up?”
“Nico told them to shoot you down too. He was trying to impress his new friend.”
What happened next, they both already knew.
“What did you do with that recording?” Miles asked.
She rubbed her eyes, her arms. The energy drink’s caffeine made her nerves buzz. “Hid it. In the caves.”
“Did you ever retrieve it?”
His reflection in the glass windshield was faint, like a ghost. She glanced at his chest reflected there, the spot where she knew the cross lay against his bare skin. “That’s what we’re going back for.”
“Wait, the necklace opens a safe hidden in the caves?”
“Those tunnels and caves inside the mountain have been used for thousands of years by the local peoples as far back as the Romans to avoid invading armies, crisscross the mountains during winter months, meet up with secret lovers, escape slavery. There are trap doors, hidden rooms, treasure troves everywhere. But the caves are said to be haunted, cursed. Not many locals will venture into them anymore. A few Gypsies still use them, and people like me who don’t believe in curses or ghosts. A friend of mine helped me hide the video in a special safe located in one of the offshoot caves. That cross belongs to my friend.” She pointed at his collarbone. “When inserted in the slot, it becomes a key to open the safe.”
“Did you ever find out why Bourean shot down the plane?”
She nodded. “There were three men on that flight with ties to Syrian criminal syndicates. Men the Romanians—both the criminals and the politicians—wanted.”
“Crashing the plane killed them. Didn’t they want them alive?”
“It was a hit. No one cared about Dr. Alexander. They wanted those three Syrian mobsters dead. Nico got a new buyer for his weapons and a young girl in the trade, and he received a large reward from the government, if you can believe it, for taking out those Syrian mobsters. And I…I have to live with Alexander’s death on my conscious. With what happened to your men.”
Miles touched her arm, pulling her to him. “It’s not your fault. You were following orders from your handler.”
He was so sincere, so sure of her innocence. “If I’d done a better job of infiltrating Nicolae’s organization, I would have known what he was up to.”
“He’d never been in the assassination business until then, had he?”
“Not that kind, no.”
“Then you had no reason to suspect he’d suddenly blow up a plane to make some quick cash.”
Dr. Alexander’s death would always weigh on her. All the deaths that day. “It’s the terrorist. He’s the key to all of this.”
His face was close to hers. Too close. The night, the rocking boat, the danger…it all gave her tingles up and down her limbs.
Or maybe it was too much energy drink.
He released her, and she automatically took a step back, feeling a touch dizzy. She reached for a nearby chair and sat.
“You okay?” he asked.
“It’s been a long twenty-four hours.” A long nine and a half months .
A cluster of lights to the east came into view, hazy in the fog. The eastern horizon was starting to lighten. Miles downshifted the boat. “Grab your stuff,” he said. “We’re here.”
Chapter Seven
_____________________
______________________________________________________
T HE G ULFSTREAM J ET sat on the runway facing north, sunrise brightening the eastern sky.
The air in Van Nuys was a cool 67 degrees, raising goose flesh on Charlotte’s arms even under the shirt and sweatshirt.
Miles hustled her up the steps where a man in fatigues greeted them with Styrofoam cups of steaming coffee. “She’s all ready,” he said to Miles.
“Good.” Miles handed him their bags and sipped his coffee. “Megadeth, this is Charlotte Carstons. Charlotte, Megadeth.”
Charlotte exchanged nods and “nice to meet yous” with the man. “Thank you for the coffee.”
“No problem,” he said, ushering them into the plane.
The inside of the cabin was done
“Nico told them to shoot you down too. He was trying to impress his new friend.”
What happened next, they both already knew.
“What did you do with that recording?” Miles asked.
She rubbed her eyes, her arms. The energy drink’s caffeine made her nerves buzz. “Hid it. In the caves.”
“Did you ever retrieve it?”
His reflection in the glass windshield was faint, like a ghost. She glanced at his chest reflected there, the spot where she knew the cross lay against his bare skin. “That’s what we’re going back for.”
“Wait, the necklace opens a safe hidden in the caves?”
“Those tunnels and caves inside the mountain have been used for thousands of years by the local peoples as far back as the Romans to avoid invading armies, crisscross the mountains during winter months, meet up with secret lovers, escape slavery. There are trap doors, hidden rooms, treasure troves everywhere. But the caves are said to be haunted, cursed. Not many locals will venture into them anymore. A few Gypsies still use them, and people like me who don’t believe in curses or ghosts. A friend of mine helped me hide the video in a special safe located in one of the offshoot caves. That cross belongs to my friend.” She pointed at his collarbone. “When inserted in the slot, it becomes a key to open the safe.”
“Did you ever find out why Bourean shot down the plane?”
She nodded. “There were three men on that flight with ties to Syrian criminal syndicates. Men the Romanians—both the criminals and the politicians—wanted.”
“Crashing the plane killed them. Didn’t they want them alive?”
“It was a hit. No one cared about Dr. Alexander. They wanted those three Syrian mobsters dead. Nico got a new buyer for his weapons and a young girl in the trade, and he received a large reward from the government, if you can believe it, for taking out those Syrian mobsters. And I…I have to live with Alexander’s death on my conscious. With what happened to your men.”
Miles touched her arm, pulling her to him. “It’s not your fault. You were following orders from your handler.”
He was so sincere, so sure of her innocence. “If I’d done a better job of infiltrating Nicolae’s organization, I would have known what he was up to.”
“He’d never been in the assassination business until then, had he?”
“Not that kind, no.”
“Then you had no reason to suspect he’d suddenly blow up a plane to make some quick cash.”
Dr. Alexander’s death would always weigh on her. All the deaths that day. “It’s the terrorist. He’s the key to all of this.”
His face was close to hers. Too close. The night, the rocking boat, the danger…it all gave her tingles up and down her limbs.
Or maybe it was too much energy drink.
He released her, and she automatically took a step back, feeling a touch dizzy. She reached for a nearby chair and sat.
“You okay?” he asked.
“It’s been a long twenty-four hours.” A long nine and a half months .
A cluster of lights to the east came into view, hazy in the fog. The eastern horizon was starting to lighten. Miles downshifted the boat. “Grab your stuff,” he said. “We’re here.”
Chapter Seven
_____________________
______________________________________________________
T HE G ULFSTREAM J ET sat on the runway facing north, sunrise brightening the eastern sky.
The air in Van Nuys was a cool 67 degrees, raising goose flesh on Charlotte’s arms even under the shirt and sweatshirt.
Miles hustled her up the steps where a man in fatigues greeted them with Styrofoam cups of steaming coffee. “She’s all ready,” he said to Miles.
“Good.” Miles handed him their bags and sipped his coffee. “Megadeth, this is Charlotte Carstons. Charlotte, Megadeth.”
Charlotte exchanged nods and “nice to meet yous” with the man. “Thank you for the coffee.”
“No problem,” he said, ushering them into the plane.
The inside of the cabin was done
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