“That’s a — ” Marchand tried to yell and coughed more blood. “I just told you I didn’t know about that!”
“Nathan,” Holly said. “Let us interrogate him. You’re too close to this.”
“Okay. You’re right. It just pisses me off.”
“Me too. With Marchand’s testimony, we’ll bury Voda.”
Nathan didn’t say what he was thinking. “Thanks, Holly. I’ll call you later.”
He ended the call, wondering how he’d tell Lauren that Voda had her mom. He favored not telling her, but that would create trust issues further down the road. Nathan knew Lauren would feel betrayed if she wasn’t told the truth right away. He’d need to choose his words carefully….
Ten minutes into his drive back to the Rancho Bernardo Inn, he felt his phone vibrate. He checked the screen. His father.
“Hi, Dad.”
“Nathan, what’s going on? I just stepped off the Senate floor. You said it’s urgent. Are you okay?”
“I’m okay. I’m driving right now. Can I call you back in two minutes or less?”
“I’ll be waiting.”
Nathan looked for a place to pull over. Seeing none, he diverted into a small office complex and drove to a remote corner of its parking lot. He didn’t want Marchand to hear the conversation with his dad, so he turned on the radio, cranked it to a medium volume, and climbed out. Fifty feet from the sedan, he made the call.
“It’s me again.”
“Nathan, what’s going on? Are you in trouble?”
“It’s not about me. It’s about you. Do you remember Han Choon-Hee?”
There was a marked silence on the other end. “How do you know that name? Nathan, what’s this about?”
“Dad, I don’t know how to say this…Choon-Hee was pregnant when you left Korea.”
“Pregnant? What are you saying?”
“I’m saying I have a half-sister. Her birth name is Han Jin-Kyong, but she’s using Jin Elizabeth Marchand now.”
“Nathan…This is…difficult to believe.”
“I know. I felt the same way when I found out. I’m going to read you a note Jin left me last night.”
“Nathan, I assume you’re serious about this. If you are, now’s probably not the time — ”
“That’s the problem, Dad. I’m short on time. Look, this woman, your daughter, is mixed up with Hans Voda, a Spanish-born international criminal. He’s on Interpol’s ten-most-wanted list. It’s a serious situation, and it might get a whole lot worse.”
“What are we dealing with here?”
“I’ll explain everything, but you need to hear this note first.” Nathan removed the photocopied note from his pocket and read it aloud.
His dad listened silently, then spoke in a much softer voice. “I gave my dog tag to Choon-Hee the night before she disappeared. It was the last time I ever saw her.”
Nathan heard the pain in his voice. “I’m sorry, Dad. It sounds like you two loved each other.”
“We were going to be married. When I returned to the pub the following night, she was gone. No one would talk about her. I waited all night. Later, I found out that North Korean sympathizers were rounding up any English-speaking citizens and smuggling them north across the border for money. I loved her, Nathan. She was the kindest, most giving person you could ever know. Three days after she vanished, the Chinese entered the war and all hell broke loose. I had to assume she ended up in a North Korean prison camp. I did everything possible to find her, but it was hopeless. I never knew she survived, and I certainly had no idea she was pregnant. We’d only been seeing each other for a couple of weeks.”
“Well, Jin’s in serious trouble, but her daughter’s safe with me. The girl’s name is Lauren, and she has our eyes. Nearly identical to mine.”
“I’ll bet she’s beautiful.”
“She is.”
“Tell me about Jin’s situation.”
“That’s the worst news: Voda has her.” As briefly as possible, Nathan proceeded to summarize what had happened over the past eighteen hours.
Stone McBride had many faults, but being a poor listener wasn’t one of them. He absorbed all the news, asking occasional questions. It took a few minutes. “Okay,” Stone said at last. “How can I help?”
“I’m not sure, but obviously we’ll do our best to keep this under the radar. It could create a nasty scandal for you.”
“Nathan, I don’t give a damn about any scandals. My only concern is getting Jin back and keeping Lauren safe.”
Nathan was relieved to hear his father say that. “Still, this has to be hard on you, finding out you have a daughter. How will Mom react?”
“She knows about Choon-Hee. I told her about my life in Korea when we were dating. She’ll be stunned by the news, but she’ll be okay. We’ve been married for over fifty years. She knows I don’t hide anything from her, and I’d never conceal something like this.”
“I didn’t think you would.”
“Do you have any theories on how Jin knows your old CIA call sign?”
“No.”
“Are you sure there’s nothing I can do to help?”
“I suppose a call to CIA Director Cantrell might be in order, but you’d have to go through the DNI, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes. Anything else undermines the chain of command. But there’s no reason you can’t call Director Cantrell.”
“I might do that.”
“But not now?”
“No.”
“Then you’re going after him?”
“He’s murdering young girls.”
“I’m taking the first available flight out there.”
“Give me twenty-four hours. Lauren’s safe with me, and Harv’s on his way back from overseas.”
“What’s your plan?”
“I’m taking Voda out to the desert.”
Chapter 28
Nathan waved at Grangeland and drove twenty yards past the entrance to the Rancho Bernardo Inn. He pulled to the curb and told Marchand to lie still and not sit up. As he walked toward Grangeland, the valet approached, but Nathan gave the young man a negative wave.
Grangeland had both girls in tow. Lauren looked alert, but Abrille’s emotionless expression told all — the poor kid.
“I found your stepdad,” he told Lauren. “He’s in the back of the car, but don’t go over there.”
She looked at the sedan. “He’s alive?”
“Voda’s men had him at the furniture store. They beat him up pretty badly, but he’ll be okay.”
“What about my mom?”
He took Lauren’s hand. “Lauren, we’re pretty sure Voda has her.”
She began crying.
Grangeland came closer and put an arm around her.
“She’s going to be okay,” Nathan said.
“You promise?”
“Yes, I promise.”
Lauren wiped her eyes. “I hope you killed Voda’s men.”
He took a knee and kept his voice low. “Lauren, killing is not something to be proud of. Some of the men who hurt your stepdad are dead, but they were trying to kill me first, like in Tecate.”
“What if Voda kills Mom?”
“He won’t.”
“Why?”
“Because we have his alexandrites.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I’m going to force Voda to make a trade. He gives us your mom, we give him his alexandrites. He wants them back very badly.”
“Bad enough to let my mom go?”
Nathan decided to tell a white lie. “Yes, absolutely.”
Lauren wiped the tears from her face and hugged him. “I’m glad you’re my uncle.”
“I need to call Voda, to arrange to get your mom back. I want you stay with Grangeland, okay?”
“But I want to listen.”
He shook his head. “Please stay with Grangeland. I’ll be right back.”
Lauren put her hands on her hips and cocked her head in a pouty m
anner that actually came across as charming, rather than bratty. Nathan walked down the sidewalk until he was far enough away to make the call.
Voda answered on the second ring. “You took your sweet time calling me back, Mr. McBride.”
Nathan winced inwardly at hearing his name, but kept his voice calm as he addressed Voda. “It seems each of us has something the other wants.”
“Indeed we do.”
“How about a trade? You keep the six hundred grand you offered and give me Ms. Marchand, and I give you ten beautifully cut alexandrites worth nearly two million dollars.”
“I think that sounds more than reasonable.”
“I choose the exchange location.”
“I don’t think I’ll agree to that.”
“Good bye, Mr. Voda.” Nathan ended the call. It was a risky move, but given what Nathan had learned from Marchand, he believed Voda would call back. As sad as the thought was, Nathan knew that Jin was worthless to Voda in the long term. In Voda’s eyes, she was nothing more than a five-dollar poker chip.
Ten seconds later, his phone rang.
“There’s no need to be rude, Mr. McBride. You’re acting as though you don’t know how the game is played.”
“So let’s negotiate. I will choose the location. You may bring two men with you. I’ll be alone.”
“You sound confident.”
“I haven’t needed any other men up to this point.”
“Do you expect me to believe you’ve been working alone?”
“Believe whatever you want. If you bring more than two men, I’ll kill them.”
“Spare me your threats. I’ll bring two men, plus your beloved sister, of course.”
Yeah, right, Nathan thought. “Now, before we go any further, I’d like to verify she’s alive. I’ll be asking her a random question in the event you’ve recorded her voice.”
Voda sighed, leaving Nathan to listen through a brief period of silence. He realized he was holding his breath and calmed himself.
The calm was short-lived. Jin’s voice put him on edge again. “Nathan, I’m sorry.”
“What sports team was Lauren on in school?”
“She was on the cross-country track team, but she’s homeschooled now.” She spoke quickly now, almost under her breath. “Promise me, Nathan, you’ll keep Lauren safe. Please! Don’t let her out of your sight, no matter what.”
“I won’t, I prom — ”
“Voda has insiders…” she began.
Nathan heard Jin grunt in pain, then nothing.
“Satisfied?” Voda sounded impatient.
“Yes. Her daughter won’t be with me.”
“That’s fine. I have no interest in the girl.”
“I’ll text you within the hour with a precise location and time. When you arrive, look for a fluorescent surveyor’s stake with a radio clipped to it.”
Voda was silent for a few seconds, probably absorbing the fact that Nathan planned to take him to a rural location. “What’s wrong with using phones?”
“I’d prefer to use the radios.”
Another sigh. “As you wish. Just remember: stick to the terms, or the girl becomes an orphan.”
The call ended.
Nathan had no illusions about the exchange and fully expected an ambush. Men like Voda didn’t play by the rules — they made their own.
He returned to the hotel entrance. “The call went well,” he told Grangeland. To Lauren he said, “We need to head over to my La Jolla home to pick up some equipment.”
Grangeland looked back and forth between them, realizing — and apparently accepting the fact — that Nathan was taking Lauren with him. “Once my backup arrives,” she said, “I’ll make sure Marchand gets to the ER. I’ll also make sure he’s closely guarded in case he tries to slip away.” Grangeland spoke with matter-of-fact confidence, one of the things Nathan liked best about her.
He took Lauren’s hand. “How do you feel about helicopters?”
“Helicopters?” she asked.
“Are you okay going for a little flight?”
“I guess…Is it scary?”
“The most dangerous part of any helicopter trip is the drive to the airport.” Nathan smiled. “Don’t worry, I hardly ever crash.”
“That’s not very reassuring.”
When Grangeland asked what he planned to do, he repeated his intent to make the exchange but avoided specifics. Again, she seemed to accept that he intended to work independently of the FBI. Together, they’d done it before. Grangeland gave him a quick hug and wished him the best, then embraced Lauren. Nathan and Lauren said their farewells to Grangeland and Abrille, then turned to leave.
“Come on,” he told Lauren. “We need to take a cab over to First Security to get Grangeland’s vehicle. From there, we’ll head over to La Jolla.”
Nathan told Lauren they should remain silent for the cab ride south, and they did. Watching Lauren along the way, he guessed that she was thinking about her mom. He and Lauren had survived some tight moments together, but Nathan feared that the worst was yet to come. He didn’t believe for a second that Voda would simply trade Jin for the jewels. Nor would Voda expect Nathan to do anything but try to kill him and save Jin. He hadn’t intended to bring Lauren to the exchange, but that had changed when Voda put Jin on the phone. She’d been firm about his not letting Lauren out of his sight. He also couldn’t dismiss her warning about Voda’s “insiders.” Fortunately, the way his plan had been forming in his mind, Lauren would be 100 percent safe during the swap. As a bonus, she’d play a vital role in supporting the operation.
When they reached First Security and exited the taxi, Nathan realized he didn’t have a surveyor’s stake or any fluorescent spray paint, so they made a quick stop at Home Depot.
After arriving at his La Jolla home twenty minutes later, Nathan half expected to find an army of police and FBI agents waiting, but all was quiet. He attributed some of his unease to a reality check. The last eighteen hours had been mentally and physically draining. Remarkably, Lauren wasn’t in bad shape. She’d held it together well, but he knew she was close to a breaking point. But then again, weren’t they all?
He planned to make this stop as brief as possible. Angelica had left a note saying she’d gone to a movie, so Lauren didn’t get an opportunity to meet her. Nathan turned her loose in the kitchen to make some sandwiches, then used the Google Earth program to get turn-by-turn directions to the exchange location he had in mind. Using the satellite view feature, he had no trouble finding the exact spot — it was clearly visible from the air. He wrote the directions on a Post-it note. Once they were on their way to Montgomery Field, he’d have Lauren text the info to Voda.
Outside, he coated the upper half of the surveyor’s stake with the fluorescent pink paint, wincing at the horrid color. He set the stake aside and entered his basement via the garage. Nathan loaded a duffel bag with everything he’d need, including five stripper clips of armor piercing .308 ammunition in the event Voda’s “two” men wore ballistic vests again. He realized he didn’t have any subsonic armor piercing rounds in nine millimeter, so he took a few minutes to change the master plate in his rotary reloading press. It didn’t make sense to use supersonic ammunition with a suppressor. A supersonic bullet makes a boatload of noise from the miniature sonic boom it creates. Nathan would best describe it as a giant bullwhip crack — a sound he’d tried hard to forget. He consulted his handwritten notes in the margin of his reloading manual and selected a power charge that would keep his rounds at 1,050 feet per second. Once the 9 mm reloading plate was in place, it didn’t take long to generate the special ammo. Because of their lower velocity, the rounds wouldn’t be as effective, but they’d penetrate better than standard ball ammo. He emptied all the SIG’s magazines and loaded the new rounds.
They ate turkey sandwiches during the drive to the airport. Lauren asked all kinds of questions about helicopters, and Nathan did his best to answer them, but his mind was elsewhere — out i
n the desert — thinking about Voda and his men. Nathan anticipated facing a small army out there. So be it. He had lots of bullets.
It took some time to park the sedan, unlock the hangar’s door, tow the Bell 407’s sled out to the flight line with a electric cart, return the cart to the hanger, and then relock the door. As always, Nathan conducted a thorough preflight check before securing Lauren in the left seat. She was impressed with the checklist for starting the engine and commented on how easy driving was in comparison. She grinned when the ship vibrated and the main rotor began turning.
He brought the helicopter into a hover and told Lauren to remain quiet while he contacted the tower with his intent. He was given clearance for an easterly departure toward I-15. The weather conditions were ideal. Excepting the usual marine layer blanketing the coast, there wasn’t a cloud to be seen anywhere. Flying directly north would be the fastest route, but that airspace belonged to MCAS Miramar. It wasn’t a major detour going around to the east. He’d fly the I-15 corridor underneath Miramar’s approach cone, then use the helicopter route above the freeway out to Victorville. From there, he’d make a left turn and fly deep into the Mojave Desert.
Although initially nervous about the motion and elevation of the helicopter, Lauren recovered quickly. She wanted to be the navigator, so Nathan gave her the chart and pointed out some delineated landmarks. She was a quick study and had no problem keeping track of their position. Nathan figured the flight should take around eighty to ninety minutes. He could make it shorter, but there was no need to push the Bell’s engine.
By late afternoon, he was circling the area he’d first noticed during a long-ago flight up the Owens Valley. This area of the Mojave had always interested him. Abandoned mines and decaying buildings dotted the landscape — literal modern-day ghost towns. He started a gradual descent and studied a row of dilapidated buildings he’d once viewed from afar. It looked like a small subdivision from the sixties that had gone belly up long before being inhabited. As he’d remembered from his previous flight, some of the houses had been burned to the ground, their slabs the only evidence they’d ever existed. He didn’t see any vehicles — the place looked deserted.
North of the ghost town, a pair of small mountains was connected by a rocky saddle that provided an ideal overlook for the entire area. Along with the peaks, the saddle offered an unobstructed view of the dirt track leading to the abandoned houses. He’d situate Lauren in the saddle. If Voda or his men suspected Nathan might have a lookout, they’d focus on the peaks, not the saddle. Tactically, it was the best place to put her. Camouflaged to be virtually invisible, Lauren would be able to see every building and report any approaching vehicles.
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