Chapter 57: Silence
The night on the south coast brought much colder air than in the city center. The sound of waves crashing against the cliff below the villa was constant, creating a rhythm that should have been calming, but to Agatha, it sounded like a repeated warning. She walked down the villa hallway lit only by dim wall lamps. Her bare feet touched the cold marble floor, sending a shiver right up to her shoulders.
She stopped in front of a room in the corner of the lower floor. The teak wood door was slightly open, letting the blue light from the monitor screens spill onto the dark hallway floor. Agatha pushed the door open slowly without making a sound.
Inside, Xavier sat at a long table with three small monitors that looked out of place with the room's luxury. He was only wearing a black tank top and lounge pants. His hair was messy, and there were clear lines of exhaustion around his eyes. Beside him, Frans was busy with a handheld radio that occasionally let out a soft static noise.
"Still no signs?" Agatha asked as she stepped closer.
Xavier did not turn his head. His eyes stayed glued to the screen showing Vargo's wooden shack in pale green night vision. "That door hasn't opened for six hours. He hasn't come out to eat, smoke, or even throw out the trash."
"Maybe he is sleeping," Agatha replied. She stood behind Xavier's chair, placing her hands on his shoulders. She could feel his shoulder muscles, hard and tense.
"Sleeping for six hours without moving at all in front of the window? That is not Vargo's style," Xavier muttered. He leaned back, tilting his head up slightly so he could see Agatha's face. "Our equipment is very limited here, Agatha. We don't have long range thermal cameras that can see through those wooden walls. We are only relying on the motion sensors Frans planted around the bushes."
Frans put his radio on the table. "Xav is right. If we were at the mansion, I could have sent a mini drone through a gap in the roof. Here, we have to fight the locals for satellite signal just to get a stable picture."
Agatha watched the screen closely. "Have you checked the possibility of him escaping through the back door?"
"There is no back door to that shack, Agatha. The back is a straight drop to a steep cliff and the open sea full of sharp rocks. No boat can dock there without getting smashed to pieces," Frans explained.
Xavier pulled Agatha's hand, guiding her to sit on the armrest of his chair. "The longer I watch him, the more I am convinced that this is really just a ridiculous coincidence."
"What do you mean?" Agatha frowned.
"Vargo does not know we are here. If he knew, he would not be sitting alone in that rundown fishing shack. He would call for backup or at least set traps along the road to this villa. But look at him, he really looks like a man in hiding," Xavier said. His voice sounded like a mix of relief and disbelief.
Agatha stayed silent for a moment. She tried to process the information. "So, we are vacationing near our enemy's hideout completely by accident?"
"This world works in very strange ways sometimes," Xavier replied. He reached out, fixing a strand of hair that fell on Agatha's forehead. "Frans checked the rental history of that shack. Vargo paid cash to an old fisherman two weeks before we decided to come here. So, there is no way he planned this."
"But still, this makes me uneasy," Agatha whispered. She looked at Xavier's neck, watching his steady pulse. "We don't have a full medical team here. Our weapons are only what we could carry in the cars."
Xavier gave a thin smile, a smile he rarely showed lately. He pulled Agatha closer, wrapping his arm around her waist. "That is why I am not letting you out of my sight. We will keep watching him until he leaves, or until we leave here the morning after next."
"What if he realizes we are here tomorrow morning?" Agatha asked again.
"Then that is when this vacation officially ends, and I will make sure he never gets to see the sun set again," Xavier answered in a cold tone that made Agatha certain he wasn't bluffing.
Frans cleared his throat softly, feeling a bit awkward being between them. "I will step out for a bit to check the guard team at the front gate, Xav. Let me know if there is any movement on monitor two."
"Yeah, go," Xavier said shortly.
After Frans left and closed the door, the room felt much smaller. The fan noise from the computer machines became the only background sound between them. Agatha lowered her head, touching Xavier's jaw with her fingertips. She could feel the slight stubble starting to grow there.
"You need to rest, Xavier. Your eyes are red," Agatha said softly.
"I can't sleep knowing he is only a few kilometers away from your bed," Xavier replied. He closed his eyes as Agatha's hands moved to the back of his neck, giving a light massage to try and loosen his tense nerves.
"You said this was just a coincidence. You said he doesn't know we are here. So, what are you afraid of?" Agatha asked while continuing to massage her husband's neck.
Xavier took a long breath. He pulled Agatha down until she had to lean in, making their faces only a few centimeters apart. "I am afraid of the variables I cannot predict, Agatha. Like luck. Vargo always has this annoying luck when it comes to escaping death."
Agatha looked into Xavier's eyes. She could see her own reflection in them. "We have greater luck because we are still together right now."
Xavier pressed the back of Agatha's neck gently, bringing their foreheads together. He breathed in the scent of Agatha's lavender body wash, trying to find some peace in the middle of this awkward situation. "Stay here with me. I don't want you going back to the room alone."
"I will be right here. I will help you watch those monitors," Agatha answered.
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Xavier occasionally sipped his cold black coffee, while Agatha rested her head on his shoulder. On the monitor screen, the shack remained dark. No lights turned on, no shadows passed by. Everything looked dead.
"Do you remember when we were first cornered in that old warehouse?" Agatha asked suddenly.
Xavier nodded slowly. "When you tried to grab my gun even though you were badly injured yourself? I will never forget it."
"Back then we had all the gear at the mansion, but we still almost died," Agatha said. She turned to look at the monitor screen again. "Here we have limitations, but we are more alert. Maybe that is a good thing."
"Maybe," Xavier answered shortly. He took Agatha's hand and kissed her palm. "But I prefer being alert with a heavy weapon in my hands and a sniper team on every roof corner."
Suddenly, one of the monitors let out a short beep. Xavier and Agatha instantly tensed up. Their eyes locked onto monitor number three, which pointed at the footpath near the dock. An old car passed by with dim headlights. The car kept going without stopping near Vargo's shack.
Xavier exhaled the breath he had been holding. "Just locals coming home from the sea."
"My heart almost dropped," Agatha muttered, holding her chest.
Xavier chuckled softly, a sound that came out hoarse. He turned his office chair so he fully faced Agatha. He held both of Agatha's cheeks with his large hands, looking at her with deep intensity.
"After everything we have been through, an old car is what scares you?" Xavier teased.
"It is not the car that scares me, Xavier. It is the not knowing what is going to happen next," Agatha replied seriously.
Xavier nodded in understanding. He leaned his face in, kissing Agatha's forehead for a long moment. "Tomorrow morning, if he still does nothing, I will have Frans scatter a few men as tourists around that dock. We will get more information without having to rely on these advanced gadgets."
"Good idea. The old ways are sometimes more effective," Agatha praised.
The night continued with them staying awake in the monitor room. Xavier occasionally gave instructions to his team over the radio, while Agatha stayed right by his side, a reminder that behind the tension and the very real enemy threat, they still had each other in the middle of this strange vacation.
The sun began to cast a grey tint on the eastern horizon when Xavier finally agreed to close his eyes for a moment on the small sofa in the room, with Agatha's head resting on his chest. They fell asleep on high alert, with the sound of the waves still faithfully crashing against the cliff below.