G rant watched Boerst Properties and Investments from inside the cafe across the street. Designed to blend in with the eighteenth-century construction of the other stone buildings north of Marienplatz, the structure had been built by Boerst only two years before as a showpiece headquarters. From his position, Grant could see the ground-level entrance into the seven-story underground parking garage as well as the door leading from the garage into the glass-encased lobby.
Boerst abutted another new building, whose first floor was taken up by an exotic car dealership showing off its merchandise to tourists who gawked through its windows. A truck pulled up, and Grant was worried that it would block his view, but it stopped in front of the dealer and began unloading a bright yellow Lamborghini Gallardo.
Grant looked at his watch. Nearly four in the afternoon. On his laptop, he checked the GPS readout for the tracker inside the geolabe. Cavano was only a few minutes away. Right on time.
Stacy sat across from him nursing a cup of coffee.
“You think Tyler’s okay?” she said.
Grant waved his hand. “Ah, he’ll be all right. He’s probably taking a nap.”
“And you think this will work?” she said.
“If Cavano leaves the geolabe in the car like we think she will, it should go off without a hitch. Tyler will be in and out in five minutes.”
“What if she takes it in with her?”
“There’s no reason for her to, but if she does we’ll know from the tracker. You ready?”
“I can handle my end of the plan as long as Cavano doesn’t see me.”
“You’ll be fine,” Grant said. “You won’t go in until Cavano is in her meeting.”
Guided by Grant’s expertise with electronic surveillance and security systems, Stacy had called Boerst claiming to be with the firm’s security company. They’d found out that the garage was observed by security cameras, but the building had only a minimal guard presence. The guard at the front desk of the Boerst lobby was tasked with monitoring the garage’s cameras along with the other cameras at the back of the building.
The cameras posed the only problem with their plan, which was why they’d pressed Stacy into service, not only because she spoke German but also because she was sufficiently distracting.
Grant appraised her blouse, which Stacy had buttoned up to the top.
“You sure you don’t think my idea would work better?” he said.
She rolled her eyes. “Showing him my boobs? Really?”
“It would work on me.”
“That’s because you’re as mature as a fourteen-year-old. Besides, he could be gay for all you know.”
Grant smiled. “All true.”
“Just leave it to me. Keeping someone’s attention is my job. How are you going to let me know to wrap it up?”
“I’ll text you when Tyler’s got the geolabe.”
Stacy drained the last of her coffee. “Is this the craziest situation you’ve ever been in?”
Grant thought about it. “It definitely ranks up there.”
Stacy laughed. “It ranks up there? See, that’s where you and Tyler are different from me. Everything that’s happened in the last two days would make up the top ten craziest events in my life.”
“That’s because you’ve never been in the Army.”
“You and Tyler both were together?”
“He was a captain and I was his first sergeant.”
“The first he ever had?”
“No, that was my rank. It meant I was the top NCO- non-commissioned officer-in his company. We were in some hairy combat situations.”
“Is that how he got the scar on his neck?”
Grant nodded. “Along with a Silver Star and a Purple Heart.”
“What happened?”
Grant took a deep breath. “Ambush. We were traveling from our outpost to Baghdad when a roadside bomb went off next to our convoy. Destroyed the Humvee in front of us and damaged the lead one. We were pinned down on all sides, and we didn’t know if there were more bombs on the road.”
“Sounds horrible.”
“Two guys in the unit died instantly. Another three were injured. Tyler and I and two other soldiers took cover in a ditch. Help wasn’t coming anytime soon, so that meant we had to get out of there, but the guys in the front Humvee couldn’t move. While we provided cover fire, Tyler ran back and forth between us and the damaged Humvee. He dragged all three injured men to safety.”
“And the scar?”
“Grenade. With all those bullets whizzing around, he hadn’t gotten a scratch until then. I thought for sure someone was looking out for him. Then, while he was pulling the third soldier back, a grenade landed near him. He kicked it away, but not far enough. He shielded the soldier’s body with his own before the grenade went off. Shrapnel got him in the neck. You’ve never seen so much blood.”
Stacy leaned forward in her seat with a horrified look. “My God.”
“Once we got Tyler back to the combat medical hospital, they got him some blood and patched him up. I wasn’t even sure he’d make it to the hospital alive, but he was back with our unit two weeks later.”
“Sounds like a brave guy. I’m glad I got paired up with him.”
Grant thought he heard more than admiration there, but he didn’t want to ask. “I’ve trusted him with my life many times. You should, too.”
Stacy gave him a wry grin. “I already have.”
Grant checked the tracker again and saw that the geolabe was just around the corner.
“Here they come,” he said.
Right on cue, the Ferrari zipped into view followed by a BMW sedan. They both turned into the garage. In two minutes, Grant could see Cavano enter the Boerst building with three men. The guard didn’t make them sign in but instead waved them on to the elevators.
Grant looked at the tracker. The signal was gone. That meant the concrete floor of the garage was blocking it. If Cavano had taken the geolabe with her, he’d still be getting the signal.
“All right,” Grant said. “You’re up. Just keep your phone handy.”
Stacy stood and threw him a jaunty salute. She may be little, Grant thought, but she’s feisty.
She left the cafe and walked across the street. Once she was inside and speaking to the guard, Grant called Tyler, whose stronger cell signal could penetrate the garage floor while the tracker couldn’t.
“You awake?” Grant said.
“It’s actually more comfortable than I thought it would be,” Tyler said.
“Cavano’s in, the geolabe’s in the garage, and Stacy’s chatting up the guard. You’re clear.”
“What’s the car look like?”
“BMW M5.” He gave Tyler the license number. “The geolabe’s probably in the trunk.”
“All right. Time to stretch my legs. I’ll call you when I’ve got it. Just one request.”
“What’s that?”
“Next time I do this,” Tyler said, “remind me to bring a bottle of water.”
“I’ll have one for you when we’re done.”
“You’re a prince among men. Call you back in a few.” Tyler hung up.
Grant caught the waitress and asked for the water. With that easy task done, all he could do was wait and hope that Tyler wouldn’t have any trouble finding the BMW once he got out of the rental car’s trunk.