Jennifer dropped me off at the nearest stairwell to the underground, on Munchener Strasse. I trotted down the stairs, wondering what that conversation had been about. Something was going on with her, and I didn’t know if I wanted to push to find out. Might not like the answer.
Knuckles called and said, “He’s getting on the S-Nine. Headed west. You want us to pull off?”
Jesus. “What the hell difference does it make what I say? You’ll just ignore me.”
I hung up the phone and entered the cafe. I went to the box Knuckles had indicated, not wasting time with Internet Explorer. I shoved in the thumb drive and waited on the results.
The first hit was simply an IP address, with nothing showing other than that the computers had talked. The second was the State Department travel site again, only this time two names were highlighted. Both had entered Germany two days ago through Berlin. Now both were headed out on flights to Doha, Qatar, from Frankfurt in six hours.
What the hell is he doing?
I racked my brain trying to find connections. Nothing here indicated anything with the peace process he’d tried so valiantly to “protect,” yet there was no way these two State personnel weren’t involved in it. And the fact that he was even looking told me he was as well.
I brought up the final website and saw a plane reservation. For one Lucas Kane. To Qatar. I flipped to the State page and saw it was the same flight.
I thought about the implications and realized something else. He’s just entered into the Taskforce crosshairs again. Officially. That fucker is mine.
I shut the computer down, dialing my phone. “Knuckles, get the men back to the hotel. Pull off Lucas now.”
“Yeah, yeah. You sound like a broken record.”
“No, dammit. Get them back before they get any more burned. We’re going to need them. Lucas is going operational.”
Back in the hotel, I contacted the Taskforce through our company VPN. Before talking to Kurt, I needed additional evidence, so I had some analysts do a little research first. While they plugged away, I considered what I was going to say. How I could soften the blow of the team’s location and current activities. I didn’t come up with anything solid, and, after getting my research answers, decided to simply tell the truth.
Kurt was smiling on the screen, but I was fairly sure I would knock that grin off pretty quickly.
“Hey, Pike. Good work the other day. Your usual high-adventure, but the Council was impressed.”
“Great. We’re going to need the love. Where’s Blaine and the support crew right now?”
“The Taskforce bird ‘broke down’ in Shannon, Ireland. I know it’s BS, but let it go. Why?”
Here we go. “You need to get them to Qatar immediately. Lucas Kane is doing something operational. I don’t know what, but he’s headed there in six hours.”
There goes the grin.
“What the hell are you talking about? How do you know anything about Lucas Kane?”
“I tracked him to Frankfurt. I’m on him now, and he’s flying to Qatar on the same commercial flight as two State Department personnel.”
“You did what? Jesus Christ, Pike! We have no authority for this. No Omega in Europe. What the hell are you doing? Trying to destroy the Taskforce?”
I didn’t reply, letting him get some steam off. He finally said, “Well? You going to tell me why you’ve got a rogue Taskforce team running amok? Give me some incredible reason why you disobeyed direct orders from the president of the United States?”
“Lucas murdered my family. I came here to kill him.”
His mouth opened, then closed without saying anything, so I continued. “Jennifer found Heather’s driver’s license in his room, along with Ethan Meriweather’s. Lucas killed them both. She also found another license. I ran a check on the name through the Taskforce law enforcement section. It was Meredith Madison, the senator’s wife. Remember she was killed in a hit-and-run? Never solved? And Senator Madison retired shortly thereafter? Lucas killed her as well, for God knows who.”
Nothing came from the computer, Kurt’s face stunned. Reflecting on my statements. Eventually, he focused back on me. “Pike, I honestly don’t know what to say.”
“Sir, that’s water under the bridge now. I didn’t kill him, and during the surveillance operation we found evidence that he’s still got designs on the peace process. He’s headed to Qatar, and I need to beat him there. Can you get me a plane?”
“What? Slow down. This is coming a little fast. What do you have?”
I gave him a rundown from start to finish. When I was done, I said, “I need to get to Qatar ahead of him. I’m sending Brett and Decoy on the flight, but I need to prep the terrain, and I need that support package with Blaine.”
“It’s nine hours from Ireland to Dubai. Lucas will be there in twelve. I don’t have time to get them to you first. I don’t even have Oversight approval to begin.”
“Sir, no offense, but Lucas isn’t going to wait on the Oversight Council to pull their head out of the sand. He’s on the hunt, and someone’s going to pay.”
Kurt said nothing for a moment, coming to grips with the threat. Finally, he nodded and said, “Make sure it’s him.”
Yes. An evil grin slipped out. “Trust me, I fucking intend to.”