“On completion of our project.”
Kulpa’s eyes glittered at the thought of the next payment. The avarice fairly radiated from Metanas’s most senior operations foreman, and Golov was sure they’d picked the right man. Ivana had identified Kulpa as the person at the company most likely to be compromised because of massive gambling debts he’d accrued.
“We sent you a list of equipment that we’ll need,” Golov said. “Is it ready for tomorrow?”
Kulpa nodded eagerly. “I’ve signed out a van and it’s loaded with all of the gear you asked for.”
“And the location I specified?”
“It shouldn’t be a problem—”
“Shouldn’t be?” Golov interrupted.
Kulpa corrected himself quickly. “I mean, it won’t be a problem to evacuate the building as you wanted. I have the authority to declare an emergency. Our company’s men will be told it’s a drill and instructed to stay away. We’ll even have police officers stationed outside to keep the building secure.”
“Good.”
“How long will you need?”
“Three days. Perhaps five, if we are unlucky in our search.”
Kulpa was shocked. “Five days?”
“Is that a problem? If it is, then give us our money back and we’ll go.” He stood up as if he were about to leave.
Kulpa’s hands went up in supplication. “No!” He looked around again after his outburst and lowered his voice again. “No, five days will be fine, if you need it.”
“Good. We’ll meet you at seven tomorrow morning. I’d better be satisfied with your preparations.”
Kulpa swallowed and nodded.
Without another word, Golov strode out of the coffee shop, flanked by Sirkal and O’Connor. They had another supplier to see before they turned in for the night.
As he got in the SUV, Golov imagined his American counterpart from the Oregon also beginning a search at the same time tomorrow. The news of the discovery and simultaneous loss of the cache hidden for two centuries would certainly make international headlines. He wished he could see the look on the Oregon captain’s face when he realized just how close he’d come to finding the treasure.
—
As Juan had expected, by the time he and his people had flown into Vilnius, NUMA had come through with a thirty-foot Sea Ray powerboat and scanning equipment borrowed from the Lithuanian Maritime Academy. The boat and gear were being trailered from the coastal city of Klaipeda and would arrive in Vilnius by dawn.
With the equipment acquired, Linda, Gretchen, Trono, and MacD planned the Neris River search grid in Juan’s hotel room after dinner. Linda and Gretchen would operate the metal-sensor array while Juan drove the boat, and Trono and MacD would use their scuba equipment if the sensors picked up anything worthy of inspecting more closely in the river. They decided to start on the far side of Grigiškes and work their way back toward Vilnius.
They wrapped up at ten o’clock. In the morning, they’d head out as soon as the boat arrived.
Gretchen lagged behind as the others said their good-nights and went to their rooms.
“I’ve been wondering about Marie Marceau,” she said.
“About why she got involved with ShadowFoe?” Juan poured himself a scotch from the mini-bar. “Want one?”
“Please. No, I was wondering why she said she was betrayed.”
Juan emptied another small bottle and handed her the glass. He took a seat on the room’s sofa. “It does seem odd for her to make that switch so quickly. One minute she’s planted there as bait to get us sniped and, the next, she’s saying she was betrayed and giving us information about their plans.”
Gretchen put two cubes of ice in her glass and sat down next to Juan. “If what she told us is useful information. Maybe it was all phony. Maybe it was her last act to protect ShadowFoe.”
Juan shook his head. “I was looking into her eyes when she spoke. She really did think they double-crossed her.”
“Or she knew she was dying and wanted to atone for her sins.”