Avengers by Dan Abnett

Author:Dan Abnett
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Titan Books

* * *

THE DIVERS recovered Gustav Malles’s cell phone,” said Runciter. They were sitting in the back of a S.H.I.E.L.D. whisper-copter that had settled on the front lot of the club.

“It’s pretty new,” she went on. “Purchased about a month ago in a city-center store. We believe Malles hadn’t been in Berlin long. He’d probably just got his first retainer fee from Hydra and was treating himself.”

She held up the smartphone in a plastic evidence bag.

“What did you find on it?” Cap asked.

“The techs went through everything: call log, texts, instant messages, the works. There’s nothing that might be what we could call ‘work-related.’ This was his personal cell. There’s probably another phone still at the bottom of the river, a burner that Hydra issued him for operational work.”

“Then what use is this?” asked Cap.

She smiled at him in a way that suggested he should be patient.

“Malles liked his new phone. He set it up personally and pretty much okayed every feature it offered him. I think he played around with it when he was bored. It was his new toy. He downloaded apps. He set up Spotify, Instagram, and Facebook.”

“Facebook?” said Cap.

“It gets better,” she grinned. “At some point, he downloaded a free app called What Next? It’s a basic street finder, a travel guide. Helped him find his way around, showed him the nearest bars and fast-food joints. You know the sort of thing.”

“Gail—”

She smiled again.

“To use What Next? you have to okay Know My Location. Malles probably just tapped ‘yes’ when the box came up. Didn’t think twice. So for the last three weeks, it’s mapped his movements. Malles didn’t use the phone for work, Cap, but it was in his pocket while he worked.”

Cap looked at her.

“We know where he went?” he asked.

“Better still, we know where he went regularly.”

She pulled out a sheet of paper and handed it to Cap. It was a list of addresses.

“The airport, several times. Various train stations.”

She leaned over and pointed to an item on the list.

“This place here, pretty much every day. It’s a hostel in Saar. We think that’s where he was staying.”

“Can we get people on it?”

“Bridge is already sending a team in. The really interesting one is this. An apartment building in Riechstahl. Nineteen visits in three weeks. The last one was immediately before Malles went with Strucker to Auger GmbH today.”

“In other words, go to the boss’s place, pick him up, and drive him to Auger.”

“That’s what it looks like.”

Cap stared at the address. “This could be Strucker’s base location?”

“Yep.”

“We have to move,” said Cap. “If Strucker got out of the water—”

“—and we’re presuming he did,” she put in.

“Then he might risk going back to his place. To clean it out or resupply. Maybe pick up something important. He’s probably injured. Forced to take chances. He’d risk it.”

“But he doesn’t know we know the location,” said Runciter.

“Strucker’s not stupid. If he goes there at all, he won’t stay long. Just grab what he needs. How quickly can we move in?”

“Bridge has already authorized the op,” she said.

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