thirty minutes, Friedrich crouched in the overgrown corner, watching the house they’d set up as Marie’s location.
“Drawing him in,” Sasha reported.
Without looking, Olivia knew Sasha had turned on the remote setup and activity that would suggest someone was sitting on a sofa watching TV.
“Headed toward you, Team Two.”
While Friedrich moved, so did Olivia, ready to intervene the second he infiltrated the house.
“He’s cutting the power,” Sasha reported.
“Moving in position,” Cooper announced.
“Team Four ready on your call, Team Two.”
Olivia made eye contact with Leo, who had his back to the wall by the side door.
The light in the hall went dark, the sounds of appliances running went silent.
“Making his entry through the south door. Weapon in his right hand.”
Time moved slowly and Olivia counted every heartbeat she felt inside her chest. She heard the lock moving and crept closer to flank the door with Leo.
Leo stood prepared to pounce, his weapon an extension of his arm. His opposite hand stood ready to make the move at the same time.
The door opened.
A silencer poked through first.
Leo signaled and they both rushed.
Olivia reached for the weapon, and Leo pulled the man inside.
The distinct sound of the gun firing shot through the ceiling as Friedrich managed two rapid rounds before Olivia relieved him of his weapon.
Neil was yelling commands through their communication system, and Leo was wrestling Friedrich to the ground.
The element of surprise had worked long enough to take the gun, but not to stop the fight for dominance.
Leo tossed his gun the moment they both hit the floor.
Olivia secured the weapon and pointed it at the two of them.
Friedrich managed an elbow to Leo’s kidney and lifted a fist to strike another blow.
“Freeze,” Olivia yelled, her aim ready to make him stop.
Friedrich hesitated and looked her way.
Only then did she realize the team had filled the house. Half a dozen guns were leveled . . . red dots covered Friedrich’s face and chest. One wrong move and he’d resemble swiss cheese.
Friedrich slowly opened his long fingers and lifted his hands in the air.
Leo was on him, forcing Friedrich’s hands behind his back and into a pair of handcuffs.
“I want to see my attorney.”
Leo lifted him up to his knees.
“That’s not how this is going to work,” Olivia announced.
Cooper walked in the back door and tossed Friedrich’s bag onto a table and started to rifle through it.
“What are you doing?” Friedrich asked.
“Leo was never a target,” Olivia said to him. “Navi isn’t as stupid as his ‘cousin.’ You popping me was not a split-second decision.”
He stayed silent.
“You had one target all along. It wasn’t until after Budapest that I remembered a lone SWAT member on the opposite side of the courthouse whose position was optimal for a kill shot. Only your intel was off. Marie wasn’t exiting the door you expected. Your exit wasn’t secure.”
Friedrich remained silent as Olivia spoke.
“You were unable to touch her. So you slap me. Make damn sure I saw you before I went down to guarantee I’d come looking for you. You tell me to walk away. I’m a ghost and no one needs to know I’m alive. All I have to do is look the other way.”
Olivia glanced around the room. “Only you’d done your research. Knew enough about this team to understand that we don’t walk away from a job half done. So you waited for Leo and me to track down Marie so we can protect her. And in turn lead you right to her.”
Friedrich’s next words were muttered in German.
“Stealthy bitch indeed,” Olivia repeated.
“She’s not in Texas, is she?” he asked.
“Couldn’t say.”
“What do you want from me?” Friedrich asked.
Olivia turned to Cooper and exchanged the silenced handgun for the burner phone he had in his hand. She waved it in the air. On the other end, Mykonos Sobol, not his “cousin Navi,” would be taking the call. Funny how phones like these ended up in prisoners’ hands.
“You’re going to make the call.”
He shook his head. “I can’t do that.”
“You can. And you will.” The phone dangled in her fingertips. “Mykonos only has to believe Marie is dead to achieve what he desires. To make an example of the girl and brag to those he wants to control that he made sure she was dead. Since Marie has no intention of a resurrection, no one will ever know.”
Friedrich narrowed his eyes. “Even if I did this, what do you do with me?”
“You disappear. Find an island somewhere. I understand Bali is a great place to