Free Rise of the Order by Trevor Scott

with the man?”
    â€œIt’s possible.” Miko’s voice was breaking up. “Sir, I better go. Need to charge this phone.”
    â€œCall me tomorrow,” Conrad demanded.
    â€œYes, sir.”
    The line went dead.
    Conrad clicked off and placed the phone back in its stand on his desk. He took another sip of cognac. So there was one man and one woman. Even if they worked together, what could they do? They were too close to their goal to stop now.
    â—

    Kurt pulled the Audi to the curb in a residential area of Vienna’s north side, two blocks from the University and across from a park. It was five minutes to eight in the evening.
    â€œThat building,” Kurt said to Jake. “Second floor. Apartment twenty-four.”
    Jake glanced up at the building, a light yellow stucco with tall windows that overlooked the park.
    â€œYou gonna leave me the info you picked up at Albrecht’s warehouse?” Kurt asked him. “I’ll make copies and get it back to you in the morning.”
    Going for the door handle, a slight laugh in his voice, Jake said, “Nice try, Kurt. Appreciate the effort, but this is private information from the Teutonic Order.”
    â€œHow do you know? You haven’t even looked at it.”
    Jake got out and popped his head back inside. “If there’s anything in here I think you should know,” he said, patting his stomach, “I’ll be sure to let you know.”
    â€œRight. Remember whose side I’m on.”
    â€œThat’s my point,” Jake said and then slammed the door.
    Taking the stairs slowly, Jake heard the Audi pull away from the curb and up the street. He found a security buzzer for the apartment on the second floor and held it down.
    â€œYeah?” came a harsh woman’s voice.
    â€œLet me in,” Jake said brusquely.
    The door buzzed and he pushed his way in. Finding the stairs, he went up one flight to her door. He wasn’t sure what to expect. The two of them had first worked together in the old CIA, he just after leaving Air Force Intelligence, and she having just graduated from college and completing her initial training at the Farm. They had hit it off right away, and, against regulations, had started a relationship that had nothing to do with the Agency. Then he had left the CIA for the private sector and their paths crossed again while Toni was stationed at the U.S. Embassy in Rome with the new Agency. Again their relationship was hot and brief. Eventually, when Jake first moved to Innsbruck, they had crossed paths again. This time, Toni had left the Agency to work with him. But that had lasted just six months, when Toni was asked to return to the Agency, working undercover for nearly a year in the Middle East. Now, he wasn’t sure of their relationship, or if they would even have one.
    Suddenly, the door opened and Toni Contardo stood with her right hand on the door, her stance wide, her other hand holding a bottle of beer. She was still just as beautiful as the last time he had seen her, her long dark hair flowing over her shoulders in spiral curls. The high cheek bones. Her body still in perfect shape, filling out black slacks.
    â€œYou coming in?” she asked, not a hint of a smile. She didn’t make a move for a hug or even a hand shake.
    Jake made his way past her, taking in the odor of her shampoo as he did. Strawberry.
    Glancing about the room, Jake noticed a number of items she had picked up in her travels and brought with her to each apartment. He also saw the watercolor on the wall that he had bought her in Nice years ago.
    â€œYou want a beer?” she asked him.
    â€œIs the Pope a former Nazi?”
    She forced back a smile as she went into the kitchen, returning a moment later with a German Bitburger for him. Handing it to Jake, she took a seat in a leather chair.
    Jake took a seat on the matching leather sofa across a coffee table from her.
    â€œYou could take your