Page 82 of Savage Redemption

“Adan? Oh, Adan, what have they done to you?”

CHAPTER 22

Ethan

We touchdown atAeropuerto Tenerife Sur-Reina Sofíaand taxi to one of the private bays where we disembark and head for the VIP lounge in the terminal. Immigration and customs formalities are blessedly minimal. My phone rings as soon as I switch from flight mode.

“Cristina?”

“You arrived okay?”

“Yeah, just got into the terminal.”

“I chartered two helicopters locally as well as a couple of cars. And an extra pilot. Magda can fly the other one. Where are you headed?”

“Depends what the professor has for me.” Casey went back to New York a few days ago, and Frankie is away at university. I was about to phone my sister and ask her to do a spot of digital surveillance for me, but Eva Byrne stepped forward to offer her hacking services. Turns out she’s remarkably good at it and, using Casey’s equipment, is able to tell me that Rosie’s plane touched down less than twelve hours ago. CCTV in the airport shows her at the bureau de change buying a couple of hundredquids’ worth of local currency then heading for the taxi rank. Local ANPR shows Rosie’s cab travelling towards the interior of the island rather than along the southern coast, which tells me she’s headed forLos Vinedos, Kaminski’s hacienda and business headquarters, rather than his luxury yacht.

Makes sense, really, though I doubt if she’s worked out that Kaminski will be more likely to hold any prisoners at the farm, not on his yacht.

“Magda, you’re with me.” I’m already striding back towards the tarmac, my men behind me. “Jack, Tony, Nico, Rome. You, too.” I want my best men with me when we enter the lion’s den. “The rest of you, split between the other chopper and the cars. One of the cars needs to head to the marina to keep an eye on the yacht, in case Kaminski is there. The other car and both choppers are headed forLos Vinedos.”

“Just one problem, boss.” Jack is matching me pace for pace. “Suppose Kaminski doesn’t take kindly to a helicopter landing unannounced on his lawn? He’s likely to shoot us out of the sky.”

“Fair point.” I drag my phone out again. “I’ll ring him and tell him we’re on our way. Then if he does open fire, at least we can be sure he knows it’s us and he’s doing it on purpose, and we’re justified in returning the compliment. Nico? Can you be primed, just in case?”

“Sure thing, boss.” Nico is our resident sharpshooter, a highly skilled sniper who can hit just about anything from any distance. The first sign of hostility on the ground and he’ll take out their shooters before they can do much damage.

We pile into the transport, and Magda has us airborne in moments. The other chopper is to follow precisely three minutes behind while the cars make their way to their respective destinations.

Kaminski answerson the second ring and is rather less than delighted to learn I’ll be on his doorstep in a few minutes.

“What’s this about, Savage?” he snarls.

“Just a brotherly visit,” I assure him, putting the call on speaker phone. “I need a little chat.”

“You could just phone,” he points out.

“I tried that, and you hung up on me. Bad idea, Kaminski. Seriously bad idea. And of course, some things call for the personal touch. Don’t you agree? Why? Is there a problem?”

“Why would there be a fucking problem? A bit of notice would be appreciated, though. I’m busy.”

“We’re all fucking busy, Kristian, and I don’t appreciate being put to the trouble of calling on you in person. See you in ten.” I end the call and grin at the men seated alongside me. “I guess there won’t be a welcome mat laid out for us.”

“He sounded jumpy,” Rome observes.

I nod my agreement. I was already reasonably certain he had San Antonio, but having heard nothing from her in over twenty-four hours, I strongly suspect he now has Rosie, too. “What do we know about the layout of that place? Where will the prisoners most likely be?”

“There was no secure facility that we could see last time we were there,” Jack replies. “He must have some sort of lock-up, though and my bet would be on a basement.”

“Yes, that’d be favourite.”

“We saw most of the hacienda when we visited before, but there was one door off the main hall that was locked.”

“Yes. I remember. At the end, and on what looked to be an outside wall, so not leading to another room at ground level anyway.” I think for a few moments, then, “Okay, here’s the plan. When we arrive, I’ll go and talk to Kaminski. Bartosz, too, probably. I’ll see what they have to say and suggest — strongly suggest — they release San Antonio and Rosie. The rest ofyou, check out that locked door and be ready to break through it on my command. Tony, you’re with me. Rome, too. Jack, you lead the reconnaissance on the basement and be ready to do whatever’s necessary to retrieve any prisoners we may be interested in.”

Everyone nods. There are one or two queries, for clarification, but generally everyone knows their part in this. It’s a well-rehearsed routine. Armed guards are visible on the steps of the hacienda as we approach.

“Nico?” I check that he’s ready to retaliate at the first sign of trouble.

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