer’s estate?”