Chasing The Dawn (Luke Temple - Book 2) (Luke Temple Series) (34 page)

Beltrano took a deep gulp of his coffee. “What do you know about the work they were carrying out at the laboratory, Robert?”

“I am no scientist,” Luke replied.

“Sure, me neither.” Beltrano held his hands up, “but surely you must know something? I mean, you had the presence of mind to track down Brun … and you have the girl.”

Luke locked eyes with Beltrano; it was the first mention of Chung Su. “She is safe … and Brun … it was the Iranians.”

“As I say, Robert, I know these events are things you are reacting to, not creating. But it was a shame, I liked Professor Brun. It is clear these Iranians are not messing around.”

“Let’s cut the crap, you are not an ordinary officer, you have kept this whole investigation under wraps, that’s power … you seem able to control the strings so no one else gets too involved.”

Brun picked up the cigar and relit it, taking the same pleasure in getting it stoked and smoking again. “You got me! We all have our secrets … Robert. My country tasks me with special assignments, and whether you know science or not, I am going to honour you with the assumption that you are sharp enough to decipher that this is a very special assignment. Otherwise why would you be here?”

Silence fell between the pair. Luke had to appreciate that things being kept covert was hugely in his favour. After a moment, he broke the silence. “How long have the Iranians been involved?”

“I was hoping you could tell me. The gala was the first time I had seen them. They were not the suspects I had …”

Luke sat up in his seat. “Suspects? You have suspects?”

Beltrano stared into Luke’s eyes, pulling everything into his black pupils. Many times in his previous life Luke had seen battle-hardened men, men who had taken on tasks that they wouldn’t wish on their worst enemy. Luke could see the same aura emanating from the man sat in front of him.

“Yes, we have suspects … and that leads me on to another area where I lack knowledge. I do not know where you have Miss Chung Su.”

Luke did not give anything away. “She is safe.”

“So you have said.”

The silence returned.

Beltrano sucked the last life out of the cigar and threw the nub onto the table. He slowly reached his right hand into his jacket. Luke stiffened and Beltrano sensed it; he held up his left hand in a surrender pose, then he slowly produced two Polaroids and threw them onto the table.

Luke slid the photos round; they were photographs of two men of Asian origin and judging by the angle of the shots they were taken covertly. One wore spectacles and had a long slender face, the other was chubby and his features were less defined. Luke could tell they were not men of action.

“Who are they?” Luke asked.

Beltrano pointed to the bespectacled man. “This is Ki-Woong Geum.” He then pointed at the chubby man. “And this is Cahng-Ho Nam.”

“And who are they?” Luke asked again.

“They are North Korean in origin. They are currently placed at the laboratory; it is part of a cultural scientific exchange initiative put in place by CERN.”

Beltrano let the information settle. Luke guessed these were the countrymen that Chung Su was tasked with investigating, and according to her they had gone missing, but here was Beltrano claiming they were still placed at the laboratory.

“We believe these two gentlemen are responsible for Professor Vittorio’s disappearance. They worked directly for him as part of his team.”

“And what do they say about it all?” Luke probed.

Beltrano didn’t falter. “They deny it.”

“Why do you suspect them?” Luke asked.

“Various reasons, and I really hope I don’t have to tell you how dangerous this could be … for all of us. They know everything about the experiments.”

Luke nodded, waiting for what was coming.

“That is why I need to know where Miss Chung is. I am sure she is connected to all of this; a North Korean particle physicist shows up at a critical moment in time – I don’t believe in coincidence, Robert.”

You and me both,
thought Luke.

“Where is she?”

“She is safe.”

“Why did you take her?”

“Wasn’t planned. The men at the gala would have killed her.”

“Ah, so you are human, that is good to know. The men at the gala, the Iranians, they were there for her? To
kill
her, you say?”

Luke picked up the mug, but he couldn’t stomach any more. He put it back down and nodded.

Beltrano locked Luke with an intense gaze. “Then you must see how important she is, she holds the key. What has she told you?”

Luke’s attention was temporarily diverted by a banged-up old car pulling into the car park. It had more rust than bodywork. A fat moustachioed man swung the door open and perched on the end of the car seat. He coughed repeatedly, spat some phlegm out onto the concrete then straightened up, shut the door and walked over to the café entrance.

Beltrano turned stern. “Robert! Please focus …”

Believe me, I am focused,
thought Luke.

“What has she told you?”

“Nothing.”

“Nothing?”

“She is frightened, confused.”

Beltrano let out a clipped sigh and reclined in his seat. After a few moments he leant back in. “Robert, I have shown you a lot of respect so far. It is very disappointing when the same courtesy isn’t repaid. You expect me to believe that Chung Su has said
nothing
to you? You travelled to this country to find information, with an agenda, and you take possession of someone who must have an abundance of information, and you sit there and tell me she has told you nothing? That you have not extracted anything from her?”

Luke could sense Beltrano’s demeanor changing. There was no way Luke was going to give him any information about what Chung Su had divulged. She sat clear in his mind; it was surreal that someone so fragile, so vulnerable could be catapulted into the heart of this situation; it was beyond reason.

“She doesn’t know anything. I was hoping she would, but she is just a scared scientist, all this is beyond her.” Luke spoke calmly.

“You would think that after all these years of people lying to me it would start to hurt less and less … but alas it still causes pain. My job is to find the truth, maybe I got you wrong but I figured that is why someone as highly
skilled
as you had been sent, to get to the truth.”

Luke kept his eyes locked on Beltrano, who dropped his head and rubbed his temples. He let out a noise of resignation and softened. “Robert, we have only this to go on. I did not know about the Iranians but I will follow up. My guess is that they are after the same as the Koreans: Vittorio’s secrets. I must know where you have Miss Chung … I was hoping that we could do this the easy way.”

“Do I look like someone who takes the easy way?” Luke retorted.

“Let me put it slightly differently. I am not asking to speak with Miss Chung, I am stating that I will and you will need to tell me where she is.”

Luke knew that Beltrano was starting to lose his cool. He needed to push him further. Beltrano was zeroing in on Chung Su so Luke wanted to move away from her.

“How is your partner?” Luke asked.

Beltrano went to bite, then reassessed. “He is ok … healing. I told him not to go chasing after you; I could tell straight away that you were dangerous. That trail you have left in Teramo would carry a long and lengthy sentence. I thought we may be able to reach an agreement, work together to keep everyone safe. You and I know that if the power of what Vittorio has uncovered should fall into the wrong hands we are all in trouble. But it seems that isn’t possible.” Beltrano finished off the now cooling coffee. “I certainly hope you like Italian food, because you are going to be here for a very long time.”

Luke knew he was desperate, the calm veneer was slipping. “I wonder how it would look you having a nice cosy chat with me, un-cuffed, un-arrested in a café before taking me in? That is, of course, after finding me at Vittorio’s flat, shooting a foreign national dead and with no official search of Vittorio’s property.”

Beltrano shook his head and rubbed his beard. “You want to know what I hate most about all of this? The complications, the mess of it all, it is not simple … I like simple. Robert, I have no intention of giving you up to anyone, and as you rightly observe I have obligations that go above the force … there are people high up who have tasked me with the protection of our nation. I have to speak with Miss Chung to be able to do that. She knows more than she has told you. You have to do what’s right.”

Luke wanted to laugh at the statement
. Right
? If there was one thing Luke Temple knew that Alex Rowland didn’t, it was the fact that the world was not black and white. He would never give up Chung Su, she was his best asset.
Is that all it is?
He questioned his motive for keeping her close, the beautiful eyes, the slender body, the sharp mind … he left the thought there. What could Beltrano offer him? It appeared very little; he knew nothing of the Iranians, and Luke did not want to probe about the experiment taking place in two days’ time in case it created problems.
Two days’ time …

Beltrano placed his right index and middle fingers on the two photos. “This is a real risk, Robert. Let’s work together to protect innocent people. We have to find out what she knows.”

Luke did not relax at the talk of working together. He didn’t work with anyone. He had his objectives, and they did not involve partnerships.

“Where are these two now?” Luke asked.

“We have them. They’re being held at a central location in Rome, high security, but unsurprisingly they aren’t talking. Let’s do a deal; if you give up Chung Su for me to talk to, then I will let you sit with these two for a chat.”

Was Beltrano telling the truth? The two Koreans being held in Rome would explain their disappearance. Luke curled his mouth. Under other circumstances he would definitely want to know more about Chung Su’s colleagues, but it was a distant concept. He had to live in the immediate and he knew he wouldn’t get the chance to speak with them.

“Beltrano, you do not believe Vittorio is the real case here. It is the experiments he was conducting, the potential for those experiments. You want to contain the knowledge, and that is one thing we agree on,” Luke said.

“Good! That is exactly what I want, and the time for doing that is running out.”

“You are right,” Luke spoke calmly. “I will hand her over, but on the condition, Beltrano, that once you have her I get all the information you have on the case. You are the one who keeps saying we want the same thing and can work together … prove it.”

Beltrano weighed the words as he gazed out of the window into the darkness. “I don’t even know who you work for, Robert.”

“No, you don’t, but men in our position must have secrets. You saved my life, so I know I can trust you … and I think you know you can trust me,” Luke lied.

“And how do I know that?” Beltrano asked.

“Because you are not dead,” Luke said coldly.

Beltrano smiled. “Ok, you have a deal.”

“We meet at midnight tomorrow, at La Cattedrale di San Berardo in central Teramo.”

Beltrano raised an eyebrow in scepticism.

“You want her then it’s that or nothing, come alone,” Luke snapped.

Beltrano seemed to have a bounce back in his spirit. “Ok, midnight at La Cattedrale di San Berardo.” He let out a laugh of release. “I knew I was right about you, Robert, you are a good man. Now come on, it’s late, we should eat.”

“No, I’m fine.” Luke stood.

“Oh come on, you cannot go yet. Let us at least chat about things that aren’t so grave.”

Luke Temple was a shell that had been filled by others; chit chat was not his forte. “I will see you tomorrow.”

“But we are in the middle of a highway, how are you …” Beltrano gave up as Luke walked out into the cold night.

The air was sharp, but Luke welcomed it. He had felt the warm café and coffee start to relax him. The encounter had been unexpected but had gone as well as it could. There was no major manhunt after him thanks to Beltrano. But he felt far from at ease. He didn’t have the full facts, and he did not trust Beltrano to deliver on his word.
Trust no one.
He had offered Chung Su up as a way to bring the meeting to a close; he was dangling her as bait. He wanted to draw Beltrano out into the open a bit more, get things onto his terms. He now had a designated time and place to meet, and it would allow him to take the initiative. His brain whirred. He wouldn’t inform Chung Su about her colleagues. He needed her still wanting to cooperate, to willingly engage. The moment she knew they were lost to the system she would stand no chance and become despondent.

Chung Su was the hinge that would open the door. Luke pressed his hand against the outline of his phone; he hoped she would shed some light on the photos that were now stored on it. Forty-eight hours was all they had. Something was going to happen on Saturday at 7 p.m. Luke did not know what, but he knew it would change everything. Forty-eight hours was an alarmingly short amount of time.

A violent twitch of the body jolted Chung Su back into the light and the dream faded. Her grandfather was gone. She was lying on top of the bed, her exposed skin rippled with goose bumps from the cold. Still not fully awake, she stood up and tried to make her way over to the window, kicking the plant pot by mistake.

She looked up into the sky, it was black and the low clouds blocked out the stars. Her grandfather’s voice softy played in her ears:
You must never be worried if you cannot see the stars, Chung-Chung, because they are always there, just waiting for the clouds to be blown away – waiting to be discovered all over again.
A single tear rolled down her cheek.

She looked over at the red numbers on the alarm clock, it was 11.15 p.m.
Where is he?
She pulled the blind down over the window. Just then, as if he had been listening to her thoughts, the door lock rattled and Luke entered the room.

“Are you ok? You look terrible.” Chung Su moved back to the bed.

“Thanks … and yes, I’m fine.”