Hunter waited for Abbie to go upstairs to take a bath, then made sure the house was locked and all alarms were on.
He’d figure a way around taking her with him.
She would tell him the last part of how to access the database by tonight.
Borys shoved a bowl of jambalaya at Hunter with a bottle of water, grumbling that he had no appreciation for his talents in the kitchen when he stalked off. Hunter locked the office door before setting up the videoconference connection with BAD again.
This time, Gotthard came on and had him wait until he’d routed Joe and Retter’s computers into the conference since the other two were off-site.
All three faces appeared in boxes on Hunter’s monitor.
“I have a solid plan for inserting into the Kore center and accessing the records by Friday morning,” Hunter stated, opening the conference. “I’ll offer a sizeable donation to the Kore Women’s Center based on reviewing the facility in person. It’s good timing after having just attended the fund-raiser. Let them think the donation is motivated by sympathy for Gwen. Once I’ve toured the facility I’ll find a way to insert later that night.”
“What about getting into the database?” Joe asked.
“The quickest access is through patient files, but that’s only available while the patient is physically on the premises and checked into the system,” Hunter explained. “It’s a dual access that requires a staff member’s code, and that changes daily. I’ll breach the employee files to find out how they receive their individual daily code, then locate a current patient to tap their information.”
That sounded so simple. It wasn’t. Gotthard was the only one who might question Hunter for more specifics, but he didn’t.
“How you going to get around after hours?” Gotthard had asked the question, but Hunter knew his friend was voicing what he’d expect Joe or Retter to be thinking.
“There are men in the genetic testing center.” Hunter caught a whisper of surprise in Retter and Joe’s faces.
Surprise or suspicion?
Hunter had no idea if there was an area for men or not, but Abbie had said a former patient could come in. Why couldn’t a former male patient come in? The Fratelli were a male-dominated organization. Seemed highly possible that Wentworth would have a private area where no one would see the men come and go. Would Joe go for his plan? Depended on how much time they had. “Any word from our contact?”
“Yes,” Gotthard answered. “Vestavia passed out packages to three operatives with maps noting major cities that could possibly be attacked, at least sixty, but only one will be the actual target. The contact thinks Vestavia is preparing in a defensive manner because Fra Bardaric in the UK is driving this mission. The three packages included contact information for explosives experts Vestavia’s team would coordinate with, so we’re dealing with a bomb situation. The contact was told to be ready to act as early as Saturday, coinciding with our speculations. We don’t have as much time as we thought.”
Hunter considered that good and bad news. Good, because it might push Joe to work with his plan, and bad because less time never favored defending against threats to a major population center.
Retter spoke up. “Might be wiser for Hunter to tour the Kore facility and gather intel, then let us send in a female agent to access the equipment. A woman would be less conspicuous if she had to move through the facility beyond where they keep males.”
Joe nodded. “I like that better.”
Hunter had hoped to convince Joe, in particular, that he was still a valuable asset, but in the past Joe would have gone with his plan. He would have trusted Hunter’s assessment.
Joe and Retter weren’t buying any of this.
What about Gotthard?
Hunter couldn’t find out without putting Gotthard in a tough position, which he wouldn’t do. He had to sound hesitant-or they wouldn’t believe him-and still agree. “I think my plan would work better since I’ve got the computer skills and I’ll be familiar with the layout… but if that’s what you want to do that’s what we’ll do. I’ll contact you when I leave the center.”
“Call when you reach Chicago and I’ll let you know my decision,” Joe said, finishing up, then the monitor went blank.
If BAD had no better option for inserting, Joe would let Hunter go forward. But that last order to call when he reached Chicago made it sound like Joe wasn’t on board with Hunter’s idea.
If Joe had an alternate plan for a female to insert, for sure he’d send a team of agents to find Hunter before he could walk in on a mission in progress.
Hunter considered that for a few minutes, then decided Joe didn’t have the time or resources to send anyone after him right now. By the time BAD could come after him, Hunter would have new arrangements in place.
He ate the cold jambalaya and finished off the bottle of water. Then he lifted a tube of antibiotic ointment off the desk and stood up. He headed for her bedroom.
Abbie should be coming out of the shower soon.
Naked.
Perfect.