“We both know you’re right,” Zane said. “There is going to be a small army waiting for us in there. I’ve had that same concern myself. Unfortunately, we don’t have time to bring anyone else in. The nearest Delphi team is hours away.”
“No, I realize there isn’t time to bring in more operatives,” Brett replied. “I guess I’m wondering if Connor wasn’t right that maybe it’s time to bring in the authorities. At this point, what we have is a simple kidnapping. Nothing more.”
“I disagree with you that this is a simple kidnapping,” Zane replied. “They’re getting ready to commandeer the world’s largest particle collider and use it in ways it wasn’t meant to be used. I’m no physicist, but I think we all know there is the chance they could blow this place sky-high if they push the equipment past its limits. Remember, those underground pipes run for seventeen miles through both France and Switzerland. Any kind of chain-reaction explosions could be catastrophic.
“All that said, do you really think we have the time to get the Prévessin police out here and then get them completely up to date on everything that’s going on? We’re talking hours, and we don’t have hours. On top of that, I’m pretty sure Prévessin is little more than a village. My guess is we could count the number of uniformed officers on one hand. The nearest swat team is likely in Geneva, and they don’t have jurisdiction.”
“I think at this point the CERN staff is probably already aware that VanGelder is missing,” Reid suggested. “We’d have no problem getting them on board if we explained this is where he was taken.”
“Agreed. But who are they going to call? The Geneva police have no jurisdiction over this particular site, and it would probably take hours for the Prévessin police to bring in sufficient force to retake the facility. Not to mention our own possible arrest for operating on their soil.” Zane let that sink in for a few seconds and then said, “Look, we both know if we can retrieve VanGelder and prevent damage to their facility, we’ll be fine. Both the Swiss and the French will be more willing to slap us on the wrist if we can get the whole thing sorted out and prevent a catastrophe.”
Brett sat motionless for a moment and then said, “I guess you’re right. I was just concerned about what might be waiting inside. He could have anywhere from fifteen to twenty-five men in there.”
“Understood.” Zane reached over and squeezed Brett’s shoulder. “But to be quite honest, I believe we have an advantage.”
“How so?” Brett asked.
“Stealth. Something tells me their men will be spread throughout the compound. If we can peel this onion one layer at a time, taking their defenses apart piece by piece, then we’ll be fine. On top of that, they’re probably feeling a little too secure for their own good. They’re likely running on the assumption that we’re not working in conjunction with the Swiss authorities. If they thought we were, they never would’ve shown up at the banquet. And they're also probably assuming we’ll be unable to connect all of the dots that lead out here to CERN. That gives us an advantage.”
“Zane’s right,” Carmen said. “Our only option is to go in right now.”
After seeing Brett finally nod in agreement, Zane turned toward the back seat and said, “Let’s move out. We follow the line of trees. No lights unless we agree it’s absolutely necessary.”
As the others checked their equipment one last time, Zane reached up and disabled the overhead light so that the interior wouldn’t illuminate when the doors were opened.
The three operatives then exited the vehicle and disappeared into the trees.
Despite the fury of the storm, the three operatives had no trouble making their way through the trees. They walked in single file, with Zane in front, Carmen next, and Reid bringing up the rear. There was little undergrowth to slow their progress, so they reached the point parallel with the construction site in just under two minutes.
From that point forward, Zane began to count each step. When they had traveled approximately sixty yards, he held up his hand. He pointed to the left and led the group deeper into the woods, following the perpendicular line of trees that ran back into the compound. After mentally counting off another hundred yards, he lifted his hand once again, indicating they should stop. He then dropped to one knee in the snow, followed by Carmen and Reid.
After waiting and listening for two minutes, Zane pointed his flashlight directly ahead and turned it on twice in quick succession. Five seconds later, there were two answering flashes of light in the distance. By prearranged plan, the three fanned out into a semicircle, lifted their weapons, and waited. A few seconds later, Skinner stepped out from behind the trunk of a tree like a snow-laden phantom.
“All clear?” Zane asked in a low tone while lowering his weapon.
“All clear,” whispered Skinner, dropping to one knee next to the others.
“Here, get wired in before we move out.” Zane handed him the radio kit. Skinner took off his coat, clipped the transmitter onto his belt, and stuffed the two wires up into his shirt. He ran one of the wires down his sleeve, where the microphone was affixed to his cuff, and he ran the other through his collar, pushing the earbud into place.
Satisfied that everything was secure, Skinner twisted a knob at the top of the transmitter and spoke softly into his left cuff. “Testing. Over.”
The other operatives signaled that they could hear him.
“All right, now tell us what we’re up against,” Zane said.
“It might be better if I showed you.” Skinner motioned them to follow him.
The group followed Skinner back in the direction he had come from. After two minutes of walking, he brought a finger to his lips and slowed his pace. The others followed suit, and thirty seconds later, he pointed through the trees to the left. A group of buildings could be seen through the tangle of trunks, even though the driving snow was making it difficult to discern any details.
Tapping Carmen and Reid on the shoulder, Skinner whispered, “Stay here and keep an eye out while I take Zane in for a closer look. I haven’t picked up any sign that they’re patrolling the woods, but you never know.”
“Roger that,” Carmen replied.
Skinner turned to Zane. “We’re going to walk about twenty yards, then we need to drop and crawl the rest of the way.”
Zane nodded, and the two set out. After several minutes of crawling, Zane wiggled his way to the last bush at the edge of the woods and used a gloved hand to push aside several branches. The first thing he noticed was not the buildings, but the weather. It was obvious that they were in the midst of a full-blown blizzard. Clouds of snow were tossed around by a chilling wind, and the land was covered in a thick layer of white. Zane could see that the weather was going to have a larger impact on their operation than he had first imagined. The sooner they could get inside, the better.
“This is the first of several connected buildings.” Skinner pointed to the one directly in front of them. “It’s hard to see, but based on my study of the satellite images, there should be three more just beyond.”
“Brett said that you were reasonably certain Mironov was here,” Zane said.
“Correct,” Skinner replied. “And I say that because there are two tangos guarding the entrance to the closest building. It might be hard to see them, now that the storm has gotten worse.”
Zane pulled out a monocular and focused it on the lighted entrance directly in front of them. While it was hard to see, he was able to make out two sets of glass doors. He also noticed that a sidewalk ran from those doors to a parking lot off to the right. As best he could tell, there was only one vehicle parked there, a small coupe partially buried in the snow. “I take it the tangos are standing just inside the glass?”