Chapter 18

Dressed once again in jeans and a T-shirt I loaded up my person with weapons, feeling better for doing that, and hung a camera over my shoulder. As usual I was with Santos as we left the apartment and walked out onto the street. We walked down the street, heading toward the river, where the plan was for us to catch one of the ferries that crossed over the Bosporus Strait to Eminono. As I stood on the deck of the ferry and looked at the lights on the banking, I suddenly felt very melancholy. Steph would love this city, the vibe and jostle, the markets and shops and I was sure that she would be enchanted with the Topkapi Palace, the Blue Mosque, and Grand Bazaar. Yeah, I would definitely want to bring her here and maybe Paris and even Rome.

That had me thinking of other places, like Athens and Santorini. Which had me thinking of Alexander Ramos. I wasn't sure where Ramos was at the moment but knew that he had a home on Karpathos, one of the smaller, quieter Greek islands. The chances were that he would be there especially as it was moving into winter in Trenton. Ramos was one of the most successful arms dealers that I had come across. The fact that no one could ever pin anything to him was a testament to his business sense. Okay, I hated what he did, but people like him would always exist, be there to fill a niche. Hell, even our own government used people like him to ensure the group that they supported had weapons to fight their war. Ramos though, in some ways he was old fashioned. The codes that he followed would never support terrorism where innocent people could die, and he would never get involved with nukes. Maybe I needed a conversation with him about this man Pavkov, if anyone knew something then maybe he would.

I watched as the ferry started to edge its way toward the dock and as people flocked toward the gangplank. We were the last to disembark so could see if anyone was hanging back. It was a short walk to next ferry, Sirkeci, and again no one appeared to be following us. I was actually surprised that Santos had been so quiet, normally he would want to make small talk if he felt comfortable with where we were.

As the next ferry had yet to dock, I turned away from the port and headed up a side street where I'd seen tables and chairs outside. Maybe it was time to hear what was worrying him, because I was sure that was it. After ordering 2 strong Turkish coffees we sat there, I waited sure that eventually Santos would talk so I wasn't disappointed when he leant forward in his seat, his voice no more than a whisper.

"I was thinking of Beautiful before"

I nodded my head as I took a sip from the small cup, welcoming the bitterness of the taste as it coated my tongue and slid down my throat.

"I know"

Was all I said. How did you express in words the anguish that it felt like to not know what had happened to her?

"There are moments, like on that ferry, that I hate that we have to be here, chasing criminals, when we should be looking for her"

I nodded again, I knew what he was feeling, what he was thinking, but the only way I could stay focused on what we were doing was in believing that we'd find answers that would lead us to her.

"I'll find her, I won't give up. The only reason that I'm here is because I have to believe that there'll be clues that will lead us to her"

It was Santos's turn to nod his head so maybe seeing it the way I did would ease his worries.

"You really think that she's alive?"

"Yes"

Was my immediate response as I looked at him, she had to be, because I would never stop looking for her.

Looking beyond Santos I could see people starting to board the ferry so removing some notes from my pocket left them on the table to pay the bill. Santos was with me as I stood up and started to walk away from the small café toward our last ferry journey. This ferry would take us across to Harem, not far from where the antiques warehouse was. There were more passengers on this ferry, maybe heading over to the part of the city that would be livelier at night. Even as we stood by the rails looking back from where we had come, I could sense a lightness come over me as I watched the last of the sun's rays capture the silhouette of Topkapi Palace high on the hill, with the lights illuminating the wall below it, there was a magical feel to the place and dare I say one of hope.

"CJ and Ethan are fifteen minutes out"

Santos's words broke the spell and as I turned, I could see that we were just about to dock at Harem. I pulled my thoughts to the task in hand, controlling my breathing and preparing for the last part of this evening's work. Maybe Pavkov would have the components of the warhead here, maybe the detonator as well, but we'd only find out by breaking into the warehouse and searching it. If neither were here, then maybe we could discover paperwork or something that might tell us where he would have kept them.

As I looked at my watch, I knew that Ethan would be in place soon, looking for ways to hack into the security system. Once he had control of that, Santos and I would access the building through the rear of the building, the area of the building where crates were loaded into vans. Turning onto Sakız Sk. I turned on my comms unit, ready to hear from Ethan.

"Shit, you're not going to believe this"

Was not what I was expecting to be hearing from Ethan and almost swore to myself thinking that he couldn't access their systems.

"Forget the plan, meet us at the front"

I looked at Santos who was equally puzzled by what Ethan had just said, but trusting Ethan we turned onto the next street. I felt like running to find out what the hell had gone wrong but knew that would create attention to the isolated person in the area. Turning onto the street where the warehouse was situated, I came to a stop. In front of me, blocking the access to the sidewalk were orange and white barriers that stretched along the entire length of the buildings on the block. Looking to where the warehouse was, I couldn't quite believe what I was seeing.

"One hell of a fire"

I couldn't disagree with what CJ was saying. Looking up at the side of the warehouse I could see windows that were empty where glass had been, black stains creeping up the stonework an indication of how hot the fire had burnt. Where a roof should have been there were now blackened beams at precarious angles as though ready to fall down into the space below.

"Nothing here for us to find"

I agreed, but it did make me wonder how the hell it had started, accident or arson? I turned to Ethan and nodded my head at him wanting him to walk with me.

"How did you not come across this?"

I knew that it wasn't Ethan's fault, but dammit, we'd wasted a night for nothing.

"It didn't come up, maybe if I'd have searched local newspapers. Sorry Ranger"

I shook my head and momentarily closed my eyes as we continued to walk away from the burnt-out building.

"Find out when and then look for other properties that Pavkov used"

"The second is running as we speak. I found out that his family came here years ago, possibly from Russia. There were no other properties listed under his name, his father died years ago so I'm searching under the mother's name"

There was nothing more that we could do tonight, but I wasn't quite ready to head back to the rented apartment.

"I'll meet you back at the apartment"

Was all that I said as I removed the mic and earbud and started to walk away. I heard the footsteps of the men as they turned and walked in a different direction. I found myself in the area by the bus station so headed toward the heart of the city. The sidewalks were busy with people who just seemed to be window shopping or looking at the menus of the many restaurants that infringed out into the street. There was laughter and music from all around me and that was when I spotted one of those shops that seemed to sell everything.

I came out with a bag in my hand, now the proud owner of new sets of clothes. Okay everything was cheap and boasted logos that I was sure was very fashionable. I also had a new phone in my pocket because I was going to make that call to Ramos that I'd thought about earlier. We could spend weeks observing properties that Pavkov had a connection to and still not find anything. He might not even be in Istanbul, and I didn't want to be chasing ghosts even though I knew that I could eventually find him. Time was too precious to be doing that when I really wanted to be back home.

It was a couple of hours later when I let myself into the apartment. The sound of voices from a TV suggested that someone was still awake, so it didn't surprise me to find all three men sat on the three couches, each with a laptop or pad in their hands. I dropped the bag onto the bed in the room that I would be sleeping in and went back to the lounge to find out what they were up to. Ethan was quick to fill me in with what he'd found, no doubt feeling slightly guilty for his oversight.

"Ten days ago, that's when the fire started, in the middle of the day. Reports are saying it was an electrical fault and the fire spread quickly due to the crates being stored there. One newspaper even suggested that maybe what was being stored there exasperated the intensity and how fast it spread"

"Accidental?"

I asked surprised that the building didn't have an effective sprinkler system.

"Supposedly. Apparently, the owner stopped inspectors going in to start with, stating that expensive relics needed to be conserved and moved"

And no doubt he had to remove any evidence of any explosives or weapons out of the building.

"That search came through on Ryan Correll. 50 years old, worked for the FBI since being spotted after university. Absolute genius with data, one of those who looks for patterns in information. Never married, lives alone, no unusual incomings from bank records"

I nodded my head at the information from Santos, to be honest I had pushed that man to the back of my head. Maybe him following Gregson had been totally innocent, maybe he had information that he thought Gregson should be aware of? I had no idea and for the moment had other more pressings things to deal with.

I woke early the next morning, so decided that I really needed a workout to release the tension that I was feeling. I pulled on a pair of shorts, vest and trainers from the inside of the plastic bag from my purchases at the cheap shop and was soon outside.

The air felt fresh, and the temperature was comfortable as I made my way down the street. Given how early it was the streets and sidewalks were quiet, so I soon found my rhythm, my feet pounding on the pavement. At an area that looked like a park I was pleased to see sections set aside for exercising, bars for pull ups, rings for stretching and even an inclined bench for sit ups. Several more circuits of the path around the perimeter and I felt the advantage of exercising. Okay, I was hot and sweaty, but I felt calmer and more in control. Once back at the apartment I took a quick shower before dressing in the new jeans and T-shirt.

As I walked into the living area, I noticed that Santos had just returned, seeming to have had the same idea as me. As he went into the bathroom, I opened the fridge to see what food we had to make breakfast from. As I was beating the eggs CJ and Ethan let themselves into the apartment, it seemed we'd all felt the need for a workout this morning. By the time the scrambled eggs were cooked and served onto four plates I was joined by the men. Santos sorted out something to drink while CJ toasted some bread. It felt civilized sat eating and I had to admit that my head was feeling clearer.

"Ethan, can you bounce a signal around from a burn phone?"

I wanted to talk to Ramos this morning and felt that it wasn't too early to make that call.

"Sure"

Was what I wanted to hear and passed the phone to Ethan. I watched as Ethan connected the phone to a small laptop, ran a program and then handed me the phone and laptop. I wanted a bit of privacy for this conversation so left the men to tidy the kitchen and went through to the bedroom. My first call was to Hector because I wanted to know if anything had happened in Trenton, but I also knew that Hector could get me Ramos's phone number.

"Hector"

"Jeffe. Nothing to report from this end. No leads or threads to pull"

We both knew that he was talking about Steph and that feel good mood that I'd felt this morning depleted slightly.

"The news of Morelli's death?"

"Lots of rumors. That Steph is also dead, that she killed him and ran off. That bounty hunter is still around but seems to have got the message and hasn't bothered us again"

I wasn't particularly interested in that, but I suppose it would take the heat off Tank from having to deal with her. The rumors, well they were bound to happen. The people in the Burg had nothing better to do than gossip, the juicier the story the better. That there were rumors though meant that Steph hadn't been in touch with anyone or been seen. I focused on the main reason for calling Hector because I wanted to get some information and quickly.

"I need Ramos's personal phone number"

If Hector felt that me asking for that was strange, he never said anything and as soon as I had the number for Ramos, I finished the call with Hector. I wasn't too sure how this next call would go, but was hoping that Ramos was in a good enough mood to talk to me and even discuss the man that we were looking for.

"Mr Ramos, it's Ranger, Carlos Manoso"

"Manoso? Not someone I expected to be hearing from. I'm not in Trenton"

"That doesn't matter. I wanted to ask what you know of a man named Igor Pavkov"

As the silence hit me, I was worried that maybe I'd overstepped my acquaintance with Ramos that maybe there was honor between arms dealers.

"Vlákas. He's young, arrogant and has no morals. Why do you ask?"

I wasn't sure what to divulge to Ramos or even if he knew enough to give me an answer.

"I think he might be trying to sell a particular weapon"

I said hoping that Ramos could read between the lines.

"He was. He needs the money so will try to sell anything to the highest bidder. I heard he was holding a bidding party for it, though word was that it was incomplete"

Maybe that meant that Pavkov didn't have the detonator, but maybe someone wanting to buy the warhead did.

"Take a look at the morning news Ranger. He's in big trouble and is currently working out if he can salvage the situation"

Ramos finished the call with me wondering what he had meant when he'd said that, so I returned the laptop to Ethan before turning on the TV and finding a news station. I wasn't fluent in Turkish and to be honest didn't see anything that might be referring to Pavkov.

"What are you looking for Ranger?"

"Pavkov in the news"

I watched as CJ opened up the browser on the laptop and then was looking at newspaper websites. As he opened one and skimmed through the headlines, he seemed to focus on one referring to a boating accident. As he opened that and started to read it, he turned to Ethan to ask him a question.

"What was the name that Pavkov used for some of his properties?"

"Sheveikin"

Stood behind CJ all I could really understand was what I was seeing in a photograph and was waiting for CJ to interpret what had been written.

"It seems that Igor Pavkov Sheveikin was out at sea when his yacht suffered a major fire. The millionaire was hosting a party for business associates when the incident happened, and the passengers had to be rescued before the yacht broke up and sank"

That to me seemed like too much of a coincidence. First a fire at his warehouse and now one on his yacht. I remembered Ramos saying that he was holding a bidding party, so were the business associates on board the yacht there for that reason.

"I spoke to Ramos and he said that Pavkov was in big trouble and was currently working out if he can salvage the situation"

Did that mean that the warhead was on board the yacht, or that someone had stolen the warhead? Then again what if the warhead went down with the yacht?

"It says here that the owner of the boat is desperate to find a salvage crew who can bring up some of the contents of the yacht"

That to me implied that maybe the warhead was now at the bottom of the sea, or at least that was what Pavkov was thinking. I was suddenly staring at the phone sat on the arm of the chair next to Ethan, hearing some god awful ringing noise, trying to decide whether to answer it or not. No one knew this number, did they? I pressed the green button to accept the call but remained silent.

"He's pissed off a lot of people by accusing them of theft, searched every one of them before they were allowed off the rescue boat. Maybe what we were talking about is at the bottom of the ocean"

The phone went dead, and I realized that the call had been ended, knowing that I would be interested in that piece of information, I smiled as I recognized Ramos's voice and that he had obviously been following up what we'd been talking about earlier.

"The warhead was on the yacht and is supposedly at the bottom of the ocean. Pavkov had upset a lot of people by accusing them of theft"

I told the three men who were now sat watching me. I sat down because I had a decision to make. I saw no point in staying here in Istanbul, the warhead was lost and the detonator, well that could be anywhere. I'd done what was asked of me but as the detonator hadn't been there and there were no clues as to where it could it be then why stay here?

"Let's head home"

I wasn't expecting silence, but that was what greeted me. Did they want to stay here and do what? Chase ghosts or wait for Pavkov to find his yacht?

"You're being serious, aren't you?"

I looked at CJ as he asked me that, some regret coming to me for assuming that they would want to leave as well.

"If you want to stay, I can understand that"

I had never really considered that they would want to do that.

"Hell no, why would we want to do that. I just thought that you'd be the one who insisted on staying"

"No point in staying here"

"Nothing to find now"

I looked around the men as they all came back at me with what they were thinking. I'm sure a smile crept onto my face as I realized that they were as keen to get back home as I was.