As soon as they were driving, Dan put in the call and when Hugo answered, he said, “Tell me you’ve found something, because I just heard Benoit Claudel took one in the head.”
“I heard about that too, and it doesn’t surprise me. Things are moving fast.” There was a pause, and then he went on, “It’s the worst-case scenario. Seems they’re purging people who worked the dark side for them, and they’re serious, which I guess you knew already.”
“Okay.” As Dan replied, he was making a series of calculations, how long could they survive in this kind of environment, what would it take, where would be the best place to disappear?
Then Hugo shut off those thoughts when he said, “There is something else. I had a call from Patrick White. He wants to set up a meet with you.”
Dan felt a spike of adrenalin, sensing the promise but also the dangers implicit in that information. Patrick White was the man who’d brought them so much of the work for which Dan and his associates now seemed to be paying such a heavy price. So maybe the meet was a setup, a way of adding Dan to the list, but that didn’t seem like Patrick’s style, somehow, and that in turn held out the possibility he was being offered a way out.
“Did he leave a number?”
“Yes, he did.”
“Okay, patch it through to me and I’ll see what he wants.”
“I’ll do that.” There was the briefest of pauses before Hugo said, “Is Charlie with you?”
“Of course.”
“Am I on speaker?”
“No.”
A few seconds elapsed this time, long enough that Dan began to wonder if he’d lost the connection, but then Hugo said, “I’m hearing chatter. They checked your place in Paris two days ago but, of course, they have no idea where you are. So they did Benoit while they were in the city. They’re heading out to Charlie’s place next, maybe as early as tonight.”
That would make sense in a way. Charlie had a place about halfway between Annecy and Bonneville, a reasonable next stop for them after Paris.
“How sure are you?”
“Pretty sure. And look, Dan, you know I like Charlie, but you have to concentrate on you. Let Charlie take the heat, and use that head start to get your ass out of Europe.”
Dan smiled, admiring something about Hugo’s ruthless streak. Dan made him a lot of money and it was that income stream that really concerned him.
“I hear you, Hugo, and thanks. I’ll be going offline for a few days, but patch that number, and anything else you can find out.”
He ended the call and switched off his phone. They drove in silence for a little while.
It was Charlie who broke it, finally saying, “Langley?”
“Yeah.”
“Hugo suggests sacrificing me?”
“Yeah.”
Dan laughed, and then so did Charlie and said, “That bastard! I’ll teach him a lesson one day.”
Dan nodded, not even bothering to defend Hugo’s character, then said, “He thinks the team that killed Benoit are on the way to your place, probably tonight.”
Charlie looked across at him, saying, “But I’m not there.”
“No. But we will be by tonight. Let’s find out what these guys are up to.” Charlie smiled at the prospect of some payback, but Dan pointed ahead, reminding him to keep his eyes on the road, then added, “And Patrick White wants to meet me.”
Charlie risked another sideways glance, and said, “A setup?”
“Could be. I guess I’ll know when I see him. But we’ll see what we can find out tonight first.”
“Yeah!” Charlie hit the horn triumphantly, immediately getting a reply from some other random car. “Fuck, yeah!”
He laughed, and Dan laughed too, though he suspected they both knew that it was little more than bravado, that there was a limit to what they could achieve on their own. And Dan couldn’t help but wonder if they’d already made a wrong move, because, right now, he suspected, they both should have been on that plane to Venezuela.
Chapter Four
Charlie’s place was a big modern take on an alpine-style chalet, set in its own clearing out in the woods. It was designed as a place to escape from the world, but with the kind of security and sightlines he’d need if the world came calling.
It was already getting dark by the time they arrived, and they spent the first hour checking the place over. Charlie set up his systems and brought some weaponry out of his secure room, including a sniper rifle, which seemed unnecessary somehow, and only served to remind them of the friends they’d already lost—both Benoit and Karl had been handy snipers, but it had never been a strong suit for Dan or Charlie.