A white-coated lab rat kept sneaking glimpses of Collette as she moved around the room, a man who could only dream of getting close to a woman like her-under any circumstances. She smiled to herself as she eyed him in the glass of one of the blank screens. Men are so weak. She learned early to use their weaknesses to her advantage. It had served her well.
“Now, you’re sure there is no way outsiders can invade this room with surveillance equipment. I don’t want them to catch me visiting this plant and I need to monitor whether we have any electronic intrusions here.”
The lab rat looked at her, his face reddening. Her glare probably made the guy believe she could read his dirty thoughts. “I’m sure this is safe, miss…”
“I need you guys to be able to tell me if anyone-anyone-tries to invade our security system. Let me know immediately.”
Lab rat shook his head. “Yes, sir…uh, miss.”
Folding her arms, she studied the screens that recorded all movement inside and outside the building. Her cell phone vibrated. She picked it up, listening for a moment. “Good. Have them escort you here with your equipment. We’ll set up shop in this room. I’m told there’s no monitoring here and you’ll be shielded from any external surveillance. I want you to make sure.”
Shoving the phone back into her denim trousers, she watched Lab Rat eyeing her reflection. “Like what you see?”
The man hurriedly focused on the live screens in front of him.
A tap on the door prompted her to open it. “Come on in, guys.” She turned toward Lab Rat. “Okay, now that you got an eyeful, get out of here and let my team take over.”
The man’s face looked the color of a red tomato as he scurried from the room. Her team filed in and slammed the door shut.
“I think we got beat, guys.” Gerrit turned the screen so the others could see. “Can you rewind that last bit of surveillance tape?”
“Sure thing, Mr. G.” Willy’s nimble fingers danced across the keyboard, sending the figures on the screen moving backward as the tape rewound.
“There, stop it right there. Now, start the tape. When I give the word, freeze it.”
Willy nodded as he punched in codes. The computer screen picked up a signal beamed to them by a surveillance camera in the hallway just outside the plant’s security office. Several men carrying large bags worked their way down the hall toward the camera. One of the men tapped on the door with his knuckles. The door opened and a woman emerged.
“There. Freeze that.”
Willy complied.
“Great. Now, zoom in on her face.”
“Okay.” Willy zeroed in until her image took up the whole screen.
“That’s her! Kane used this woman in Vienna. She’s the one who visited my hotel room.” He saw Alena give him a hard look. “Hey, I thought you guys were watching.” He saw her eyes cloud. “I guess you weren’t watching that close. She left a few minutes after knocking on my door.”
Redneck drew closer. “Wow. She looks like she could give Al a run for her money. And you let her get away?” He gave Gerrit a wolfish look. “Yeah, right.”
Alena scowled, looking at Collette’s face. “So, she came to your room and you…what?” She turned her head toward him, waiting for his answer.
“I think Kane used her to set me up.” Gerrit pointed at Collette’s face, trying to steer the conversation back to their operation. “This confirms they know we’re here and that they heard the conversation I had with Summers before they killed him.”
Redneck gestured toward Gerrit. “So what? We go in, find out what we need to know, and get out. If they get in the way, I’ll take them out. Very simple, jarhead.”
Willy jerked. “Hey guys, we’ve got trouble.”
Gerrit looked his way. “Speak to me, Willy.”
“They sent out electronic probes, search signals to read whether someone has tried to enter their system through unusual channels.”
“You mean like through a satellite feed?”
Willy nodded. “Exactly. They’re more sophisticated than I gave them credit for. They might be almost as smart as Joe and I.”
“Almost?”
“Yeah, Mr. G. Almost. They can track my signals. They only know that I’ve somehow invaded their system. I see them searching, but they’re coming up empty.”
“Can they track it to where we are right now?”
Willy stared at him as if Gerrit had just suggested the Pope sanctioned sin. “Not in a million years.”
Gerrit looked at the screen. “This still is not good news. They suspect we’re coming and they’ll take every precaution to prevent us from getting inside.”
Alena shifted in her seat. “So what are we going to do?”
Leaning back, Gerrit looked at each person in the van. “We’re going to figure a way to get Alena and me inside. Let’s pack it up and find a motel.”
Alena shot him a look. “I thought we were using the safe house?”
“Change of plans,” Gerrit said. “Just want to switch it up in case anyone has tapped into our plans.”
Collette walked over to where one of her crew sat in the chair vacated by Lab Rat. She leaned on the man’s shoulder. A large laptop, bulkier than the ones most people carry around, sat on the counter in front of him, line tied into the plant’s network system.
“They’re gone, Collette. They pulled their probes back and cut the signal. They’ve vanished.”
She slapped the counter. “They are still in the area because they have not gotten what they came here to steal.”
The man nodded and turned back toward his computer.
Collette fumed. Just show me your face once, Gerrit. That’s all I ask. Just give me one opportunity to kill you.
She pulled over a rolling chair and settled in. They had to come to her. And she would be waiting.