Quinn looked out the window, lost in thought.
He understood that those fighting terrorism would, at times, need to employ extreme measures. Sometimes he agreed with the method, sometimes he didn’t. But abducting a US citizen and sending him to a secret foreign prison to die?
What Mygatt had done was unimaginable. He had violated Gorman’s fundamental rights as a US citizen, in a way worthy of a place like North Korea. Furthermore, he had covered it up so thoroughly no one suspected the truth. There was no doubt in Quinn’s mind that the senator would use all his resources to find Mila and eliminate her. Permanently. And if he succeeded in becoming director of the CIA, those resources would be unstoppable.
He had told Peter he needed to get her someplace safe, but the only way Mila would ever be safe was if they accomplished what she’d set out to do.
By the time they reached Marco Polo Airport, Quinn had come up with a very loose framework for a plan. At his suggestion, they purchased tickets for Geneva and made their way to the gate.
Once there, Quinn pulled Orlando to the side and sketched out his idea. Once he finished, she stared at him, her face stone. If he didn’t know her so well, it would look like she thought he was crazy. But that wasn’t it at all. Her mind was spinning, playing out all the possible scenarios, considering details he hadn’t even thought of yet.
A full thirty seconds passed before she moved again. When she did, all she said was, “I need to get to work.” She then pulled her computer out of her bag, and found an empty seat near their gate.
Nate was next.
“Whoa,” he said, once Quinn had finished. “That’s a bit…risky, don’t you think?”
“Beyond risky,” Quinn said. “If you don’t feel comfortable with it, you can walk away. No judgment.”
“Not an issue. I’m not going anywhere. I was just pointing it out.”
“It might be our last job.”
“Well, something has to be. But, just to go on the record, I’d prefer that it’s not.” Nate seemed to lose focus for a moment, then pulled out his phone. “I should…I should call Liz.”
Quinn was momentarily caught off guard by the mention of his sister’s name. “Don’t tell her.”
“Seriously? You think I’m that stupid?”
“No. Sorry.”
“I just want to see how she’s doing.” Nate paused. “Maybe have a little phone sex.”
“What?”
“Kidding! All right? Kidding.” He started to walk away, then looked back. “Half-kidding, anyway.”
When Quinn pulled Daeng aside, instead of telling him the plan, he said, “When we get to Geneva, we’ll put you on a flight back to Bangkok. You’ve been a huge help, and I can’t tell you how much I’ve appreciated it.”
“Is that a good idea?” Daeng asked. “It seems to me you’re not through here.” He looked over at Nate on the phone, then at Orlando huddled over her computer.
“It’s going to get dangerous,” Quinn said. “I can’t ask you to risk your life. People back in Thailand are counting on you.”
“You mean risk my life again.”
“Yeah.”
“Out of the four of you, only two are at full strength. You’re far from it, and the girl is, well, under a lot of stress. So you’re telling me you can’t use a third, healthy person?”
“I can’t ask for your help again.”
“Perhaps this isn’t just your decision. Nate?”
Nate looked up, his phone still held to his ear.
“May I ask a quick question?” Daeng said.
“Hold on,” Nate said into the cell, then put his hand over it. “What’s up?”
“Have I proven useful?”
“Definitely.”
“And could you use my help moving forward, or would you rather I return home now?”
“That’s up to you, but we could absolutely use your help.”
“I agree,” Orlando called out, her gaze not leaving her computer screen.
“I guess I’ll be staying,” Daeng told Quinn. “Now, what is it you have in mind?”
The last person Quinn pulled aside was Mila.
“Don’t even attempt to talk me out of it,” she said.
“I’m not,” he said.
She looked surprised. “Oh…okay. Just so we’re clear.”
“We are.”
“I’ll take off when we get to Geneva.”
He gave it a beat, then said, “There is another way.” He laid it all out for her.
When he was through, she stared at him, slack-jawed. “Is that even possible?”
“I guess we’ll find out.”
For the first time since they had reconnected, Mila smiled. “It’s a lot better than what I had in mind. Thank you.”
“Quinn?” Orlando called out, waving at him to join her.
“Excuse me,” he said to Mila. He sat in the chair next to Orlando. “What is it?”
“I was thinking we could use a little more ammunition.”
“Definitely,” he said. “What did you find?”
She hesitated. “Something that might change the plan a bit.”
“For the better?”
“You tell me.” She turned her laptop so he could see the screen. On it was a low-resolution image that had obviously been pulled from a video. The person in the shot had the look of a homeless man-hair and beard long and matted, face thin and dirty.
Quinn shot Orlando a questioning glance.
“The footage this was pulled from is about six months old.”
“Okay,” he said. “But who is it?”
“If I’m not mistaken, that’s Thomas Gorman.”
CHAPTER 39
WASHINGTON, DC
It was just after eight a.m. when Olsen walked into the townhouse.
The moment he entered their shared office, Peter jumped up. “I’m glad you’re here. I was just about to call you.”
Olsen laid his briefcase on his desk. “Did something happen?”
“They have her.”
Olsen froze. “You’re sure?”
“Yes. One of my teams tracked her down in Switzerland about four hours ago.”
“Four hours?”
“I didn’t know myself until just before you arrived. Apparently there was a bit of a dustup, and they weren’t able to contact me right away. The good news is, in the middle of it all, they were able to sneak her on a plane. She’s on her way here now.”
“Wait, what? Here? No. We don’t want her here.”
“I already okayed the order to do that in the event she was caught.”
“I never gave you permission for that!”
“Your instructions, Mr. Olsen, were to make sure we had her this time, that there were to be no ‘fuckups.’ ”
“That has nothing to do with bringing-”
“That has everything to do with bringing her here. I want to see her right in front of me. I want to take a sample of her DNA and her prints, and I want to prove beyond a doubt that the woman we have in custody is Mila Voss. I thought you wanted the same thing.”
“We can’t have her here,” Olsen insisted.
“It won’t be for long. I’ve routed the plane to a private strip about thirty miles northeast of here in Virginia. No one is even going to know she’s in the country. We’ll put her on a second plane that’ll be standing by, and process her. You just tell me where you want her flown after we’ve got what we need, and that’s where she’ll go.”
Olsen mulled over the plan, then said, “All right, all right. We can make that work. It’s actually not a bad idea.”
“Thanks,” Peter said, not hiding his annoyance.
“I’ll have to run it by the senator and Mr. Green, but unless you hear from me otherwise, it’s a go.”
“If it is, I assume you’ll want to be there, too.”
“Absolutely.”
The neutral look on Peter’s face remained unchanged, but inside he cracked a smile.
CHAPTER 40
VIRGINIA, THIRTY-FOUR MILES NORTHEAST OF WASHINGTON, DC
The private jet descended toward the airport. As instructed, the flight crew had remained behind the locked cockpit door. There were no other crew members on board.