Chapter 24

24

The sun was already shining when Teddy woke on Thursday morning. Today would be a Mark Weldon day, which is why he had spent the night in Mark’s suite.

Since there would be a food component to the activity he and Tessa would be participating in, he ordered a light breakfast of fruit and yogurt and then took a quick shower. By the time his food arrived, he’d turned himself back into Mark Weldon and donned a stylish yet relaxed outfit.

He checked his email while he ate. Both Lance and Rick had responded to the photos of Owen Pace’s kidnapper. He opened Lance’s first.

Who’s your source?

Teddy’s answer was a short and sweet: Nice try.

Rick’s email read:

This is fantastic. I’ll run them through the system and will let you know if we get any hits.

Not having to wait for Rick, Teddy logged onto the CIA system and checked the results of his own search. Hits had come back on all four men who’d been with Pace.

The two men propping him up were former Russian special forces personnel who had transitioned to freelance mercenary work. The driver had a similar story, though his military service had been in the U.S.

The man in the front passenger seat—the same man Vesna had chased the previous evening—was identified as a German national named Max Gruber. Gruber had bypassed the traditional military route and had gone straight into mercenary work.

All four men had been working for Horne Solutions when it had been taken over by Braun, and it was assumed they had remained.

Teddy was about to see what information the Agency had on Braun Logistics when someone knocked on his door.

When he looked through the peephole, he saw Lizzie standing in the hall, scrolling through her phone.

He opened the door. “Good morning, Lizzie.”

“Mark! Good, you’re up.”

“I didn’t know it was an option not to be.”

“It’s not. But you’ve only been here a day, and I wasn’t sure how you’d react to jet lag.”

“Not something I ever worry about.”

“Lucky you. I’m here to remind you to be in the lobby in ten minutes.”

“I’ll be there with bells on,” he said.

“No bells, please. It’ll interfere with the mics.”

“I’ll be there with no bells on, then.”

“If only all talent was as accommodating.” She looked him up and down.

“Something wrong with my outfit?” he asked.

“Nope. Looks great.”

“I’m pleased to have your approval.”

“You should be. I have a very discerning eye.” Her phone vibrated. “I need to take this. See you in a bit.”

After she departed, he texted Stacy to remind her to cover for Billy.

Then he texted Vesna.

About to leave.

Anything on Schmidt?

Vesna replied:

Working on it. Anything on the men with Owen Pace?

There was no time to get into it now, so he texted her:

Yes. I’ll fill you in when I have a moment.

She sent another reply.

Always the tease.

BTW, who are you today?

He stopped, took a picture of himself, and sent it to her with a message that read:

Hi. I’m Mark. Pleasure to meet you.

She replied with a rolling eyes emoji.

Mark and Tessa rode down one of the canals in a gondola. With them was Javier Coma, the host of Food Coma on EDC, the Eats & Delights Channel. Javier had started off as a YouTuber before being tapped by EDC to be their next big star.

The lead actors of Storm’s Eye were Javier’s guests for a day of exploring and eating in Venice. The show was scheduled to air the weekend before the movie came out.

True to Javier’s roots, parts of the show were shot vlog style, with either his cameraman or, as he was doing at that moment, Javier himself wielding the camera.

In this case, he held a GoPro at the end of a selfie stick, the lens aimed so that it captured him, Tessa, Mark, and the gondolier.

“Riding a gondola through the canals of Venice is like traveling through history,” Javier said. “This city has endured sieges, military takeovers, and the Black Death, and it’s still here for all to enjoy.”

He swung the camera around dramatically, then stopped recording.

“Okay, you can relax,” he said, his infectious smile still as bright as it had been when taping. “I’ll get a few B-roll shots of the water and the boat, then take a few more of us as we near our stop.”

“Sounds good,” Mark said.

“I can’t believe I’m sitting here with the two of you. It’s like a dream. Thank you so much for joining me today.”

“Are you kidding?” Tessa said. “I’m a big fan. I was watching you long before EDC snapped you up!”

“You were?” Javier said, genuinely surprised.

“Absolutely. Every time my husband and I plan a trip, I check to see if you’ve been there, and if you have, what restaurants you recommend.”

Javier put a hand over his heart. “I’m having a bit of an out-of-body experience at the thought that superstar Tessa Tweed watches my show.”

“Oh, stop it. I’m just like anyone else.”

“You are most definitely not just like anyone else.”

“You know what I mean.”

“If I may interject,” Mark said. “Maybe you should save the fangirling and fanboying for when the camera is rolling. The viewers will love it.”

“Good idea,” Tessa said, then smiled at Javier. “When I say it again later, pretend it’s the first time and react the same.”

“I won’t have to pretend anything to react the same,” Javier said.

Tessa reached forward and squeezed his arm. “Aren’t you a charmer.”

Mark peeked ahead. He could see the film crew waiting at the edge of the canal, fifty yards away. “I think we’re almost there.”

Javier twisted toward the front. “Oh. Then I need to get back to work.”

The host busied himself with camera duties, then as they neared their disembarkation point, he, Tessa, and Mark smiled for the camera that was taping their arrival from the walkway.

After exiting the gondola, Javier led them over a bridge and down a side pathway toward the home of a chef friend of his, who would be making them lunch.

Though the area wasn’t one of the higher-trafficked parts of the city, there were still plenty of locals and tourists walking around. The locals mostly ignored the cameras, while the tourists craned their necks to see what was going on. A few appeared to recognize Tessa and Mark, but production security did a good job of keeping them from getting too close.

While they were passing through a particularly narrow section, Mark noticed Vesna walking toward him. As she passed him, she slipped a folded piece of paper into his hand, which he promptly put in his pocket.

It was another twenty-five minutes before he was able to excuse himself to use the restroom, where he could finally read the note.

Check your messages

His phone had been on silent while they’d been taping, so he’d missed several texts from Vesna.

The first read:

Heard back about Schmidt.

The second had been sent five minutes later.

Hello? Are you even seeing these?

The penultimate text read:

How do you Hollywood people put up with being unreachable like this?

The final one was simply two words:

Call me

He left the restroom and tracked down one of the producers. “Is there somewhere I can make a private call?”

“One moment, Mr. Weldon. I’ll check for you.”

When she returned, she directed him to a home library on the second floor. Once there, he called Vesna.

“Finally,” she said.

“I’m touched that you missed me so much.”

“Do not flatter yourself. I miss no man.”

“I will note that in your dossier.”

“See that you do.”

“You mentioned Schmidt?”

“According to my sources, he was still working for BLS, in something they call the special projects group.”

“That’s quite a coincidence,” he said. “According to my sources the men in the pictures you sent me work for BLS, too. No mention of which division, but I’d guess it’s the same.”

“I’m shocked,” she said, not sounding shocked at all.

“If you’re curious, the man you chased is named Max Gruber.”

“Now I know what to call him when I run into him again. I do have a question.”

“Yes?”

“Does this mean we’re done?”

“Does what mean we’re done?”

“The job was to find out who was behind the assassinations, right? Obviously, it’s BLS.”

“The only obvious thing is BLS’s involvement in carrying out the assassinations through their special projects unit. What we still don’t know is who hired them. If Braun Logistics is taken down before we find out, it’s highly likely the client will go to ground, then resurface later and pick up where they left off.”

“That’s a valid concern. So, we continue as is?”

“Actually, I’m thinking it would be a good idea to send you to Berlin to find out what you can about BLS. I’ll join you as soon as the press tour gets there in a few days, and we can decide our next move.”

“Are you okay with no one watching your back until then?”

“I still have the new team of CIA minders. Unless you think they’re not up to it.”

She made a noncommittal grunt, then said, “I’ll admit, they’re better than the last group.”

“See, I’ll be fine.”

“I said nothing about being fine.”

“It’s what I heard. Now, get out of here. The sooner you’re in Berlin, the better.”

“Oh, very well. I’ll let you go back to your little TV show. I’m sure this acting thing will pan out for you someday.”