rekindled something deep inside he’d thought he’d lost.
“I owe you one,” Sands said.
“Other way around, I think.” Jack nodded toward Cielo Santo. “Won’t be easy.”
“Nothing good ever is. But you can do me one favor.”
“Name it.”
“Tell Midas that Brick still has a few rounds left in the chamber, will ya?”
82
ON BOARD THE HENDLEY ASSOCIATES G550
Beyond logistics and scheduling, Lisanne Robertson was responsible for Campus crew and aircraft security, a skill set she acquired on tours of duty with both the Marine Corps and the City of Alexandria Police Department.
But as good as she was to have in a fight, she also knew her way around a galley. While Jack showered in the Gulfstream’s small but adequate bathroom and changed into fresh clothes, Lisanne began preparing the waffles, bacon, and eggs he’d requested.
Remembering Clark’s visit to his apartment a few days ago—which his aching body told him was more like a few years ago—the first call Jack made was to his dad on his private number, assuring the old man that he was tired but fine and would be back in the States that very evening.
The second call he made was to Gavin Biery, The Campus’s IT genius. “You get those photos I sent you?” Jack asked. He’d used the Marine lieutenant’s phone to grab pics of the dead French merc, along with the Foreign Legion paratrooper tattoo on his hand, and forwarded them to Biery.
“Sure did. Helped me narrow down my search results from three hundred and twenty-seven to just two, both ending in the name Cluzet. And your hunch was right, they’re brothers, separated by eleven months.”
“I know one of them is in a metal drawer in a Lima morgue right now. Where’s the other enculé?”
“Still working on it. I’ve got a few databases I’m about to raid. I should have an answer by the time you get back to the office.”
Jack thanked Gavin for working his digital magic once again and rang off.
Lisanne arrived at his seat with plates of steaming-hot food and cold, fresh-squeezed orange juice, but Jack had already passed out and was snoring like a bandsaw. She set the tray down, covered him with a blanket, and sat in the seat across from him, keeping a careful watch over her exhausted passenger.
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
The CloudServe Bombardier Global 8000 lifted off at five p.m. PST. Capable of carrying up to seventeen passengers, today’s flight included just Elias Dahm and Amanda Watson, along with the flight crew. From San Francisco they could reach Sydney or Moscow without refueling, but a flight plan was filed for London Heathrow, arriving by noon local tomorrow, just in time for the TechWorld conference kickoff.
Watson was grateful for the Bombardier’s separate en suite arrangements. Elias had already retreated to his cabin, presumably to write his speech. He had arrived at the charter terminal in a strange and irritable mood, barely greeting her or the crew, as was his habit. She assumed he was still brooding over the French Guiana disaster, but his moods were as hard to read as Kierkegaard.
It could have been far worse for him. Watson barely convinced Foley to keep the Fung matter between themselves, arguing that the fewer people who knew about it, the better. She promised Foley she’d inform him immediately after the conference, a delay of just a few days.
“And frankly, Mary Pat, I need Elias focused on London. It’s our most important annual event. This news will send him over the edge.”
Foley understood her concerns and reluctantly agreed, but only because Watson had been responsible for first finding Fung. “I want you both in my office the day you get back from London.”
“We’ll be there. You have my word.”
Watson was relieved Dahm had sequestered himself away for the long plane ride. After dinner, she would finish up her final notes for Foley and turn in. Given the events of the past few days, she could use a good night’s sleep, and she needed to be fully rested for the world’s most important industry conference.
She had a feeling London was going to be eventful for them both.
ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA
Jack sure as hell didn’t feel like one, but Clark and the rest of the Campus operators—Ding, Dom, Midas, Adara, and Gavin—greeted him at the Hendley Associates charter hangar like a returning hometown hero with smiles and hugs and claps on the back all around.
The Campus had been briefed about the events of the previous twenty-four hours, including the successful evacuation and hospitalization of all forty-two miners from La