Shadow Men – 56 – Anders and Grant

"Got it!" Steele said a couple of minutes later. "Female, about five-eight, blonde hair, dark roots, eyes a bit too widely spaced, narrow nose, full upper-lip. Ring any bells?"

Anders tapped a knuckle against his lips. "Yeah, but the hair color's wrong if it's who I think. It should be red. Petra, no Petya. Petya…"

"Goranov," Steele said, his voice tight with emotion. "His wife."

"Whose wife?" Grant asked, feeling totally lost.

"Goranov's. He's the one who started all this when he stole those papers."

"Why would she be there? How would she know we were going to be there?" Anders mused.

"That is a damned good question," Steele replied. "One thing for sure, she wouldn't be working for the Colonel, not after he had her husband…"

"Killed?" Grant asked, then wished he hadn't when he immediately understood why Steele's hands had fisted so tightly at his sides. Tortured and killed, he was certain.

"She's hunting for his killers," Anders stated.

"Why there?"

"Hunting for you then, Steele, if she knows you had the papers."

"Possible." Steele frowned. "Still doesn't explain…"

"It does if she knows 'Daniel', which we have to find out. She could be the loose cannon who fucks this whole thing up, and we have the meeting tomorrow… well, tonight."

"Call him," Steele spat out.

Anders' eyebrows shot up at the order but he did so anyway. After a short conversation with him Anders told the others, "He knows her, yeah, but says he didn't know she was in the area. According to him, she went deep under since the Colonel would like to get his hands on her."

"She's one of you?" Grant asked.

Anders nodded. "She and her husband were a team, a good one. It still doesn't explain why she's here at the same time we are."

"Is this Daniel the only one who knew we were coming here?"

"He was, until he set up tonight's meeting. Now that man knows, too. Hell."

"The 'man' is a woman, her, or that's what you're thinking," Grant said.

Anders gave a sharp nod.

"It fits," Steele muttered. "She has as much or more reason than we do to want the information to get into the right hands."

"I guess we'll find out tonight. For now we'd better get some sleep."