Driven Hearts: Capturing Victory

Chapter 3

He was closing in on the hacker, but the tech genius was making him angry; very angry. And things that made Ivan angry tended to die slow, painful deaths. He hated playing games of cat and mouse. He preferred to lay his cards on the table, do his business out in the open with guns and steel. Which is why he dealt mainly in weaponry; he understood armaments. He didn't like the world of sophisticated technology, though he certainly wasn't a technophobe. He understood the use for computers, technology and the internet and was happy to exploit them any way he could, which was why he'd wanted the brilliant mind of XSource on his payroll. But he couldn't stand the covert nature of internet crime; especially when it was keeping his prey from him.

Ivan would have been more at home in the wild west, hunting his victims on horseback, taking and conquering through sheer strength and force of will. But he'd been born in a different time, forced to channel his intelligence down a different path, hitting the international market, trading in arms deals across borders, building a private army of mercenaries and highly intelligent minds that worked beneath him to help him amass power and fortune through underworld profiteering.

When his phone rang, he nodded at his secretary, allowing her to pick up the call that would set his plan in motion; the capture of XSource. He turned away and watched the harbour, ignoring the initial back and forth as his various teams connected on the operation. He knew he was expending ridiculous amounts of money and resources on this capture. But the people closest to Ivan, the few that knew him best, knew that he was a bloodhound. He never gave up. Whether it was a business acquisition, an arms deal, an art thief or a hacker, he would hunt to the ends of the Earth, until he had what he wanted within his possession. Then he would play God, decide what to do with his new property; keep it or crush it.

When his people, scattered throughout the world, seamlessly co-ordinated themselves, he asked, "Where is he?" his voice cool, betraying none of the irritation he felt.

They'd just turned on their cat burglar, luring her into a clever trap in Mexico and handing her over to Roman Valdez, leader of the Valdez cartel in return for a location on the hacker that Katie Pullman used for her thieving jobs. They'd ensured she would definitely need the hacker's services on this one to get into a specialised room at the hacienda where the painting she was supposed to steal was kept.

Silence greeted his demand. It took patience he didn't have to keep quiet and not interrupt his people while they digitally knocked down the hacker's attempts to cover his tracks. Ivan locked down the urge to pace his office and shout further demands. He was a man of action, but this was not his time to shine. This was the reason he spent copious amounts of money employing people all over the world. So he could have the things he needed- and wanted. And right now he wanted the hacker's head on a platter. He needed to step aside and allow his people to track the hacker using the sophisticated resources he purchased for these jobs.

After a long moment of silence, he could hear Katie scuffling with Roman and screaming through the phone connection, "Source, get out now!"

This was quickly followed by one of his own people from the command center. "We have him pinned down. He's in Portugal."

"Where in Portugal?" Ivan asked coolly.

Several seconds passed and then the answer came through clearly. "Quarteira. A small coastal fishing hub."

"Keane?" Ivan demanded over the connection. "Who's closest?"

Keane replied immediately. "We have a man in Lisbon, he can be there within the hour."

"Not good enough, he'll go to ground by then," Ivan snapped, pacing his office. He could feel the tension rolling off his secretary. "What else?"

Five more seconds passed then Keane said, "Know a guy in Cadiz, Spain. I've used his team for some jobs in that region. Can either chopper in or boat across the water, fifteen minutes if he goes now." Keane hesitated and then added, "Mean fucker though. Can't guarantee the package'll get to you in one piece."

"Do it," Ivan said. "And Keane?"

"Yes, sir?"

"The package will arrive intact."

Few words were exchanged while Keane engaged the services of his mercenary contact in Spain. The man was indeed rough around the edges, but quick to leap to action when a generous contract was immediately laid out. Ivan did not negotiate. He offered. His offer was accepted, both parties moved forward with their contractual obligations. It was really too bad the hacker failed to understand.

He closed his eyes and continued to practice patience, counting down fifteen minutes to the second as Salazar's team took a military commissioned craft across the Gulf of Cadiz to Quarteira.

"They've landed," Keane's voice came across the line. "They're in the vehicle and movin' toward the signal. ETA, two minutes."

Ivan allowed himself to feel the first stirrings of satisfaction since he began closing in on his prey. Soon the hacker would be within Ivan's power, begging for mercy. He would quickly find out that Ivan had none.

"Sir," Keane's voice came through the speaker, cool and professional. "We have the hacker, we have XSource."

Ivan allowed the corner of his lips to curl slightly in satisfaction. "Excellent."

"She was preparin' to run."

She? A woman?

He turned to his screen, the smile leaving his face. "Show me."

An incoming message popped up on Ivan's screen. He tapped it, sitting down for a better view. He was stunned when her image filled the screen. He recognized her, of course. She was the lovely woman in the pink sari he'd attempted to converse with at the Athens ball two weeks before. Even in the overly bright light cast on her squinting features by the camera phone, he could tell it was her. Thick, dark brown hair swirled around her shoulders, forcibly hunched forward from the man standing behind her, holding her arms behind her back.

Suddenly a bag was shoved over her head, blocking her from view. He watched with disinterest as she fought her captors, screaming and kicking until someone slapped her in the side of the head so hard she was knocked off her feet. When she was righted, it was clear the fight had drained out of her. She leaned limply against one of the men her small hand clutching his forearm like a lifeline.

Ivan felt a tweak of annoyance at the way these men were handling his merchandise. The hacker belonged to him. No one else had earned the opportunity to punish her. He wanted to tear the bag from her head and shoot every man in that room for touching her. But she was still several thousand kilometres away from him. There was little he could do, but calmly, coolly wait for her arrival.

Salazar spoke to his men in rapid Spanish. "Load her up. Take as much of the equipment as you can. Don't damage anything."

Once the woman was taken from her shadowy basement home and out of view, Ivan placed his fists on the desk and leaned, making absolutely sure his next instructions were clear. "Keane."

"Yes, sir."

"No one touches that woman again. Understood?"

"Understood, sir."

Ivan ended the call, turned to his computer and ended the video feed. He trusted that Keane would make sure his instructions were followed. He glanced at his secretary. She was looking at him, her expression empty and serene, exactly as she knew it should be. She was to have no emotion while in his presence. She lifted her tablet and waited on his next instructions.

He turned his back on her, squared his shoulders and emptied his mind for a moment, attempting to centre himself; release some of the emotion boiling up. "I need you to make some changes for our guest. Circumstances have become different. She'll be staying for a longer period of time than I was anticipating. Make sure a cell is prepared for her right away. It is to be comfortable, but there will be absolutely no technology in or around her room. That includes light switches, plug-ins, anything she can get her hands on. It all needs to go."

"Yes, sir," Anna said, her fingers flying over the tablet as she gave his people real time instructions. They would have a few hours to prepare the room to his specifications.

"I'll be leaving for home sooner than expected. I'll have to finish the Ukrainian deal, so Thursday I'll leave. Arrange it." Though he wasn't facing her he could still feel her hesitation. "What is it?" he asked coldly.

"Wh-what about Mr. Kadir? You were supposed to meet with him on Friday about the-"

Ivan turned to his secretary of six months and stared at her, his grey eyes expressing his distaste for her lack of foresight. She swallowed, her face slightly pale. She nodded.

"Of course, sir. I will cancel your meeting and reschedule," she said in a slightly higher voice.

He jerked his chin in a nod. "If he's not willing to reschedule, let Keane know. He can take care of the situation." They both knew how Keane would take care of the client. Anna made a note, keeping her eyes averted. "That's all for now. You may leave."

She uncrossed her legs and stood. Though no part of her body language conveyed relief at his dismissal, he could feel the emotion coming off her in waves, see it in every line of her sleek, professional body as she moved toward the door. She was a beautiful woman, had even tried to flirt with her new boss upon meeting him, a few weeks into the job. Instead of harshly rebuffing and firing her, as he'd been tempted to do, he'd instead given her time to get to know him. Given her time to look beyond what he knew was a classically handsome face to the monster within.

He knew who he was. He'd made deliberately, terribly immoral decisions simply to keep business flowing smoothly. Each step forward he'd taken into the darkness throughout his life had been a strategic decision. He'd never questioned the path he was taking, never thought twice about the stain on his soul. Nothing mattered to him except the power, the gain and the ability to crush anything that might be able to crush him first.

Thus, his pretty little secretary learned quickly not to flirt with her new boss. Not in an office where more than one person had disappeared, where being fired could too easily take on a permanent meaning. Instead, she took extra pains to blend in, do her job seamlessly and with the utmost respect. So far Ivan was mostly satisfied with her performance.

He sat down at his desk, pulled the computer monitor closer to him and expanded the frozen picture of his hacker until it filled the screen. The terror and anger in her dark eyes filled his chest, his heart and his lungs with- something. Some kind of feeling. He sat watching her for several moments, tracing her features, bare of make-up and artifice. He touched the screen, outlining her cheeks and lips with a fingertip before tapping her right between the eyes. He sat back in his chair and closed his eyes, breathing in and out, attempting to rid himself of the feelings, to centre himself once more.

He sat up abruptly, his eyes flying open. He knew what they were, the feelings he was associating with the woman, the hacker. For the first time in a long time, rather than feeling apathy, he felt anticipation, excitement- and desire.