Chapter 18

EIGHTEEN

The flight to China was uneventful, and we find the manufacturing plant easily enough. We survey it for a while, watching the workers come and go. The trucks leave and arrive, and D tracks each one in case we need to know where they go, and then we wait for Louis to give us orders and let us know it’s time.

Bert was worried when we left, but he was also determined. His final words reach me even now. “Bring her home!”

We will. We have to. This is a good lead, I remind myself, even as I shift for the hundredth time. I need to move, to do something, anything. As the clock ticks, I can’t help but wonder how much more damage is being done to the woman I love while we sit here.

“Soon,” Jonas reminds me. He is struggling too. I feel it as he sits next to me, crammed into the car. Louis is at the store opposite the plant, Nico is on the roof of the store for a better angle, and D is in the front of the car with his laptop open.

“Not soon enough.” I scrub at my face, no doubt messing up my hair, but I don’t care.

“I prefer it when you’re the happy-go-lucky doctor,” Jonas grumbles.

“Well, tough shit. Not everybody is happy all the time, Jonas. I’m allowed to be upset,” I snap, and he watches me with wide eyes. “Sorry,” I mutter.

“Don’t be. I’ve been waiting for that outburst. It’s good. I like it when you’re happy, but this? This is real. I was getting sick of you holding it all back,” he mumbles, glancing out of the window to make sure we are not compromised.

“What do you mean?” I feel my brows draw together in confusion.

He snorts and grins at me. “Come on, Isaac. You act so calm all the time, so put together and like you’re ready to face everything. You take in everything we do and say and never complain. That takes its toll, and I always saw it lingering under the surface. I’m glad it’s finally coming out.”

“What?” I whisper.

“Madness,” he says calmly. “It’s the same madness we all have, including Nova. Let it out, brother. We are going to need that to get her back.”

He turns away like he didn’t just drop a bomb. Is he right? Nova always asked me if I was okay. She worried about my reactions and how I was dealing with everything. What if I kept such a tight grip all along because I was worried about what would come out?

Jonas wears his madness proudly, Nico channels it, Louis embraces it, and Dimitri fights it, but me? I hide it.

What if I’ve made it worse?

Is he right? Do I need to embrace it and therefore burn myself?

Have I been holding back who and what I am?

Yes, I realise with sudden clarity.

“Who knew you were so smart?” I mutter as I stare at his profile.

“Nova.” He shrugs. “She sees us all clearly.”

Isn’t that the sad truth?

Taking his hand in mine, I squeeze it. “You’re right. Maybe you can teach me how to embrace it better and I can teach you how to be calmer, brother.”

“Nah, she likes me when I’m manic, and so do I.” He winks. “But welcome to the club.”

* * *

Louis slides into the car along with Nico and turns to us. “We’ll wait for most of the workers to leave, but not the boss, and then we’ll go in. I want as few witnesses as possible. We go in silently. I want no alarms, no police, and no footage of us being there. We do not give the doctor any reason to suspect we are on his trail. Is that understood?”

We all agree since we don’t want to do anything that could jeopardise us not only getting to Nova, but also keeping her alive. He’s right. We have to do this silently and carefully without tipping off her father.

We wait until the shift ends to make our move. I go with Louis right through the front door. D is at the electrical board outside, cutting off cameras and alarms and fielding any phone calls that might happen from mobiles. Nico repels in from the roof and slips through the open top-floor window on the right, while Jonas is on the left, although we all hear him squealing softly in our earpieces as he goes. We are covering all of our bases. We shut and lock the doors behind us. The warehouse is massive and filled with shipping containers and lab equipment in the process of being made or tested. We move past them, looking for any stragglers or workers.

“Security guards are up top, Nico, coming your way,” D says.

“Got them,” Nico murmurs, and there’s a barely audible grunt down the mic. “Taken care of.”

“There are three workers on the late shift coming in early in the canteen. I can auto lock the door from here, but avoid it so they don’t see your faces. They haven’t noticed as of yet, too busy talking and drinking coffee.”

“Got it,” Louis murmurs down the mic as we move to the stairs. They lead up to the second floor. Nico is already there, and all of us converge on the office on the second floor. The door has no window, so Louis smashes it open and we surge inside. Nico instantly shoots the phone as the man jerks up from a nap, imprints of the wood from the desk across his cheek.

His eyes widen in fear, and he leaps up, but I push him back down into his chair.

“Sit,” I demand.

“What do you want?” he asks in English.

“Just some information,” Louis replies, sitting in the opposite chair. “If you tell us what we need to know, we won’t harm you, but you will forget we ever existed. In fact, we are more than happy to pay for this information.” He smiles charmingly, and the man relaxes but glances at Nico and pales. He plays the part of muscle well—not speaking, just glaring.

“What information?” the man finally mutters.

“Just about one of your buyers and where the last shipment went. That’s all.” Louis lifts the bag he is carrying and throws it on the desk. The man glances at it and slowly reaches out and undoes the zipper, seeing the bills inside.

He blinks owlishly at us. “I have a family,” he says randomly. “You can have the information you want. I’m just trying to provide for them.”

“We know, hence why we did this here and not at your home. You’re innocent in this,” I reply softly, “but you’re supplying equipment to a very bad person, and we want to talk to him. No one will hurt you or your family so please, just tell us what we want.”

“Okay, can you tell me the date? I will find out for you,” he asks, sitting up taller. I’m surprised by how easily he wants to help us, but when I glance around, I see why. It’s in the hard glint in our eyes. Anyone can see we are getting that information one way or another, and he’s simply choosing the best way out.

Smart.

Dimitri informs him and watches carefully as he pulls information from a cabinet. It’s paper, which surprises me, but he hands the folder over. “That’s everything we have on the buyer. It was his first time with me. I remember speaking to someone who mentioned their usual supplier did not have what they wanted. It’s the credit information as well as the delivery address. I remember because it was very far and random. Do you need anything else?”

“He hasn’t bought again?” Louis asks with a frown.

“No, only that once. I guess he went back to his regular supplier after,” the man replies with a sincere tone.

“Thank you so much for your help.” Louis stands then carefully tucks the chair under the desk. “Forget you saw us. I would hate to have to come back and visit you and your family. Here, take the money and our apologies.” Louis turns, and we all follow him out like we were never here.

Dimitri turns the cameras and alarms on once more, unlocking the door like nothing happened. For a while, we watch the man in the office, but he doesn’t make any calls or ask for help. He stares at the money. His shoulders slump, and he seems both resigned and relieved.

“He won’t tell,” I murmur as I watch him, noticing the signs. “He needs the money too much.”

“Are you sure?” Louis asks, looking over at me in the car.

“Yes.” I watch the camera, but I’m sure, and then I look at Dimitri. “Do we have it?”

“Yes, he’s right. It’s a weird delivery address. It’s an airstrip. Give me an hour and I’ll have more information.”

An airstrip.

Fuck, are we still on a wild-goose chase?