Gunner (K19 Security Solutions 2)

“I have to say I agree with him, Shiv,” said Merrigan coming to stand on the other side of Gunner and putting her arm through his.

“There were reasons.”

“What reasons?” Gunner barked.

“It’s no longer a credible threat.”

“For fuck’s sake,” Gunner spat, moving away from Doc and Merrigan. “Just tell me where she is, and I’ll be gone.”

“Wait,” Doc told him. “You’re not going out on this alone. And if you think you’re gonna bully Shiv into telling you where Raketa is, you’re wrong. Remember, it’s MI6 that knows where she is, Gunner. If you want that information, you’ll sit down, shut up, and listen to whatever Shiver wants to tell you. At this point, I doubt it’s much.”

Gunner pulled a chair away from the table and sat. Doc was right. Shiver had the information he needed, and for some reason, he had been withholding it.

“I understand that you were able to make the connection between Ivashov and Petrov.”

“Raketa is his daughter.”

“The woman who Alegria said was also being held by him is her mother.”

Gunner nodded.

“Did she tell you why Petrov took her to Azerbaijan?”

“Not exactly.”

“Gunner,” Doc warned.

“All she told me was that he wanted her to deliver his daughters. In exchange for that, he wouldn’t turn her over to UR.”

“She’s his daughter too,” said Shiv.

“Glad to hear you’re followin’ along.”

Shiver shook his head. “She had no idea why?”

“Nope, but I sure as hell don’t buy that Daddy is missing his baby girls.”

“Trust funds.”

Gunner, Shiv, and Doc all turned and looked at Merrigan.

“It makes sense, doesn’t it?” she responded to the unasked question.

It did. When they’d initially determined that Razor’s wife, Ava, and her twin sister, Aine’s father wasn’t Conor McNamara, the identity he’d been living under since before the two girls were born, and was, in fact, Makar Petrov, a black market arm’s dealer who had been thought dead for the same amount of time, Striker had immediately ensured the agency froze McNamara’s assets. Gunner had no idea what the value of the daughters’ trust funds might be, but it made sense that, regardless of their worth, Petrov would want to get his hands on as much cash as he could.

“Who’s the successor trustee?”

Gunner looked at Merrigan, Merrigan looked at Doc, and Doc looked at Shiv.

“You’re kidding me, right?” Gunner asked, incredulous that no one had thought of it before now.

Shiver ran one hand through his hair while he made a call with the other.

Gunner sat back in his chair, wishing Shiver would hurry it the hell up. Why did they need to figure all this out now? Every minute Raketa was out there on her own, brought her that much closer to someone else finding her before he did.

“You were on the right track, Gunner,” said Shiv, disconnecting the call. “But that isn’t the money he’s trying to get to.”

“What do you mean?”