Ziggy sucked his teeth. “All right,” he said. “It’s a private vehicle. Registered to a Miguel Reyes Domingas.”

“The driver didn’t look like a Miguel Reyes Domingas,” Hicks said.

“No,” Ziggy said. “Pale skin, blond hair. Looked European.”

“Did you get a picture of him?”

“I did. The passenger, too.”

“Can you check them?”

“Already on it.”

Ziggy was never one to be shy about his achievements, and on more than one occasion he had mentioned that, during his employment at Group Two, he had arranged backdoor access to the databases maintained by police and intelligence services all around the world. He had maintained that access even after leaving the Group. Hicks was sure that he must have been in breach of all manner of laws, but that had never been something that had caused Ziggy any kind of visible concern. Indeed, he wore his illegality as a badge of honour.

“Anything?”

“Give me a chance. Do you have any idea how big these databases are? It could take hours.”

“We don’t have hours,” Hicks muttered impatiently.

“I’ll do my best.”

82

The three additional Group Fifteen agents arrived over the course of the afternoon. Ten and Eleven had the shortest distance to cover, and arrived together at just after four. Number Two landed after them, knocking on the door of the safe house at six. Their involvement in the operation had not been planned, so Björn knew almost nothing about them. Two was in his mid-thirties, with a well-kept beard and a thick mop of black hair that had not received the same care and attention. Ten was in her late thirties, with porcelain skin and red hair that she wore in a ponytail. Eleven was black, around six three and built like a truck. He had evidently been involved in recent action, given that the side of his face was marked with a sickle-shaped cut that was only halfway toward healing.

The six agents and Weaver stood around the long table that had been left in the larger of the two rooms. Björn had considered the best course of action after his earlier reconnaissance. With a black Sharpie, he had sketched out the grid of streets on the table and the route he suspected the Americans would use to take La Bruja to the airport.

“It’s not going to be easy to predict which way they might decide to go, so our best option is going to be to hit them soon after they leave the compound.”