Chapter 20
It had been a long time since he cared about anyone. He felt like a wild thing. A rage filled animal holding on to his last bit of sanity by a string.
So when the sweet older woman asked to meet him and told him that she'd been sent by her boss specifically to find him, he was understandably less than amiable.
He told her to get lost- in far less polite terms.
He was going to rot, because that's what he deserved. His conscience would have it no other way. He'd stopped wondering when Hasting's people were going to come and finish him off and he'd decided to determine his own fate.
The 2x4 cell that had been his life for close to three years was what he deserved. No redemption, no forgiveness. Nate once allowed him to redeem himself and look where that landed him. He didn't want any second- or third or fourth, chances.
But she kept coming back. Every day for close to a month she would come and sit right outside his cell, knitting, reading, talking to him even though he didn't talk back. She was relentless.
And one day she inexplicably made him smile. Then the next day she got him to say exactly one word, 'Why'. By the following week, he was greeting her when she arrived and waving her off when she left, even if just with his eyes.
He couldn't take it anymore- he figured he should at least ask. She'd been coming to his cell and spending hours just sitting there for so long his curiosity took root and he wondered what could possibly make talking to him such an accomplishment that she'd waste her time this way.
"Why are you really here?" he surprised her one morning.
He was waiting for her when she arrived that day and those five words were the most he'd said to her in all her time visiting him.
She wasted no time in her response, quickly fishing into her bag to pull out a file and attempt to hand it to him.
"His name is Mr. Caesar. He is my employer and a very powerful man with a very large target on his chest."
The file hung precariously from her hand as he made no attempt to remove it.
"That doesn't answer my question," his hoarse whisper sounding nearly like an admonition, "Why are you really here?" he repeated.
"We were told by that you are the best at what you do and we need the best," she answered shifting in her seat. He knew she was uncomfortable and he knew she wasn't saying something. He could sense it.
"Who told you about me?"
"Mr. Caesar is a very well connected man. Many of your past clients are acquaintances of his so he is well versed in your reputation….He is being followed and we believe that someone is going to make an attempt on his life."
She looked close to tears but he wasn't swayed.
"Whoever I was, whatever I did, I'm not that person anymore. I'm sorry about your boss's situation but I can't do anything for you or him."
Truthfully he wasn't that sorry. He knew that nearly all of the men he'd worked for in the past were neither helpless nor innocent and he was willing to bet that if this Mr. Caesar was an acquaintance of even half of them there was serious dirt on his hands too.
She let the file fall to her lap slowly, softly. She looked defeated and he turned and walked to the back of his tiny cell and away from the bars and her forlorn expression on the other side.
"Well," she began again as she fished into her bag once more, retrieving her purse. He turned and wondered if she was going to attempt to bribe him with whatever loose change she had floating around in her wallet. The thought tickled him a bit.
"…would you do it for him?"
She held out a photo and nothing but curiosity spurred him to walk over to her.
As he approached he looked into her eyes and realized for the first time that her eyes were not as warm as he'd first thought; there was an untouchable coldness there. But as he looked to the small photograph she held out to him he forgot about her face.
Staring back at him from the 4x6 photo were the clearest blue eyes he'd ever seen. The boy couldn't have been more than four years old. He had the dimpled cheeks, flop of dark wavy hair, and the icy blue eyes of a future heartbreaker. He looked happy and healthy and he tugged at the grizzled man's heart immediately.
"His name is Joshua," she called into his thoughts, "he's Mr. Caesar's son and the people who are after Mr. Caesar have said that they're going to take him away."
He looked up at her but said nothing.
"He's a little boy. He should be happy and playing outside and growing up as normal as possible. He shouldn't be shuttered behind bullet proof glass and kept inside all hours of the day and night simply because of people who are angry at his father," she began to cry and that was the beginning of his undoing.
He was silent for a few minutes while she dried her tears and composed herself. He was thinking about another little boy who was always scared. Terrified of what would happen when his father came home, drunk, or angry, or just mildly irritated. No child should ever have that kind of fear.
This wasn't redemption, he bargained with himself. This was something he knew he had to do if for no other reason than to give the little boy some sense of normalcy, so he wouldn't be damned to the kind of life where you find yourself making bargains to stave off any kind of absolution.
This would be his penance.
"Two questions…" he began and she lifted her head to him slowly, "One, what do you need me to do? And two, how do I get out of here?"
Her lips curved into a slight smile that didn't quite reach her eyes, "Mr. Spencer, it's already been taken care of."
"I think I have a lead on a possible location for Sonia…tonight," Alec announced when they finally arrived at his apartment at Romilly Street in London.
He sat down with his computer and with a few taps on the keyboard he pulled up the live camera feed of a cobbled street outside an old ornate building.
Nate and Parker hovered over Alec expectantly, both staring at the footage with focused attention but neither knowing exactly what they were looking at.
"When I searched Sovereignty Couriers' website I realized that they are a part of Moreau's holdings and with a little more digging I was able to make a back way into the main company's manifests," he looked to Nate and smiled, "they're having all of these meetings right now with CEOs and company presidents from all of these very wealthy companies from all over the world."
Nate smiled because he saw where Alec's mind was going.
"If Sonia's not there in person, she has to have someone very close to her at those meetings to keep an eye on things." Nate chimed in, patting Alec's back.
"There's a meeting tonight, a big one with the South American Board. It's a group of CEOs from nearly every South American company with a wealth of natural resources. We're talking oil, gold, anything. It's probably the biggest meeting of them all," Alec looked to Parker trying to gauge her reaction.
She'd been very quiet since they'd left Galway.
Their train ride into Dublin was uneventful enough. Although security was lax, they were on guard, scanning the faces of their fellow riders looking for any suspicious glances or activity. The plane ride from Dublin to London was just as nerve-wracking but equally routine.
They'd done a lot in a matter of a few days. Alec wondered if there was more going on with Parker than simply being uneasy but they didn't have the luxury of time. It was almost 9 o'clock. He knew they had to act fast. This was the best lead on Sonia they had so far and regardless of how tired they were and in spite of whatever doubts they may have had, they couldn't let the opportunity pass.
"It's being held at a hotel close to Piccadilly Square. Our best bet may be to go in as staff."
Alec offered and Nate concurred, "I agree. It may be the easiest way for us to mingle unnoticed."
Parker's quiet unnerved Alec, "Parker is everything okay? You haven't said anything since we left Galway."
She stared between them both silently for a moment before she responded, "Doesn't this all feel too… easy? Too…neat?"
She walked away from them to go to the window which overlooked a darkened side street.
"This isn't the way Sonia works. She very meticulous. This all seems sloppy…deliberately sloppy," she finished and turned back to them.
Alec stood and walked over to her. He sat on the window sill, hoping his closeness would make her feel comfortable enough to talk openly, "Do you think this is a trap?"
"I don't know. It all just seems too convenient," she answered, folding her arms
Nate sat down in front of the computer propping himself up on his elbows. He looked at Alec's proximity to Parker and he remembered the closeness they had. The closeness they all had.
"What other options do we have?" he asked softly and neither Alec nor Parker could offer him a response.
Parker could understand their eagerness but she felt a responsibility to ensure their safety. There were things she knew about Sonia that they didn't.
"Ok. If we have to do this tonight, doing it this way is our best shot…" she walked over to Nate, as Alec followed and they proceeded to lay out their plan of action.
"You were brilliant," the toothy man whispered excitedly as he ushered her away from one CEO and toward another.
"How much longer do I have to stay," she snapped quietly, her British accent dripping with disdain.
He didn't answer, he didn't even bother to look at her but the insistent pressure on her hand where it rested in the crook of his arm told her all she needed to know. It was going to be a long night.
The first time Joshua's chubby, sticky fingers slipped into his hand and held it tight, the awkward, grumbling man was a goner.
He remembered the look of wide-eyed terror on the little boy's face at an energetic puppy in hot pursuit. It was enough to melt even the hardest of hearts. He loved the little boy instantly and the little boy took to him like he'd never taken to anyone else, including his own father.
The boy wanted to call him Captain but his tongue couldn't form the word. It became Capin and he in turn called the boy Skip.
In the few weeks since he'd met the child, they'd already travelled to several countries following Mr. Caesar as he conducted his business.
It bothered him that the little boy spent so much time cooped up in hotels when there was an entire world for his little mind to discover. He worked it out with Ms. D- the woman who'd hired him, to be able to take Joshua to explore the cities they visited. He'd be the boy's only protection so as to not draw any unnecessary attention. As it was, he spent more time with the child than Caesar did- he often wondered how the child managed before he came along.
They visited the leaning tower in Venice, the Great Wall in China, the Eiffel tower in Paris, and now that they were in London for Caesar's latest meeting with some kind of CEO Board, they visited the London Eye.
Joshua was thrilled to go on the massive Ferris wheel and he was also eager to try some of the local food, something his Capin didn't always allow. But against his better judgment he decided to allow just one day of unhealthy consumption…and it caught up with him.
Joshua's tiny stomach ached the entire evening when they arrived back at the hotel, until he eventually found relief when his corn dog, fish and chips combo revisited all over Capin's brand new shirt.
He cleaned the little boy off and put him to bed but the child was restless and cranky. Capin knew his patience would truly be tested but as little hands kept reaching for him, he found a sense of purpose he'd long since forgotten about. He knew it was going to be a long night.
"I'm in the elevator bay," Parker announced quietly into her comm and made her way into the hallway seven floors above the ballroom where the meeting's reception was taking place.
Alec was parked in the alley behind the hotel, sitting in a van that Parker had just 'borrowed'. He was following her signal on his computer and awaiting his turn to participate in the plan that she'd devised.
"Okay, I can see you. You're about 30 feet from the mainframe room…Nate are you in?"
Nate adjusted his camera-fitted glasses and smoothed his stick-on goatee, "I'm about to enter the room now." He passed his hands over his slicked back wavy hair and took a deep cleansing breath. He hadn't been on a con of this caliber in some time. He truly hoped it was like riding a bike.
"Cool, now that you're past the sensors, I'm pulling your camera up now." Alec activated the feed from Nate's camera glasses and immediately began scanning the room with his facial recognition software.
"Remember, stay at the back of the room, close to the exits," Parker warned as she found and proceeded to enter the mainframe room.
"Got it, just tell me when you're in so I can make my way…" he stopped and Parker froze too- an alarm immediately going off in her head.
"Nathan…Nate…" she called into the comm. She stopped moving she wondered if they'd been compromised, "Alec…could you see him? What's going on?"
But Alec couldn't move either. He was as lost for words as Nate was.
"Sophie," both Nate and Alec said her name at the same time as they both stared at her, Alec seeing everything as Nate saw it.
She stood directly across from where Nate was posted. She was shimmering in a golden dress and looking for all the world like the most valuable thing in the room.
"What?" Parker called into the comm, "Sophie's here?" Her uneasy feeling flared to life again. Something didn't feel right.
"Nate, don't move…do not let her see you," Parker advised, but it was too late.
Nate was making his way toward her, pulled by a force he didn't question or temper.
"Nate…Nathan…" Parker called urgently but she knew it was of no use.
"ALEC," she shouted into the comm and the hacker startled.
"I'm here. Are you okay?" he responded.
"Yes, I just needed to make sure I had your attention. We have to turn on the alarms now." Parker instructed.
The alarms were Nate's job but she knew he was lost to them now and she knew that once he made contact with Sophie the entire plan would start falling down like a stack of cards unless they made a preemptive strike.
"Now? " Alec questioned, "but what about…"
"We'll work that out after," she interrupted him. "Right now we have to get them out of here. Get ready to come in…and Alec…" she paused, "please be careful."
He smiled and nodded his reply but said nothing. He turned back to the monitor and watched as Nate neared Sophie. He could almost feel Nate's anticipation. It was palpable.
Parker meanwhile injected the transmitter into the mainframe and Alec immediately saw the information come online.
He now had access to every electronic device attached to the Moreau organization. With that he should be able to track phones, computers, anything that would lead them to Sonia. Although as he looked at Nate's video feed he knew that they'd just solved a big piece of their puzzle. Sophie, alive and well and Nate was within arm's length.
"Okay we're online," he announced to Parker, "I'm pulling the alarms…now!"
"Good," Parker replied as she heard the first of the alarms begin to scream, their dancing lights rolling around and around.
The disconcerted hotel guests and meeting attendees were looking around for instruction or confirmation and beginning their slow advance toward the exits.
The chaos was just beginning.
Parker thought of her team, and then more pointedly about the fact that she was beginning to think of them as such.
The old, quiet plan to get in, get out and avoid detection had gone to pot.
It was going to be a long night.