Chapter 38

CHAPTER 38

E ZE

Harvath left Ashby and Palmer to keep an eye on things in Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat. If anything went sideways for Inessa, or Eva for that matter, he wanted people in place who could step in immediately.

Hopping into the G-Wagon, he and Grechko caught a ride back to the safehouse with Haney and Staelin.

Hearing them arrive, S?lvi stepped out of the villa. She was glad to see him back. "How'd it go?"

"Excellent," he replied, giving her a quick kiss and letting his hand linger against her hip. "Phase One complete."

"Congratulations," she said, as much to Harvath as to Grechko, who had climbed out of the Mercedes and was walking by, still smiling.

"Thank you," the Russian responded. "I wonder if we have any champagne in the house. I feel like celebrating."

"No champagne until we all get back," Staelin ordered.

"Yeah, it's bad luck," said Haney. "We wait until the mission's over. Then cigars, champagne, whatever anybody wants."

Looking at his watch, Harvath said to his teammates, "On the road in fifteen, okay?"

"Roger that," the two men replied as they headed inside with Grechko, leaving Harvath and S?lvi alone together outside.

"You must be pleased with how things went," she said.

"I am," Harvath replied. "The moment she saw him, I knew what her answer was going to be."

S?lvi smiled. "True love."

Harvath smiled back. "Now all I have to do is pull off one more magic trick, and then we can catch our breath."

"How can I help?"

He loved her for asking and had no doubt that if there had been something he needed, she would have stepped up and done it without hesitation.

"You," he replied, giving her another kiss, "don't need to do anything. I've got a pack of extremely hungry wolves, all waiting to be set loose. Just focus on Grechko and what you need to get done. We can talk about next steps when I get back."

They shared one more kiss before heading into the villa. S?lvi went down to ready the debriefing room while Harvath walked back to the library to catch up with Nicholas.

"How's everything looking in Monaco?" he asked.

As the dogs stood up to greet him, he spent a couple of moments scratching them behind the ears before coming around the desk to look at the little man's monitors. On them were multiple CCTV feeds.

"Tsybulsky is at his poker table in the Monte Carlo casino," Nicholas answered, "and his boat is being actively gawked at by a small crowd in Port Hercule."

"Where's Preisler?"

"When Barton pulled into port, he helped berth their boat, then grabbed a cab and took up a surveillance position outside the casino. He'll let us know as soon as Tsybulsky leaves."

"Sounds like everything's right on schedule," said Harvath. "Well done."

"Before you go, we really should discuss a plan B."

"Tsybulsky's boat is never going to make it back to Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat."

"But what if it does?" Nicholas pushed. "What's the plan? You'll have to take him before he reaches his house. Once he's inside, the degree of difficulty skyrockets again."

Harvath placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "We discussed this. It needs to happen in Monaco. Doing it in France isn't an option. We're going to make it work. Trust me."

Nicholas didn't agree, but it wasn't his decision to make. Shaking his head, he replied, "You're the team leader."

He knew his friend didn't approve, but he had made up his mind. Changing the subject, he asked, "Can you show me where Barton and the commandos will be waiting?"

The little man pulled up a map of the Port Hercule harbor and highlighted where the boat was moored. He then indicated where Haney and Staelin would be dropping him before proceeding to their rendezvous point with Preisler, near the casino.

After going through everything else on his list, Harvath had Nicholas walk through it with him one more time. He wanted to make sure that they hadn't overlooked anything.

When he was confident that they had it all covered, he said, "It looks like we're good to go."

Nicholas nodded. "If there's anything else you need, I'll be right in your ear."

It brought Harvath back to their earlier discussion when they were returning from the caretaker's cottage. There was definitely something else he was going to need, but not just yet. That particular item could wait.

Saying goodbye to his friend, he retreated to his room to grab a couple of items before walking back outside to where Haney and Staelin were already waiting for him.

Staelin unzipped the oblong backpack they had prepared for him and Haney walked him through all of its contents. In addition to the wet suit and snorkeling gear that had been purchased in nearby Beaulieu-sur-Mer, there were gloves, a robust multi-tool, a diver's headlamp with multicolored lenses, a fistful of plastic zip ties, and, most important of all, a handful of the HEL-STAR marker lights the team used on their helmets to recognize each other in the dark.

Completely waterproof, the lights had built in tie-down points and could be run for hours in infrared mode. They were exactly what he needed and would be absolutely critical.

Placing the rest of his gear into the pack, he zipped it up, and nodded at his teammates.

This was it. It was now time to head up the coast for Phase Two.