Smith took the bag of food he was offered and sat it down on the table after securing the door behind Harbinger. He looked inside the bag. “There are four meals here.”
“Yup. We have one more joining us. He’ll be along shortly.” Harbinger tossed the beige canvas bag onto the couch. “Looks like things are heating up for us.” He walked over and kissed Val on the cheek. “Hope you’ve been being good.”
“Am I ever?” Val purred the response and laughed when Harbinger swatted her on the ass. Smith clamped his jaw down.
A twinge of absolutely misplaced jealousy shot through him. Instead of allowing anyone to see his reaction, he pulled the meals out of the plastic bag, then went to the phone to push the button for room service. “What do you want to drink?”
“Wine,” Val said immediately. “An oaky Chardonnay.”
“Beer. Stout if they have it,” Harbinger added.
Smith ordered the drinks, forgoing any alcohol for himself. His mind was already muddled with his blooming infatuation for Val and the resurgence of things he’d wished he’d never have to think about again. He listened as Val and Harbinger chatted like life-long friends. Not inserting himself into the conversation, he stood by the table, realizing he’d adopted the posture he’d used for years. His hands clasped loosely in front of him, and his head lowered. He was once again in the service of others.Thathe knew.Thatwas his life. The interlude between the end of Simmons and the evil associations the bastard had maintained and the death of Mrs. Henshaw had been just that—an interlude.
“Hey, come sit with us.” He lifted his head at Val’s voice. Before he could say anything, a knock sounded at the door. Smith once again made the trek to open the door.
He blinked and looked out the peephole again, opening the door wide. “Well, how the hell are you doing, old friend?” Smoke, or Dan Collins as he first knew the man, clasped him on the arm and strutted into the room. Smith shut the door and watched Val hug the newest arrival. Harbinger gave Smoke a hug, and they laughed about something said between them.
Val waited until they were done and popped the question on Smithson’s mind, too. “What are you doing here?”
“I’m here to run the table. Archangel wants no mistakes or questions. If we need to, we’ll call in, but everyone wants to keep this between as few people as possible. You look weird as a brunette, by the way. Have you swept the room?”
Val crossed her arms and lifted an eyebrow. “I look good no matter what hair color I have, and no, I didn’t feel like it.” She threw up her hands. “Of course, I swept the room. What an asinine question. We’re clear.”
“Man, you are always so touchy. Where’s the pouch?” Smoke looked around.
“Over here. Dinner is on the table. We’ve ordered up some beer and wine.” Harbinger filled Smoke in.
“Good. We’ll wait for the drinks and tackle what’s in this packet. Smithson, how are you enjoying London?”
Smith smiled politely, knowing he’d never share his thoughts about the events that had transpired since they’d landed in England. So he hedged, “They drive on the wrong side of the road.”
Smoke laughed and once again clapped him on the arm. “You get used to it. The first time I was here, I almost had a heart attack. I made a right-hand turn and went into the wrong lane. A little old lady driving a Fiat stopped as I careened to the other side of the road. I still remember her shaking her fist at me and screaming obscenities that a nice little gray-haired grandma shouldn’t ever say.” Smoke laughed. “I had enough explosives in the trunk of that car to blow half of London to the moon. Believe me, I remembered real quick what side of the road to drive on from then on. It was one of those life-altering moments.”
Smith opened the door when the beer and wine arrived, tipped the server, then shut and locked the door. After Val scanned the buckets chilling the alcohol, they broke out the food and gathered around the table. Smoke took a bite of fish, then rubbed his hands together. “Why can’t we duplicate that in the States? So damn good.” He opened the pouch and dropped a folder onto the table. “Okay, on to business. Here’s the gist of the operation we’ve built. This is Komal. Here with a beard and different colored hair. Here clean shaven, here with a hat on. His chief of security is believed to be this man, Vosser Blanton. He escaped custody after initially being arrested with Komal. Where Blanton is, Komal won’t be far behind.” Smoke placed several pictures on the table. Blanton carrying what looked like a machine gun, his face distorted in a yell. “These were taken by surveillance cameras at the Hague.”
Smith leaned in and studied the pictures. He committed both faces to memory.
“Val, you and Smithson are going in as a married couple. Mr. and Mrs. Smithson Dimitri Young.”
Smith almost broke his neck, jerking his attention from the pictures to Dan. “What? Why?”
“Duplicity, I’m afraid.” Smoke stared straight at him. “Not only are you a citizen of Russia by birth, but you’re a member of Bratva royalty. We don’t disguise the fact that you are in the country, and if by chance you are stopped or detained by anyone, your mother’s maiden name is a get-out-of-jail-free card. At a bare minimum, it will delay any action and allow you to extricate yourself from any sticky situation you find yourself in.”
Val put her hand on his thigh under the table. He didn’t react to what he assumed was meant to be a comforting touch. “Then we’ll give him a fresh start with a new alias when we return to the States, right? The Russian mafia will come looking for him if we use them, especially if they find out they were used to do work for our government.”
“That’s already underway. My friend, you will have a fresh start after this mission. A new name and no connection to your past.” Smoke looked at him expectantly.
Smith stared at him for a moment as he processed that information. “And if I choose to leave Guardian after this mission?”
Val’s head whipped in his direction, but she didn’t say a word. Smoke pursed his lips and nodded. “The alias is yours, although we’d like you to stay with us.”
“Why?” It was the only question that mattered.
“Personally, because I know what type of man you are. I know Guardian needs men of integrity and honor. You have both of those qualities. But I’m not going to blow smoke up your skirt. This mission is the only thing you must commit to, and that alias is yours. Free and clear. If you want to walk away after this mission, that’s your call. But I think you’ll like working for the good guys better than working for your past employers.”
Smith nodded, acknowledging everything Smoke had said, and he couldn’t help noticing that Val’s hand slid from his thigh.
Smoke reached into the canvas bag. “Alternate passports.” He handed one to Smith and the other to Val. “American if you need them. Keep them under metal foam until you do.” He reached into the bag again, retrieving two reddish-maroon-colored passports with a double-headed eagle emblazoned in gold on the cover. “Russian passports. You’re flying from Heathrow into St. Petersburg. Honeymooners on the way home from a trip to France. The computer trail of those trips will activate when these passports are scanned. We’ve wiped Smithson’s image from the New York to Heathrow trip and his passport scan, so the story will sync up if anyone looks. We don’t anticipate they will, at least not from the Russian side. There’s a small airfield seventy kilometers east, northeast of St. Petersburg.” Smoke pointed to a location on the map. “A car will pick you up at the airport and deliver you. A small aircraft will be waiting for you, and the pilot will fly you to Novosibirsk to visit your wife’s sick mother. We’ve used the pilot and his wife, who will pick you up, before, and they’ve been paid handsomely, but we’re not fools. While on that plane, you will mention your mother and her maiden name in casual conversation.Thatwill ensure the silence that the money we’re pumping into this operation might not guarantee. Nobody wants to cross the Solntesevskaya family, especially people being paid by unknown entities. And it will enforce the allusion we’ve built with this pilot that we’re connected to the highest levels in the country. Your reservation has been made at this hotel. Paid in full through the date the train will travel through Novosibirsk. Public transportation is available at the airport where you’ll be taken.”