Page 31 of Wrecked
He could have communicated in Russian, but that would have raised the Collector’s suspicions. W did not have the patience to keep calming him. He ordered his man to give him a report.
“Targets evaded the mansion detonation,” Gregori replied.
Cold fury boiled through W, though he showed no reaction. “Who failed?”
“I do not have this answer yet, Sir, but I will soon. I assigned operatives to neutralize arms dealer and remain until I gave order to leave in case HAMR black ops team returned to Esteban’s armory. When this happened, our operatives engaged the HAMR team.”
That would mean the HAMR team had survived the explosion. W argued, “Someone tripped the activation wire.”
The Collector remained calm, but his fingers tightened around the glass, causing condensation to run down the side.
“This is true, Sir, but until I have reviewed everything and inspected the destruction at the mansion myself, I will not have the answers you require.”
“What of their return to the armorer?”
“I am not happy to report the HAMR team escaped. Counter operatives I contracted were highly skilled and came with top referrals, yet they were disappointing. I will ensure this is last time anyone suffers disappointment from their failure.”
W would not hold Gregori responsible for this glitch. His man had proven extremely loyal and capable. He had an open checkbook to hire the best.
Evidently, this time, Logan’s operatives had been the best.
Not next time.
Until Gregori could report what had gone wrong at the mansion, W focused on delivering the first part of a payment for a future toy. “Do you have evidence of first target termination?” He did not have to clarify which one as this had all been arranged for Gregori to send him a specific death photo.
“I am sending it now, Sir.” A silence followed then Gregori said, “Please check your electronic vault.”
W thumbed a link to his private electronic vault. There was a photo of the armorer known as Esteban who had broken the heart of a powerful bomb maker. To be more specific, Esteban’s as yet unidentified friend, someone on Logan’s teams, owed the debt for killing the man’s son when the two of them had been prisoners in Libya.
Many powerful people were interested in the new bomb this genius was devising. W would have this bomb without a monetary bidding war.
Gregori never shied away from the truth, making him the most valuable of W’s operators. “Although second target escaped firefight, we have video from outside Esteban’s building. I am hoping we have clear images from battle. I have sent everything to our intelligence department. We will find him, Sir.”
Not the report W had expected, but he could move ahead with his plans and leave capturing the second target in Gregori’s capable hands. W thought on what opportunity this might provide. “I want him alive.”
No questions asked, Gregori said, “Yes, Sir.”
W ended the call and sent the image of Esteban dead with the note –One down then the final delivery. Their texts went through a cryptic electronic process to prevent tracking his location or the bomb makers.
After a minute, he received the message:
The second one is most important. Bring me his head and we will make the trade.
Few things could give W a charge of excitement, but he loved the chance to gain a bomb unlike any other that could be carried in three parts no larger than three basketballs. A bomb that would take out ten square miles and leave a two-hundred-foot hole in the ground.
He put his phone down and lifted his index finger, the signal for the flight staff to inform his pilots to take off.
Leaning back with a content sigh, W said, “All has turned out better than even I expected.”
Surprise brightened the Collector’s face. His fingers stopped strangling the glass. “This is so? Excellent.” He lifted his glass. “A toast to your success. I look forward to many more opportunities to work together again.”
Beaming a smile worthy of a magazine spread, W met the toast with his glass and took a drink. The Collector had been hunted by military and law enforcement on every continent, but he sat there free and happy because of his healthy distrust in others that had kept him alive.
W would allow him to think all had gone according to plan. The greedy Collector would accept whatever W told him from here on.
Fools. Everyone around him was so easily fooled.
No operation went exactly as planned, which was why W had backup plans for his backup plans and employed the best black mission operators.
