Tox took over. “Then, a year ago in Rabat, you tracked an arms dealer and recorded his activity on The Maestro. We have to assume someone saw you taking the video, and you landed on The Conductor's radar.”

“I left the CIA shortly after that and came to work here.”

“If The Conductor broke Raymond Greene, that means you’re blown, and you have to get out,” Tox said.

“Not yet,” Cam insisted. “I don’t think any of the immediate players know that Miguel Ramirez is a cover. Certainly not Atlas March, who is bringing me into his heroin operation. As long as I know, I can be prepared.”

“Tread very carefully, my friend,” Ren cautioned. “The Conductor may want to bring down Atlas March, but he wants to bring you down, too. The gauntlet's been thrown.”

Cam gave a wicked grin. “Challenge accepted.”

“What do we have on the yacht, The Maestro?” Tox asked.

Twitch looked up over the screen of her laptop. “It's owned by a retired Russian oil executive who keeps it docked in Odessa. According to his people, he leases it out and loans it to friends but rarely uses it himself.”

“Let me guess,” Tox interjected. “He keeps no paperwork, and these quote-unquote leases and loans are handshake deals.”

“The good news for us is because The Maestro is a legitimate purchase, so it has GPS tracking. It's in the area, currently docked in Ibiza.” Twitch said.

“The Conductor's keeping watch.” Tox drummed his fingers on the table.

“And there's nothing suspicious on that video?” Ren asked.

“Not that I saw,” Cam replied.

“What happened after you recorded it?” Tox urged.

Cam recounted the events.“I received intel that the arms dealer I was after had another meeting with The Conductor on Ibiza. I needed to head south, but I was getting fixated on catching him, and I was practically in the Mediterranean. I should have thought it through. The Conductor would never be that careless.”

“What happened?” Herc asked.

“I went to the nightclub and knew almost immediately I’d been played. The arms dealer I was tracking did business in warehouses and hotel rooms, and The Conductor has never shown his fucking face. I sat at a table with my thumb up my ass for three hours. Around midnight, Gemini March showed up with an entourage from a photoshoot.” Cam rolled his hands as if to say, you know the rest.

“I once saw Betty White at an airport.” Herc gestured with a tortilla chip. “That's the closest I’ve come to seeing a famous chick.”

“Moving on.” Steady sat up.

Chat leaned forward. “I think The Conductor knew exactly what went down between you and Gemini March. I think The Conductor did show up that night, and you were being watched.”

Ren took over. “The working theory is that The Conductor is taking advantage of Gemini March's obsession with you in order to secure the evidence you’ve compiled.”

Cam nodded in understanding. “And once he has the evidence, I meet with an unfortunate accident on my romantic getaway.”

“As an added bonus, Atlas March goes down for trying to ship heroin without paying the piper,” Ren added.

“And The Conductor is nowhere in sight.” Cam finished the thought.

“He doesn’t have the evidence yet, but he will shortly.” Tox clapped the table.

“What does that mean?” Cam questioned.

Tox gave Cam's shoulder a reassuring squeeze. “Let's just say my brother, Miles, and Nathan are approaching this from another angle. They think you, with a little help from the team, can bring this whole house of cards crashing down.”

Cam checked the time. “I better get back.”

Twitch peeked over her laptop. “We’ll keep an eye on you.”


Tags: Debbie Baldwin Bishop Security Mystery