Page 28 of Centurion

“I’ll leave in fifteen minutes.” She poured herself a glass of orange juice and then one for Con.

“Con, I’ve put all the details in the shared folder. Let me know which ones you want, and I’ll do the rest.”

Con tapped his earpiece, “Brando, man, pick the ones you want and leave the rest for me.” Con chuckled. “We’re equals.”

There was silence for a moment. “Thanks, that’s good to hear.”

“Well, someone should have told you that long ago.”

“Thanks, man. I’ll take the passports and identities they claim go with them. You’ve got the embassy call logs, and they’ve given us access to the security cameras inside the embassy, with the exception of the ambassador’s office.”

“What about Eisenberger’s residences?” Con asked with his mouth half full.

“Dude, chew quieter.” Brando sighed. “That’s just gross, and the big guys have a specialist taking care of that assignment.”

“How’s Jewell?” Ronnie asked.

“Think she’s still sick. Ethan has been assigned most of her duties. What he can’t handle, Ring will pick up.”

Con made a point to smack his lips noisily and winked at her as he was doing it. “Great, I’ll get back online with you when we’re done eating.”

“Thank God,” Brando drawled. “Don’t let this twit fool you, Ronnie. He was brought up with manners. Make him use them. I’m clear.”

They both tapped their earpieces, and she shook her head at him. “Why do brothers need to harass each other incessantly?”

Con shrugged. “I think it has something to do with … I don’t know. It’s kind of like a ladder of sorts. My oldest brother, Rob, harasses Matt. I, in turn, bother the hell out of Brandon.”

“Matt doesn’t harass you?” She cut a small piece of her egg and placed it on a square of toast.

“What? No.” He laughed. “There are so many years between them and Brandon and me we rarely talk. They have different interests than we do. They’re more like older cousins thanbrothers.” He shrugged. “But Brandon and I are close, so there’s that.”

She stared at the lights and smiled. Con’s ladder had a couple of steps missing. She laughed at the thought. Her eyes traveled over the grid above her. A ladder. Shit. She was on her feet in a second. She pulled a step stool she’d been using from the living area to where she’d been lying.

Examining the wood frame, she found what she was looking for. Carefully, she tested the hinge and looked for a way to release it. She pushed and pulled, finally realizing she had to slide a decorative brass adornment over the hinge’s release button on both sides simultaneously. The frame lowered, and she saw the seam where the hidden panel was located. She reached down to her ankle and withdrew the Beretta PX4 Storm she carried. Grabbing the release, she yanked the panel open and stepped back, her gun trained on the opening. She used her cell phone’s flashlight as she stepped up to look at the compartment. It was tight, damn tight, but there was enough room for a man to lay flat in the compartment. It wouldn’t be comfortable. She examined the length of the insulated compartment. Seven, maybe eight feet in length. She tapped her earpiece. “Found it.”

“And Abrasha?” Fury demanded.

“Not here.” She stepped down the ladder. “The decorative frame overhead hid the compartment.” She snapped several photos of the compartment. “I’m sending pictures.” She hit send. “The compartment would work for smuggling. You could cram a lot into that area. It would hold someone as big as Abrasha. He’d be cramped, but he wouldn’t be found.”

“Leave it open. Archangel will want to reach out to his counterparts in the U.K. and allow them to see what you discovered.”

“Where there’s a will, there’s a way. What else do you need me to do?”

“Nothing at this point. I’ve got Con and Brando working on setting up surveillance in the government and banking areas just in case Abrasha shows his face.”

“Don’t forget the residences, too,” she said as she replaced her weapon in its holster.

“Con said he’d already accessed the neighborhood’s digital doorbells and hacked into London’s extensive traffic camera system. I have a feed of both residences and a rotating feed of the government and banking areas.”

“He’s pretty damn good at what he does.”

Fury made a harrumphing sound.

“What in the world is your gripe with him?” She laughed as she exited the plane. She walked straight over to where the entry control point for the aircraft was erected. “You’ve got a compartment in the main cabin. I left it open.” She walked out of the cordoned area and straight to her car. When she got inside, she said, “I’m waiting.”

“You’ll be waiting for a long time. Ask your boyfriend.”

“My boyfriend?” Her jaw dropped. “What are you trying to say?”

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