Page 50 of A Valiant Prince

“You are an enigma, Jack,” Anna says to him.

“Drink?” he asks as he opens a giant globe which is actually a cocktail setup. It’s all very James Bond.

“How about a martini?” Anna says with a wink.

“Shaken or stirred?” he asks with a smirk. I roll my eyes at the two of them.

“Shaken, of course,” Anna replies with another wink before sitting down in a dark leather chair.

“It’s a nice house you have here,” I say to Jack.

“I haven’t been able to let it go,” he admits. “How about you?” he asks, catching me off guard. I look over and realize he’s asking for my drink order.

“Scotch,” I say, thinking of the first manly drink that comes to mind because I’m guessing he doesn’t have beer stocked here.

“Sure. There is a wine and beer fridge in the kitchen. Please help yourself to whatever,” he adds as though reading my damn mind. I want to curse at him for not bringing this up sooner, as though I’m staying at some five-star hotel.

He hands me my drink, and I sit down next to Anna. A few seconds later, Mia, Chris, and Auggie enter the room. From Chris’s protective arm around Mia, I’m left wondering when they will just fucking admit they are an item. At this point, I almost just want to call them out on it. But my brain is sent back to the present as Jack offers them drinks and then proceeds to make them before sitting down in a giant leather chair. He looks like James Bond, he’s wearing suit pants and a white buttoned-down shirt. I’m sure the matching suit jacket is around here somewhere. He has one leg crossed over the other, and he’s holding a martini in his hand. He looks cool and collected as though assassins and explosions are just part of his typical day.

He stirs the spear with olives around in his glass and takes a sip as everyone in the room stares at him, which now includes our security detail.

“The intel has been dropped on the internet, very secretly of course. This will look like a plan from your security. A plan to hide you all. I imagine it will take whoever this is a good twenty-four hours from now to devise a plan. We’ll be tracing the breadcrumbs, so we’ll know when someone bites. So, if we are cautious, I do think we can be out and about tomorrow. Hell, it may expediate our plan. We’ll keep tabs on the situation and let you know when a fish has been hooked. In the meantime, after tomorrow, I’d appreciate it if you all stuck closer to home. Once we lure our perp here, I’ll decide how to proceed. I’m going over careful plans with your security detail. There are a number of exit strategies that can be employed at any time. I want you all debriefed on those by immediately. The situation will be closely monitored, and we will have briefings twice daily as the things progress. With any luck, we will nail the SOB by next week,” he says casually as though we are talking about defeating a fellow sports team.

“Yes, I’d like to be debriefed of all exit strategies as soon as possible,” Chris interjects.

“I will go over them with you personally after this,” Jack says as he sips his martini. “Also, be aware that I have my own security team here on the property. They are split up into several different units. I will make sure that they meet each of you, so you know them. They are patrolling the grounds and also providing additional intel to us. The main headquarters of the operation is actually at a cottage on the edge of the property, so we’ll be nearby,” Jack adds.

I really, really want to know what shit Jack has been through in his life that he can sit here so calmly discussing exit strategies as though discussing bank drafts and tax codes. I also don’t really want to know what horror this man has seen that a possible high-level assassination attempt doesn’t even get his adrenaline pumping even a little bit.

The one thing I do know, Anna is completely enamored by him. I’m not sure if it’s his high-level espionage career, the fact that he is pseudo-royalty, or the combination of the two that intrigues her the most. But what I do know, is she is sitting next to me hanging on to every word he says as though he’s a revered god.

“Jack, can I be blunt?” I ask him.

He laughs. “I prefer you are,” he says.

“Why is Interpol so worried about this?” I ask him.

Something about my question unsettles him because he sets his drink down on a marble coaster on an inlaid wood mahogany table and leans forward with his elbows on his knees.

“Let’s just say that my particular unit is very concerned with matters of international instability. Potentially taking down not just one but two royal families of economically prosperous countries, albeit small, within the European community, would have far-reaching political impacts. So, Interpol is very much concerned with such matters. Additionally, when criminals are committing crimes across borders and threatening world leaders, we tend to take note,” he says, looking at me with very serious green eyes.

I nod because my speech fails me after his explanation is laid bare.

“Now, whoever wants to follow me, I will go through the security exit plans,” he says as he stands and walks to the kitchen.

Chapter Sixteen

Whoever questioned Jack’s readiness for a disaster, would be grossly mistaken. And whoever would think this is just some old house, also would be mistaken. Jack has shown us every security update to his home, yet I suspect there are others that we don’t know about.

There is a tunnel leading to a small garden shed about a hundred yards away. There’s not just one but two safe rooms. There are motion sensors literally all over the house. It’s impossible for a person to move about the house without Jack knowing. There are cameras covering most of the house, except the bedrooms and bathrooms. There’s a faux external security system that emits a signal when lines are cut, and there is a hidden internal security system within the walls. There are fancy heat sensors and weight sensors and electronic wave sensors. I would never have believed the house was fitted with this insane amount of security, but I would be very, very wrong.

And so, here we are, standing around the massive kitchen island in Jack’s kitchen. The kitchen itself, along with some of the bathrooms, are the only things that look truly out of place in the house. It is a magazine-worthy modern kitchen that looks straight off one of those home improvement shows.

Jack hands us each a bracelet. They look like basic fitness bracelets, but they apparently have tracking mechanisms in them. He also fits each of our cell phones with some crazy modern apps that can track us as well, similar to what he did with Anna’s phone back in Pittsburgh. He promises to remove the software after the threat is over, whenever that may be.

He shows us several concealed buttons in the house that are panic buttons that will send alerts to his team if something is amiss. This, of course, is on top of the regular alarm system features that we’ve all been instructed on.

And so, we are now standing around the kitchen as Jack puts several beers on the counter for us.

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