arrived on-site last, but Chris and Finn had spent almost the entire day at the cabin ensuring no one showed up ahead of time to set any traps.
Hopefully, The Huntsman wouldn’t follow Porter to the meet. Well, assuming Porter actually escaped from him on Monday.
But no, Porter was a trained operative. He’d been in the Army nine years before joining the Bureau. She had to keep telling herself that at least.
Ana went to the window at the back of the cabin and opened the blinds a few inches. It was nine at night, and there was still a sliver of visibility outside, but the room was growing darker, and Ana needed a bit more light to see. The guys, on the other hand, had their night-vision goggles if needed.
Besides, leaving the blinds closed wasn’t going to do much to keep her safe, anyway. If Ivan did show up, he’d most likely have thermal imaging to locate her inside and could take her out with a sniper rifle if that was his plan.
She moved to the front of the cabin, which was one open space. The kitchen, sitting area, and bed occupied the same room. No place other than the bathroom for anyone to hide, and she’d already checked there.
There was no one hiding beneath the floorboards, either. They’d used thermal imaging to be sure there were no heat signatures.
Chris, who Ana had learned was Echo Three, was in a tree stand on overwatch on the east side of the property. Roman, Echo Four, was in another tree stand on the west side. Finn had the north side.
A.J. was on Grant’s BMX bike, well-hidden in the thickly wooded forest on the south side of the property, prepared to be mobile if needed.
Harper was in an SUV one mile out, but she was in Ana’s ear on comms as well.
And Ana, well, she was the sitting duck waiting for Porter. She didn’t feel that way, but A.J. was worried about her. And despite having all four directions covered, there was still a lot of land for a sharpshooter.
“He’s late. Did we get all the prep work done for nothing?” She recognized the voice as Finn’s.
“Oh come on, the twelve hours out here you got to spend with me today was some good bonding time,” Chris’s voice came over the comms, humor in his tone. “I got to learn just how much you hate critters.”
“And if you screw with me about that later, you’re gonna get it,” Finn returned.
“He’ll be here,” Ana said when the line went quiet. “Porter said ninety-six hours from Monday, but that doesn’t mean it’ll be to the tee.” She peeked through the slit in the blinds and looked out front toward the road that led to the cabin.
Their private flight to Budapest, courtesy of the President (and yeah, that was crazy), was scheduled to leave later that night, so hopefully Porter would arrive soon since POTUS was doing them a huge favor. Was the President even aware Ana was accompanying the team on that flight? Knox may have been Bennett’s son, but surely the President wouldn’t risk his neck by aiding a fugitive to “escape” the country?
Well, unless. Ohhh. President Bennett wants the ledger. Of course. And from the sounds of it, people were willing to do anything and everything to get their hands on the list. Her parents had to have known the power it wielded, and yet, they’d risked stealing it . . . putting their lives, and Ana’s life, on the line. And for what? Money?
“This is Three, we have incoming,” Chris announced a few seconds later. “Black Jeep inbound.”
“Roger,” A.J. answered.
“I have eyes on the driver and passenger,” Chris added. “Confirming both targets are inside the vehicle. Target two matches the description you provided.”
Target two. Anthony Vincenzi. An Italian, not Russian, forger. It made sense her parents sought someone who wasn’t Russian to work with over the years, she supposed. Part of her looked forward to seeing him again. One of the last people from her past still alive.
“This is Four. I have a visual. They’re exiting the Jeep,” Roman said over comms. “Target two’s hands are tied behind his back. Blindfolded and gagged. Looks like he didn’t willingly come here with Porter.”
“Anthony doesn’t know to trust Porter,” Ana responded and stepped a few paces back from the door in preparation to see Porter and Anthony.
“At the door now,” Roman alerted her as the door handle turned.
“Echo One, be safe,” A.J. softly added.
“I’m here.