"It wouldn't be the first time."
"If all he's doing is rattling sabers he's burning up a lot of rubles and resources to do it."
Elizabeth looked at the screen. Russia's modern highways were concentrated west of the Urals in a complex web with Moscow at the center. The satellite feed showed heavy military traffic moving through and around and out of the city. From the high perspective of the satellite camera, it looked as though someone had kicked over an anthill.
Elizabeth reached for her coffee cup and found it empty.
"Why don't you give Lucas a call and see what he thinks about this?"
Stephanie looked unhappy. "It might be better if you did that."
Elizabeth caught a tense undertone in Stephanie's voice.
"Is something the matter between the two of you?"
"It's just that lately we haven't been talking much without arguing."
"Come on, Steph, tell me what's going on."
"He wants to have another baby."
"And you don't?"
"I don't know. Not after what happened last time."
"But that's not going to happen again."
"You don't know that." Stephanie's voice was flat.
"Oh, Steph. This isn't like you."
"You weren't the one in that car. You weren't the one who lost a baby. So don't tell me that it isn't like me to feel the way I feel."
Stephanie got up and walked out of the room.
Elizabeth watched her go. This is turning into one of those days, she thought.
CHAPTER 25
Valentina sat in the lobby of the Sacher Hotel pretending to read a magazine and watching the elevator, waiting for Selena to make an appearance. Late morning sunlight streamed through the windows. The snow had stopped but the sky was dark and heavy with the promise of more to come, the kind of day that made you think of hot chocolate, the smell of freshly baked pastries and the warmth of a café. There was something about Vienna that made you think like that.
The night before she'd taken a table not far from where Selena and her companions were eating dinner. They hadn't noticed her. She hadn't expected that they would. This was as close as she'd ever gotten to her half-sister. She wanted to talk to Selena. She wanted to ask her about their father. But she couldn't very well just walk up to her. Valentina hadn't yet figured out what she was going to do. Meanwhile it was enough to be nearby.
The elevator doors opened and Selena came out. She was alone. Valentina watched her walk out the entrance, then got up and followed her.
The Sacher Hotel was located in the heart of Vienna, near many of the exclusive shops the city had to offer. Selena waved off offers of a cab and began walking. Valentina followed a half block behind. She watched to see if her sister would use basic tradecraft and check to see if she was being tailed. After ten minutes there was no sign that Selena was thinking about anything except what she might see in the shop windows. She could have been using the windows to check behind her but that was an inefficient precaution against someone with Valentina's skills. It confirmed what Valentina already suspected. Selena was accomplished in many ways but she didn't have the kind of training Valentina took for granted.
Selena halted to look at a display in a window. A dark blue Mercedes van pulled up and stopped by the curb near her. Two men jumped from the van and grabbed her while one held something over her face. Selena struggled and went limp.
Chloroform, or something like it, Valentina thought. Shit.
The men threw Selena into the van and got in after her. The van pulled away into traffic. The kidnapping had taken less than half a minute. Pedestrians on the sidewalk stood in numb confusion watching the van speed away. Valentina stepped out into the street and waved down a taxi.
"You see that van going down the block? The blue Mercedes?" She addressed the cab driver in German.
"Yes."
"Follow it. Don't get too close. A hundred dollars American if you don't lose it."
"Lady, I don't do nothing illegal."
"Two hundred. All you have to do is keep it in sight."
The driver pulled out after the van and activated his meter. "Give me the money."
Valentina took two $100 bills out of her purse. She gave him one and held up the other.
"One now. One when we get where we're going."
The driver shrugged and pocketed the bill. Ahead of them the blue van drove at a steady pace through the city. The taxi followed about a block behind. The van was keeping to the speed limit, careful to avoid attention.
Valentina was unarmed. She avoided taking weapons when she had to fly anywhere. There was usually something that could be improvised if the need arose.
Who are they? she thought. That took planning, grabbing her like that in broad daylight and then just driving away. Somebody knows what they're doing.
She debated calling the hotel and alerting Selena's companions but thought better of it. For one thing, she didn't know where the van was going. Wherever they were taking Selena, it would take too much time for her team to get to her. Somehow Valentina didn't think Selena had a lot of time.
They had driven out of the more prosperous parts of the city into an industrial area.
"Where are we?" Valentina said.
"Liesing district."
They passed by a huge open market off the highway. Ahead lay a complex of refineries and enormous round storage tanks. The van with Selena turned off onto a service road leading into a maze of tanks and towers and chimneys. The landscape was like something conceived for a science fiction movie, all convoluted pipes and steel and flames from the top of tall chimneys. The air smelled of sulfur and something unpleasant. The refinery was an alien environment, hostile to humans.
The area seemed deserted.
"Where is everyone?"
"It's Sunday," the driver said. "Maybe in church."
There was no traffic. The van and the taxi were the only vehicles.
"Slow down. Don't let them see you."
The taxi fell back. The van turned and disappeared behind one of the huge storage tanks.
"Stop there by that tank," Valentina said. "Don't make the turn. I want to look and see where they went."
"Another hundred," the driver said.
Valentina thought of teaching him a lesson about greed. There might be time for that later but for now she needed him.
"All right. But that's all. You'll get the money when we go back."
The driver stopped the car. Valentina got out and eased her way around the tank until she could see what lay beyond. The blue van was parked by a large office trailer mounted on a permanent foundation. Blinds were drawn on the windows. She went back to the cab.
"Wait here," she told the driver. "I may be a few minutes."
She held up the money to make her point. The driver took out a cigarette and lit it.
Valentina made a crouching run to the side of the trailer. There had to be at least three men inside with Selena, the two who had grabbed her and the driver of the van. A short flight of steps led up to the door. She went up the steps, silent as a shadow. She placed her ear against the door and heard voices.
"She's waking up."
The voice was wet, unpleasant. In her mind's eye, Valentina thought of a frog.
"Good. Make sure those zip ties are tight. We need her awake. Is the camera ready?"
The second voice spoke with authority. Boss man.
"Just give me a minute."
The third voice had a whiny quality to it, almost adolescent sounding.
"Whoever uses this office is in for a big surprise when they come back to work," Frog Voice said. He chuckled, a nasty, gargled sound with no humor in it.
"Camera's ready," the whiny man said.