"A private field north of Baltimore. We'll transfer to the jet there and by morning we should be in Antwerp. We drive from there to Amsterdam." He grimaced. "I told him that's the first place they'll look for him. He said it was necessary."
She shook her head in wonder. "You talk as if flitting around the world is going to be so easy. I don't even have my passport with me."
"That's okay. I have all kinds of documents for you. Part of the service. Of course, you'll have to get used to a new name. I think it's Mary or Marilyn or something like that. You won't have to use it very often. We sort of skirt around immigration. Piece of cake."
False documents. Illegal entry. Piece of cake? The casualness with which he spoke made her think that for him criminal activity was a simple fact of life. To her it was a new and frightening world. "That's hard for me to believe."
"You'll see." His gaze went to Melissa. "She's looking better. Her color's coming back. Is she on drugs?"
"No."
"Sick?"
"No." Her grasp tightened around Melissa's shoulders. "She's going to be fine."
Melissa woke up as they were getting her out of the helicopter.
"Jessica…" She looked around dazedly. "What the devil…?"
"It's okay."
"No, it's not. Nothing's been right all night. Broken. All broken…"
"Can you walk?"
"I'll try…but slow. I'm groggy…and my knees are like rubber."
"Slow isn't possible." Galen picked her up and started at a run for the small private jet. "Just hold on and we'll get there."
Melissa frowned up at him. "Who are you?"
"Sean Galen."
"It's okay, Mellie." Jessica was running beside him. "I'll explain later."
"You'll have to." Her eyes closed. "I'm too tired to think now. Where's Travis?"
"With Cassie."
"Good."
Her eyes suddenly flicked open and she stared up at Galen. "No. Don't do it."
He looked down at her.
"Don't…" Her eyes closed again. "Don't let him, Jessica…"
She was asleep.
Galen ran up the stairs to the jet and deposited Melissa on a leather couch. He nodded at the privacy curtain that divided the plane into two compartments. "Travis is up front with the kid. Sit down and fasten your seat belts." He headed for the cockpit. "We're out of here."
"Wait."
He looked back at Jessica.
"I'm calling Andreas."
He stopped short. "You'd better talk to Travis about that."
"I don't care what Travis says. I'm calling Andreas and telling him Cassie's safe." She added dryly, "Don't worry, I won't blow the whistle."
"He won't believe you, but I suppose it can't hurt. Make it less than two minutes. I'll tell Travis." He disappeared behind the curtain.
She drew a deep breath and then dialed Andreas.
"You bitch."
"I can understand how you would think that."
"How much money were you paid to take my daughter?"
"It wasn't money. I had no choice. I was afraid for Cassie and I didn't see any other way out."
"You said she was getting better."
"She was getting better, but it was only temporary and-"
Travis was standing in the curtained doorway, and he made a motion to cut the call short.
"I have to go. I just want to tell you that none of us intends to harm your daughter."
"What do you want from me?"
"Nothing."
"I want to talk to Travis. Put that bastard on."
"He wants me to hang up."
"Tell him if he so much as touches her, we'll catch him and crucify him. And that goes for you too."
"I'd probably feel the same way. You have to do what you have to do. But Cassie's safe and we'll try to keep her safe." She hung up and looked at Travis. "I had to do it. I couldn't let him go through that hell."
"I'm not arguing. My only priority was to get you off the line before the call could be traced." He turned back. "Fasten your seat belt."
Tokyo
Andreas whirled on Keller. "Did you get the location?"
The Secret Service man shook his head. "She hung up too soon. If we'd just had thirty seconds more…"
Andreas's hand clenched until the knuckles turned white. "What the hell is all this Star Wars technology for if you can't do a simple trace? If you can't find a child who-" He had to stop and wait until he could speak again. "You promised me she'd be safe at Juniper. Now, you find my Cassie, damn you."
"Yes, sir, I've already notified Danley."
"Have they picked up Travis's contact in Amsterdam?"
He shook his head. "They were in van der Beck's flat five minutes after we knew what Travis had done. He'd already slipped away."
"Then tell Danley to locate him."
"Danley's boarding a plane in D.C. in twenty minutes. Should we notify the media about the kidnapping?"
"God, no. If the whole world knows Cassie's out there and vulnerable, she could be targeted by other groups. And how the hell do we know Travis won't call back with a demand? I only talked to that bitch of a shrink. We're not sure of anything, and until we are, you make damn sure no one knows Cassie's missing. You find her."
"If Travis heads for Amsterdam, there's a good chance we'll need international help."
"Circulate pictures of Travis and Jessica Riley to every police department in Europe. Tell them the U.S. government would be very grateful for their cooperation in apprehending them. Make up some story. Call them…terrorists or anything else you can think of. Just don't mention Cassie."
"Yes, Mr. President."
"I'm going to return to Washington. Make some excuse and call the Vice President to replace me here. Tell them I've got the flu or something."
"Yes, sir."
"And, Keller."
"Yes, sir?"
"Make sure my wife doesn't find out." His voice was uneven. "Until you bring my daughter back, she's not to know that Cassie's not safe at Juniper."
Chapter Eleven
Melissa didn't wake again until they were over the Atlantic.
Vibration. Throb of engines. A plane…
Plane?
Jessica. Where was Jessica? She jerked upright.
"Shh. It's okay." Jessica was suddenly beside her. "Everything's fine, Mellie."
"I don't think so." She slowly sat up. It was a plane and she was lying on a leather couch." I have an idea nothing's fine. Cassie?"
"She's sleeping in the front. Travis is with her. I wanted to stay with you."
"Is she well?" She tried to remember. "There was an ambulance…"
"Travis arranged that."
"And this plane?"
"Travis and his friend Sean Galen."
"Where are we going?"
"Amsterdam. By way of Antwerp."
"Amster-" Melissa drew a deep breath and said slowly, "I believe you have a few things to tell me. I go to sleep at Juniper and I wake up on my way to Amsterdam?"
"Would you like a cup of coffee?"
"No, I'd like to know every single thing that I've obviously not been privy to."
Jessica sighed. "Okay, I just thought you might need the caffeine before I throw all this at you." For the next several minutes she detailed the dilemma with which Travis had confronted her.
Melissa started swearing. "I can't believe it. I asked you what the problem was the other night, and you lied to me."
"Not really. I just didn't tell you everything. Okay, I lied to you."
"Why?"
"It was my decision whether or not to give in to Travis, and you would have complicated things."
"Your decision? I'm pretty deeply involved in this. I think I should have been allowed to put in my two cents' worth."