‘What do you need, Raj?’ Her voice was measured. ‘Is there anything we could do with the satellite footage?’
‘I won’t be happy until we have a visual on Nathaniel,’ he said. ‘We need to be certain. There are cars warming up now – this looks like a convoy. If we’re lucky, these could be his personal vehicles. Can you see anything on the screen there?’
As one, everyone turned to look at the wall-mounted screen. Allie squinted at the increasingly familiar satellite image of a farmhouse rooftop and scattered buildings in the sprawling yard. It looked like three cars had pulled up to the front door, but overhanging trees were blocking her view – it was hard to see much beneath the leaves.
Dom seemed to come to the same conclusion. ‘We need to zoom in,’ she muttered, typing something into the computer.
A few seconds later, the camera inched closer. Now Allie could see the dark roofs of the car glistening in the late afternoon sun. She could just barely see the front door.
‘We can see the cars, Raj,’ Isabelle said. ‘But no people.’
‘Give it a minute,’ he said. ‘They’ve just gone inside. I haven’t got the best angle here to see their faces. I’ll be able to see them when they get to the gate, but I was hoping you could see more.’
On the monitor, the front door of the farmhouse swung open, and a group of men walked out.
‘We have motion,’ Isabelle said, tensely. ‘I count four… no, five men. All in suits, no black gear.’ She looked down at the radio. ‘This could be it, Raj.’
‘Copy that,’ he replied. ‘Can you see their faces?’
Isabelle had moved closer to the screen to get a better view, so it was Dom who replied. ‘That’s negative, Raj. There’s a tree blocking our view at this time.’
Unconsciously, Allie moved closer to Isabelle, staring up at the image.
All she could see was glossy dark heads, shoulders in tailored navy blue and dark grey, clustering under the branches of a sprawling chestnut tree.
Then: motion. The doors of the cars opened and the men disappeared inside. The doors slammed shut. The satellite brought them no sound, but she could see the way the cars moved slightly from the impact, the way the dust jumped and floated from the disturbance of the air.
Silently, the cars began to roll forward.
‘Raj – they’re on the move,’ Dom said urgently. ‘We’ve got no face visuals here.’
‘Copy that. I can see them. Stand by.’
Allie heard Raj say something quietly to one of his guards before the signal went completely quiet.
As the cars rolled with slow deliberation down the short drive, the room took on a kind of breathless anticipation. No one dared even move.
Isabelle stood in front of the monitor, one hand covering her mouth, watching the procession.
Next to her, Allie stared at the screen.
Come on, she thought. Come on.
The satellite showed the sturdy gate opening slowly in the dappled shade. The first car rolled out onto the road. The second followed closely.
The third was just turning out of the drive when Raj’s voice crackled from the speakers.
‘Visual identification made. Nathaniel is in car number two. Repeat: visual identification confirmed.’ Allie could hear the grim satisfaction in his voice. ‘We’ve got him, guys.’
Everyone whooped at once. Isabelle sagged forward for just a second before standing tall and striding back towards the radio. Shak high-fived Allie.
Even Dom allowed herself a moment’s celebration. ‘Hell’s yeah,’ Allie heard the tech say to herself. ‘Now we’ve got ourselves a party.’ Her usual decorum returned quickly, though, and she switched the microphone back on, raising her voice to be heard above the jubilation in the room. ‘Copy that, Raj. Visual identity confirmed.’ She added after a pause, ‘You’ll be able to hear how that news was received, I imagine.’
‘That’s affirmative,’ Raj said. Allie could hear the smile in his voice. ‘Further information, one of my guards is following Nathaniel’s entourage now. The rest of us are keeping watch on the house.’
They continued to talk through technical details, making arrangements. Then Isabelle headed towards the door, motioning for Zelazny to follow her.
‘There are some things we need to work out,’ Allie heard her say. ‘I’m concerned about the logistics of the next step. And the speed.’
Allie waited for them to make their way into the corridor, then she slipped through the door after them.
‘Isabelle.’
The two glanced up at her in surprise.
Allie took a deep breath. ‘I have an idea.’
‘Absolutely not.’ Isabelle shook her head firmly. ‘There is no way I will allow this.’ The look she gave her was scathing. ‘I can’t believe you would even suggest such a thing.’