Chasing the White Lion by James Hannibal (best free e book reader .TXT) 📗

his strongest rivals. The White Lion uses the Frenzy to identify and eliminate his most ambitious players. Get too close, and you will wind up like Riku Ishimoto.”

“We won’t. Trust me.” Talia didn’t explain, but Val and Eddie had nearly exhausted Jafet’s reserves. They only had a few more million to shift around for fake deals. The Macciano Sisters didn’t have a big enough war chest to threaten Boyd.

Atan walked his guests to the door, and the two stepped out into the maze. The hacker’s body was gone, cleared away by the world’s creepiest maid staff.

“One more thing.” Talia stopped the door before he could close it. “Other than the White Lion, who here are you most afraid of?”

He pulled his chin close to his neck. “Are you serious?” His pupils shifted from Talia to Val and back again. “You. According to the message boards, you beat up the Clouded Leopard at the bazaar. Now you’ve killed her, along with Panther Seven Five. You two are terrifying.”

“Anyone else?”

Atan glanced up and down the hall. Clearly he did not like hanging out with his door open to the maze. “The Snow Leopard. The graceful name does not suit him, nor his dirty business.”

How dirty could Rudenko’s business be? Talia huffed. “You’re mistaken. He sells artifacts.”

“No, my dear. The Snow Leopard’s smuggling business is a veil, a façade for the Ukrainian authorities. He pays them off. Everyone is happy. No one cares about a few black-market trinkets. No one looks deeper. But at last year’s Frenzy, he showed his true spots. His real business is selling children.” Atan removed her hand from the door and shut it in her face.

CHAPTER

SEVENTY

WESTERN TOWER

TWIN TIGERS COMPLEX

BANGKOK, THAILAND

“RUDENKO’SOURMAN.” Talia let the arrow steer her and Val through the maze, aware she wasn’t paying enough attention to the threat from the remaining players. She no longer cared. “How did we miss this?”

“You mean how did I miss this?” The pout in Eddie’s voice was palpable.

“Sorry, Eddie. I didn’t mean it that way.”

“But it’s true. I’m the one who did the research. Rudenko’s got a solid cover—layers within layers. My computers aren’t all knowing. They can only work from the data they’re fed.”

This sounded like a sore point. Talia had to wonder if Eddie was simultaneously taking grief from Tyler off air. She softened her tone. “Fair point. But now we know, so how do we figure out where he’s keeping the children?”

Tyler answered for him, posing another question. “The device Val lifted from the hacker’s body. How deep into Boyd’s system does it go?”

“Deep.” Val matched Talia’s steps and held the device in front of Talia’s glasses-cam for Eddie to see. “Looks like she had access to every Frenzy communication and transaction. She siphoned a little off each deal. The others were moving so fast they didn’t notice.”

“What about delivery schedules. Did she hack those?”

“Can’t say yet. We’ll need some help finding out.”

After Talia and Val reached the room, Eddie coached them through a search of the device’s functions and data.

“Got it.” Talia selected an entry on the device, bringing up times and registry numbers. “Rudenko has a delivery arriving this evening, coming in on two freight trucks.”

“Which means train,” Tyler said.

“No, I said trucks.”

“And Tyler said train.” Val took the device out of her hand and set it on the desk. “Bangkok is a packed metropolis with ten times more traffic than its roads can support. Moving freight trucks through this mess by train is more efficient. It’s called piggybacking.”

“Okay.” Talia squinted at Val. “Let’s say you’re right, and our trucks are coming through the city by rail in a couple of hours. Where does that leave us?”

“With something I’ve always wanted to try,” Tyler said. “An old-fashioned train robbery.”

WITH THE REST OF THE TEAM preparing to hit the train and nothing left in the Frenzy but the Grand Bazaar, Talia and Val could do nothing but sit tight. Sitting was not in Talia’s nature. Pacing was more her style—pacing and praying.

Dear God, place your hands as a shield around Tyler and the team. Help me find the children, and help us bring them safely home to their parents.

“Are you falling asleep on your feet over there?” Val asked from the kitchen.

“Praying.”

“Right. I should’ve guessed. Say one for me, will you?”

The sincerity in the request made Talia open her eyes. “Are you okay?”

“Yes.” Val attempted to pour a cup of coffee, but the pitcher rattled against the cup. She set both on the counter and lowered her head. “No.”

Her hands were shaking. Talia left her pacing track and went to her. “Val, what’s wrong?”

“Weren’t you paying attention? Rudenko kidnaps and sells children. By stealing artifacts for him, aiding his cover business and financing, I’ve been helping him.”

In the months Talia had known her, Val kept up a callous veneer. Always shielded. Always arm’s length from real emotion. With Don Marco’s decision to turn himself in, her veneer had cracked. Now the news about Rudenko had wedged in a crowbar. Talia had two ways to play this—remove the crowbar and add some quick platitude spackling, or tear the fissure wide open.

She chose the harder path. “Yes, Val. You have been helping him.”

CHAPTER

SEVENTY-

ONE

PHRA PRADAENG DISTRICT

SAMUT PRAKAN CITY

BANGKOK METROPOLIS, THAILAND

TYLERAND FINNWEAVEDTHROUGHTRAFFIC on Kawasaki dirt bikes. The four gold spires of Bangkok’s Mega Bridge loomed ahead. The helmet muffled Tyler’s voice. “Eddie, time check.”

“Eleven past. Four minutes to go, assuming the train is on schedule.”

“Did the train leave on schedule?”

“Yes.”

Tyler changed lanes to dodge a car, gunned his engine, and added some sharpness to his tone. “Too bad we didn’t.”

Acquiring motorbikes in Bangkok had posed no problem. They were everywhere. The team’s delay had come from locating and purchasing a drone that met Eddie’s stringent requirements. Tyler and Finn had pushed deep into the Samut Prakan port sector to get the one he wanted, and now they were fighting their way back north to catch the train.

“I told you,