He glanced at the television on the wall where the newscaster droned on about the weather. Nothing there either. His hands fisted, and he crossed to the window and stared outside. The forecasted rain had yet to arrive, but the clouds were hanging low in the sky. A good storm could benefit him and his men. What better way to wash away any evidence and slow down an investigation?

The mundane chatter on the scanner was interrupted by a new call. As if on cue, a siren wailed in the distance. Suspect descriptions were detailed, additional units were dispatched.

On the television, a banner for breaking news flashed across the bottom of the screen. Robbery at the National Bank. Now they were getting somewhere.

Behind him, raindrops against glass competed with the sound of the television. Julien smirked. This day was going to be perfect. Tomorrow, he would start his next phase of finding Sereno’s princesses and setting things right in his world.

* * *

Levi stifled a yawn as he leaned back in his chair. He had spent all day in his office, only taking a quick break at lunchtime to check in with Cassie, who had been up to her ears in her own work.

She seemed to have powered through whatever anxiety she had experienced after yesterday’s false alarm at the art gallery. He didn’t know how she managed to be so resilient when facing so much stress in so little time. He couldn’t help but admire that quality in her.

She hadn’t asked about the investigation during their brief time together today, and Levi hadn’t mentioned his efforts. She didn’t need to know his suspicions until he could determine if they were even viable.

So far, he had two solid motives for someone wanting Cassie dead, but he had far too many suspects and not nearly enough evidence.

The idea that Cassie and her sisters would be targeted to prevent a woman from taking over the country was old-fashioned enough that he nearly dismissed it outright, but he knew from experience that in some cultures, men and women both resisted change.

In his mind, the more likely motive was tied to harvesting the oil in Sereno’s waters. He had seen such a motivation in Meridia only eighteen months ago.

Ready for a break, Levi headed for the security office. He wasn’t surprised to find Franco had reported early for his shift. Give the man a task and he always saw it through.

“How’s it going?” Levi asked.

“Not too bad.” He motioned to the laptop to his right. “I did notice something I thought you’d be interested in though.”

“What’s that?”

“You told us to keep an eye on volatility and possible terrorism in the region,” Franco said. “Today, there was a string of bank robberies in the EU.”

“Where?”

“Dublin, Paris, Zurich, Riga, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Barcelona, Rome, and Malmo.”

“Nine bank robberies?” Levi asked. “All today?”

“Actually, it was nine cities, but there were twenty-three bank robberies in the space of three hours. Except for Malmo, Sweden, all of the cities had at least two.”