Page 38 of Wired Target

If only Raveaux could cast off his past so easily.

Seated in front with the driver, Raveaux stared out the window, assaulted by memories of a family vacation he and Gita had taken to Santorini Island when Lucie was three.

Gita had loved the architecture of the villages and the folk crafts at the markets.Lucie had loved the clear, warm water and white sand on the beaches.

He had loved his girls’ happiness.

Pierre shook his head to dispel the sorrow.

He was here, now, and he had a job to do.

Pastel buildings in characteristic plaster, trimmed in mosaic tile and red clay roofing, clustered along stony streets with pebbled shoulders for walking.Bougainvillea, roses, and geraniums decorated painted doorways with pops of color; lines of laundry flapped between buildings that had been old when Pierre’s great-grandparents had been born.

The sun was setting by the time the taxi deposited them at a tall apartment building whose windows were fronted in tiny, ornate mock balconies.One of those, on the fourth floor, would overlook Pim Wat’s compound across the street.

Raveaux, unloading a net bag of groceries from the trunk, kept his hat tilted downward to block his face as he gave Pim Wat’s property a quick survey.

A high whitewashed stone wall, its top decorated with iron spikes.A solid inset gate with medieval-looking timbers reinforced by black metal strapping with a camera above.An admittance keypad.More cameras over the car entrance.

Nothing further of interest could be seen from the street.

Raveaux paid the cab and followed his companions inside the building.

A tiny but well-appointed lobby was overseen by a man whose neat white beard and dignified bearing matched his surroundings.He didn’t speak French or English, and Raveaux knew no Greek, but his healthy wad of cash made sure he didn’t have to sign in on the guest book and that nothing about their presence was recorded.Raveaux accepted a large, old-fashioned brass key, and the three men took the stairs to the fourth floor.

Once inside the high-ceilinged rooms, Raveaux dropped his burdens and moved to a tall window that opened over a decorative iron grillwork mock balcony.Standing to the side, he parted the filmy curtains and peered out.

Visibility into Pim Wat’s compound was hampered by her high-security wall, and the downward angle of rooflines.Her house was a classic example of older homes of the area: red tile and white stucco over stone, brightened with pots of geraniums at the windows.Built flush against a sea bluff on one side, Pim Wat would have an amazing view of the ocean from the opposite side of the house.

Raveaux knelt and opened his leather satchel, reaching inside for a rifle scope.Applying it to his eye, he scanned the layout of the compound.

Penetration from the ocean might be easiest; sensor lights and surveillance domes were tucked under the eaves of the house from this side.

He backed away and handed the scope to Rab, who took his place.“I’m going to take a quick shower.Get started mapping what you can see of the compound and come up with a plan to get in,” he told the ninja.

Rab nodded and spoke a flurry of Thai to his companion.Raveaux took a pad of paper and pencil out of his satchel.

Rab smiled and shook his head.“Scan,” he said.Sam had removed a camera with a long lens from one of their gear bags, along with a laptop equipped with a swivel screen.“Photo build map.”

“Even better.Good.”Raveaux shook his head and stowed his “old school” drawing tools back in his satchel.“See you in a bit.”

Raveaux braced his arms on the tiled wall of the shower surround.Under the fall of water, he considered calling Connor.

Pierre had been given marching orders that hadn’t been logistically sound, so he’d taken the matter into his own hands without authorization.Hopefully, Mendoza was in the hands of police and off the streets, and they’d found Pim Wat’s lair.

But would Connor approve of his course of action?

Probably, now that it had worked.

But the truth was, Raveaux planned to bring Pim Wat in with or without Connor’s say-so.He would to be the one to lay that victory at Sophie’s feet.He had no intention of killing Sophie’s mother; that would be too hard for Sophie to forget, even if it were forgiven.

Maybe it was hubris, but it would be so satisfying to call Connor after the fact and deliver the news that their mission was complete.

Meanwhile, Sam and Rab were proving their worth.He’d leave the men surveilling the compound and go out information gathering on his own this evening to see what he could pick up about Pim Wat and her habits around town.

He was in no hurry.The best things in life were worth taking time to do right.

24

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