Free Nemesis: Innocence Sold by Stefanie Ross Page B

narcotics, right?”
    “Yes. Something’s gone wrong between you. But if the right chemistry isn’t there, there’s nothing you can do.” Sven had spoken with his mouth full, and his words had barely been comprehensible.
    Stephan pondered Sven’s words. He had noticed how Sandra had helped his unit outside the dictates of protocol, and at first the good impression he’d had of her had been confirmed. What, then, had gone wrong?
    “Where does she live, by the way? I don’t really remember her file all that clearly.”
    “Ahrensburg. But quite some distance from us. She has an apartment close to Daniel. Why?” Sven asked.
    “I want to resolve the matter, and I can’t ask her to come to the office again, so I need to figure out a way for us to accidentally run into each other.”
    Sven had finally sent Dirk’s French fries where they were supposed to go. “Just call her and drive over to see her. It might be unusual, but it’d be appropriate here. By the way, have you heard anything from Daniel?”
    “No, I still haven’t.”
    His brow furrowed, Dirk emptied his glass of cola. “What a mess. I hope that doesn’t mean he’s decided in favor of sunny California. Mark’s already about to go crazy, thinking about the possibility that his team could break up. I’m glad that apart from my sometimes intolerable partner, I don’t have anything to do with HR.”
    “Hey . . .”
    “Calm down. When Dirk’s right, he’s right. Another topic, before I have to head back to the office: What’s up with Tannhäuser? Has he supported you in your investigation of the . . . you know.”
    “The bastards who use children to get a hard-on?” Dirk said. “The appointment’s been postponed until tomorrow. His wife had to be hospitalized. Nothing serious, but he’s not at the office today.”
    Sven looked at the empty plate with regret. “Damn. I think that’s all for today.”
    Stephan held out a piece of garnish to Sven. “Would you like to eat this, too?”
    Sven snorted and drew back. “I’ll let you know if I get to that point.”
    Satisfied, Stephan laid the spurned greenery back on his plate. At least Dirk was a little more relaxed after the friendly banter.

    Tired from the long flight and the time difference, Daniel pushed open the door of his half of the duplex and blinked, surprised. With a leap he was in the hall and closed the door behind him. Tom was certainly not fanatical about cleanliness, but an assault rifle lying in the hall alongside a machine pistol and boxes of ammunition was unusual and violated a few of the German authorities’ regulations. Daniel whistled softly and was surprised when no answer came. Usually when Tom went out he took the black Mercedes station wagon, and when Daniel had seen the car parked in front of the building, he had assumed Tom was home. Daniel threw his duffel bag in the corner and checked the other rooms. In the bathroom a pile of dirty clothes was on the floor, along with a bulletproof vest; the bedclothes in the bedroom were in disarray.
    Completely baffled, Daniel got his laptop out of his backpack and sat down at the desk, ignoring the chaos around him. It looked like an unexpected mission had come up, but why were the guns lying in the hall? He glanced through his in-box and then logged on to the Navy’s server. Nothing revealed to him where his team was. He hesitated, unable to decide what to do. He should have contacted Mark long ago. In the beginning he had simply been angry and would have sworn that his team leader had known of Russell’s true motives and had supplied him with their mission reports. Once he had realized that this would have been completely atypical for Mark, it was already too late, and he didn’t see any sense in sending an e-mail or making a call when they’d be able to speak to each other in person only a few hours later.
    No wiser than before, he closed the laptop and quickly restored order. The refrigerator was empty, and the