Read Jet for Free Online Page A

in the doorway emerged from the front door and walked down to the mailbox. The watcher with the camera focused on her face, and as if sensing his scrutiny, she glanced up and scanned the street. There were enough vehicles parked between them and they were far enough away to be confident they’d remain undetected, but the man with the video camera shivered involuntarily as the target’s zoomed-in emerald eyes seemed to stare through him before continuing to roam along the lane.
    After a pause, she retraced her steps to the entrance and entered the house. The door slammed behind her, leaving the watchers sitting on the empty street, considering what, if anything, had just occurred.
    The driver exchanged a glance with the cameraman. “That was odd.”
    “Damned right it was. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she made us.”
    “Impossible at this distance.”
    “I know. But still.”
    “Upload the footage of them both and send it off. They wanted to know as soon as we had a sighting.”
    The cameraman nodded and leaned over to where a wireless laptop rested on the center console. “It’ll take a while. Lot of bandwidth at this file size.”
    “Whatever. Sooner you start, the sooner this will be over. I’ve got to use the bathroom. Too much coffee.”

Chapter 7
    Moscow, Russia
     
    Rudolf checked his bank balance with his cell phone as his car sped to Domodedovo airport, where a jet was sitting on the runway, waiting to fly him to Kosovo. Another jet awaited his go-ahead at the smaller Vnukovo airport, where a half dozen field agents were scheduled for takeoff within the hour.
    Leo had transferred the money first thing that morning. Rudolf checked the screen of his tablet and grinned in the rear of the car – even after paying off everyone he’d needed to co-opt in order to run an off-the-books private operation on company time, his net worth had increased considerably.
    He’d figured that the amount wouldn’t be a problem. Leo might have been tight-fisted, but Rudolf knew he was involved in numerous other lines of business besides the legal profession, the most notable of which was as an arms intermediary between the Russian mob and various groups too unsavory for even that outfit to publicly deal with, and also as a facilitator for foreign intelligence services, which was how he’d wound up on Rudolf’s radar in the first place.
    Leo was working both ends against the middle, in the time-honored tradition of weasels the world over, and was being paid handsomely for his trouble. Because of his late brother’s deal making, he’d met a Who’s Who of tyrants, dictators, and warlords, and had developed a powerful network for arranging trade that was banned by the U.N. as well as the world’s superpowers. Of course, all that did was increase the price – like water working against the hard surface of a stone, money always found a way.
    Rudolf’s cell buzzed in his hand and he stared at it with annoyance before answering.
    “Yes?”
    “I’m patching a call through.” It was his secretary.
    “Who is it?”
    “An Inspector Marlberg. From Kosovo.”
    “Ah. Yes, put him through,” Rudolf said.
    The line hissed and clicked, and then a male voice spoke. “Is this Karl?”
    Karl was Rudolf’s operational name, taken in homage to the author of the Communist Manifesto , Karl Marx – a private joke for Rudolf’s amusement. “Yes.”
    “We forwarded footage of the female target just now. She’s in the house, but it’s unclear for how long. The man and a child have already left, and our officers on site said that they may have been spotted by her.”
    “What! I told you that you weren’t to engage or do anything that risked detection,” Rudolf fumed.
    “Yes, well, it is what it is. We’re afraid she’s going to bolt, so I’m calling to see if you want us to perform an extraction. We can arrest her and hold her on any number of charges.”
    “God, no! I told you. Do. Not. Engage. Was I not