Page 48 of Centurion

“And if we present them with the evidence we have and threaten to out them to the world, the sanctions against them now would seem like a light slap on the wrist,” Archangel added. “Our job now is to find Abrasha and stop him before he’s able to carry out this plan.”

“And to find out what was on that item Eisenberger gave Trueman. They were both killed over it,” Jacob said.

Tori frowned. “Has Giovanni found out anything yet?”

Jacob shook his head. “She said give her another hour. She knows who it is, but getting them to admit to what they’ve done without torture will take a hot minute.”

“I want that information forwarded to me and Saint the second we get it.”

“Rog-O,” Jewell said. “Anything else?” She looked at the camera as she asked, although she was still typing.

“That’s enough for now,” Archangel said and watched as Fury and Jewell disappeared from the screen.

“Why would Abrasha take out the financial centers?” Tori bit her thumbnail. “What could he gain?” She looked at Jacob.

Jason shook his head. “The disruption would cause chaos in those cities. Trading would stop.”

“What could he gain by that?” Jacob leaned back in his chair and gently tossed his pen onto the table.

Jason took off his glasses. “Economic disruption for political leverage or a personal vendetta. We damn sure know it isn’t for some pie-in-the-sky ideological motivation.”

“Financial gain,” Tori said. “Everything for Abrasha is centered around money.”

“I agree.” Jacob nodded.

Jason shook his head. “There has to be something else. I mean, sure, he could sell short knowing shit is about to implode, but this is an extreme way to make money, even for Abrasha.”

“What else is there?” Tori asked.

“Well, watching, we don’t want people to look at what we’re doing; we set up a distraction, right?” Jacob leaned forward. “Could this—all of this—be a distraction? Have we verified those launch sites are active? They could be a ruse. Have we heard anything about nukes being built, bought, or sold?”

“No,” Jason admitted. “I’ve talked with every organization I could. Jewell has scoured the dark web. Nothing.”

Tori picked up her pen and opened her notebook. “Let’s do this the old-fashioned way. What crimes do we know for a fact Abrasha has funded or committed through surrogates like Pierre Archambeau?”

“The crypto heist. The Rostova group’s attempt to take over Switzerland. He was funding pirates off the Strait of Malacca in Indonesia. He was involved in trying to crash the peace accord and developed a biological weapon. That could have led to World War Three.” Jason lifted a finger with each event.

“Wait, I’ve heard that before.” Tori grabbed her tablet and tapped on it for a minute. “Here. In Anya’s statement for her security clearance, she said the men in her camp were talking about World War Three.”

“But we stopped each incident.” Jacob leaned forward. “Could this be a smokescreen to keep us busy? His intent seems to be focused on power, political power. Disrupting the Middle East peace talks, causing tension with the pirate attacks in the Strait of Malacca, Switzerland … the only thing that doesn’t factor in is the crypto heist.”

“Shit.” Jason slammed his hand against the table. “There are too many unknowns.” He leaned back in his chair and shook his head in frustration. “Based on what we don’t know, I think we need to modify our response to the sites inside Russia. I don’t want teams to go onto foreign soil. Jacob, get with Joseph. We’re going to send one person to each site.”

“A Shadow.” Jacob nodded. “That makes sense. They can get in and get out without being detected. Two teams to each site would leave ripples.”

“Ripples we can’t afford. I’ll contact Gabriel and let him know what we’re doing and why.”

Tori stood up with the men. “The best bet is to find Abrasha.” She narrowed her eyes. “Do I have permission to use my contacts in the CIA to coordinate an all-out search for him?”

Jason drew a deep breath and leaned on his cane. “I’m going to authorize it. From the initial read of the documentation that Ysabel Archambeau’s mother provided, there’s more than enough information to send a package to the Council. Find him.”

Jacob stopped and looked at Jason for a moment. “Nah, never mind.”

“What is it?” Jason asked.

Jacob gave Tori a quick look. “Do you think Darren Kowalski would know how to find Abrasha?”

Jason frowned. “He’s in jail. How could he?”

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