Max’s lips tightened, but he held his tongue. Was there something new he saw in her? Were the blinders lifting to let him see her more as an independent woman and less like his baby sister who needed coddling and protection? Could she hope he would accept her as his equal?
“Hi, Neo,” she said as she closed the door.
“Hi, Anna. Maybe you should fill us in,” he said, eyeing Max, who stared at Dodger.
“This is Vlastislav Mach, but we call him Mouse. He’s Dodger’s friend and works for MI-6. He sheltered us and helped us immensely in Prague when we were working on the satellite system codes.” She turned to their resident IT geek. “This is my brother Max ‘Mad Max’ Keegan and his teammate, Neo ‘2-Stroke’ Teller.”
Max reached out and offered his hand. Mouse shook it, then nodded to 2-Stroke. “Pleased to meet you and work with you.”
Two hours later, in a small café outside of the Vatican, Agent Chiara Giordano approached the table with Anna, Max, Dodger, 2-Stroke, and Mouse. Mouse’s eyes gleamed at the sight of the pretty agent with long, curly, dark hair and big, watchful green eyes, dressed in a tan trench coat over a stylish black pantsuit and white ruffled blouse. Shortly after that, Inspector General Luca Brilhart, an older man with salt-and-pepper hair and steely black eyes, joined them. He was dressed in an impeccable gray pinstriped Italian suit.
“Thank you for coming,” Anna said. She introduced the others.
“You have reviewed the material we uncovered, and Kat sent you, Agent Giordano?”
“Chiara, please. I have reviewed everything, and our agency is concerned.” Her voice was as sultry as her looks. “We believe you have unearthed a viable threat to our pontiff.”
“Agreed,” the inspector general said. “We are genuinely concerned and will work with you to counteract this threat to our employer.” He slid security badges across the table. “Since we don’t have the details of the plan, our security forces are on high alert.”
“Is the pope in residence?” Dodger asked.
She raised her brows and said, “Kat said nothing about MI-6 being here.”
“They’re not MI-6,” Anna said. “Mouse is though, but Kat doesn’t know about Mouse. He joined us on an op in Prague, where we stumbled on this intel while working on what we thought was an isolated and unrelated op. Turns out they were connected.” She touched Dodger’s arm. “Dodger is a US Navy SEAL and so are Max and Neo.” When she gave them all a puzzled frown, Anna clarified. “It’s a long story. Suffice it to say, they’re working with us for now.”
“I see,” Chiara said. “I thought by his accent he was British Intelligence. My mistake.”
The inspector general went on to answer Dodger’s question. “His Holiness is currently on a trip to Jerusalem and is expected back tomorrow.”
“Doesn’t give us much time, but we think they’ll attack him in St. Peter’s Square, his home base and a place many people consider sacrosanct,” Mouse said.
“We would like access to that area for reconnaissance and to get familiar with the layout,” Dodger said.
The inspector general nodded and tapped the badges. “These will be all that you need. Feel free to access anywhere, bar the pontiff’s personal quarters.”
Chiara gave Mouse a warm look. “Chief Cross provided us with the name of the co-conspirator, one Georg Juranek, and it’s our understanding that he is handling the terrorists.” She consulted her phone. “According to our records, he came into the country several days ago but has been here numerous times in the last six weeks.” She turned the screen over to show them the picture.
Mouse chuckled and turned his laptop screen around to show her they had already gotten the information.
“You are a hacker?”
“I’m an MI-6 listening station operative,” he said. “But I dabble.”
“Juranek was probably preparing for the assassination,” Anna said, nudging Mouse under the table. He shot her an innocent look.
Chiara nodded. “It is our thinking that we should pick him up and interrogate him regarding the details of the plan. My colleagues in AISI have already secured his family in the Balkans and are traveling with them to Italy as we speak. We believe we will be able to secure a confession using his family as leverage. The Balkan crime lord Darko Stjepanić is ruthless in not only eliminating those he considers traitors, but their families as well. We are confident he will talk.” Chiara’s voice deepened with disgust at the mention of Darko’s name. “This Muhammad Angar Said is