The Sentinel (Jack Reacher #25) - Lee Child Page 0,117

was never out of your sight. Except when it was in the trunk.’

‘They must have gotten a copy of the document from the server we sold Klostermann. That would give them plenty of time to doctor it. Their expert loaded it while Fisher was tying me up. Then she made sure Fisher saw it, knowing she would pass it to the FBI. Who would miss the connection to Klostermann. And jump to the wrong conclusion about the identity of the spy at Oak Ridge.’

‘How would that help them? If the third brother is made up, there can’t be a trail leading to anyone.’

‘There absolutely can. The Russians will have planned for this. There’ll be a perfect trail. Complex enough to seem real. Not so convoluted that the average agent couldn’t follow it. It’ll lead to a patsy. Someone sitting in Knoxville right now. Probably with a copy of The Sentinel hidden in their shoe. Waiting to run. And to get caught. And to confess.’

‘Why would anyone do that?’

‘They could think they’re making a noble sacrifice for a worthwhile cause. Or to get a big payday for their family back home. Or to stay out of the gulag. Who knows?’

‘But if the evidence is fake, how can the Bureau figure out the right identity?’ Rutherford said. ‘They’re back at square one.’

‘They’re not,’ Reacher said. ‘They can start with Klostermann. He mentioned having a son. He might have grandkids by now. The angle was never followed up because no one knew his mother was a spy.’

‘That makes sense,’ Sands said. ‘The Bureau wanted the server because the Russians knew it could reveal the spy’s identity. The link in that document is to Klostermann. So Klostermann must be linked to the spy.’

‘Not using the Klostermann name, obviously,’ Reacher said. ‘Or someone would have noticed. Maybe Matusak, since that’s the name they were trying to hide.’

‘OK,’ Rutherford said. ‘I see that. But take a step back. The journalist found the document in the archives. The document showed there was an extra branch to the spy brothers’ family tree. The Russians didn’t want anyone to know about that because it would lead to Klostermann. And his son. And maybe grandchildren. So they destroy the physical archive. Lock up the digital one. And get hold of the server. The wild card. Why not leave it at that? All their tracks were covered. Why set up Agent Fisher with this red-herring ID?’

‘The FBI knew the Russians had a spy at Oak Ridge,’ Reacher said. ‘If the Russians had destroyed the records and left it at that, the FBI would have kept on digging. Maybe found some other clue. If the Russians’ plan had worked the FBI would have thought they’d caught the spy. And stopped digging. There’s no need to search for something you already have.’

Speranski was pacing around his living room when his secure phone rang again.

‘The bait has been swallowed,’ the voice at the end of the line said. ‘The message has been sent. But not to the Bureau itself. To a former agent who is now a cyber security expert. The Americans must believe it’s genuine.’

‘So, Natasha?’

‘She’s outlived her usefulness. The Center says you may do with her as you please.’

Reacher left Sands and Rutherford looking through other random records on the server and went next door to call Wallwork. He told him Fisher’s cover was blown. And about the two possible leads to Oak Ridge. One likely fake. One likely real. Wallwork wasn’t too worried about the difference.

‘We’ll find them both,’ he said. ‘Even if one’s only a decoy. And we’ll nail them both. Then pull Fisher out. Make sure she’s safe.’

‘No, Wallwork,’ Reacher said. ‘You’ve got to pull her out right now.’

‘We can’t do that. If Fisher disappears right after seeing the records on the server, the Russians will be suspicious. They’ll pull their agent out of Oak Ridge. We’ll never know if The Sentinel is compromised. What we have to do is coordinate her exfiltration exactly with the arrests.’

‘You’re wrong. You’re still looking at the mission from your original position – that Fisher’s identity was unknown to the Russians. But they do know about her. They’re using her as a conduit for misinformation. So they’re not going to let her live until their patsy is arrested. Right now Fisher believes what she sent is genuine. She was focused on finding it for months, so when it was dangled in front of her she bit. It was a reflex. But when the