THE CHAMELEON (18 page)

CHAPTER 37

(Stephanous Petros: fourteen years old) “Let him go,” Stephan demanded. Thomas had already passed out, yet the nun still continued to beat him.

“This doesn’t concern you. Leave or you are next.”

Stephan closed the door softly behind him. His voice lowered, he pointed the gun at Sister Grace, whose eyes now stared at the weapon. “You will let him go, or I will shoot.”

He could feel the sister’s fear. Power flowed through him. “You will never lay your hand on another child. Do you understand me?” Stephan did not put the weapon away until he saw her nod in agreement. “If I ever see this again, I will kill you.”

Sister Grace had no doubt that Stephan meant what he said.

Rubbing her eyes, Aisling felt the exhaustion. There was not enough coffee on the planet that could push away the feeling when you had reached this level of sleep deprivation, but she couldn’t sleep. Not now, not when the answer could be so close. Shifting in her seat, she stretched out her legs that she had curled underneath her for too long. Maybe sleep was not in the cards, but according to her bladder, a bathroom break was going to have to be. Standing, she shook out the pins and needles as they ricocheted up her legs. She had barely turned her eyes away from the screen when it beeped. Bending down, she ran her fingers over the keys and stared.

“No, no, no!” she chanted over and over.

Her whole body trembled while she pushed papers around on the table to find the number Stephan had left for her. It was a direct number: no office personnel, no security guard, no wife. Only one person would have the number and even he wouldn’t use it unless it was life-or-death. It was a number he had told her that he didn’t even use when informing Sakis of Alicia’s death. Once he entrusted it to her, she callously had set it aside, never thinking she would use it. She’d expected to shred it the moment he was back in her arms. Finally, she found it and with shaking fingers, she dialed the number. He would be the only person she could call at a time like this. She only hoped it wasn’t too late.

After the fifth ring, her heart sank to her stomach.
This couldn’t be happening.

A sleep-filled voice barked into the phone. “Stephan! Talk to me.”

Aisling had interacted with many powerful people in her lifetime, but none had affected her as strongly as hearing his voice on the line. Her trembling became even more pronounced. She was struck dumb.

“Stephan?!”

“Sir, it is Aisling.” She finally managed to get her vocal cords to unlock.

The heavy silence didn’t help her nerves. “Aisling, as in the Chameleon Aisling?”

“Sir, yes sir!”

“Am I to understand that Stephanous gave you this number?” Without waiting for her confirmation, he continued. “This better be good, and call me Sakis.”

Steeling herself inside, with complete clarity, Aisling realized that she liked it so much better working alone.

“I have found out who killed Alicia.”

She knew she could have cut the air with a knife, it was that thick as Sakis absorbed what she was telling him. “I not only am completely confident with this information, I believe that Stephan is in grave danger.”

“I am listening.” Now she had his attention and no sarcasm this time.

“The file that you sent to Stephan had many photographs of Stephan growing up in Greece. What were included in those photographs were pictures of a unique birthmark. Knowing the way the high-powered families work—”

“Photos are taken of any markings on families, in case they need to be used for identification. Yes. I know. I have done that with my own family,” Sakis cut in impatiently.

“Sister Katherine took the pictures, but at first I couldn’t understand why. The orphanage was not wealthy; there would have been no need for identification to be made of a lowly orphan.”

“Unless it would be used to identify the family,” Sakis stated in wonder. He had gone over the file himself a thousand times and it never occurred to him that there would be a way to run a search.

“I had a hit not five minutes ago and found an almost identical match.” She inhaled deeply; she was about to drop a bombshell. “Sakis, the woman I believe is the mother of Stephan is Yasmin Gallo. Now known as Yasmin Boulos, wife of Nadir Boulos.”

“And I personally handed my best friend on a platter to him. How much of a head start do they have on you?”

Aisling knew that they had rented a private jet to carry them to Palm Springs and if they took off on time, they were already four hours into a six-hour flight. “Probably four hours, Sakis, but it will take me an hour or more to make arrangements myself—”

“I will take care of your arrangements. Just grab whatever you need for a successful trip as quickly as you can and get your ass to the airport. As the Chameleon, you have performed many jobs for us. I expect no less of you on this one. I want no one to know you are coming or that you are there. I personally will get in touch with the Boulos family and will try to contact Stephanous in flight.”

Feeling slightly insulted, she tried to keep her tone professional. “Of course, Sakis.”

“I didn’t mean to insult you, Aisling. Your work has always been exemplary. When you are emotionally attached, as I am guessing you are with Stephanous and he with you if he gave you my number, then it takes a special skill to not let your emotions rob you of what you have done naturally all of these years.”

Understanding what he was saying, she had to agree. This was going to have to be treated as a job. Not as her rescuing someone she loved. For the first time in her twenty-eight years, she was in love. Aisling never worked a job feeling this emotional. Her mind raced at the implications. One wrong move, and they all could die.

Pulling herself together, she realized that Sakis was still speaking. “It could mean the difference of life-or-death for Stephanous and Sophia. You will communicate only with me and on this line. The driver who will pick you up will give you a burner phone for your use. I will be the only one who has that number. Use what is at your disposal to track them down. If you are in need of any additional equipment, I will arrange for it to happen. Am I clear?”

Squaring her shoulders, her tone hardened, getting into the mindset of the Chameleon. “Got it.”

“Oh, and Aisling, one final thing. I want the ones responsible for all of this dead and Stephan back home to Boston within forty-eight hours.”

“I will make it happen,” she stated in response to his command.
Even if I have to die in the process
, she thought. “Sakis, tracking him down will not be difficult. Without his knowledge, I placed a tracker on him.”

The line had become so quiet that for a moment Aisling thought they had inadvertently gotten disconnected. “I would normally tell you that this is unacceptable, Aisling, but in light of our current situation…good job.”

Forty-five minutes later, she buckled herself into her seat on a private jet at Logan Airport. Sakis had arranged not only the jet in that short period of time but also had a driver outside the Ritz within ten minutes to take her to her flight. The car was able to pass through the checkpoints, and drive right onto the runway to the stairs of the plane. After confirming with him that this would be the plane that would be returning them to Boston, she read between the lines and it helped her packing for the trip immensely.

She only brought one of her laptops, opting for portable hard drives instead and the wireless system. A large military duffel bag was perfect for her weapons and gear. With six hours of flying time, and no worry about hiding anything from the flight crew, she could lay everything out on the plane and organize herself then. Somewhere between running up the stairs to enter the plane and seating, she was no longer Aisling, but now the Chameleon.

CHAPTER 38

The plane landed smoothly, much to Sophia’s relief. Stephan hid a smile, fully expecting her to drop to her knees on the tarmac and kiss the ground in relief. He had to give it to her…she held it together and he was proud that she did. It showed a tough interior. Alicia and he had made a good choice.

Stephan had barely said two words to her on their flight, choosing instead to brush up on the information he had on Nadir Boulos and his father Odalis. He remembered Odalis fondly even though now, knowing he had been intimate with Alicia, he couldn’t get the image out of his head. The old man, in his early seventies, looked fantastic in the still photographs. Nadir, Odalis’s only son, had just turned fifty but he was someone he hardly knew. Stephan knew that Odalis had been grooming his only son from a young age to take over the family business. It had not always been smooth sailing. After a brief rebellious phase on Nadir’s part—over a girl, of all things—the tensions ran high. There was even talk that Odalis was ready to disown his son if he didn’t break off the relationship.

That was when the decision was made to move to America with the hopes that distance would cure the lovesickness that seemed to overtake Nadir. From what he could read, it must have worked because Nadir finally settled down, married and now was the father of two grown sons. They were the apple of their grandfather’s eyes, from what he could determine. As wealthy as Sakis was, his fortune was paltry compared to the Boulos’ wealth. America certainly had been good to that family.

Shielding his eyes from the sun’s glare, he scanned the area, surprised that the limousine was not waiting. Just as the thought presented itself, he could see a black vehicle make its way toward them at a high rate of speed. Stephan chuckled, guessing that the driver was more than likely internally freaking out that they were late.

The moment the vehicle stopped, Stephan gripped Sophia by the arm and led her to the rear of the car.

“Here we go. Remember everything you learned. We are here to make an impression on Sakis’s part. This will be the easiest of the many jobs you will be asked to do. I want this to go as smoothly as possible and be back on that flight by tomorrow. Am I clear?”

At Sophia’s nervous nod, Stephan flashed a warm smile at her. He could see her melt slightly from the look. “You are doing great! Relax.” He watched her exhaling as she slid in.

The driver had already opened his door, waiting patiently for him to get settled before he closed the door. Sophia’s phone rang; she jumped in her seat, before fumbling for it.

After speaking for a few minutes quietly, she pressed the Mute button. “Mr. Boulos is on the line for you, Mr. Petros.”

“The elder or the son?” At the shocked look, Stephan gently slipped the phone from her fingers, missing Alicia even more.

Speaking in his native tongue, Stephan figured he could figure it out on his own. “Stephanous Petros.”

“Stephanous, Nadir. I pray your flight was acceptable.”

“A few bumps along the way but nothing we couldn’t handle. We are on our way to your compound now. Is everything in order?”

“Very good and yes, everything is more than fine. I wanted to inform you that the package arrived earlier than expected. After a cursory inspection, I have to say that I am more than pleased with the items. They have far exceeded our expectations in every way.”

Stephan frowned. The shipment should not have arrived already. It had been planned down to the minute to arrive an hour after their plane landed. Having that level of detail served two purposes: One, the driver would not be overtired, causing a higher chance of committing a driving violation. The other, so that he could handle the paperwork and ensure a smooth transition. In this case, it seemed that everything worked out, but to slack in the details never settled well with him.

“Sakis will be pleased to hear that it is to your satisfaction. I hope that you will still allow me the honor of inspecting the remaining shipment.”

“Champagne is already on ice. We are just waiting on your arrival.”

“I look forward to it.”

After he disconnected the call, Stephan stared out of the window.

“Is everything okay, Mr. Petros?” Sophia sensed something wasn’t quite right.

“Yes. Everything is fine, thankfully, but I need you to contact security when we arrive and let them know that I expect a report on my desk when I return tomorrow letting me know why we didn’t have a smooth transport.”

“Certainly.”

Returning to viewing the landscape, Stephan allowed his thoughts to settle on Aisling, wondering what she was doing right now. Whether or not she missed him as much as he did her. This vacation certainly wasn’t working out the way he had planned, and he vowed when Sakis returned and everything settled down, he was going to go away for a couple of weeks, someplace warm and secluded. Someplace with Aisling. With his head back on the headrest, he closed his eyes; the beginning of a migraine was taking form. He wished that he had taken the pain-killers before they landed.

Across from Stephan, Sophia stared out of the window at the unfamiliar landscape. Chewing on her bottom lip in worry, she glanced at her employer, who seemed lost in thought. He had told her to memorize everything on their trip to Palm Springs, and she had done exactly as he asked, but went one step further unbeknownst to him: she memorized the fastest route from the airstrip to the compound. Then she memorized the next fastest route. Neither of which the driver was currently taking. It could be nothing, but on the other hand…

Their phones had not been working properly on the airplane, and had the same issue—granted, intermittently—since they landed. She hoped this was not one of the times that it failed. Quickly texting a message to him, she voiced her concerns. She slid her hand along the seat casually so that the driver wouldn’t take notice, and poked him in the side of his leg.

The second he felt her touch, he sat up straighter, on alert.

“You seem deep in thought, Mr. Petros. Is everything okay?” she asked nonchalantly.

Stephan glared at her, wondering whether she had lost it.

Sophia tried to control her fear as she lifted her phone slightly on her lap, hoping he would take the hint.

Stephan, more than used to subtle hints, understood immediately. Taking her cue, he kept his own tone casual as he read her message.

“Have you let the office know that we have landed? We have to keep on schedule!”

“Yes. They have been made aware.” She felt a great relief now that he understood the situation.

Stephan couldn’t believe what he was reading, but he trusted her instincts, duly impressed that she knew where she was. He pressed the button to alert the driver he wanted to speak to him.

Moments later, the window slid open and a face came into view, but it wasn’t the driver. Sophia inhaled sharply at the gun that was pointed directly at Stephan.

“Yes, Mr. Petros. Did you need something?” the man stated sarcastically.

Recognizing the steward from the plane, Stephan also recognized the snide tone. “It was you!”

Grinning, the steward nodded. “Yes. Yes, I confess, I was the one who kicked the shit out of you and put the bullet in sweet Alicia’s brains.”

Stephan wanted to reach across the vehicle and choke the life out of him but couldn’t take the chance with Sophia in the car.

“What the fuck do you want?”

“You know what I want. You were warned to stay away. Was not one death enough for you to get it through your thick skull? Checkmate, Stephanous. But first, a family meeting is in order, don’t you think?”