Savage Recruit (Ryan Savage Thriller Series Book 8), стр. 12
That was thirty minutes before her cell phone’s location dropped off. “You didn’t think I needed to see this?” I said to Diakos.
He presented his politician's smile again. “We wanted to analyze it first. I know you are close to Ms. Rose. I did not want to put information before you that we had not first run past our team.”
“General, I thought this would have gone without saying, but I need to know exactly what you know. Do you have anything else like this?”
“Of course not, Agent Savage. This is the first video footage we have of her near the market.”
“Have you sent anyone to the market yet to talk with the merchants?”
“I have an investigator scheduled to go there in the following hour. The market has just opened.”
That wasn’t soon enough. “General, can you get me access to my own vehicle?”
He hesitated again. “I am sure that I can arrange that. If you are going to the market, I would like for one of my investigators to accompany you.”
“No. Thank you. I’ll go by myself.”
“Agent Savage, I assure you that we are treating this case with the utmost gravity. The United States is one of Greece’s most valuable and important allies. We will find Ms. Rose. I can promise you that. And so, it would be most helpful if one of my investigators—”
“I’ll go by myself, General. I just need the vehicle.”
He gave a quick sigh and smiled curtly again. “Of course. Follow me. Lieutenant Ambrosia can provide you with one of our administrative vehicles.”
Chapter Three
Ambrosia secured a Toyota Venza and brought it around from the motor pool at the back of the building. The compact SUV was sleek and had enough room to accommodate my long frame. I exited the base and followed the directions on my phone. My mind was running through the timeline of Kathleen’s disappearance when Brad called.
“Are you there yet?” he asked.
“Landed about an hour ago. They’ve set up an investigative unit at a local military base. I just debriefed with the general in charge and am heading over to Kathleen’s last known location.”
“Have they made any progress?”
“Not a thing.”
Brad cursed. “I couldn’t sleep at all last night,” he said. “Pisses me off that they wouldn't let me come with you.”
Last night, after ordering me to the nearest airstrip, Jonathan Watts had called Brad and seconded him to the Homeland office in Miami. With Kathleen gone, Watts needed him to oversee a development in a case that had been tracking the movements of a known terrorist based out of Jamaica.
“She had better be okay, Ryan. If someone does anything to hurt her, if they even so much as touch her, I’m going to…” He let the threat trail off.
“Yeah. Me too.”
He sighed. “Kathleen is kinda hot. But she’s scrappy too. Are they thinking some pervs snatched her up?”
“It’s doubtful. She went missing at a busy market. Like you said, she’s scrappy. She’s had enough hand-to-hand combat training throughout her career to give Chuck Norris a run for his money.”
“So someone jammed a pistol into her ribs and told her to start walking?”
“It adds up. It would have to be someone with enough magnitude to make her realize that screaming out or fighting back wouldn’t be the wisest of moves.”
“What would a professional want with her?” Brad asked.
“That’s the question of the hour.”
“You know, you don’t get to kidnap a high-ranking member of a U.S. federal agency without the shadow of the American eagle swooping over you and its talons reaching for your hide.”
“That was poetic,” I said. “Did you come up with that on your own?”
“I skimmed it from a Vin Diesel movie I saw last week. How capable is this general leading the search?”
“I’m sure he’s very capable. But I don’t trust him.”
“Why not?”
“I get the sense that he’s more concerned with using this scenario for his career advancement.”
“How so?”
I told Brad about the little maneuver Diakos pulled back at the office, his attempt at keeping the video footage from me. “He’s going to use this to his advantage if he can. He’ll make sure it’s his office and his people who find her. Then he’ll get the recognition and accolades from both the leadership of his own country and from the international community as well. He’ll be a shoo-in for whatever he sets his sights on next. He’s a politician in military dress.”
“Makes sense. Bastard.”
“And I’m not going to sit around while the trail gets colder just so he can play his little political parlor tricks. He can do that on his own time.”
“I don’t know why people in power can’t ever see past their own noses,” Brad quipped. “It’s like all they can think about is the next rung up the political ladder. There are exceptions, like Kathleen and Watts, but people like them are few and far between. If they could all give half a damn about all the good they could affect in the world, we’d all be a lot better off.”
“How is Zoe doing?” I asked.
“Dude, not well. Charlotte told her to stay home from school today. Last I heard, she was planning on hanging out around The Reef. Charlotte had a meeting at MacDill she couldn’t get out of, and Zoe didn’t want to be alone. I think Amy was going to take her fishing.” Brad went quiet for a moment. “Ryan. You find her. You do whatever you have to do. Just find her.”
“I will.” My fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “I absolutely will.”
The outskirts of north Athens came into view ten minutes later. I exited the highway, drove through a slow crawl of traffic on Sofokleous Street, and held my breath as motorcyclists freely rode the center line, squeezing between stalled rows of cars as pedestrians saturated the streets from all directions. It was a far cry from the ordered chaos of most American cities, where anti-jaywalking laws were often enforced and pedestrians waited for the