“Please tell me he found Zane,” Carmen said.
“We won’t know whether he has or not until we get some more information, but we think we may have solved the mystery of the signal transmitting from the middle of the lake. When Chris looked at the photographs, he started with the smaller boats. I think we all agree that it’s not likely Zane would have commandeered one of them, nor is it likely he’d be transported on one if he’d been taken captive. So, having crossed the smaller boats off the list, Chris moved on to the larger steam-powered boats. He was able to confirm one as a tour boat almost immediately.”
“You’re talking about one of the cruise boats?” Carmen asked. “We saw a few of those embarking from Geneva. I was surprised because I thought they shut down in the winter.”
“They’re not shut down, but there's a reduced schedule until spring.”
“Got it. That makes sense. I think it’s the same on the northern lakes in Italy.”
“Anyway,” Brett continued, “when Chris examined the second boat, he noticed something different right off the bat. Ordinarily, at the back of these tour boats you’ll see some arrangement of tables and chairs for the tourists — a place where they can sit down with a glass of wine and enjoy the view. It’s the same design that every single tour boat uses on Lake Geneva. But not this one. There were no tables and no rows of chairs. Nothing. The back end has been completely redesigned. It basically looked like the back of a yacht.”
“Let me guess — Renaissance has just such a boat licensed in Switzerland.”
“We don’t know that yet,” Brett replied. “Unfortunately it’s been tough putting our hands on licensing information. You know how the Swiss are about the privacy of wealthy citizens. But here is the other strange thing. In examining a number of sequential photographs, we determined that the first boat, the one we were able to confirm as a tour boat, moved across the lake in a pattern consistent with some of the known cruise routes.”
“And the other didn’t?”
“Not at all. It appears to be anchored in place.”
Carmen stared at the lake through the window, almost as though hopeful she might see the very boat Brett had described. “I think Zane is on that boat, Brett.”
“I’d have to agree with—”
“Look, I understand the excitement,” the Oracle interrupted. “But I have to be the voice of reason here. I hadn’t given up on Zane when we lost the signal, and I’m certainly not about to give up on him now, but let’s not declare we’ve found him just because we’ve located an anchored boat.”
“If we can’t get boat licensing information through public channels, I’m going to have to do it the old-fashioned way — I’m going to hack into their system,” Brett offered.
Carmen nodded. “And if they do have a large boat registered, we need to be ready to move.”
“Which reminds me, there is one other thing I wanted to tell you,” said the Oracle. “I think you’ll be happy to know that Reid and Skinner are on their way from Zurich.” He could be heard tapping on his computer. “They’re arriving at one fifteen and will proceed directly to your hotel. Brett has already booked their room on the floor just below yours.”
Connor Reid and Cleavon Skinner had only been with the organization for a couple of years but had already proven their mettle in the field. Carmen had worked with both of them and had a great deal of respect for each. Reid was a short but solidly built man with close-cropped blond hair. Zane often called him the world’s toughest fire hydrant. Cleavon Skinner was a tall African American who operated primarily in the Mediterranean region. He was a weapons and ballistics expert and was often brought into an operation on an as-needed basis. It pleased Carmen that he was on his way to Vevey.
“That is good news,” said Carmen.
“I want the three of you to call me back when they arrive. Hopefully, by then we can confirm the registration of that boat.
“Switching gears, do you have me on speaker?” the Oracle asked, lowering his voice.
“No.”
“I wanted to tell you a couple of things. Brett is heading out on a charter within the hour and should arrive in Geneva this evening.”
“He’s coming here? Interesting.”
“We have a man missing, and we have an organization that is willing to kill in order to hide something. The Director wants this to have our full attention, and I’m deploying as many assets as necessary to wrap this up. And we haven’t even really discussed the fact that something, an event of some sort, is about to go down. Mironov’s frequent meetings with Marrese, as well as the death of Ian Higgs, indicates trouble is brewing.”
“I concur. There is no doubt in my mind that something is being cooked up as we speak.”
“But the reason I asked if you were on speaker phone is because of the second thing that I needed to tell you. You’re going to need to put the Higgs girl on the next train to Geneva.”
“Of course,” she said in a measured tone, making sure Amanda wouldn’t be able to follow anything that was being said.
“There is no good reason to keep her involved anymore, and I don’t want her anywhere near a tactical operation, assuming we launch one. She’s done all she can, and we can’t allow her to be in harm’s way going forward.”
“I couldn’t agree more.”
“At some point she’ll need to be debriefed and asked to sign some papers, assuming she’s willing to do that. I’d even like to have someone accompany her back to the States, just to be on the safe side.
“So in the meantime, we’ll put her in a room next to Brett in Geneva, away from the action. I’ll send you an encoded message with the accommodation information when we get off.”
“Understood.”
“Be safe. I’ll be back in touch.”
Carmen ended the call. She looked up and saw that Amanda was sitting on the bed, staring at her.
“So, do they think they’ve found Zane?” Amanda asked.
“It’s hard to know for sure, but we think he may be on a boat on Lake Geneva.”
“A boat?” A confused look spread across Amanda's face.
“Yes, but at this point it’s just a reasonable guess.” Carmen bit her lower lip, measuring her next words. “Amanda, I have something else I need to tell you.”
Amanda frowned. “That doesn’t sound good.”
“Actually it is good. It’s possible that we may move forward with a tactical operation soon. In fact, two other operatives are on the way, as we speak. Which brings me to this. Since it’s no longer a matter of following clues that were left by your father and—”
“Let me save you some time. Basically, you’re telling me it’s the end of the road.”
Carmen realized that now was not the time to pussyfoot around and give Amanda the hope that she could still be involved. “Yes, that is exactly what I’m telling you.”
“But I get to stay here, right? I mean, I’m not leaving until we find out what happened to Zane.” Amanda crossed her arms.
“You’ll be in Switzerland, just not here.”
“Where?”
“In Geneva, with Brett,” Carmen said.
There were a couple of minutes of uncomfortable silence, and then Amanda lifted her head and said, “Good. I’m fine with that.”
“Great.” Carmen was relieved that Amanda had turned so quickly, but then again, she almost seemed too compliant. Was she planning on taking matters in her own hands?
Truth be told, if she tried to strike out on her own, there wasn’t anything they could do to stop her.