“Also, get me a drone flight over the mountains. I want to know every lodge, lean-to, and campfire that’s lit up in those hills.”
His boss came out of her commlink. “We’ll need a military drone for that.”
“So?”
“They’re not supposed to be used in civilian police matters. Are you calling this a terrorist threat? Terrorism wasn’t mentioned on our arrest warrant, was it?”
She knew very well it wasn’t.
“Either you call, or I call the Prime Minister and tell him if he wants us to find his daughter before anyone gets killed, we need someone to order up a training flight over those mountains and get the results of that infrared feed to us. Which way is it going to be?”
Usually a subordinate doesn’t task his boss. But usually the subordinate isn’t the one called into the Prime Minister’s office and given the assignment. Foile eyed his boss. Just how much did she want to be in charge of this operation?
Would she really want to have her name on this op when the fecal matter hit the fan? This use of Bureau resources by the Prime Minister for his family issues was bad and getting worse. When the media got hold of this . . . and they always did . . . there would be hell to pay.
Whose name would be at the top of the devil’s bill?
“I’ll call the Prime Minister’s office,” his boss said after a lengthy sigh.
The woman had balls; that was one reason Foile liked working for her. They were all likely going down on this one. The boss knew it, and she wasn’t shirking her place at the head of the line.
Foile turned back to his team. “Track that car. See how far you can catch pictures of it going into the mountains. Then get some sleep. We’re going to be here for a long time. You better catnap when you can.”
“Sir, I hope you take a bit of your own medicine,” Leslie said. “You get awful grouchy when you’re tired.”
28
“Are you two decent?” Penny called well after sunset.
“Of course we’re decent,” Kris shouted back. “We’re cooking spaghetti.”
“Good, I’m starved. I missed the turnoff once and had to double back to find it,” Penny said, coming in and cuddling up to the woodstove. “I had to cut off the heater for fear I’d run out of juice.”
“Isn’t there a backup gas generator in that car?” Jack called from where he was watching the pasta boil.
“Yes, but the tank was only half-full, and I didn’t want to stop for gas. Yes, I’ve got cash, but they’d get my picture, and if they’re checking out all cash purchases, they’d have a hot datum on us in no time at all.”
“You could have gassed up in town,” Jack said. “That wouldn’t have told them anything they don’t already know.”
“I wasn’t willing to risk that, either. If they’ve got a serious dragnet out for us, paying cash would have raised a red flag. Before I got out of the station, there’d be a cop cruiser or nine charging in to block me.”
“Did you miss the turnoff for real or use it to check your six?” Kris asked.
Penny just grinned, and said, “I was not followed back. You two do anything serious while I was gone?” she asked, eyeing Kris.
Kris had the good sense to blush before saying, “Yes, we put the time to good use. We also started going over Grampa Al’s compound. Do you know he has a shuttle on five-minute standby within easy reach of his suite?”
“Got to have a quick getaway,” Jack offered as he threw a strand of pasta against the wall. It stayed there. “One day, when the angry peasants come calling with torches and pitchforks, you’re gonna need to vamoose fast.”
“Nelly, show Penny what we’re talking about.”
Kris stayed facing the kitchen table and a map of the compound appeared. Quickly, it tracked in to the central tower, then up it. At one level, where the tower narrowed toward the top, a shuttle sat behind screens.
“If he actually takes off in that thing, the whole top of the building’s gonna get scorched,” Jack observed as he drained steaming-hot water into the sink.
Penny cocked her head to get a different perspective, then shrugged. “That will teach all those revolting peasants to take pitchforks to their betters.”
“Could we use that for a getaway?” Jack asked, transferring the pasta to a plate.
“I doubt it. Remember the time I tried to steal Hank Peterwald’s yacht? I was locked out until he gave me the codes.”
“I wasn’t as good as I am now, Kris,” Nelly pointed out.
Rather than argue with her pet computer, Kris took discretion as the better part of valor. “We’ll see how things go. I’d much rather we talked Grampa Al into being our ally rather than having to run for it. Besides, where could we run? A shuttle won’t take us anywhere.”
“Do I smell something burning?” Penny asked.
“Oh, the sauce,” Kris said, jumping for the stove. The vision of Longknife Towers followed her and ended up sketched across the stove as she grabbed for the pot of sauce and scorched her hands. Then grabbed again, using the dish towel Jack handed her, and moved the pot to a cold burner.
“How appropriate,” Penny said through a grin. “Everyone knows a blushing bride worships her beloved by serving him burnt offerings. Too bad I’m going to be struck with them, too.”
“I am no blushing bride,” Kris snapped, “and I would have been a decent cook if you hadn’t distracted me with work.”
“The story of our life together,” Jack said. “Don’t stir up the burned stuff on the bottom. We’ll take our sauce from the top. That’s what I did in college when I burned the spaghetti.”
“Glad someone’s lived on their own,” Penny said. “I doubt spaghetti was ever burned at Nuu House.”
“We didn’t have spaghetti at Nuu House, and yes, Lotty never burned anything. Okay, you happy? You two happy, I’m incompetent to heat water.”
“But she sure does blow up ships good,” Jack pointed out. “Given the choice of a little burned sauce and being blown to bits several times in the last four or five years, I’ll take our present situation.”
Kris laughed, and swatted Jack with his own dish towel. He gave her a quick hug and kiss as he went to find plates. He quickly overfilled them with pasta and began ladling on way too much sauce.
“Hey, champ,” Penny put in. “You’re not feeding a bunch of frat boys. Us dainty gals have to remember our figures. Unless Kris is already eating for two.”
That got Penny a swat with the towel. But Kris dredged a bowl out of a cabinet on the third try, and she and Penny dumped half their plates’ contents into it.
As they settled down to eat, Nelly again projected the map of the Longknife compound onto the table. “They usually put new hires on this post with an experienced guard.” Nelly highlighted a loading dock in red. “It’s the checkpoint for food deliveries and taking the trash and laundry out. Apparently, it smells.”
“If we put the other guard to sleep, how long before a delivery?” Jack asked.
“It usually slows down between eleven and one. Day deliveries are done, and the morning ones haven’t started.”
“Are we on the night shift?” Penny asked.
“You’ve been hired for the 10 P.M. to 6 A.M. shift,” Nelly informed them. “On the first day, you have to show up at eight for a new employee briefing. They’ll issue you a uniform and radio. No weapons for fresh hires.”
Kris frowned at Penny. “So we’ll be changing into our new uniforms and transferring all our sneaky gear right in front of their security cameras.”
“Unless, of course, they respect our privacy in the ladies’ room.”
All three laughed at the joke.
“This is getting tougher and tougher by the second,” Penny said.
“Nelly, do you have any pictures of female guards from this company?”