Chapter Sixty-One

“MY NAME IS ACACIA. I’m Pierre Breckman’s girlfriend. He’s been kidnapped.” Acacia spoke in Russian through Wen’s headset. Olga sat next to her, listening silently to the exchange through her own headphones.

The Interpol agent on the other end of the line cursed. “Now there’s a war.”

“A war you can end. We will rescue Pierre. We’re asking you to help us track down Kuznetsov.”

“Do you have evidence Kuznetsov is behind the kidnapping?”

“Pierre was kidnapped inside a secure floor at the Red Square Hotel,” Acacia grew testy. “You tell me—who else could be behind it?”

“It’s after hours. You’re talking about a full-scale operation that requires extensive planning.”

“I have something to offer in exchange.” Acacia signaled to Olga.

“Let’s hear it.”

“Kuznetsov is stockpiling weapons, grenades, and bombs inside his compound.”

The agent paused. “How do you know?”

“We have video footage. I can send it to you.”

The agent rattled off an email address, which Olga quickly copied down.

“The address is secure,” the agent assured Acacia. “Send it over.”

Acacia locked eyes with Olga. “Email the weapons footage,” Acacia instructed in English. “Send the stills from inside the vault, too.”

“Can you see the images?” she asked the agent in Russian, nervously tapping her foot on the floor.

“Opening now.” The agent swore. “These are in his house?”

“Yes. I’ve also sent images of stolen artwork and antiquities from his vault. One of the pieces is very important to Pierre.”

The agent exhaled heavily into the phone. Then Acacia heard a furious tapping sound and a low expletive.

“What is it?” she asked.

“Hold on.” The agent seemed to put the phone down. Acacia heard footsteps and the sound of what could have been a filing cabinet opening.

She heard papers rustle through the telephone line, and then the agent spoke again in her ear. “There’s something else of interest in that vault.”

“What?”

“There’s an Imperial egg.”

“A Fabergé egg. Yes, I saw it.”

“It looks like the Third Imperial egg, which belonged to the Tsar and his wife. After the revolution, it was seized by the Bolsheviks and placed in the Kremlin Armoury Museum.”

“I don’t follow,” Acacia confessed.

“The egg is a national treasure. It was on loan to the Hermitage in St. Petersburg a number of years ago when it was stolen. Law enforcement all over Russia has been looking for it.”

“So you’ll help us?” Acacia held her breath.

“Everything takes time. But this, coupled with the weapons, should be enough for me to get some support. The Russian President is friendly with the Director of the Hermitage Museum. He pledged the stolen treasure would be found.”

“What can you do?”

“Let me speak to your head of security. I’m going to approach my superiors.” The agent paused. “And thank you.”

“Any help you can offer will be appreciated, Agent. But you know time is of the essence.” Acacia tried to keep the emotion out of her voice.

“I understand.”

“In case your superiors need further motivation, I should mention that in addition to the stolen Degas and the Imperial egg, it looks as if the missing Matisse from the Musée d’Art Moderne is in the vault as well. I have the contact information for the BRB agent in Paris who is in charge of the investigation.”

“Send it over.”

Acacia placed her cell phone on the table next to Wen’s laptop and gestured to the screen. Since Luc had been unwilling to help, she would pass along Philippe’s contact information herself. She pulled up his profile from her cell phone, silently grateful she’d met him.

“I will. I’m turning you over to our head of security.” She murmured her thanks and handed the phone to Rick.

“Thank you, Olga.” Acacia touched the agent’s arm.

“You’re welcome,” she replied, removing her headset. “We’ve been working with that contact for some time, but the boss wasn’t able to get anywhere with him. Lucky for us, the weapons and egg seemed to have swayed him.”

“Kuznetsov must have a lot of influence if Interpol was willing to turn a blind eye for so long.”

“He has an incredible amount of influence,” Olga agreed. “He rose to power by killing his rivals and anyone he felt was a threat. They call him Serge the Terrible.”

Acacia shivered. Serge the Terrible had Nicholas. They had to find him as soon as possible.

“What’s happening?” She turned to Wen.

He pressed a few keys and a black and white video popped up on his laptop. “The incursion team cut the power to the compound.” He pointed to some movement on the lower part of the screen. “They started a bonfire outside the walls of the estate. Kuznetsov’s men opened the gates to check out the fire.”

“So the compound is without power?”

“They must have a backup generator, because the lights came back on.” Wen gestured to an image of the mansion, which was illuminated. “As you can see, he’s got the equivalent of a small army in there. He was waiting for us.”

“Send the footage to our Interpol contact.” She pulled on Rick’s arm.

“One minute,” Rick said into the phone. “Yes?”

“Wen is sending over footage of Kuznetsov’s men leaving the compound. Interpol will be able to see how well armed they are.”

“Copy that.” Rick returned to his phone call.

“What about Nicholas?” Acacia asked Wen.

“Dave, status,” Wen ordered.

“The van got off the M-9 and onto the A-109, which is taking the long way round to Barvikha, if that’s their destination,” Dave replied. He projected an image of a flashing light traveling on a roadmap of Moscow onto the large screen.

Wen stared at the screen. “The incursion team is on the move. Is there a possible intercept point?”

Dave studied his laptop. “The A-109 turns into the A-106, which is the road into Barvikha. If the incursion team hops on the A-106, they may run right into them.”

“What about Kuznetsov? Any sign of the convoy?”

“Negative.” Dave shook his head. “I’ll keep looking.”

“Copy that.” Wen spoke into his headset, passing information on to the leader of the incursion team.

“Wait a minute,” said Dave. “The boss has stopped. It looks like he’s in a forest.”

A hush fell over the room. The light on the main screen continued to flash, but it had moved off the A-109.

Dave tapped on his computer, and an aerial view of the area appeared on the screen. “He isn’t in a forest; there’s a house.”

“Could be one of Kuznetsov’s safe houses,” Wen observed.

“So close to his compound?” Olga interjected.

“That could be why we lost the convoy,” Dave suggested. “Maybe the house was Kuznetsov’s intercept point.”

At that moment, Rick stood behind Acacia’s chair. “Okay, everyone. I want everything you can get on that house, including property registry, security systems, and schematics. Go!”

The team scurried into action.

“How far away is the incursion team?” Rick walked over to Dave.

“They’re about five minutes from the safe house,” said Dave.

Wen gestured to Rick and pointed to his laptop. “The secondary incursion team just entered the lobby. They’re on their way up.” He pointed to images from hotel cameras on the ground floor.

“Good. Send everything you can get to the primary incursion leader.” Rick straightened and rubbed a hand across his mouth.

Acacia looked up at him. “Now what?”

“Now we pray.”

She touched her hamsa pendant. “That isn’t good enough. I want to go after him.”

Rick rounded on her. “After who? Kuznetsov?”

“No, Nicholas.” She stood, clutching her cell phone. “I want the backup team to take me to wherever Nicholas is.”

Rick stood over her, hands on his hips. “No. No way. The incursion team is going to handle the extraction. The backup team is here for our safety. You aren’t going anywhere.”

“I’m not asking for permission.” She held up her wristwatch. “Wen will be able to track me. But I’m not going to sit here and wait.”

Rick scowled. “This is the safest place for you. We have no idea if Kuznetsov has other agents in the building or nearby. They could ambush you.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’m with a group of professionals.” She moved toward the door.

Rick followed. “Once the incursion team has Nicholas, he’s going to want to see you. You don’t want to be stuck in traffic in the middle of Moscow.”

“It will take time for the incursion team to study the schematics and plan their attack, correct?”

Rick nodded.

“If I want to see Nicholas as soon as possible, I’d better get going.”

“God damn it.” Rick scrubbed at his face. He turned to Wen. “I’m going with her. I want constant updates.”

“Copy that.” Wen looked from Rick to Acacia. “Stay safe.”

“I will.” She opened the door to the hall and Rick passed through it. She followed and closed the door.