Page 31 of Stealth Mission

“Did anyone leave after the explosion?”

Vik steps out of the car and adjusts his shirt, his line-backer shoulders fighting the fabric. “Notdiscrowd.” He snorts and looks around. “Too high or drunk to care.”

“Damn. Unbelievable.”

He pulls his rifle out of the backseat, checks the clip and slings it over his shoulder. “Velcometo my world.”

Whatever that is.

The other guards have shed their suits and are dressed like Vik today. A few glance toward us. They’re working in dispersed teams, broken up in pairs, and from the looks of it, they are searching the grounds for explosives.

Eight hours after the explosion they’re still at it.

One team has a dog. The others appear to be using some kind of technology. Mighty sophisticated for the guards of a mayor of a small town in a country like Vandemora.

He sees my curiosity. “We brought our own equipment.”

“Where are you from?”

A slow grin splits the stony facade of his face. “If I tell you, I must kill you.”

“That’s so overused.”

He grunts, “It’s still a good line.”

With his Russian-like accent there isn’t much of a mystery where Vik’s roots are.

“I also won’t ask how you ended up working here. Mind if I look at the car?”

He chuckles darkly as he stalks off toward the other guards. “Suit yourself. Just don’t make mess if you get yourself blown up. Bloody bits are bitch to clean up.”

I take a few steps toward the charred remains, but stop and turn back toward him. “Vik, I have a question for you.”

He’s still as a marble column as I walk toward him, holding out my phone. “Have you seen this woman?”

Intelligent eyes scan the screen, then meet mine. “Who isdiswoman?”

“A friend that’s been in the area and I need to find her.”

Taking my phone he angles the image for a better view. “Looks like mayor’s girlfriend, Cornelia.”

The woman who met me at the door last night.

“I know. I thought that too at first. But it’s not the same woman. There are subtle differences. Eye color, the shape of her nose, the angle of her jaw. But at first glance they could be related.”

When he passes the phone back, his gaze has hardened. “Who do you work for?”

“A private security company.”

I wait for his reply as the cogs turn behind his calculating stare.

“She’s missing, yes?”

I nod.

His gaze moves past me to the other guards. “I’ll let my team know.”

“Keep it discreet.”

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