Code of Honor

44

Ten minutes from the airport, John Clark checked his phone for the first time in an hour and a half. He had three messages. One was from his wife — who wouldn’t call again until he called back, unless the house was burning down, and maybe not even then. The last two were from the same number. He recognized it, and was mildly surprised. He called back, listened intently, then said, “Of course, sir. I’ll meet you wherever and whenever you say.”

Clark pulled up several airline websites on his phone the moment he ended the call. There was a flight to Jakarta in a little over an hour.

“Drop me off at Departures,” he said.

Ryan glanced sideways. “Okaaay?”

“You guys okay up there, Ding?” Clark asked over the radio.

“Good to go,” Ding said.

“Outstanding,” Clark said. “I’m going to need to leave you to it. Just got an interesting telephone call, and I need to bug out.”

“You’re not riding back on the Gulfstream?” Ding asked. “Sucks to be you.”

It did Clark’s heart good that Chavez didn’t ask for more details. Clark would give what he could, when he could, and Chavez knew it.

“Ryan’s going to make a quick detour and drop me off so I can catch this flight. You guys go on to the rendezvous point and turn our little friend over to the F-15s. I’ll give you a call when I get inside.”

Clark ended the call and began to divest himself of all his weapons so he could make it through security. He’d be able to get more where he was going. Midas passed him a box of wet wipes from a backpack at his feet. They’d all fired their weapons enough to be covered in microscopic — and not-so-microscopic — gunfire residue. A swab of Clark’s hands in the airport could stop him in his tracks while they sorted things out.

“Hit the dome light,” he said when he was finished with the spit bath, then leaned back in his seat with his arms and hands open. “Any blood on me?”

Midas and Ryan both gave him a once-over, shaking their heads.

Ryan caught his eye, quizzing him without words.

“Better for you if I keep this close to the vest,” Clark said. “It’s a need-to-know thing…”

Ryan scoffed. “And I don’t need to know.”

“That’s about the size of it,” Clark said. “I’m just looking out for you.”