cover their stupidity,” the woman said.
“Get it now or he dies,” the first man said into the phone.
“I don’t care if he dies,” Zoey said. “But I have the funds retrieved. A Chinese hacking ring has been hitting transactions that aren’t secured properly on both ends. I’ll send the money again, but I’ll need another account. The first one’s not safe.”
The man cursed. “Call back in five minutes.”
“Sure.” The woman hung up.
Kristof crumbled within his chains when the three men left the room. He hoped to hell that worked. Fatima peeked an eye open and looked up at him from where she remained unmoving.
“Kristof.”
“Don’t,” he warned. “Put the com in while you have a chance. Tell me what they’re saying, if anything.”
Fatima plucked the com out and put it into her ear. Kristof held his breath. Had he done the right thing? “They have our position narrowed down because of the call. She says she’ll stall them when she calls back and to hang on.”
Right. Relieved that the call had helped, Kristof closed his eyes.
“Okay. Okay. Okay.” He opened his eyes as Fatima removed the com and returned it to its hiding spot, then got back into the passed-out position.
The door squeaked open a few minutes later as the phone rang once again. The man answered and barked out a series of letters followed by a long string of numbers.
“Okay. Stay connected and I’ll get this sent now. I’ll need you to verify that you got the funds this time. I’m not screwing around with this again.” Silence descended a couple minutes. “Next time do as I say on your end or my fee will be double what it usually is. I don’t deal with stupid.”
The first man cursed and paced. Red rose in his face.
Unease filled Kristof. Now that they had the money, would he kill Kristof, Addy, and Fatima?
No. He still needed the missiles.
“Okay, it should be there,” Zoey said. “Check.”
“I’ll check later.”
“You’ll check now. If it mysteriously vanishes again, I won’t help you get it back.”
“Bitch!” The man punched at the screen and looked at a scrap of paper he held. He punched something into the screen and glared. “It’s there. Who was the security?”
“Excuse me?” Zoey’s voice on the speaker rose.
“For the missiles. Who was hired for the security?”
“That’s the buyer’s business, not yours.”
“Tell me or he dies!”
“I thought I was pretty clear earlier. I don’t give a damn if he dies.” Silence settled a moment. “But I can be persuaded to help you…for a fee.”
“Tell me.”
“I’m removing fifty-thousand for a fee. You’ve wasted enough of my time,” Zoey said. She sighed heavily. “Let’s see. A secondary transfer was sent from the same account used for the purchase. The receiver was… Hmm… I don’t have a name on the account. It’s a heavily protected Dark Web account. Apparently they do listen to what I say.”
“Bitch! Tell me!” The man thundered the orders into the phone.
“All I know is the funds were transferred to a Dark Web account. Let me see if I can trace the setup origin. So many people forget to bury their footprints when they set these up.” The woman muttered into the phone.
Kristof gritted his teeth. The woman was either certifiable crazy or brilliant.
“Okay, whoever set this account up is in Texas. I think.”
“Texas?”
“Yeah. A state in the United States?” The woman’s voice rose. “You know where that is, yes?”
The man threw the phone across the room. “Fuck!”
So much for the fake Russian accent. Kristof suppressed his amusement.
“Come,” the man ordered. He paused at the door. “We will be back in one hour with the interrogator. You’d better remember more about where those missiles were going.”
The door slammed shut. Fatima scrambled from the corner and vaulted toward him. Her chains rattled as she leaned forward. The ear com was in her hand. Pain spread through Kristof, but he forced himself as far forward as he could until their fingers grazed.
He took the com and put it into his ear. “I hope to hell that worked.”
“It did. We know where you are now,” Edge said. “But our nearest team is more than an hour away. We have a chopper inbound, but it’s also at least an hour away.”
Another interrogation. “I understand. I’ll keep their attention on me.”
“She’ll handle herself once she’s awake,” Edge said. “Don’t try and be a hero. Stay alive. We’ll be there.”
12
Addy sat up and grumbled. Stripped to her underwear. Great. She noted the chains and manacles locking her wrists and