Free Smoke and Shadows by Victoria Paige Page A

His men walked in—one of them was missing.  
    “The man Viktor Baran was at the woman’s place,” his man answered nervously. “We followed them to a hospital.”
    “A hospital?”
    “Yes,” his man said. “We did as you told us, used the phone provided by Matthews to call her. She came outside, but immediately grew suspicious.” They related the rest of what happened.
    “You. Ran,” Rafiq said slowly. He probably shouldn’t have told his men tales about Baran’s ruthlessness. “You men are imbeciles. Find Ali. I’m not paying him to have sex with women.”
    He should have taken care of Cole himself, but he wanted to test the mettle of his new recruits. But more importantly: who were Baran and Cole visiting in the hospital?
    McCord? The man should have recovered by now. They couldn’t break him. For three weeks, Rafiq had held him, and he couldn’t get the codes he needed. They hadn’t wanted to damage him too much because he was too valuable as leverage. Rafiq was bothered by how AGS was able to locate Jack McCord.
    “You wanted me, boss?” Ali entered the room.
    “We’re a man down.”
    “Yes, your men told me.”
    “I’m turning over the information Matthews gave me to you,” Rafiq said. “I want you to start eliminating every person on that list. The CIA and AGS probably know we’re behind their deaths, but it’s time to step out from the shadows. I want you to send them a strong message.”
    Ali gave him an evil smile. “With pleasure. Do you still want me to pursue our other plan?”
    “Of course,” Rafiq replied. “I want to destroy everything Viktor Baran has worked for. My uncle wishes this as well. Besides, it’ll be easier for our end game. Our couriers are coming in on separate flights tomorrow with the final draft of our plan. I will handle that personally.”
    “As you wish.” Ali bowed out of the room.

    *****
    Viktor drove his Charger into the massive garage of a three-story concrete building. Marissa had never been on this particular property. From what she remembered, he’d been contemplating buying this place right before they broke up. It was an old structure built in the 1950’s. Its nondescript walls bore faded paint and its long rectangular windows were built with practicality in mind. They also appeared to be outfitted with blackout shades. Viktor was a very private person and in his line of work, one couldn’t be too careful. The gate of the garage trundled down on its tracks and shut decisively with a resounding clang.
    He parked behind a black Ford Explorer—a standard AGS-issued vehicle. There was also a Lamborghini Countach—a classic from the 1970s, and she was pretty sure, not a standard-issue. And then further off to a corner sat an expensive custom-built Ducati. The garage was as spartan looking as the building, with unpainted shelving and pegboards lining the walls.  
    They exited the vehicle, Marissa hesitating by her door, as she regarded Viktor who was walking around to the trunk to pick up her bags. He strode to the entrance of the house/building, paused and looked at her with a raised brow. “You coming?”
      She closed the car door with a heavy sigh. She wasn’t sure she’d survive staying in such a sterile environment because she was already missing her Victorian row house on Dupont Circle.
    The door opened to a long hallway with a flight of stairs right beside it.  
    “I live on the top floor,” Viktor told her. “There’s an elevator, but I think we’ve seen enough of those today.” He led the way up the stairs, Marissa trudging slowly up behind him.  
    “What do you have on the other floors?” she asked.
    “Stuff and shit. I can give you a tour tomorrow if you want.”
    “Don’t we have an early briefing at AGS?” Marissa reminded him. “You think Tim will have a hit on the guy we have?”
    “I’m sure he will.”  
    The top of the stairs revealed an open-space floor plan. The industrial-looking interior fit right in