T hirty thousand feet above the Mediterranean, Tyler, Grant, and Stacy were huddled around the laptop so they could see Miles Benson and Aiden MacKenna on the video chat via satellite. Their Gulfstream jet would arrive in Rome in an hour. Miles and Aiden were on their own plane, heading to Washington to confirm Sherman’s and Carol’s release.
Tyler had expected to have a hard time persuading his boss to go this alone without intervention by the authorities, and he was right.
“I don’t like this plan,” Miles said. “We should have the Feds ready to nab whoever drops off your father.”
“If we do that,” Tyler said, “we’ll have to tip them off to everything, and I’m not ready to take that chance. If I thought there was any danger for you, I wouldn’t go this route.”
“That’s not what I’m worried about. I want to keep you three safe. What about the Italian national police?”
“We can’t call in the Carabinieri. As far as they know, Orr hasn’t done anything wrong in Italy.”
“Yet.”
“Four specialists from Neutralizer Security should be able to handle taking down Orr on our end,” Grant said, referring to the private security contractor Tyler had hired for the job. “I’ve worked with them before. They’re pros.”
“Then why didn’t you hire them in Greece?” Miles said.
“My fault,” Tyler said. “I didn’t expect Cavano’s men to show up at the Parthenon.”
“None of us did,” Stacy said.
“Cavano’s persistent, I’ll give her that,” Grant said.
Aiden pushed his way in for a closer look. “For four billion dollars’ worth of gold, she’d probably take on the entire Carabinieri herself.” Aiden was talking about the cube of gold that supposedly sat in the middle of the chamber.
Miles shook his head. “You see what you’re up against, Tyler? They’ll kill all of you without hesitation to get that money.”
“The strontium adds a new variable to all this,” Tyler said. “If Orr really has a dirty bomb, he’s going to use it. We have to stop him.”
“Are you sure he has it?”
“No, which is another reason we’re not going to the authorities just yet. Once we have Orr, we’ll make him tell us everything.”
“How?”
“We’ll have plenty of bargaining chips, but they’ll be useless until he’s in our hands.”
“So what’s the plan?”
“We’re going to follow his directions to meet him at the outdoor concert. Piazza del Plebiscito is a huge plaza near the Naples waterfront. It’ll be packed with partyers. Orr told us to be there at nine and wait for his call. I’m sure he’s chosen that location because it’ll provide cover for him.”
“Once we get to Rome,” Grant said, “I’ll meet with the Neutralizer team. We’ll drive down to Naples together and set up a lookout near the plaza. We’ll stay out of sight, but we’ll be in constant contact with Tyler. When he gives us the signal, we’ll move in and take Orr.”
“What if he’s got help?”
“That’s where the tracker comes in,” Tyler said. “I removed it from the geolabe. Grant’s going to have it with him. If Orr’s men try to make an early move, Grant will be ready for them.”
“And if he doesn’t deliver your father and Carol?”
Tyler’s muscles knotted at the thought. He threw a glance at Stacy, who looked just as upset as he was about that prospect.
“This is the only option,” he said. “Once we have Orr, he’ll have to bargain with us.”
He didn’t say any more, because he didn’t know how far he’d go. But, looking at Stacy and knowing how much they both wanted Sherman and Carol safely returned, he realized that he might have to go to some dark places in order to get them back in one piece.
Miles sighed. “All right. It’s your call.”
“Thanks, Miles. You be safe.”
“You don’t think I’m showing up without my own security team, do you?”
Tyler smiled. “No, I don’t suppose you would. I’ll call you when we have Orr.”
“Good luck.”
“You, too.”
The screen went blank.
“I’ll call Neutralizer and coordinate with them,” Grant said, and went to the back of the plane.
“So do you think it’ll be that easy?” Stacy said. “Don’t you think Orr has something else planned?”
“Yes, but unless we follow his rules, he’ll never show up. He’s got the leverage for now.”
“But you’ve got the geolabe. We could find the gold ourselves and then meet up with Orr. Then we’d have the leverage.”
“There’s not enough time. If we don’t meet his deadline, I don’t want to think what would happen. Orr doesn’t seem like the type to bluff.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Stacy said.
Tyler paused. “You don’t have to go through with this. I can make the exchange myself.”
“The hell you will. You just said we can’t change the plan. He wants me there, I’m there. I’ll do worse than chop off his ear if he doesn’t tell me where Carol is.”
Tyler couldn’t tell if she was exaggerating or being literal. Maybe she didn’t even know herself how far she’d go to get Carol to safety.
“All right,” he said. “Grant will have us in view the whole time. We’ll be fine. It ends tonight.”
“One way or the other.” Stacy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Orr’s not going to let them go, is he?”
“Not unless we make him. But we’re not meeting with Orr until he shows us in the next video that they’re still okay.”
Tyler checked his watch. It was noon. They’d arrive in Rome and drive down to Naples in three cars, one for him and Stacy and two for Grant and the Neutralizer team, who would keep an eye out for Orr as they drove in case he planned to ambush them early. Once they were convinced that they weren’t being observed, Grant would separate from Tyler and Stacy, taking the tracker and the Neutralizer team with him to a location where they could watch the piazza. At the same time, Tyler and Stacy would head to the concert with the geolabe.
It wasn’t a foolproof plan, but Tyler was convinced that it was the only way to prevent a major catastrophe and save Carol and his father.