Page 214 of Power
“Forever it is.”
She stared out the passenger window as they slogged through heavy traffic. After a long moment, she said, “Why would Peter risk his career to get involved in a government crime ring?” she asked. “Money, right? Certainly not power.”
“Definitely money.”
“If he hates his country, then bringing terrorists in would bring him great satisfaction.”
“Does he?”
“I never got that impression, not when I worked for him,” she said.
“What about Jerod and his pyschosexual hold?”
“Absolutely,” she replied. “Money, love, manipulation. I need to check Peter’s finances. Can you help me?”
“Of course.”
Forty-five minutes later, Luciano drove down Peter’s street as the sun dipped into the horizon.
“His wife just got home,” she said.
A petite woman with shoulder-length blonde hair was opening the back hatch of her vehicle. Several bags of groceries waited in the cargo area. Luciano parked in the driveway and they got out.
“Hi, Lucy,” Simone called.
“Simone, what a lovely surprise. I hope you can stay for dinner.” She smiled warmly at Luciano. “Hi, I’m Lucy Hirzog.”
“Luciano Santini. Let me get those for you.”
Loaded down with bags, Luciano followed Lucy and Simone into the house. Beneath his jacket was his Glock. Since Lucy was there, he doubted Hirzog would ambush Simone, but he wasn’t dropping his guard.
Too much crazy shit was happening for him to relax… even for a minute.
The lights in the kitchen and adjoining family room were on, but no Hirzog. He set the groceries on the center island. A laptop sat open on the counter, the screen lit up to a page that looked familiar. Luciano strolled over and a shock of adrenaline charged through him.
The browser window was open to ALPHA, the screen displaying the current mission tracker. All ALPHA missions were on stand-down due to recent attack by The Bomb Maker. He skimmed the page. A single line item turned his veins to ice.
The Bomb Maker Case: Operative Simone Redding.
Figlio di puttana.
“Thanks for helping with the groceries,” Lucy said. “It looks like Peter’s here, but I didn’t see his car.”
“I talked to him an hour ago, and he said he was here,” Simone said.
“Hmm, I didn’t realize he was coming home early. He’s been putting in a lot of hours at the office. It’ll be nice to have dinner together.” She put a few things in the refrigerator. “Let me tell him you’re here.”
She excused herself and left the room.
Luciano snapped a picture, then snapped a second that included the interior of the home. “Check this out.”
She stood beside him, stared down at the laptop.
“He shouldn’t have access to this and what the hell is the laptop doing open?” Simone also snapped several pictures, then shot Luciano a smile. “This is enough to bring him in for questioning. It’s incriminating as hell.”
Lucy returned to the kitchen. “He’s not here.” She checked her phone. “Maybe he ran to the store real quick.”
“Please let him know we stopped by,” Simone said.
