She slowed to a stop. The track ascended higher into the hills, bending around a lazy curve as it climbed. There was a switchback above her, and, nestled within the serpentine left-hand swing of the track, she saw a house.

Beatrix parked the car within the shelter afforded by a cleft in the track and, following the treeline, moved to within fifty metres of the property. She scouted ahead with the binoculars from the cache. The house was compact, with the windows on the first floor suggesting two or three bedrooms. There was a garden with a raised vegetable patch. A child’s colourful paddling pool. The property stood in a position that afforded it a panoramic view into the valley through which Beatrix had approached. It looked small and pleasant.

There were two cars parked next to the house. Beatrix focused on them: one was an old Peugeot; the other was a Cadillac Escalade with blackout windows.

Beatrix waited, surveilling the cars with the binoculars. The Peugeot was empty, but the door of the Escalade opened and a woman stepped outside. Beatrix was too far away to make out fine details, even with the binoculars, save that the woman was wearing a skirt and jacket. She crossed the space between the Cadillac and the house and knocked on the door.

Beatrix pressed the glasses to her eyes and held her breath.

The door opened. Another woman stood inside the threshold; again, detail was hard to make out, but Beatrix could see that she was older and wearing an apron.

A conversation took place. Beatrix watched for a moment: the woman in the doorway shook her head, raising her hands in front of her as if to deflect whatever it was that the younger woman was saying.

Beatrix thought that she saw something from the Escalade. She quickly turned the binoculars back to the vehicle as a door on the opposite side of the vehicle opened and a man stepped out.

She looked back to the conversation at the front door just as the younger woman reached a hand into her jacket and then extended her arm straight out in front of her. Beatrix saw the flash of a gunshot and then heard the muffled report from a suppressed pistol. The older woman fell back into the house, just her legs visible as they poked out of the door.

Two more men emerged from the Escalade.

That made four enemies: the woman and three male associates.

The woman went inside, followed by the three men.

Beatrix waited a moment to compose herself. She adjusted the MP5 on its strap for better accessibility and then started toward the house.

13