Page 52 of Spies Don't Fall for Their
“Well, it looks like we didn’t guess the right order thatAragundi’steam would steal the art pieces.Wejust got word that theTrustpiece inVenice— the stained glass window— has been stolen.”
“Oh, no,”Zoesays.
“Sothat only leaves the one inAnkara?”
“Yes,”Kellasays. “Andwe don’t know if the thieves-slash-bad-guys-vying-for-top-place-in-the-world-destruction-and-domination-game are going there or toSavovic’smansion next.Weassume to theTrustpiece you just placed the tracker on since the auction is in two days.”
Zoemeets my eyes, hers wide withconcern. “Butif they are heading toTurkeynext, we are going to have to get out of here quickly to get there first.”
“Youdefinitely will,”Paxtonsays in our comms, “because the chase is on.Unfortunately, there are no available flights direct toAnkarauntil tomorrow, but we did get you booked on a flight toIstanbul, and from there, we got you tickets on their high-speed train that will take you the rest of the way toAnkara.”
“Whendoes it leave?”
“Youneed to be boarded in fifty-three minutes.”
“See?”Damjansays. “Ishould’ve been speeding all along!”
Iput one hand on the ceiling, just above the door, andZoedoes the same on her side.Thenwe link arms and hold on tight.
CHAPTER 21
HIGH-SPEED STAKES
ZOE
Turkeyknows how to make trains.Inthis car, one side of the aisle has two seats side by side, but on our side, there is only one.Halfof the car is facing the front of the train and the other half is facing the back of the train.Mostseats have a pull-down tray table, butLedgerandIhave seats in the center of the car, facing each other, so there is a small table between us.
Ourmics are off but our earpieces are in, and not long into our trip,Packston’svoice comes on in our comms. “Wesplit up the task of combing through all the footage at the locations that have hadTrustpieces stolen— both official security feeds and unofficial ones, where available— between a team here at theCIAand a team at theCSA.Andwe’ve found them!”
I’veused some impressive pieces of technology as an operative.Still, though,I’mamazed that while traveling 160 miles per hour, a tiny object that can slide in my earand be nearly imperceptible can allow me to hear our handlers’ voices loud and clear.
Itap my mic, which is in my earring, to turn it on and say, “Thethieves?”I’msaying it toPackston, butIact likeI’mjust continuing the conversationI’vebeen having on and off withLedgerall along.ButIdo try to not use too many words when talking about mission things.
“Yep!It’stheBarnoBrothers.Doyou know of them?”
“Alittle,”Ledgersays. “Aren’tthey relatively small-time?”
“Notanymore,”Packstonsays. “Apparentlythey’ve managed to stay concealed while growing their own little terrorist empire.”
“And,”Kellasays, “DirectorLancasterhas been working with both theTurkishgovernment and theSerbiangovernment to use our facial recognition software on the footage they have from their surveillance systems at airports and train and bus stations.Ifthey land at either, we’ll know and keep you updated.”
“We’regoing to get these guys,”Packstonsays.
Igrin atLedger.Weare.I’malready imagining the look that’s going to be onSully’sface when we get back and he tells me how proud of me he is.
Weknow from the mission briefing that the charcoal drawing that’s part of theTrustcollection is on display at theAnkaraCitadel.Betweentravel— via airplane, taxi, and high-speed train— and the hour we lost to the time zone change, we won’t arrive inAnkarauntil after ten p.m.TheCitadeland its surrounding shops will be long since closed, soPackstonandKellaworked it out with themanagement of the castle to meet us at 8 a.m. to place the tracker— well before they open at ten.
LedgerandIcan’t talk about the mission much here because there are too many people who could overhear.Mostpeople on this train likely speakTurkish, butKellahelpfully let us know that in the touristy parts ofTurkey, about seventeen percent of the population also speakEnglish, so we can’t just trust that we won’t be understood.Butless than two percent speakArabic, and even fewer speakFarsi.Bothare languages thatLedgerandIspeak, so if we have to say anything,Farsiis our secret code.
Butmostly, we keep the mission talk to a minimum and play games with the deck of cards thatLedgerpulled out of his bag.I’mnot sure why he thought that a deck of cards was mission-critical gear, butI’mglad for it.Becausewithout it, the only thingIwould have to occupy me is studyingLedger’sbody language, andI’vebeen doing more than enough of that, even with the cards.
Ican’t see his feet or legs because of the table, which is too bad, since they are the most honest parts of the body.ButI’veseen them enough to know that his feet often point toward me.Everyonce in a while, he’ll stretch his legs out, slightly into the aisle, andIcan see that they are crossed at the ankle.It’sa sign that he’s comfortable here with me.Butmore telling, the toes of his feet keep bouncing up, which tells me that he’s also happy.
He’sfacing me directly, not turning his torso at all.Hisarms aren’t blocking his torso at all, even when holding his cards.He’sstaying open to me.Andwhen he smiles, it’s the kind of smile that moves his whole face—lifts his cheeks, causes the skin at the sides of his eyes to lift.Andman, that smile is great.Itsappearance makes my smile appear, too.
Whatgets me the most, though, is his body language wheneverI’mtalking.Itcan be about the most random thing, but his eyes will be on me, and often, his head tilts to the side.Tiltingyour head to the side feels very unnatural if you don’t genuinely like the other person.Hisinterest and admiration seem completely genuine.
Allsigns point to one fact: he likes me.Maybeeven loves me.
