Near Dark (Scot Harvath #20) - Brad Thor Page 0,108
worry,” she offered. “I’ll erase all the footage once we get inside.”
He’d have to see it to believe it. For the moment, he simply nodded as he took her arm and led her forward. A sweater had been draped over her hands secured behind her back so as not to reveal the restraints.
Sølvi hung back a couple of feet, watching their six. She had her weapon drawn, but concealed—ready to engage if need be, but out of sight so as not to rouse any suspicion from any neighbors or passersby.
Pulling the keys from the Contessa’s pocket, Harvath unlocked the heavy oak doors facing the street and they all stepped into a Moorish-style paved courtyard flanked by arched arcades and a splashing fountain in the center. From the second story, flower boxes overflowed with bright purple hibiscus and electric pink gardenias. Their scent filled the space. Nearby, an alarm panel had started beeping.
The Contessa directed Harvath to it. Then, indicating that she wanted to be cut loose, said, “I need to enter the code.”
“I’ll enter it,” he replied. Adding, “Don’t worry. You can change it after we’re gone.”
She gave him the sequence of numbers.
Before he plugged them in, he warned her that he had people watching for a response from her alarm company. If this was not a code that legitimately disarmed the alarm, but rather turned the alarm off while simultaneously sending a distress signal, there’d be hell to pay.
He searched her face, looking for any sign of a tell as the beeping increased in intensity.
“Is the code safe?” he demanded.
“You’re running out of time. Yes,” she replied. “It’s safe.”
He didn’t see anything that suggested she was lying, but to be absolutely sure, he would have needed more time—something he was all but out of.
He decided to punch in the code. Instantly, the beeping stopped.
“We’re in,” he said, over his earbud to Nicholas. “No dogs. No guards. Nothing so far.”
Once his colleague had acknowledged the transmission, Harvath had everyone stop while he pulled out the drone and launched it from the courtyard. This way, if and when trouble did show up, they’d have eyes on it.
Harvath relocked the oak doors and the Contessa directed her “guests” across the courtyard to an Arabesque entryway which gave way to the main portion of the villa. At a set of tall glass doors that looked to be hundreds of years old, Harvath found the corresponding key on her ring and opened them.
Entering the house, the woman nodded toward another alarm panel that was beeping. “Same code, but backwards,” she said.
Harvath entered the digits and as the panel fell silent, he took a look at the place. Nicholas obviously had his reasons for disliking her, but it certainly couldn’t have been because she lacked taste. Her home was quite stylish.
The décor looked like a cross between Casablanca and Lawrence of Arabia. There were low-slung couches covered with pillows in an array of colors and fronted by ornate, hand-carved, antique tables. Sheer white muslin draperies were offset by potted palms. Large lanterns made of hammered metal hung at different heights from the ceiling. Somewhere, deeper in the villa, came the sound of another fountain.
“My office is that way,” said the Contessa, pointing with her chin down a long hallway to the right.
“In a minute,” said Harvath, as he unslung his pack and transitioned to his short-barrel rifle. “I’m going to take a look around first.”
Montecalvo looked like she was about to say something, but Sølvi cut her off. Gesturing with her pistol to a nearby chair, she said, “Take a seat.” After which, she looked at Harvath and added, “Keep your eyes peeled for ninjas.”
“Try not to shoot her while I’m gone,” he quipped back before turning and disappearing down the hall.
The house, with all of its closets, nooks, crannies, and other potential hiding places, felt like it took forever to clear. Finally, after checking out the cellar, he returned to his Norwegian counterpart and gave her the all clear.
“Now we can go to your office,” said Sølvi, gesturing with her pistol again.
The Contessa stood up and led the way. Sølvi followed her and Harvath brought up the rear, constantly checking their six.
He had already been inside the woman’s office and had swept it for weapons and other potential hazards. There had been another Beretta, like the one she had brought to the boat, mounted under her desk, as well as a “baby” Glock 26 in a lower drawer.