As Tulli sat in Tuck’s office waiting for the video feed to go live, she heard the main door open and bang shut, and a loud female voice complaining.
“Just for one minute, can you keep your hands to yourself?” The woman griped. “I’m sure I can walk thirty feet without your hand on my ass!”
“I know, but your ass looks so much sweeter with my hand on it.” Danny’s British accent was unmistakable.
Hannah appeared around the doorframe, and smiled at the assembled group.
“Hey guys.” She gave an embarrassed wave as she realised they’d all been listening. “How’re you doing, Tulli? Are you and your sisters feeling Ok?”
Tulli smiled.
“We’re doing much better, thanks. Everyone has been so kind to us, it’s almost overwhelming.”
“Glad to hear you’re all recovering.” Hannah glanced up at Tuck. “Isn’t the feed live yet?”
“It should be by now.” He admitted. “Maybe Sophia hasn’t dialled in yet?”
“Or maybe you haven’t cast the feed to the TV set?” Hannah leaned forward and hit a few buttons on Tuck’s laptop, and the big-screen TV lit up with an image of Sophia and Alex, obviously lounging on his hospital bed, looking very cosy.
“Hey guys!” Hannah waved at the laptop camera.
“Oh, hi everyone.” Alex sat up a little straighter, as Sophia moved a couple of inches away from him.
“How’re you doing, son? Shoulder healing well?” Tuck grinned.
“It’s healing just fine, dad.” Alex grinned. “They’ve confirmed that I’m going to be discharged later, so we’ll be heading straight up into the mountains, to CJ’s place.”
“Your mom is going to come by and visit with you before you leave, and the security team will be waiting around back as we discussed yesterday.” Tuck confirmed. “All your stuff is already packed up for you, and will be in the car ready.”
“Sophia?” Gregor leaned forward. “You look tired sweetheart. Are you sure you’re taking time to rest?”
“I’ve been trying to tell her the same thing, Mr Diminov.” Alex glanced at Sophia with a look of pure ‘I told you so!’. “She thinks she can survive on a couple of hours on a sofa each night.”
“Hey, Papa.” Sophia blew Gregor a kiss. “I’m fine, really, and we’ll be out of here in a few hours. Once we get where we’re going, we can have all the down time we like, so please, don’t worry about me.”
“Sophia, the day I stop worrying about you is the day they embalm me, so humour me, hmm?” Gregor tried to look stern. “Take better care of yourself, Ok? You’ve had a rough time lately, and need to give yourself a few days to recover.”
Tulli leaned forward slightly, so she was in camera shot for the first time.
“Alex?”
Alex leaned closer to the screen, so he could see who was speaking to him.
“Tulli? Is that you?” He beamed. “I almost didn’t recognise you. You’re looking so different.”
Tulli blushed.
“It’s amazing what a bath and some clean clothes will do for a person.” She smiled shyly. “Alex, I just wanted to thank you for everything you did for us. And to say I am so sorry you were hurt helping Mischa. You were so very kind and brave. I just wanted you to know how much we appreciate you, and how much we know we owe you. If there’s ever anything I can do to repay your kindness, you know you only have to ask, and it’s yours.”
“Tulli, I was just doing my job.” Alex protested. “I’m really glad you’re all safe and unharmed, but you really don’t owe me anything.”
“Alex, if that was ‘just doing your job’, then the Marines can’t possibly be paying you enough.” Tulli insisted. “And my offer stands. Anything I can do for you, just name it. Such as it’s worth.”
“Thank you Tulli.” Alex nodded. “I appreciate it.”
“Ok, can we get back to the purpose of the call?” Tuck said firmly. “I’m sorry to do this, but we’ve had some news come in early this morning that’s alarmed everyone involved, and convinced us that we’re taking the right steps to keep you all safe.”
“Go on… spit it out then.” Hannah was closest to him, as always sitting on her husband’s lap, regardless that there were empty seats. “Tuck, you know I don’t do well with suspense.”
“Ok, well, the FBI have warning flags out with all sorts of different agencies, looking for any unusual movement through the border of any of the trucks connected to Luciana Vega and her cartel. They stopped twenty different vehicles yesterday, but nothing unusual and nothing illegal was found.” Tuck explained. “Which was a red flag all of its own.”
“No crime being committed is a red flag?” Tulli asked.
“When it comes to the cartel, yes, most definitely.” Tuck nodded. “It means that the trucks that were stopped were the decoys, because the real mischief was going on somewhere else.”
Tulli could see some logic in Tuck’s explanation.
“Like a magic trick.” She nodded. “Distracting you with one hand while the other one picks your pocket?”
Tuck smiled at her simplicity.
“That’s a good analogy.” He agreed. “Anyway, we have reason to believe that Lucky Vega crossed the border into the US some time yesterday, and from there, made her way to Los Angeles.”
Gregor leaned forward.
“Why would she go there?” He wondered. “If she’s coming after me, and we have to suppose she is, then why didn’t she head straight for Philly? Every man, woman and child with an internet connection knows I relocated here with my business. I have never had anything to do with Los Angeles.”
“Ok, people, this is the part where the ladies might want to start holding hands with the guys sitting next to them. It’s gonna get a bit scary, and the guys could do with a bit of reassurance.” Tuck smiled sadly.
Tulli knew he was only teasing, but she took Gregor’s hand, nevertheless.
“It appears that yesterday, a blog site ran a story about the rescue.” Tuck glanced at the screen. “It didn’t name any of you specifically, but it gave a fairly accurate outline of what happened, even explaining that the blogger had been told that Luis Castille had come to a very bloody end.”
“Who would do something so stupid?” Sophia asked. “Everyone was there when your FBI friend told us to keep it under wraps. I swear, I haven’t even told my mom what went down in Colombia.”
“Well, someone obviously didn’t get the memo.” Hannah murmured, turning her tablet around to show the gathering. “Your friend Hilary appears to have posted it all over her website. Including pictures of herself in Colombia, visiting different villages.”
Tulli watched Sophia lean forward to see the screen better.
“That stupid bitch!” She growled. “Are there any pictures of the rest of the team?”
Hannah scrolled through the report, until she seemed satisfied.
“No, there are only one or two pictures of other people, and they’re either locals, or so blurred that you wouldn’t make out any faces, no matter what you tried.”
“Small comfort!” Sophia scoffed.
“So, do you think the Vega woman spotted the blog online?” Danny asked.
“Oh, I’d say it’s beyond any doubt.” Tuck nodded. “From Hilary’s Facebook page, it seems she was excited to be having a meeting with a journalist from the New York Times, who wanted the full and exclusive story from her.”
“And did she?” Gregor asked. “Have a meeting with a journalist, I mean.”
“Well, from the FBI report, she had a meeting all right. But not with anyone from the New York Times. They’ve never heard of her, or her story.” Tuck shook his head. “I’m sorry to have to tell you this, Sophia, but unfortunately, whoever Hilary did meet with, they obviously didn’t like the story she had to tell them. Housekeeping found Hilary’s body this morning when they went in to clean the room. She’d been shot in each kneecap, and then multiple shots to the face. We have grainy CCTV footage of the so-called journalist and her accomplices entering and leaving the building at about eight o’clock last evening, but the general description fits Luciana Vega perfectly.”
“Oh, dear God!” Sophia groaned, as she dropped her head into her hands.
Tulli watched as Alex tried to wrap his good arm around her and hold her steady.
“How awful.” She whispered. “The poor, stupid girl.”
“What we can only guess at is whether they might have tortured her to get information, which is why she was shot in the kneecaps.” Tuck explained. “How much did she know about who was involved in the rescue, Sophia?”
Sophia sat up slowly, and Tulli watched Gregor lean forward to assess how his daughter was coping with the news.
“Umm, well, she obviously knew who I was, and the guys who were part of the medical team who were held captive with us.” She sniffed. “She would probably know Alex’s first name, but beyond that, I very much doubt if she’d have known any specifics. She was aware that there were military personnel on the ground, but her curiosity wouldn’t have led her to check which branch of the military. She would have known there were Russians there as well, but only because of their connection to my dad. I’m pretty certain she would have no clue who the Alpha-Stalwart family were.”
“Ok, well, that gives us a clue where we need to focus our energy.” Tuck nodded. “Alex, I don’t see any need for your plans to change. We’ll increase your security team by two, but that’s purely precautionary.”
Alex nodded.
“Sure, dad. That’s plenty.” He agreed. “CJ’s place already has top notch security anyway.”
“Tulli, you and your sisters will stay with us as planned.” Tuck smiled at her. “The further you stay away from Gregor the better, at least for the moment, I’m afraid.”
Tulli glanced at Gregor.
“I don’t like to think of you being the target for this woman’s wrath.” She shook her head. “It’s not fair, especially when you were only trying to help us.”
Gregor squeezed her hand gently.
“I have a great security team of my own, and with all the agencies involved as well, I have no doubt the Vega woman will be apprehended before she ever gets close to my property.” He said confidently.
“I’ll liaise with Cole at the FBI.” Hannah nodded. “I’ll also get hold of a friend at the Federal Aviation Authority and see if I can find any trace of a private plane coming out of LA and heading for anywhere close to Philly in the last 16 hours. The flight would have to be logged, and at least we’ll know if she’s definitely in the area.”
“Is there anything else anyone can think of that needs to be done in the meantime?” Tuck asked.
“Just get all the security teams into position, well-armed, and ready to rock and roll.” Danny suggested.
Hannah rolled her eyes, climbing off Danny’s lap, and holding her hand out to pull his giant frame up off the chair.
“Come on then! If we’re gonna be any help to Tuck and the guys, it’s time to head back to the Stalwart offices. I need to get Sacha and Abbey working on the tracking system, so we can catch this woman before she starts a war she’s destined to lose.”
Tulli smiled as they headed out of the door, and off to goodness knows where.
Alex and Sophia signed off next, with Sophia blowing her dad a big kiss, and Gregor pretending to catch it.
Tuck excused himself to speak to Candy, leaving the two of them all alone.
She loved the way everyone sounded so confident, but then they weren’t the ones having to walk away from Gregor, not knowing if she’d ever see him again.
“Everything Ok?” Gregor whispered, holding her small hand in both of his.
“Not so you’d notice.” She admitted, trying hard not to cry. “What if something happens to you? I think that would be the hardest thing to bear, out of everything I’ve been through.”
Gregor gathered her into him, wrapped his arms around her and held on tight.
“Everything I can do to keep my men and I safe, I will do.” He promised her. “After all, I have more to live for now than I can ever remember having. You don’t think I’d be reckless and throw all that away, do you?”
Tulli could feel the tear break free from her lashes and slide down her cheek.
“Besides, I have something promised to me, that nothing will ever make me give up.” Gregor murmured, and Tulli could guess that he might be smiling.
She leaned back to look into his face, and sure enough, his eyes were crinkled at the edges.
“What do you have promised that could be so important?” She frowned.
“Oh, I seem to recall a beautiful woman recently promised me some kisses. I plan to collect on that promise, every chance I get, for a very long time.” Gregor smiled.
Tulli blushed, still unable to believe she had actually said those words to him.
“Well, seeing as we’re about to be separated for goodness knows how long, and kisses blown down a video link are nowhere near as satisfying, don’t you think you’d better stock up on a few before you have to leave for home?”
Gregor leaned forward until their lips were almost touching.
“I thought you’d never ask!” He whispered, just before he stole her breath away.