“All that’s going to be expensive.”
Orbits knew the costs would be a drop in the bucket if everything went as planned. “I don’t care. Just do it. The plane first. You can work on the rest while I’m in the air.”
Donnie called back ten minutes later with flight information, and a half hour after that, Orbits and the girl arrived at the specified airport entrance.
As he’d hoped, no one questioned his story of a sick sister he was taking home to their parents’ house. It was all in how you sold your story, and boy, could he sell. He even doted on her during the flight, just because it amused him.
When they arrived in Chicago, Donnie had an ambulance waiting, driven by one of Orbits’s temporary team members.
They headed south from O’Hare airport, along the western edge of the city to an empty industrial building in Broadview. They passed through a gate in the fence that surrounded the property and drove straight into the building, courtesy of a large metal door rolled up.
The three other members of Orbits’s team were waiting inside. After instructing them to take the girl into the most secure room, Orbits found an empty office where he could have some privacy. He pulled out the piece of paper he’d used to work out the details of his plan and called Donnie again.
“I think you’re going to enjoy this,” he said before laying out his plan.
“Whoa,” Donnie whispered when Orbits finished.
“Whoa as in you can’t do it?” Orbits asked.
“No, as in that’s pretty crazy. I mean, good crazy, you know?”
“Then you can make it happen.”
“I’ll need an hour or two to work out the details, but I don’t foresee any problems. What’s the timeline?”
Orbits thought for a moment. He needed this to happen fast so that no one could waste time looking for him. He glanced at his watch. It was already 2:30 in the afternoon, Central time. Assuming Donnie would need all of the two hours…
“Start it at four thirty my time, with a two-hour time limit. But use Pacific time since that’s where everyone will think she is.”
“Dammit,” Orlando exclaimed.
Quinn twisted around in the front passenger seat, where he’d been keeping Daeng company. “What is it?”
“Come back here.”
“Garrett, you’ve got copilot duty,” Quinn said.
Smiling, Orlando’s son moved to the side to let Quinn out, and then took the passenger seat.
“Did she stop again?” Quinn asked. Twenty minutes earlier, Dani’s tracking chip had started to move once more.
From the look Orlando gave him, he knew it wouldn’t be good news. “She’s flying.”
“Flying? Are you sure?”
She turned the screen toward him. The blip representing Dani was now moving eastward, heedless of any roads and at a clip no car could match.
“Where is she going?” Quinn said under his breath.
Though he hadn’t expected an answer, Orlando said, “Their current course will take them anywhere from Minneapolis in the north to St. Louis in the south, and as far east as New York or possibly Boston.”
“She can’t be doing this on her own. Someone must have her.”
Orlando nodded. “There can’t be that many places in Spokane to rent a jet. I’ll make some calls.”
“While you’re at it, see if you can arrange one for me,” he said.
She frowned at him, and then opened the browser on her computer.
Out of the corner of her eye, Orlando watched Quinn return to the front of the RV. She was angrier than she had a right to be, but she couldn’t help it.
He had asked her to arrange a plane for him, not them. He’d probably take Nate and Daeng but clearly intended to leave her behind. Was it the right call? Maybe, but she didn’t care about the right call. She needed to be where she was useful, and that was wherever he was.
The baby pushed against her stomach. “Quiet, you,” she whispered, taking the baby’s movement as traitorous support of its father’s viewpoint.
She’d been right about jet rental places. There was only a handful in the city. She worked her way through the list and found the winner at number four. Someone there told her a man had chartered a flight that morning to take his ill sister home. But when Orlando pressed for more details, the person had clammed up and not divulged the jet’s destination.
That wasn’t a big problem, though. She had the name of the company now, so it was easy to find a listing of tail numbers of all the company’s aircraft. Since flight plans were public record, all she had to do was plug in the different numbers until she found the right one.
Chicago.
She almost hollered out the info, but remembered she was annoyed with Quinn. She decided it could wait. She arranged for a jet from a rival company that could hold up to ten passengers, and then switched back to the tracking map. Though she feared the flight plan was false, Dani’s plane was still on course for the Windy City.
A ding signaled the arrival of an e-mail. It was from Gordon Evert, a fixer in San Diego she had known before either of them had entered the business.
Hey O,
You’re mixing with some nasty stuff if you’re interested in Tex Winston. Might have something for you.
G
“How did I know you’d try me right away?” Evert said when she called.
“How’s it going, Gordon?”
“You know, all sunshine and pretty ladies. When you coming home for a visit?”
Orlando had spent much of her youth in San Diego. It’s where her mentor, Abraham Delger, had recruited her. “Soon. Tell me about Tex Winston.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Ideally, where I can find him right now.”
“I believe I can help you with that.”
When she finished talking to Gordon, she called the jet company back and reserved a second plane.
“Absolutely not,” Quinn said.
They were in the RV, parked in the airport lot next to the private jet terminal. Mr. and Mrs. Vo had taken Garrett out to look at the planes.
“Who else are you going to send?” Orlando argued.
“Daeng can do it.”
Orlando glanced at Daeng. “No offense…”
“Why do I think I’m about to be offended?” Daeng said.
Orlando turned back to Quinn. “Daeng isn’t the best interrogator. He’s too nice.”
“It’s true,” Daeng agreed.
“Besides, we can’t send him in alone,” she added.
“I wasn’t planning on sending him in alone,” Quinn said. “I was planning on getting him some help.”
“Just not me.”
He hesitated before saying, “I was thinking Ananke.”
Orlando threw her arms up. “Oh, that’s just great. You think Ananke is a better interrogator than Daeng? She kills people for a living. She doesn’t talk to them.”
“She can handle the job.”
“I know what to ask him. I know what we need to know. I need to be the one who goes.”
“You and Daeng can’t do it on your own.”
“Fine! Then…call Ananke, if you want. She and Daeng can do their thing but I’ll talk to him.”
“Orlando, look at yourself. You’re going to have a baby at any minute.”
“My due date isn’t for two weeks.”
“Nine days.”
“Okay, nine days. That’s still not today.”
Quinn knew she would not let go of the idea. Though he was sure he’d regret it, he said, “All right, all right. Go. But anything dangerous you leave to the others.” He turned and pointed at Daeng. “And you are responsible for anything that happens to her.”