Gould had told them that Obrecht had been more than his private banker. He was also his handler, setting up contracts and negotiating prices with his prospective employers. "So he knows who hired you to kill me?" Rapp had asked back in the interrogation cell. Gould would not commit to that point, as Obrecht rarely met face-to-face with prospective employers, but he did handle the transfer of funds, which could likely lead to the person who had put the price on Rapp's head.
Rapp looked at the video of the massive estate. It had to be worth at least $25 million. He got the pissed-off feeling that Gould had played them. "There's no way this guy is just your average banker."
"Could be family money," Coleman suggested.
That was when Rapp put Marcus Dumond on the problem of finding out who owned the estate. Dumond, their resident computer expert, was not having a good day. He'd spent the majority of the flight trying and failing to hack into Obrecht's bank's computer system. Rapp had rarely seen Dumond so frustrated.
Rapp had come to the conclusion that Gould had likely lied to them. As to Hurley's point, that they should have brought Gould along, Rapp couldn't bear to spend another second with the man. He made him sick, and if Kennedy was serious about keeping him alive, she needed to keep them apart, because Rapp wanted to kill him.
Even though the prospects didn't look good, they continued on the second leg of the journey. They might not be able to get their hands on Obrecht while he sat behind the walls of his estate, but he couldn't stay there forever. On Sunday night, more than likely, he would have to make the return trip to Zurich. The winding mountain roads would provide the perfect opportunity for an ambush.
Rapp sat behind the wheel and Hurley was in the front passenger seat. Dumond and Hayek were in back, Dumond still trying to hack into the bank while Hayek tried to get a lead on Obrecht's mobile phone with a digitized scanner. Gould had given them a number, but so far they weren't getting a thing, which meant that either the phone was turned off or Gould had lied again.
They met the advance team on the outskirts of a small town called Engwilen. It was a male-female team, which Rapp was happy to see, as it was easier for them to blend in and look like a couple. They had made one pass by the main gate to confirm what the drone had already shown. Four men in dark blue SWAT uniforms were at the main gate, and at least one dog and his handler could be seen halfway up the driveway. Rapp watched the video they had taken and said, "It looks like a frickin' G Eight summit."
Rapp and Hurley stood around the trunk of the first BMW with Coleman and the couple and asked questions for another ten minutes. The entire thing looked hopeless. The couple said they were fairly certain the place had an advanced security system around the perimeter of the property and that they assumed the house would have one as well. Beyond that, they'd used the drone to count a total of eight bodyguards. How many more were in the house was anybody's guess.
They all agreed that the smartest course was to wait for Obrecht to leave the estate and take him on the way back to Zurich. In the meantime Hayek would coordinate with Langley to see if they could get signal interception on the house, and Dumond would continue to try to hack into the bank's secure server.
Coleman took his men into the town to scout things out and see if there was an inn without security cameras where they might be able to spend the night. Rapp and Hurley stood at the rear of the car, neither speaking for a long while. They were both in dark suits with lightweight overcoats. The temperature was in the midfifties, but the afternoon sun was making things warm.
Hurley lit a cigarette and exhaled. He tilted his face skyward and took in the warmth of the sun. "Do you know what's strange?"
"There's a lot of strange shit, Stan. You're going to have to be more specific."
Hurley opened one eye and squinted at Rapp. "I feel good."
"That's nice."
"I mean I'm at peace with the whole thing."
They didn't talk for over a minute and then Hurley asked, "You