Book 19 of The Lyssa Kordenay Missions!   Plans for the wedding continue on  but where's Dannigan now? WARNING: The Lyssa Kordenay Missions may be hyper-violent for some readers.

 

 

---

 

 

CHAPTER 1

Rodrick was aggravated. He looked everywhere more than once, but didn't see a pattern in the crystal that he liked. It was the second time they'd been to Waterford and would be going to see Wedgewood after, again and they still hadn't found something they both liked. Madison was still there and trying to help but Lyssa was just a picky as he was and nothing was really grabbing her either. He began to think that maybe they could just skip this part.

"Oh that's perfect," Madison said excitedly.

Her exclamation catching Lyssa and Rodrick's attention so they went over to investigate. Madison stood with an older man that was holding a sketch pad when they walked over.

"Look at this. Its perfect," she said.

They looked over and saw a drawing of a butterfly and an anchor. They both looked at it and came to the same conclusion.

Together the couple said, "That's cool!"

The artist looked at them both and asked, "So this will be the design for your crystal?"

Lyssa and Rodrick stared for a moment then looked at each other.

"I like it. Looks cool to me,"Rodrick said.

"Yeah,it actually does. Can you make a copy of that for us to take to the silversmith and Wedgewood," Lyssa asked.

He nodded smiling and made copies for them to take along. The Managers at Wedgewood and the silversmith were both thrilled when Lyssa and Rodrick showed them the sketch and asked if they could accommodate them. The designers of both places affirmed they could with slight modification to the design to make it unique. Madison was rather pleased with herself for the idea; Lyssa's butterfly and Rodrick's navy anchor. They rewarded Madison with a trip to Burberry for a complete winter outfit with coat and then an elegant dinner.

 

Madison rode back to the states with Lyssa and Rodrick to be dropped off at National airport before they continued on to Grand Cayman. The minute they stepped in she immediately went over to the coffee table and snatched up the catalogs and threw them into the trash.

Lyssa said hotly, "those are taken care of."

Rodrick laughed,"good. What else is there to do?"

"That's it for the registry. Now we have to choose a venue and catering and all that stuff," she answered.

Rodrick checked his email and said, "Hey, Paul sent a message."

Lyssa groaned,"Oh hell! We just got back!"

"Not that kind of message," He chuckled," says he's got a surprise for us on the big day."

Lyssa looked puzzled for a minute, it seemed Dannigan was looking forward to the big day more than they were. She'd already gotten calls from Hugo Boss for the tuxedos for Rodrick and his groom's-men. John Galiano insisted that the bridal gown and bride's maids' dresses be from Dior. Why can't everything be this easy, she thought to herself.

One thing for certain though; they couldn't have the wedding in Washington. It would be too high profile. Having it in Grand Cayman seemed like a better idea everyday. She'd have to check into that she thought as she changed into shorts and a cami T. Rodrick told her over dinner about routine hops for the rest of the week; he'd be home every night.

 

The next morning they skipped their usual triathlon so he could get an early start. The ground crew-chief Jokingly addressed her as the Mrs gaining a few chuckles from the crew and Rodrick himself as Lyssa waved and drove off to visit her restaurant to see about finding someone to help with a venue for the wedding.

~o~O~o~

Dannigan sat watching the DVD of Lyssa's latest performance at his desk. He already knew Rodrick would be entering the country, he'd filed a back and forth flightplan with the FAA. Basically a day hop for a businessperson. Back to business as usual for Ram-Air charters it seemed.

By the end of the DVD he had several messages stacked up. One caught his attention. It seemed an old contact that had gone into Interpol was missing in Spain. An Australian Army intelligence colonel that had retired, went into Interpol and after a few years took a posting in Barcelona.

They'd met during an exchange where Dannigan spent a six month Temporary Duty, TDY, in Sydney. Dannigan taught the young officer back then to take on exchanges himself in order to set up his own means of backchannel lines. The young lieutenant at the time took Dannigan's advice to heart but instead of utilizing officers and non-comms, he went with officers only as that was what he was mostly around.

Dannigan knew that by going through officers incurred more and steeper return favors than with non-comms, slower results too. Several hours of probing got Dannigan a field report. The gist of the report was that Blair Connelly had heard a rumor of possible terrorists in the area but hadn't been heard from after updating that he'd found a solid lead. Another couple of hours turned up something promising.

He cut orders for connecting hops to get himself to Spain then compiled everything into a briefing packet and sealed it.

"Madison...." he buzzed the intercom.

When she came in he tapped the envelope, "I'm heading for Spain. I'll check in when I get there, then every six hours after. If I miss a check in; wait two hours then get this to Lyssa and Rodrick."

Madison nodded and stared looking at the envelope then picked it up. Dannigan walked over to the closet and grabbed one of four go-bags then picked up the stack of orders and headed to Andrews Air Force base. Within the hour he was on the transport heading for europe.

~o~O~o~

Blair Connelly tried to sleep. Not an easy thing to do in a straight backed chair with his wrists cuffed behind him. So far it's been only fists, they hadn't gotten serious yet but it was only a matter of time until they did and then he'd really be in deep shit. What was worse; nobody knew where he was or what he'd been up to.

He'd thought they were terrorists. He was wrong. Multi-national mercenary team in all actuality and that changed things. Drastically. The two Pakis that snatched him at the end of an alley were just pick-up guys, he was now in the hands of a former IRA gunner named Evelyn and an Italian named Giancarlo. Probably from a splinter group of what's left of the old Red Brigades. The bad part was she was starting to get bored and that never spelled good news. Speaking of, they were coming back.

"So darlin', Ya might want to be tellin' us some things about now," She smiled and tried to sound charming.

Blair chuckled," Ya gotta be kiddin' me. Your bloke there couldn't throw a punch to save 'is ass. Hits like a bloody sheila! Been takin' tougher knocks comin' out pubs. Not to mention playin' a bit o' football. Aussie rules mind ya, not that wimpy excuse for football them yanks play with all them pads and helmets."

The Italian snapped a quick punch then.

"How bout you be a sweet one, curl up here on me lap and pass a Foster while I wait for your boyfriend to butch up a bit," Blair smiled and wiggled his eyebrows at her.

Giancarlo leapt forward two steps and slammed a punch knocking him sideways to fall over. Blair spat a bit of blood then looked up, "Down here's fine too, love. Be a couple spoons we could."

Evelyn smiled then drove her foot into his gut.

Blair coughed and sputtered," Ah sweetheart, that doesn't mean you won't be takin' the baggy shirt off and gettin' all cozy now would it?"

Giancarlo gave him a solid kick to the head which knocked him out.

---

Chapter 2

Dannigan arrived in Barcelona and waited until two in the morning to visit the Interpol offices. Flashing Department of Justice credentials got him in without any problems. He found Connelly's office and picked the locks to get in. Inside he started hacking the computer with an automated program while searching through the desk and file cabinets. When that turned up nothing he then started taking things apart.

Finally he found Blair's real safe. A USB drive hidden in the top knob of the coat rack.

"Cloak and dagger; trenchcoat and a .45. Blair you really need to read more than Mickey Spillane," Dannigan chuckled to himself.

He finished searching, double-checked that everything was in its right place then locked the door behind him as he left. Thirty minutes later he was booting up his laptop in a Delta bolthole.

Many Elite units had safe places to run to in country and at least one out of country. Delta, Nemesis, DEVGRU a.k.a SEAL Team Six and select Force Recon Marines practiced this. In the states they would have a place to hide themselves, a place to hide as a family(if they had one) and a place to exfiltrate from. Outside the states they would have as many places as they could acquire and maintain long term.

After setting up his system to snoop he plugged in the flashdrive and slowly started to hack into it. Carefully he sifted through the data until he found the file that had been the last to be updated. Two pakistani men that had vague Al Queda ties. He checked their faces against his own database. They weren't in any terrorist group, they were mercenaries under somebody named Straga.
No photos, no sketches, not even a general description. Hell, gender was even unknown. Dannigan wasn't about to assume Straga was male. Working with Lyssa had changed that chauvanist mindset. He even chuckled to himself about it. The most deadly weapon in the U.S. arsenal was actually its most beautiful as well. If James Bond had come to life, she'd dance circles around him in all categories.

One day she might even be the top seat in the agency, but first she should be happily married. Maybe even a kid or two. Right now though she was going crazy with bridal registry and he had an old friend to find. Dannigan chuckled to himself. All the tradecraft and military training she'd acquired didn't prepare Lyssa for being a bride. If she didn't settle down some unlucky fool to make a bad suggestion will be shot, or worse.

The two Pakis were the key and he had an idea of where to find them. Very few places to eat in Barcelona specialized in that cuisine. Few translated meant five by his memory. Dannigan drove around to reacquaint himself and check in with Madison.

His memory needed an update though. Few now translated to three and he quietly checked all three but didn't see them. No problem, he 'd recheck them, after he checked in.

~o~O~o~
Madison sat noting the check-in. The Major didn't work the field anymore, he had Lyssa and Rodrick for that. So why was he on a field assignment. Madison back tracked through the message traffic and found the one that caught his interest but didn't see why. Col. Blair Connelly of the Australian Army's Tactical Assault Group, retired; now inspector for InterPol. What was the connection?

She called Lyssa's Caribean number and it was answered in the second ring.

"Lyssa....its Madison," she said.

"What's up Madi,"Lyssa asked.

Madison quickly explained what she'd been told and what she'd found.
Lyssa was quiet for a couple of minutes then said," Madi, this is a personal interest for the Major."

"Friends," she asked.

"If i had to guess; they met during an officer exchange program. Neither may have actually hosted the other but contact could have happened anyway due to proximity and they became friends then part of each other's network. I did the same thing when I was in but had to give all those contacts up when I went off-the-books,"Lyssa explained.

Madison thought about it for a moment, "you mean it really works that way?"

Lyssa laughed, "Its called back-channeling Madi. sometimes official channels become compromised and as you well know, bureaucracy brings everything to a grinding halt. That's why the U.S. hosts foreign officers for training purposes and we are hosted in return to see how things are different and how their U.S. training is incorporated into their system."

"Oh, now i get it," Madison blurted.

"Madi, does he want me to go there," Lyssa asked.

"not yet. He made his check in so just sit tight. I'm just worried because he really doesn't do this anymore," She explained.

Lyssa said," ok. Just let me know if he does miss one and I'll get the next flight out if Rodrick can't take me."

~o~O~o~

Evelyn looked in at the agent waiting for her and Giancarlo to return and start up on him again. He was tough enough when it came to a casual beating. They were going to have to get serious soon, the longer they waited the more likely someone would start looking for him. Interpol was known for that, they didn't make it a habit of leaving any agent out to hang. The final decision was Straga's and that's what she was waiting on.

Her phone rang. She looked and it was a text message. Short and simple; Whatever it takes find out everything. Evelyn grabbed a large washtub and dragged it into the room then brought in buckets of water, a rag and a coffee can with Giancarlo following. The Italian leaned the chair back to rest on the edge of the washtub weighted down with water.

"awwww, are we gonna share a bath Love," Connelly asked with a wink.

Evelyn flashed him a smile the wrapped the towel across his face and started pouring water from the can across it to soak it then refilled and started pouring again slowly. The agent sputtered and gagged soon enough so she just kept refilling the can and pouring it slowly onto the towel. After a few minutes she lifted the towel.

Connelly sputtered and choked then finally wheezed out, "Forgot the bubble-bath Love."

They resumed with the water until he gagged and tried to vomit. For an hour they watered him, then rested for five minutes and came back. It was only the two of them so the waterboarding had breaks in it. They hurried to keep him from recuperating too much. Not that it mattered to him. They didn't know he'd done this before.

For hours they kept at him but he refused to talk other than sarcastic remark and blatant propositioning. Basically he ignored Giancarlo and focused on her. At first it was mildly amusing but now it was aggravating to her. She unzipped his pants, reached inside and gave his balls a vicious squeeze. He shook his head vigorously so Giancarlo lifted the towel.

When Connelly finally caught his breath he said," You're supposed to say 'turn me head to the left and cough', You'll never determine a hernia doin' it that way."

Again she squeezed making his eyes cross then had Giancarlo resume with the water. They continued the rest of the afternoon.

~o~O~o~

Dannigan watched as the two men left the resturaunt and walked down the street to a car. He snapped a picture with digital camera of the men, the car and its plate along with the resturaunt sign then quickly uploaded to his computer and had it set for an auto-transmit then followed them.

They drove for almost an hour and finally parked at an apartment building. He snapped off pictures of them going inside then which lights came on. They were on the fourth floor west side. His laptop transmitted the data while he waited. Four hours later, the lights went out. He checked the action of his silenced Colt then went into the building after picking the lock. He worked his way up to the apartment and worked on the door's lock. Sixty seconds later he was inside.

Dannigan searched and found one bedroom occupied. A quick slap of tape across the mouth of the sleeping man and loop of zip-tie and he was secured. Dannigan went after the other. They both looked shocked when he asked them in fluent Urdu where they had taken the Interpol inspector. He injected one with a pentathol derivative and five minutes later had all the information. He used one of their own pistols to shoot them with then cut the ties, pulled the tape and triggered off two shots out the window with the gun in one's hand then reloaded two spare rounds into the magazine.

He quietly made his way out and drove to the location he had been told and took several pictures then uploaded and sent them off. He pulled a set of Interpol credentials and drove around the block to park, hidden. He set the laptop to update automatically.

Dannigan walked back quickly then worked on one of the ground floor windows. It opened enough, letting him inside. Quietly he made his way across to the opposite end where a single light shown around a closed door. Gingerly he nudged it open and saw Blair Connelly. Just as the spook stepped inside the room he suddenly felt a sharp pain at the back of his head then darkness enveloped him.

---

CHAPTER 3

Blair looked across and saw a large form in a chair. His vision slowly focused and he recognized him.

"So what brings you here Mate," he asked.

"Oh just looking for some jack-ass Australian idiot,"Dannigan replied.

"Ah, then the good lord hath smiled upon thee. I'm right here having a lovely time," Connelly chuckled.

"This is a step up from your usual digs Blair. Love the accomodations," Dannigan commented.

"Ah now don't be so harsh. The decor leaves a lot but the service is prompt and attentive. In fact here comes the maid. I wouldn't rate five stars but she is full service," Connelly said and winked at the woman.

"Singing my praises now," She smirked.

Dannigan answered, "I'm not big on slumming. I tend to demand alot of attention from the management went I stay somewhere."

"Hey give 'em a chance. They even have lap pool here Mate," Connelly remarked.

Dannigan looked up at her and asked," a lap pool is good but what about the gym? And Is the personal trainer an additional fee or is it included with the package for the weekend?"

"Oh he's one of them eye-talians. You might need to ask him yourself, but she's not bad for motivating if you use your imagination. Needs a few wardrobe tips she does," Connelly chuckled.

"Just as long as they keep things professional. I'd hate to crowd in on your game and steal the lady away from you," Dannigan said with a sincere look at her.

The Italian immediately slammed a punch into Dannigan's midsection.

Dannigan grimaced then looked up, "Maybe I shouldn't have ate from that cart on the street corner...reflux is a real bitch."

Giancarlo pummeled his face for a few minutes then gave him several body blows. He then noticed Connelly looking rather bored and went over to punch him in the face.

He spat out some blood then remarked," about time. I've been waiting forever. You know with service slowing down; you can forget even a three star rating on the traveler's guide."

Dannigan barked at him,"Hey! don't run off. I want the full session. I expect TOP service here!"

The sun had risen and there was a clock on the wall that seemed correct. Dannigan didn't ask. If the clock was correct he had half an hour to make his check in or Lyssa would be called. Knowing Madison she'd already alerted her and within half an hour past time she'd be calling her to head for Spain in pursuit. The Italian took a break to rest. Dannigan glanced at the clock again when he came back and smiled. Time was up. The cavalry had been called. Hell on Earth was coming to Spain, now all they had to do was stay alive long enough to be extracted.

~o~O~o~

Rodrick answered Lyssa's phone on the third ring,"hello?"

"Get Lyssa now," Madison demanded.

"Paul missed his check in," Rodrick asked.

"Yes," she answered flatly.

"We'll head for Spain now," Rodrick said and disconnected.

"We're cleared," Lyssa asked from the kitchen putting away dishes.

Rodrick nodded. Lyssa closed the cabinet then walked around securing the house as rodrick helped. An hour later they were lifting off the runway heading north. They refueled in Atlanta then New York before crossing over to Ireland then down to Spain to land in Barcelona.

 

A taxi ride from the private terminal to Lyssa's house outside the city didn't take long. Lyssa deactivated the systems then signalled for Rodrick to come in. He set their bags down and went to the garage to check the car while Lyssa pulled guns from the concealed cabinet.

Two CAR-15's, with a full load and ten reload magazines, her two Jericho .40 cal automags, the 10mm colt Deltas for Rodrick and climbing rope then went to work on personal kits. A blowout kit for Rodrick then his assortment of grenades and the microsyrettes of poison then her own kit of the Marauder knife, Fairbairn-Sikes knife, the microsyrettes, a small bottle of acid that activated in contact with air and her assortment of grenades along with four small explosive charges; precision cutters and kickers.

Lyssa added the small black bag containing the chemical interrogation drug kit. Rodrick came in and changed quickly into black BDU's and his combat vest as she pulled on her battlesuit, boots and harness. They both quickly loaded their equipment and covered it all with long dark coats.

Dannigan's satphone hadn't moved giving them a location to start looking. Rodrick drove them there casually as to not draw any attention from the local police. From the briefing packet Madison had emailed them they knew Dannigan had left the keys next to the engine block. True to report it was there and they used it to unlock the car then check the laptop on the floorboard.

All information had been sent to Madison. They knew he had either gained entry via a door or window so they'd use other means. Lyssa led the way up and across the roof walking slowly keeping her footsteps silent until she reached the place she wanted, beside a rafter. She used the acid to cut through the metal sheeting and Rodrick gripped it with a multi-tool's pliers then slid it out of the way.

Rodrick leaned in carefully and tied off the rope then gently lowered it down. She looped it through her carabiner and slithered inside to rappel down to the floor followed by him. Lyssa noticed a string running across the floor from a nearby window and visually followed it to cans.

She whispered into his ear,"spiderwire on the window. Eyes sharp for noisemakers."

He nodded silently and followed her as they crawled across the floor. They moved slowly and silently to the office section. They heard the sounds of water and a person sputtering and gurgling obviously being waterboarded in some fashion. Lyssa started reaching for the door when Rodrick tapped her boot. Using combat hand signals he advised her to check the door. She nodded then slowly peered into the edges around the door and saw Rodrick's intuition had been dead on. She found a spider-wire; a monofilament line ran from somewhere on the inside of the door to the wall, likely to some cans or other noisemakers.

Using a piece of discarded wire she pulled the spider-wire through the gap and cut it then tied it off on a protruding nail. Rodrick looked into her grey eyes that seemed to glow when set against the pattern of combat face paint unique to her. She nodded to him determinedly. They took position on either side of the door with their guns ready. Rodrick signaled that they would go on three then silently counted down then yanked the door open and bolted in.

 

Lyssa streaked past and launched herself at the man boot first connecting with his chin. The woman reached for an automatic in a holster on her hip but Rodrick snapped the bolt of the CAR-15 for effect.

"Too late, we have you," He said in French accented English.

Evelyn slowly raised her hands in surrender. Lyssa took her pistol then roughly sat her in a chair and used zip-ties to secure her to it by wrist and ankle. Rodrick did the same with the Italian after Lyssa finished then sat both Dannigan and Connelly upright. She leaned and applied a piece of tape over both of their mouths and said in Russian accented English," You two don't cause problems; I forget you here, Da?"

They both nodded.

Lyssa spoke to Rodrick, "bring woman. She is now."

Rodrick dragged the chair over.

Lyssa asked her in the accented English,"You wish speak now, Da?"

Evelyn smirked,"piss off bloody bitch."

Lyssa took out the small black pouch and unzipped it. From inside she took out the syringe and vial. Slowly the syringe was loaded with the clear liquid and tapped out the bubbles. Lyssa injected her in the neck and put the syringe away.

Lyssa said in Russian," Past the gates; before the throne. I've been to hell. Where I'm taking you; much worse."

The Irish woman's look of sarcasm faded into a look of puzzlement then alarm.

"What the fuck did you give me," she demanded.

Lyssa smiled coldly,"If you beg hard enough maybe your God forgive you and let you die quickly."

 

Evelyn felt herself getting warmer by the heartbeat. She realized the woman hadn't injected her with sodium pentathol; she was using something else. Something worse. Her wrists started to throb as did her ankles and vision blurred.

A man she'd killed long ago came into her vision, his throat cut from ear to ear with blood pouring down he told her through a hoarse voice blood spurting forth onto her that more were coming. The heat left and cold set in. Evelyn shivered uncontrolably then saw a girl she had taunted mercilessly lash out with a punch which snapped her head back.

Lyssa knew exactly when the effects were setting in. Time was limited though. Dannigan should appreciate this show. He was always curious to watch her methods first hand. It should scare the Interpol guy shitless as well.

Pain wracked through Evelyn's body as a boy she and her friends beat to death because they believed him to be gay slammed a punch deep into her midsection. One by one a group of dead Dublin police officers passed in front of her each throwing a punch. Hot and cold flashed as the pain reached new heights within her body. A demon came into view covered in blood with flames dancing from its claws and feet. It stretched out one of its long fingers tipped with a blacked claw and drew a line down her forearm slicing it open.

 

Blair watched on. He had no idea what the woman had given her but whatever it was; wasn't a regualr truth agent. This wasn't an interrogation, it was an information extraction. He had little doubt the woman would survive it. His objective right now was to draw as little attention to himself and Paul Branton as possible.

 

Evelyn stared in horror at the wound then as the claw gouged a deep furrow into one of the bones she screamed wildly.

Something growled at her ear,"Tell about one you serve."

Evelyn screamed, "Straga! A woman from the Balkans! She communicates only by cellphone! plans to acquire three dirty bombs and use them to force money from EuroBank, United States and the United Arab Emirates. Fifty billion in gold and the release of twenty terrorists in various prisons!"

Lyssa traced the tip of the Marauder along the woman's forehead making blood drip down across her eyes.

"More," The demon hissed at Evelyn.

Finally she gave up the last bit of information; the one place she knew Straga could be. The demon reached out once more and drew its claw across her belly; opening it up and releasing her guts into her lap. Evelyn shrieked wildly as they were draped around her own neck. Lyssa looked at Rodrick and nodded for the Italian man to be dragged closer.

She yanked his head back and made the cut. Blood sprayed outward, coating Evelyn's face and body. What life was left in the criminal left as she shrieked and thrashed in agonized terror.

Lyssa leaned close to Connelly, "when wake up. Leave this alone, nyet?"

Both men nodded. Lyssa applied a sleeper hold to both then uncuffed them before leaving.

---

CHAPTER 4

Madison answered before the end of the first ring.

Lyssa didn't allow for small talk,"Madi i need the location of the cellphone with this number."

Madison typed in the number and started tracing its information. The phone had no GPS, was prepaid and purchased at an airport in Lisbon. Madison tried a wild idea and checked the seller's records. Within a fifteen minute timeframe ten phones were purchased, but only three were paid for with cash. All three had used the same celltower recently in Madrid.

"Find her Madison! Use every trick and find her fast," Lyssa ordered.

Madison used Dannigan's terminal and accessed three satellites focused on that area. None of the cellphones were on. Of the cellphones on in that area she eliminated all non-prepaid phones and then eavesdropped the text messages and found one that stood out. She snooped through the traffic camera system and found several women. One face matched that from the Lisbon airport.

She'd found who Lyssa was searching for. From then on Madison tracked her to an apartment building. Lyssa and Rodrick were in transit heading for Madrid. She used another satellite to scan the building for heat signatures and counted eight then locked the other satellite to watch the building entrances in case she left.

~o~O~o~

Dannigan had been the first to awake. He and Connelly were free, he shook him and got a groan.

"C'mon Blair, get up. we gotta go," Dannigan tried to get him up.

"Paul? What happened," he asked.

"Chick put a sleeper hold on us. Not a bad deal considering the alternative," Dannigan answered.

Connelly shook his head trying to clear it, "we gotta make calls, bring people online."

Dannigan helped him up, "Forget it Blair."

"What? you're gonna ignore this Paul," Connelly sputtered.

"Blair, wherever they went; even if we knew, we're still at least eight hours behind them and we have no clue who they were," Dannigan explained.

They both looked at what remained of their captors. The sight was beyond grotesque.

Dannigan nodded to the bodies, "Blair this is beyond Interpol. Its beyond even me. That chick makes Charles Manson look like Mary fuckin' Poppins. Anybody, anytime, anywhere and you know it."

Connelly nodded finally then leaned on Dannigan to make their way out.

"I know a no-questions asked doctor that can patch us up," Dannigan said.

Connelly nodded, "good. I'll have to answer enough questions as it is I think."

~o~O~o~

Lyssa looked at the building Madison had directed them to. Looking through binoculars they eliminated the first two floors.

"Fourth floor is negative," Rodrick stated.

"ok. she's on three then. how many possibles,"Lyssa asked.

"Five apartments, two have no heat. One has multiples and two have singles,"Rodrick listed.

The sun had set and many lights shone through the windows.

"I'll take the outside, you take the inside,"Rodrick offered.

Lyssa nodded and passed him the rope. Rodrick slowly climbed up the outside wall using the recessed mortar brickwork for finger and toe-holds.

"I need to get some of those ninja claw things if I'm gonna be doing this kinda shit," he muttered.

 

Minutes later he used infra-red goggles to carefully look through the window. A single form sat in a chair against the far wall. With the exception of a table littered with papers that seemed to be the only furniture. He took off the goggles and used a small thermo scope and saw the form was female and armed.

Rodrick leveraged himself up to the windowsill and used a diamond tipped cutter to get to the latch then slowly open the window. He literally slithered inside and snaked his way over to the single form. Lyssa had given him a syrette of fast acting anesthetic.

Slowly he raised it up then jabbed it into her neck and squeezed. Straga leapt to her feet and tried to draw a weapon but the drug worked even faster with her speeding heartbeat and swooned once then fell. Rodrick checked her for more weapons then let Lyssa in through the door. They took only a few minutes to secure her then called Madison with the location and status before quietly leaving.

~o~O~o~

Connelly couldn't believe it, Straga had all but been delivered. Dannigan seemed very surprised that Straga turned out to be a woman and had been left alive for capture by person, or rather; persons unknown. Only a dark shadow in the night was all she knew and was furious about it. The pictures of her cohorts disturbed her, what was left of them.

He'd seen interrogations before, both in and out of the service but nothing like what he'd seen that night. Toxicology came up with an unknown chemical in Irish woman's system. Nothing from the United States, former Soviet Union or China. All he knew about it was there were definite hallucinogenic effects.

Whoever they were, they were beyond vicious, highly motivated and skilled. His good friend Paul seemed like he wanted distance from them. A lot of distance. Normally this would be the point where he pulled out all stops and searched why, but they had an agreement. Stay out of each other's business except to save each other's life.

Neither were in danger now so he stayed out of Paul Dannigan's business and instead flagged the methodology of the torture/interrogation, including the toxicology, for any future cases that came along.

~o~O~o~

Rodrick sorted through Hugo Boss tuxedo jackets while Lyssa and Ingo Wilts chatted about fall lines. He already had two black tuxedos. The greys were nice but he took interest in the white ones.

The white tuxedos reminded him of naval dress whites. That was a thought, he and his groomsmen could wear the white tuxedos in place of uniforms.
He whispered into her ear,"I think white tuxedos. It'd be like we're all in uniforms again."

"ooooooh I like that idea. You'd all be able to wear your budweisers and a few ribbons wouldn't you," Lyssa asked.

Budweiser referring not to the beer but the crest worn by all SEALs; an eagle, flintlock pistol and trident imposed on an anchor. Rodrick nodded making her smile.

Ingo overheard Lyssa and asked, "White tuxedos? Not a problem. Would I need to make any adjustments to anything to accomodate?"

Rodrick drew a circle with his finger around the pocket area,"could you reinforce this area; for our ribbons?"

"Ah, I understand now. Military medals, Ja," Hugo asked pointedly.

"Ja Herr Wilts," Rodrick answered.

Ingo replied with a smile, "I can do that with no problem and it will be invisible. Only you and your men will know about it."

Ingo stopped for a moment looking thoughtful then asked, "What military please?"

Rodrick answered,"U.S.Navy."

"Ah, your worries will be over. I will make sure you are all very happy with the white tuxedos. Inspired by your Navy. Yes, very dashing officers yes," Ingo clapped his hands .

Ingo turned to Lyssa, "Not to worry Lyssa. I will make sure that your heart will melt when you see him at the end of the aisle waiting for you. John Galiano will make your gown yes?"

Lyssa nodded, "John was the first to call and insisted."

"Then all will be perfect on the day, a stunning bride and handsome groom," the senior Vice President of Hugo Boss proclaimed.

"just don't forget to keep that weekend open so you can be there yourself," Rodrick pointed out.

The german laughed, "HA! Miss the wedding of the century? Not for the world, I think you say; because the world loves Lyssa and she loves you!"

Lyssa showed her truest grace and blushed.

Ingo looked intently at Rodrick, "I have seen Lyssa walk the runways of the world, wearing clothes envied by princesses. I have seen her dance for Kings and Queens that bowed to her afterward. The man that has won her heart must be the best in all the world. For certain, or she would not have him."

With that Ingo Wilts turned smiling and went to his studio leaving Rodrick and Lyssa staring in awe at his statement.

Finally Rodrick spoke, "Let's go home, we still have a lot of wedding to plan and I'll start helping more from now on."

Together they walked out, heading for the airport then Grand Cayman.