Trigger Page 14

  “What kind of services are you talking about?” I asked.

  “Surveillance, reconnaissance, extraction, research, infiltration, recovery, various other things,” he trailed off, not looking at me.

  “Assassinations.” The word popped out of my mouth.

  “Yes,” he said quietly and I felt my stomach flip-flop.

  “Does your company provide all these same services?”

  “Yes.” He still wasn’t looking at me.

  “What is the name of the other company?”

  “Mirkos Enterprises,” he said quietly. He pronounced Mirkos with an Eastern European inflection, which made it sound intimidating.

  I may not know why they were after me, but at least now my enemy had a name.

  CHAPTER 10

  AT THIS POINT, the better part of an hour had passed. Chase kept checking his watch while Anna and I sat mulling over what he had said. Now that I had all this information, I wasn’t sure what to do with it.

  “What now?” Anna asked, obviously thinking the same thing I was.

  “First, give me your phones,” he instructed.

  As we handed them over, Anna asked, “What are you going to do with them?”

  “Get rid of them so no one can track you.” He removed the SIM cards from the back and crushed them before throwing them and the phones out the train window.

  Not having the phone made me nervous because I could not easily contact the authorities or my family. They could also not contact me. While I understood the reason, he had also just effectively obliterated the only lifelines we had.

  “What now?” I asked.

  “We need to get off this train.” Chase stood up as he spoke, gesturing for us to do the same.

  He led the way to the rear door of the rail car.

  “I am not sure about this whole jump-off-the-train thing,” Anna said slowly. She was starting to look a little panicky again.

  “The train will begin slowing down way outside the city, it’ll be fine,” Chase assured her.

  “If you say so.” She sounded unconvinced.

  Chase slid the door open and the three of us stepped outside. Since it was nighttime and we were in the countryside, there were virtually no lights except those on the train. Chase stood on the lowest step with his right hand gripping the railing as he leaned out to stare ahead of the car. He looked as though he did this all the time, which should have made me feel better, but it didn’t. Often I had a hard enough time not hurting myself while I was just standing still. Leaping from a moving train at night added a whole other level of concern that I was trying not to dwell on.

  “I will go first. Then you need to stand on this lower step, lean out as far as possible, and when I say jump, you jump. Don’t brace for a landing. Try to relax and land on your feet, but if you tumble, relax your body so that the impact won’t be so rough on you,” he explained. “But then, you already know about that, don’t you?” He flicked his eyes to me and then away.

  Since I didn’t have a good comeback, I stayed quiet. The train began to gradually slow down.

  “You go next,” Anna prodded me.

  To oblige her, I situated myself directly behind Chase.

  “Once I am gone, get in position,” he instructed.

  He coiled and then leapt off the train. I immediately stepped down onto the bottom step and leaned out to see what was ahead. I couldn’t make out much with the poor lighting, but it looked like we were surrounded by fields. Behind me, Chase was running after the train. I focused on what I was going to do, feeling very calm.

  “Now!” he shouted to me.

  Without hesitation, I launched into the darkness. It was a strange feeling jumping from a moving object in a void, but it didn’t last long. One moment I was hanging off the back of a railcar and the next I was landing feet-first on a grassy slope next to the track. My momentum pitched me forward, so I tucked into a somersault and popped right back up on my feet. Even though I was amazed it had all gone so easily, I didn’t have time to dwell on it. I had to start running after the train that Anna was still on.

  Racing past me, Chase shouted again.

  “Go!”

  At his words, Anna jumped off the train with her arms flailing. She must have braced herself because she hit the ground hard enough for it to look painful. With a muffled squeal, she rolled like a sack of potatoes down the gentle slope next to the tracks. I ran toward her, but Chase reached her first. The train disappeared from sight, its whistle heralding its approach to the town ahead.

  Anna was lying on the ground in what could only be described as a heap. Her blond hair was in disarray and she was covered in grass and bits of dirt.

  “Jump from a moving train in the dark, what a great idea!” She practically spit the words out.

  “It would’ve been better if you hadn’t stiffened up when you hit the ground,” Chase chided as he knelt to help her up.

  Between the two of us, we got her upright and brushed off.

  “What is step two of your amazing plan?” She was still huffy.

  “We need a lift.” Chase glanced at his watch.

  “Get a ride from a farmer out for a night-time tractor ride, perhaps?” I said sarcastically, looking around at the empty fields around us. There was a narrow road running parallel to the tracks, but it didn’t look like it got much use.

  “No, our ride is expecting us.” Chase was still looking around as he pulled out a small black cell phone. He punched some buttons then waited a few seconds till the phone beeped. Satisfied, he turned the phone off before putting it away in his pocket.

  “How could anyone know where we are? Who are we meeting?” I asked.

  “Max,” he said as he pointed out headlights heading toward us at a high velocity.

  “How on earth did he know to meet us here?” Anna asked.

  “It was prearranged,” I interjected before Chase could answer.

  “So you didn’t leave him in Rome like you said?” Anna asked.

  I answered for him again. “He was in Monterosso as your backup, wasn’t he?”

  Chase flicked an admiring look at me. “You don’t miss much.”

  “How do you know that’s him?” I asked.

  As if in answer to my question, the headlights flashed twice.

  “That’s the all-clear,” Chase said.

  “Why didn’t he help us when we were attacked by those thugs in Monterosso?” I wanted to know.

  “He wasn’t close enough. I didn’t think that I would have a problem getting the two of you out of there on my own.”

  A gray, nondescript car pulled up next to us. In the driver’s seat was the dark-haired backpacker from the train to Rome.

  “You need a lift?” He was decidedly causal as he leaned out the open window. He spoke with a British accent as smooth as Colin Firth’s.

  Chase was gruff. “Get in,” he said, indicating the back seat as he walked around the car and got into the front passenger seat.

  Max revved the engine and peeled out before our doors were shut. I scrambled to buckle up because Max was driving as though he was in the Indy 500. After surviving a kidnap attempt, jumping on and off the same train, and being shot at numerous times, the last thing I wanted was to die because of some maniac’s driving. Anna was also fumbling with her seat belt.

  “I’m Max. It’s so nice to finally meet you both,” he said by way of introduction.

  “Nice to meet you as well,” I responded automatically.

  Anna echoed the greeting.

  “There is some water in the bag back there,” Max shot back over his shoulder without taking his eyes off the road. I was thankful he was paying attention. There wasn’t much traffic, but there could be a stray cow or goat or something lurking in the darkness.

  Anna eagerly took the bag, handing a bottle to me before taking one for herself. Chase took out a third bottle as I started to drink from my own. He and Max were talking so softly I could barely hear them.

 
; “What are you talking about up there?” I asked between sips of water.

  Chase shot a look over his shoulder at me. “I was asking him what happened after we made it out on the train.”

  “And?” I was eager to know as well.

  Max glanced at Chase who gave a quick bob of the head in the affirmative.

  “The polizia were all over the place. It was like watching sharks at a feeding frenzy. They realized they were in way over their head, so they shut down the town and called for help. Your Guardia buddies were right in the middle of it. I didn’t stick around very long. It was one of your less graceful exits,” he summarized, shooting a long look at Chase.

  Chase winced at the jab.

  “You were pretty lucky.”

  “I had a little bit of help.” Chase was watching me in the rearview mirror.

  “Really?” Max didn’t miss the look or the implication.

  “You are sure you weren’t followed?” Chase asked.

  “Jeez, I am not an amateur. Besides, you killed them all before you left town.”

  Chase looked out the window. “We can’t be sure of that. You know as well as I do where there’s one, there’s usually five of them. This time they sent two teams openly, which means there is probably at least one doing recon from a distance.”

  “You’re probably right. We need to put some kilometers between us and Italy fast,” Max said.

  “Step three?” I piped up from the back seat.

  “France,” Chase said.

  “France?” Anna said, as though she hadn’t heard of it.

  “We need to get out of Italy now. With the Guardia’s involvement, it will get harder to cross borders.”

  “Once we are in France, then what?” I wanted to know.

  “Barcelona.”

  “We are just passing through France on our way to Barcelona?” I wondered what kind of plan this was.

  He eyed me while contemplating how much to tell me. “We are going to cross the border into France by car. Once we get to Nice, there is a high-speed train that follows the coastline that will get us across most of the country quicker than driving. We need to get to Spain as soon as possible. The one thing we don’t want is to get captured in France by either the bad guys or by the French police,” he explained.

  “Why Barcelona?” I asked.

  “I have connections in Spain.”

  “What connections?” I asked, my eyes narrowing to slits.

  “Someone who can help us find out what they want from you,” he said.

  “Who is this person? Do they work for your company?” she asked.

  “His name is Niko. He used to work for Aerial, but he’s on his own now.”

  When he said the name Niko, Max shot him a quick look. I couldn’t tell if it was shock or disapproval over how much Chase was telling us.

  “You sure that’s a good idea?” His voice was a little harsh.

  “I don’t have any other choice.” Chase’s tone was guarded as though he expected an argument from Max. “I need to find out why they’re after her. Niko is the only way. If you have any better ideas, let’s hear them.”

  “I don’t. I just wish we didn’t have to involve Niko. Trouble follows him like a shadow.” Max made no effort to hide his discontent.

  “It never catches up with him though, because he’s the best at what he does.”

  “What does he do?” I interrupted.

  “He is an information expert. He was the top man at the organization when it came to gathering and filtering communications. For years he was vital to countless operations, until one day he up and walked out. He didn’t give an explanation. He just said it was ‘time’. He has been on his own ever since. Every once in a while I’ve been able to get him to help me with a project, but not often.” Chase trailed off as the car slowed down.

  While we had been talking, the car had been cruising along the winding road at breakneck speeds. Now we were approaching a major highway.

  “You were close to him?” I guessed.

  “He was one of my first instructors. If you want to know anything about anyone, he is the one you talk to.”

  “You don’t like him?” I pointedly asked Max.

  “Let’s just say we both have our idiosyncrasies and they don’t always jibe,” he replied vaguely.

  “How does he find out all these things about different people?” Anna asked what would have been my next question.

  Max threw Chase a cautionary look that was ignored.

  “Over the years, he has established assets all over the world that funnel information to him. Plus, he is a genius with computers. He has written software programs that go out and gather information from both public and secure sources. It is then sifted through for important tidbits. It doesn’t matter if the information he gets is encrypted or in another language, he can decipher it, translate it, whatever. He can hack into any system at any time. If there’s anything out there about you, he’ll know. If anyone has the answers we need to stop Mirkos, it’s him.” There was almost a reverence in his voice as he spoke about Niko.

  When he said “stop,” I knew killing people would be a part of it. I wasn’t bothered by this. I couldn’t be on the run trying to avoid psychos with guns like those men back in Monterosso for the rest of my life. Still, I found myself wondering why I wasn’t even the littlest bit upset by what he truly meant when he said “stop”. The fact I had to ask myself this question troubled me more than anything else.

  I gave myself a mental shake. I could not afford to be scared or unsure. I had to be focused and impervious to doubt about myself, Chase, and our chosen path. To that end, I pictured a section in my mind that was an impenetrable vault. It was a place that I could put information or emotions I did not want, or have time, to deal with. I gathered all the fear, uncertainty, and doubt that prowled the darkest corners of my mind and I put it in that vault, shut the door, and locked it.

  I knew that I couldn’t give in to any emotions or thoughts that could weaken me mentally. In order to prevail, there could be no hesitation and no regrets. With those potentially debilitating thoughts and feelings gone, I could focus on what I needed to do.

  “Alright, let’s go find Niko and then figure out who’s behind this insanity and why,” I said with confidence.

  Chase gave me that measuring stare of his. When I didn’t flinch, he nodded once and turned back to face the front. Anna flashed me a stricken look. I knew that she hadn’t fully come to grips with everything that was happening. She was dealing with it as best she could, and I was proud of her for that. This wasn’t about her though; I was the one with the price on my head.

  “How far is it to Nice?” Anna asked.

  “It’s about 123 miles. It should take about two hours,” I answered before either Chase or Max could speak.

  They both flicked indecipherable looks at me. I chastised myself for speaking without thinking and subsequently showcasing my faultless memory. If I wasn’t more careful, my dirty little secret wouldn’t stay hidden from him for long; he was too observant.

  “Less than that with the way Max drives,” Chase said.

  “What do we do when we get to the border?” Anna asked. “Will they want to see our passports? What if they have been contacted by the police in Monterosso?” Her voice rose in pitch as she spoke.

  “In the European Union, travel between member nations is relatively lax. They probably won’t even look twice at your passport. Besides, the Italian authorities have limited information about you two, and nothing on me. Just play it cool and let me do the talking.”

  “Can we do anything about their appearance?” Max suggested.

  Twisting in his seat, Chase gave us each a long, considering look. “Do either of you have a hat or anything?”

  Anna reached into her pack and dug out a scarf. Tying her hair back in a bun she folded the cloth in half so it made a large triangle. She covered the top of her head and tied the ends behind her ears, obscuring her
bright blond hair.

  I didn’t have anything to cover my hair, so I pulled it back into a tight ponytail tucking it under so it looked shorter. Then I perched Anna’s reading glasses on my nose. It wasn’t a huge difference, but it may be enough to throw off someone who only had a vague description. The glasses made things a little distorted, so I took them off for the time being.

  The car lapsed into silence as the countryside flew by in an inky blur. It didn’t seem like much time had passed when Max gave us the warning that we would be at the border shortly. Both Anna and I were restless as we looked ahead.

  “Relax,” Chase admonished. “If they do stop us, don’t say anything unless you absolutely have to.”

  The car slowed down over some speed bumps as we approached a well-lit area with a guard house. Inside the small structure was a short man in a uniform.

  Rolling down his window, Max brought the car to a smooth stop right by the booth as the guard strolled out. When the guard leaned toward the open window, Max offered a jovial greeting in perfectly accented French. The guard answered in French, and the two spoke for a few minutes while the guard peered in the windows at the four of us. I gave him a shy smile, as did Anna. Chase appeared disinterested in the whole thing.

  “Passports,” Max said over his shoulder as he continued to talk to the guard.

  I had my passport out so I handed it to him on cue. Anna had to scramble for hers. He took both mine and Anna’s and put them under his and Chase’s before handing them to the border agent. Max kept talking to him, and he must have said something funny because the guard burst into laughter. While this was going on, he gave the passports a cursory inspection before handing them back. Max said something else and the guard waved us on our way.

  “Whatever you said must have been entertaining; he barely even looked at the passports,” I commented.

  “You don’t want to know what he said,” Chase said sourly.

  “Why not?”

  “He is at work at night, bored and alone. A car with two Brits and two cute American girls shows up. Let your imagination do the rest.” Chase was looking out the window.