“Thank you.”
“Any time,” Graves said. “Good to see you again.”
“We have to stop meeting like this, Daniel,” Gupta added.
Graves looked at his counterpart.
“What? I’ve been waiting, like, a year to say that. It’s funny,” said Gupta.
“Don’t quit your day job. The delivery is way off.”
Daniel found himself laughing at and with them. The two made the oddest pair, but it worked brilliantly.
Graves inclined his head toward the bedroom door. “How is she?”
“I can’t find any serious physical trauma beyond the injector site and the Taser probe holes. She has a nasty bruise on her ribs, probably from a kick, but nothing to stop her from getting on a plane and flying out of here first thing.”
“You just got here,” said Gupta, winking at Petrovich.
Graves groaned and shook his head. “See what I mean? Way off.”
“I think your friend there is fucking with you,” said Daniel. “Sorry to dime you out, Anish, but you shouldn’t take advantage of your elders.”
“He is old. I’ve told him that,” said Gupta. “Glad to hear Jessica is all right. The two of you gave us one helluva fucking scare.”
“Thanks again. Seriously,” said Daniel. “That Serbian guy was good. Snatched Jessica right out from under me.”
“That didn’t sound right,” said Gupta.
Graves lightly hit the back of Gupta’s head. “What’s wrong with you?”
“He’s fine. I still have a sense of humor,” said Daniel. “I’m going to check in with the other wonder duo.”
“Can you tell Munoz junior to take a break? I got this covered,” said Gupta.
“What do you mean?”
“You’ll see,” said Graves, pushing his chair back. “I need one of those delicious-smelling coffees.”
He found Munoz at the kitchen table, doing exactly what he expected — drinking coffee, presumably one of his own brands by the toasty aroma. Melendez stood by the couch in the TV room, peeking through the edge of the curtains.
“I thought we had cameras doing that job,” said Daniel.
“I’ve seen these mofo’s hack enough cameras to keep me awake twenty-four seven,” Melendez replied.
Gupta yelled from the dining room, “We take active countermeasures to keep that from happening.”
“And they take countermeasures to counter your countermeasures. It’s a never-ending cycle of electronic cluster-fuckery, and I don’t understand any of it.”
“That’s your real problem with it,” said Gupta.
“I think you can stand down,” said Daniel, looking to Graves for support.
Graves nodded. “He really does have it locked down.”
Melendez relented, drifting toward the kitchen table.
“Fresh pot of the good stuff,” said Munoz, motioning toward the simple coffee maker on the counter. “Best I could do with the paper filter.”
“What’s Sanderson’s take on this?” asked Daniel.
“He’s concerned,” Munoz answered.
“Still? Does he know something we don’t?”
He was getting out of there as soon as Jessica started coming around. Munoz could read it on his face.
“We’re safe here. The town house isn’t connected to Sanderson in any way. Airbnb.”
“Air what?”
“Airbnb. It’s an online service where people turn their homes into hotels,” said Graves.
“Never heard of it,” said Daniel.
“You need to get out more,” said Munoz.
“If this is what getting out gets me, I’m happy hiding out for the rest of my years.”
“I’m just messing with you,” said Munoz. “Our only concern here is a nosy neighbor.”
“The windowless van in the driveway isn’t exactly inconspicuous,” said Daniel.
“That’s why we didn’t bring it to the industrial park,” said Graves. “We had it near the hospital, but not close enough to draw any connection.”
“We’ll be out of here soon anyway,” said Munoz.
“Back to my original question,” said Daniel. “What’s bugging Sanderson?”
“The fact that Hadzic managed to orchestrate and conceal his escape, continued to elude authorities for the better part of a year, only to emerge in the United States as the ringleader of an elaborate kidnapping attempt.”
Daniel nodded. “It does boggle the mind.”
“He doesn’t think money alone would be enough to pull it off,” said Munoz.
“State sponsored?”
“That’s what he’s thinking.”
“Russia,” said Melendez.
“Sanderson’s program has certainly dealt them a few serious blows over the past few years, and your remarkable resemblance to Marko Resja, made public by the war crimes tribunal, wouldn’t be a stretch to connect.”
“Why go through the trouble of using Hadzic?”
“Deniability. Impact.” Munoz shrugged. “Let’s be honest, the Russians undoubtedly have some unsavory characters available for brutal and sadistic work, but Hadzic would have taken it to the next level. Sanderson is convinced it was the Russians, going for the heart and soul of the Black Flag organization.”
“Sounds a little melodramatic.”
“If Hadzic’s plan had succeeded, think of the impact,” said Munoz. “Seriously, give it some thought relative to the program.”
Daniel hadn’t thought about it like that. He’d justifiably been focused on Jessica and himself. If Hadzic had pulled off his twisted plan and created a video even a fraction as graphic as the one Jessica had made of Srecko’s nephew’s demise… just the thought of it made him sick. The impact would have sent shockwaves through Sanderson’s ranks. An unmistakable message. Fuck with Mother Russia again, and you’re next. The ultimate anti-recruitment video.
“So now what?” said Daniel. “I’m one flight away from disappearing for good.”
“On La Ombra?” said Munoz.
Daniel tried his best not to react.
“Don’t worry. Sanderson is pretty sure your secret remains intact. If the Russians knew where to find you, they could have sent Hadzic straight to Anguilla. It would have been a lot easier to grab you on a deserted stretch of Route One coming back from one of your favorite places on the northwest coast. Probably could have set up shop at your house on Lockrum Bay.”
“Fucking Sanderson,” Daniel growled.
Munoz started to open his mouth, but stopped, pausing for a few seconds before proceeding. “I don’t need to say what I was about to say.”
“I know,” said Daniel. “Thank you. All of you. If it wasn’t for Sanderson’s close interest in my well-being and your high give-a-shit level, things would have turned out very differently for us.”
“I might have substituted give-a-shit for dedicated professionalism,” said Munoz, cracking a grin.
“Fuck you, Jeff. You get what you get.”
“Don’t get upset. Works for me,” said Munoz. “Grab a cup of my world-famous coffee.”
“I didn’t realize you had a piece of the world market,” said Melendez.
“I’ve shipped it to Canada.”
Daniel laughed along with them, but his mind was on Jessica and the long journey ahead of them. The more he pondered Sanderson’s suspicions about the Russians’ involvement in this fiasco, the more he wanted to get on with his plan to take La Ombra through the Panama Canal and into the wide-open Pacific. The possibilities felt endless, their anonymity nearly guaranteed. A second, darker path appeared to Daniel, steering him in the direction of the puppet masters responsible for sending Hadzic to rape and murder his wife. Nothing good would come from that path, but he saw it anyway, and it held a frightening appeal.