Page 38 of Croatia Collateral

The only thing he’d gathered thus far was that the other members of the Nexus Collective weren’t happy about the schedule moving up.

With his thick eyebrows and deep scowl, Rabinovich could scare a weaker man or woman. Although he spoke English, his thick Russian accent was difficult to understand. “There will always be strife in Taiwan, especially in regard to the mother country’s desire to reclaim that territory. Three weeks will not make a difference.”

Finally, Dax had a country name.

Taiwan was the country they planned on taking the blame for the strike? How could they? They weren’t much more than a big island with little in the way of a military.

“It is imperative we move now, before we miss the chance to inflict as much damage as we can at this moment.” Yamaguchi shook a clenched fist. “We might not have as good an opportunity as now to take out as many ships and infrastructure and bring exports to a halt in Shanghai, one of the busiest ports in all of China.”

Dax’s gut clenched.

China?

They were planning a strike on China? Talk about poking the bear.

The Japanese woman lifted her chin and swept her gaze from one man to the next. “You have had ample opportunity to prepare for this event. Either you are ready to take full advantage, or you will fall behind and other corporations will move in and reap the benefits before we can. Are you prepared?”

“We’ve begun movement of our ships and air transport,” Dieter Strüngmann said. “But we need the additional three weeks to complete our staging.”

“It will take some time for the events to unfold and for news of the attack to leak out of China,” Yamaguchi said. “Do you have enough assets in place for a reasonable start? To get your foot in the door of those who will need your products or services?”

Strüngmann’s brow dipped. “Barely.”

“Barely will be better than most,” Yamaguchi said. “When we began these talks, I had my factories stockpile an increased number of critical electronic components, knowing there will be a huge demand for them after Evan Maas San’s targeted EMP strike renders those in that specific area completely unusable. We are ready.”

Dax fought to retain his poker face when inside he was dumbstruck.

EMP? Holy fucking hell!

Kagalovsky nodded and said in his thick Russian accent, “I, too am ready. Several months ago, my corporation increased the number of firearms we normally produce and added the production of weaponized drones. We anticipate Taiwan will need all the firepower they can gather to go against China.”

“Taiwan will not stop the behemoth,” Kagalovsky said.

“No,” Marco Galeotti agreed. “Other countries will likely join forces to protect Taiwan from China’s retaliation, increasing the need for the products and services we can provide.” As he spoke, his hands moved to emphasize his words, spoken with a thick Italian accent. “I am prepared to meet some of those needs.”

“Then we are all in agreement to move forward?” Yamaguchi’s gaze moved from person to person, pausing long enough for each to nod.

Dax forced himself to nod, though he wanted to scream, Are you fucking out of your minds?

Yamaguchi gave a final nod. “Then let us begin. Follow me, and I will show you what your investment has accomplished.” She led the way out of the giant room into a well-lit passage, talking as she moved.

“As we discussed all those months ago, we needed a place where our construction efforts wouldn’t draw attention and had sufficient access to import the necessary components we would need without interference from overzealous border agents. Evan Maas San had such a place, here in Dubrovnik and graciously offered it for our use.”

“Could you not have offered a place with taller passages?” Rabinovich muttered in Russian from his position behind Dax.

Kagalovsky snorted behind Rabinovich. “Da.”

“As this is the first time most of you have seen what some of your investments have achieved, do not be concerned about the age of your immediate surroundings. The thick stone walls and building foundations serve a purpose,” Yamaguchi said from the front of the single-file line. “It is difficult for tracking and communications devices to penetrate effectively.” The Japanese woman stopped in front of another door. Like the other doors Dax had encountered, this one appeared as old as the walls surrounding it, but it also contained a similar back metal plate that slid upward to reveal another keypad. Yamaguchi keyed in the same five-digit code the escort had used. “Evan Maas San can better explain all of this.”

“I have complete faith in you,” Dax said.

As the door swung open, the woman turned to nod acknowledgement. “Your confidence in my abilities allowed me to work autonomously to complete the renovation of the space and the installation of the computer components and satellite access equipment in less time than was originally allotted.”

“I had no doubt you were the right person to oversee the project,” Dax said, figuring Maas would have supplied some words of approval to the woman he’d put in charge of such a time-sensitive and top-secret task.

She bowed her head, accepting his praise.

“I do not understand why you did not have my computer experts involved,” Rabinovich groused.

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