Reckless (Benson Security 1)

Once everyone was settled into their seats in the living room, all eyes turned to Elle. She stood beside her computer monitors, dressed in blue jeans and a Star Trek original series T-shirt. Dimitri was geek enough to recognise the shirt as the yellow Captain Kirk wore. Her hair was in two bunches, each tied with bands that had plastic strawberries attached to them. The red made her blue hair seem even more luminous.

“Who’s the Smurf?” Grunt surprised everyone when he volunteered to talk instead of someone having to pry words from him.

“The Smurf,” Elle said, “is the woman who’s going to wipe out your credit rating for the next ten years if you don’t learn some manners.”

Grunt chuckled and took up a spot beside the window. He stood feet apart, arms folded and tense, as though ready to spring into action. Joe shook his head in amusement then grabbed a chair beside his best friend and fellow ex-Marine.

A screen had been rigged up above the fireplace, a data projector pointing at it. The Savoy really could provide anything you needed. Elle tapped on her iPad and an aerial image of a house appeared. Not a house, Dimitri corrected himself, an estate.

“This is the Moroccan home of Henri Boudin. It’s where Katrina is being held.”

After almost a year, he had the name of the man who held his sister. Pure, ice-cold fury surged through his veins at the thought. Dimitri felt something on his chest and ripped his eyes away from the image to find Megan petting him as they sat side by side on the sofa. It was an attempt to soothe him. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he pressed a kiss to her temple to let her know he was okay. He was holding it together. He couldn’t lose it now. Not when he was this close.

“We’re sure she’s there?” For once Rachel’s tone wasn’t mocking.

Elle nodded. “Callum’s contact in the area confirmed she was in the house as of seven o’clock this morning.”

“Is that seven our time, or seven Moroccan time?” Megan asked.

“We’re on the same time zone as Morocco,” Callum answered. “Seven there, is seven here.”

“So, she was there almost fourteen hours ago,” Megan said. “For certain?”

“For certain.” There was no doubt in Callum’s tone or demeanour.

Dimitri realised his fingertips were digging into Megan’s shoulder and relaxed his grip. She patted his chest again to tell him she understood.

“What do we know about this Henri Boudin?” Lake said.

Elle tapped her iPad and data appeared on the screen. “Basically, he’s rich, he’s ruthless and he’s connected. His family have been involved in French politics for over a century. His parents squandered the family money living the high life. Henri here built his own empire from scratch. Although, he didn’t exactly start poor, just not as uber-rich as he is now. He runs several successful corporations. He has a toe in everything from new tech to real estate, but his main business is import/export. He isn’t afraid to play nasty and there’s plenty of evidence to suggest that not everything he’s dealing in is legal. If I had more time I could give you details.”

“Makes sense. You don’t run in the same circles as Rudi Abramovich if your business is above board.” Joe looked at Grunt who grunted in agreement.

“Security?” Lake said.

The image flicked back to the house. The house that held his sister. A short three hour flight from London.

“We have surveillance information from various cameras, databases near the estate. We also have the information Callum’s contact sent us.” Elle pursed her lips. “I’m in the process of hacking his home network. That will give us more detailed information on security rotations. It shouldn’t take long.” The woman had serious skills hidden under her Manga persona.

“Then we plan.” Callum glanced at Lake before looking to Dimitri for agreement.

“I don’t want to wait for Elle to hack the house before we move.” Dimitri wanted his sister out now.

“I’ll have the information within the hour.” Elle sounded more than confident. “It isn’t exactly the Pentagon.”

“More informed we are, less likely we screw up,” Callum said.

Reluctantly Dimitri inclined his head in agreement. “Then we plan.”

“Was the armoury at the office hit?” Lake’s light blue eyes were full of cold calculation.

“It wasn’t touched.” Ryan wasn’t eating for once. “No sign of tampering with the access panel. It’s secure, and still loaded with toys.”

“I have a jet on standby at City airport,” Rachel said. “It’s ready to go when you are.”

Megan perked up. “You have your own plane?”

“No. I don’t need my own plane. I borrow my father’s when the occasion arises.”