Street Game

CHAPTER 18

The moment Mack made his way up to the second floor, he felt the instant tension and knew something was wrong. His team-Ethan included-was assembled around a table, an obvious makeshift war room. His beeper had gone off in the plane, so he wasn’t at all surprised that there was trouble.

Jaimie looked up, her face a little pale and strained, but she leapt up, a smile blocking out the worry. That look alone was worth everything to him. Uncaring that Sergeant Major was watching, or that his team had grins on their faces, he swept her into his arms and kissed her thoroughly. He took his time, feeling her cling to him, the slight trembling in her body.

He framed her face with his hands. “Are you all right?”

Jaimie nodded. “I’m glad you’re back. We have a bad situation here, Mack.”

“I can see that, honey.” He reluctantly let his arms drop, stripping off his jacket.

“Sergeant Major, you’re cleared. The mission was a success.”

Griffen nodded his head just once in understanding. The old, faded eyes smiled at Mack briefly in acknowledgment before he indicated the computer screens above their heads. “You’re looking at the reason for World War Three, Mack.”

He looked up and studied the two unlikely faces. A small girl of about ten looked back at him, her shiny black hair framing her face. Beside her was a serious young teenager, perhaps seventeen, with razor-straight, gleaming black hair and dark eyes hidden behind black-rimmed glasses. “And they are?”

“Dae-sub Chun is seventeen. A nice young man, far ahead of his age. The girl is a niece of an old friend. Her name is Mi-cha Song. Dae-sub Chun’s father is General Kwang-sub Chun. He just happens to be the ambassador to D.P.R.K. Permanent mission to the UN.”

Javier lowered his gear to the floor. “That doesn’t sound good.”

“Democratic People’s Republic of Korea,” Sergeant Major reiterated.

“No,” Javier said. “I’m guessing anything to do with North Korea right now isn’t going to be good, not when our countries are posturing at each other.”

“It gets worse,” Griffen said. “The girl is the sister of one of our agents. Both children have been kidnapped.”

“Was the girl’s abduction deliberate?” Mack asked. “Is our agent compromised?”

Griffen shook his head. “No, she was with the boy at a museum. She had been visiting General Chun’s family. We don’t believe she was the target so much as Daesub. Educated guesses by Chun leaned toward blackmail at first. It seems one of their leading scientists accidentally stumbled upon a particularly unstable and highly explosive compound. Somehow Doomsday was able to infiltrate the lab and obtain the information. The general was certain he would be contacted very soon with a demand for the formula and compound. We all know the general’s wife was killed last year, and that he loved her very much. It nearly broke him. He isn’t a young man and now, with his son in grave danger, well, this is a desperate situation any way you look at it.”

“Then you’ve been in touch with General Chun?”

“Yes, very quietly. He can’t be seen talking with us, of course.”

Mack found a chair and gratefully accepted the cup of coffee Kane pushed into his hands. He’d been up all night and traveling all day and needed rest. But the room was tense, Jaimie looked stressed, and Sergeant Major Griffen was as grim as he’d ever seen him.

“Lay it out for us,” Mack said and waved Gideon and Javier into chairs.

“We took the weapons in the warehouse,” Kane said. “The mission went like clockwork, boss. When Shepherd and Estes tried to break in, we killed two of their men. We managed to tag both of them with a tracking device. We couldn’t have asked for a smoother operation.”

Griffen took up the story. “We traced them all the way to China. Beijing to be exact.”

Mack sat up straighter. “China? What the hell would Shepherd and Estes want in China?” He sank back. “Never mind. If you want to go to North Korea, you have to go to Beijing, right?”

Kane nodded his head. “They met with Frank Koit and Holeander Armstice, both known members of Doomsday. The four traveled together to North Korea. The next day, these two children were snatched from the museum and their bodyguards were slain. The kidnappers left behind an American assault rifle.”

“To implicate the United States,” Mack guessed. “Because we aren’t in enough trouble already, with both countries pissed off at each other over the nuclear issue.”

“Publicly North Korea has warned of military action against the United States,”

Kane said. “Even if they knew we weren’t guilty of kidnapping these children, to save face they’d have to retaliate if it looked to the world as if we were responsible for grabbing them.”

“The world would be on their side,” Griffen said. “Using children as pawns in a nuclear debate would be despicable.”

“And the children would have to die,” Mack added. “You know they’d kill them. What other choice would they have? Even if they pretended, the boy was raised by General Kwang-sub Chun. You know he’d spot any inconsistencies. One thing, he won’t panic, not if he’s anything at all like his old man.”

“Privately, North Korea has asked for us to aid them in getting these children out alive.”

Mack sighed and rubbed at his temples. “Are you certain the kids are still alive, Top?”

“We have to believe that,” Griffen said. “I want your team to go in and bring them out.”

Jaimie made a small sound of distress. Mack swung his head to look at her. She was curled up in a chair a few feet away from the table, partially hidden in the shadows, her face averted. “He makes it sound so easy.”

“We have to know where they are,” Mack said. “Unless our bugs have stopped working.”

“Oh, no,” Jaimie said, “they’re in place. They’re relaying the information just fine.” She rubbed her hand over her face. “They’re transmitting from under the American embassy in Beijing. The American embassy, Mack. If the kids are found there, the world is in trouble.”

“Shit,” Javier commented.

“Thank you for your contribution,” Griffen said. “As you can see, Mack, this requires a delicate hand. You have to get in unseen, scoop the kids back without anyone knowing you-or they-were ever there. That means no shots fired. Nothing that could possibly draw attention to this situation.”

“With no shots fired? Against a terrorist organization that thrives on as much violence and publicity as possible?” Mack looked at Kane. “When do we leave?”

“I’ll provide as much intel as I can from here,” Jaimie volunteered.

“You have to go with them,” Sergeant Major ordered. “I’m not asking.”

There was a shocked silence. The men looked at one another. Mack looked at Jaimie. She squeezed her eyes closed tightly, fists clenching until the knuckles turned white, until her fingernails bit deeply into her palm. “You know I can’t go with them, Sergeant Major,” she whispered softly, a thousand tears in her voice, her chest aching.

“I would if I could, but it’s impossible. I nearly got Mack killed on our last mission together.”

“She can feed us intel from here,” Mack said.

Griffen shook his head. “I don’t need her feeding you intel. I need her to do whatever she does to get you all in and out quietly. If there was another way… But she’s what we have and we have to use her skills.”

“I don’t work for you anymore.” Her voice was stiff. She didn’t look at any of them.

“You never stopped. And I’m not asking,” Griffen retorted.

Jaimie stood up so fast her chair went over backward. “You’re not going to do this to me. Arrest me.”

“Don’t think I won’t. This is what you were trained for and, by God, you’re going to do your job.”

“Sergeant Major.” Mack’s voice was low. Ice-cold.

The room went dead silent. Kane moved. The action was subtle, but he put his body between Jaimie and the rest of the room.

Griffen rose, his eyes narrowing. He did a slow sweep of the room with speculative eyes. “Are you threatening me, soldier?”

The tension in the room rose significantly. Mack didn’t so much as blink, letting it stretch out almost to a breaking point. “I said nothing to give you that impression-sir.”

“I fucking work for a living, so don’t you ever insult me like that again,” Griffen snapped. “And you’re supposed to be my friend. Have you forgotten that? We have a situation that could throw our country and all our allies into war. I want the best team I can put together to avoid this situation. All of you are aware of what Jaimie can do. Can any of you? Each of you has talents that are needed, but if we’re going to send you in with the best chance of success without detection, you need Jaimie. Mack, you know I wouldn’t ask if we didn’t need her.”

“But you didn’t ask,” Mack pointed out, his voice neutral. “I believe you ordered her.”

A small smile eased the tension on Griffen’s face. “I’m used to giving orders. I’ve been doing it my entire life. I’m sorry about that, Jaimie.” He switched his gaze to her pale face. “I wouldn’t be asking you if this wasn’t a desperate situation, and I think you know that. You have a talent no one else has, or at least that we know of, Jaimie. Maybe it’s not something we can put a name to, maybe it’s undefined, but you have it, and it saves lives,” Griffen said. He made every effort to keep his voice gentle, aware of the men watching him. He wasn’t used to choosing his words so carefully and his voice came out a little strained.

Her mouth trembled. “What happens if others are relying on me and I fail them and someone dies? I would never be able to forgive myself.” Like last time. No one died last time, honey, Mack said gently.

You almost did.

You saved all of our lives. The entire team would have died in that ambush if it hadn’t been for you. You never think about that part of it. We’d all be dead.

“Think of the children, Jaimie,” Kane suggested. “You know the kidnappers have to kill them. With you, we have a better chance of going in without detection.”

“You and Mack and the boys, you go in and get those kids out yourself.” Jaimie was pleading now, clearly a last-ditch effort. She hadn’t honestly thought about what would have happened had she not warned the team of the ambush and found them the clearest route possible to escape. Maybe they did need her, but… She swallowed hard, her eyes meeting Mack’s in desperation. He crossed to her side, his hand going to the nape of her neck, fingers easing the tension from her.

“If we needed cowboys to go in, guns blazing, we’d have any number of men, but we can’t do that, Jaimie,” Griffen said. “We have to get in and get out with no sound, like ghosts. The boy is the only son of the ambassador to D.P.R.K. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you the international implications.”

Jaimie sagged against Mack in defeat, her heart going out to the grieving parents, to the terrified children. She had to go. She knew what it was going to cost, though. I’ll be with you, Jaimie, Mack reminded. We’re getting better at blending our energies. And you’re stronger. We can do this.

I guess we have to, she conceded. “I guess I’m going with you.”

Griffen smiled. “With your ability you can walk in and take them back without a fight.”

“You and I both know it’s impossible to control a situation like this. Most of it is pure luck,” Jaimie argued. “And good intel.”

“Well, we have you for that,” Griffen said. Now that she’d capitulated, he was in a better mood. “General Chun is a fine man, a man any military man would respect. He has a code of honor. But let me tell you all, right now he’s afraid, terrified even, and a man like Chun should never have such a look in his eyes. I didn’t meet the little girl’s parents but you know her brother, you went to the university with him and trained with him before you became GhostWalkers.”

Jaimie’s teeth bit into her lip again. There had been one recruit from North Korea, and she should have recognized the name. Kim-son Song. He had spoken of his younger sister often. She’d been born many years after him-an unexpected gift, he called her.

It was Mack who actually voiced the question, Mack the field commander, Mack who felt totally responsible for his men. “Does he know?”

“Yes. He’s been briefed. He blames himself of course, but we’re fairly certain she was just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”

Jaimie let out her breath and glanced at Mack’s face. He’d gone utterly still, even his black eyes appeared lifeless. Kim-son Song had been in his command, an invaluable asset in Europe and the Eastern Bloc nations. Most important, he was a friend. Jaimie instinctively held out her hand. For a moment, Mack didn’t move, and then his eyes touched her face. Empty. Cold. Jaimie shivered under his gaze, a sudden tremor of fear rising. There was something very dangerous buried deep in Mack. Jaimie didn’t like the rare occasions she caught glimpses of that lurking monster. Mack fought back the demons clawing at his gut. Innocent children this time. Who would use children as pawns? Someone had hired Doomsday to do their dirty work, to carry out their idea. Doomsday had no personal agenda other than to make money.

Everything in him rose up to do battle with the abductors, a berserker’s cold, deadly rage. He detested terrorists-murderers. There was no excuse to kill the innocent. There was no excuse for using political agendas to murder untrained civilians.

His gaze focused on Jaimie’s transparent face. He could easily read the jumble of confused emotions. Fear was among them. Instantly he made himself take a deep, calming breath and relax. He softened the hard angles and planes of his face with a smile as he laced his fingers through hers.

“It’s okay, baby; we’ll get them back.” He sat down, cradled her in his lap, his arms strong and comforting. His Jaimie. She had such a gentle heart, thinking only of the children and their families with compassion. The truth was, he wanted swift, brutal retaliation against the perpetrators. His fingers tangled in the blue black silk of her hair. God, but she overwhelmed him with intense emotion. Love. Whatever one called it.

“Do we know who’s behind this? Does General Chun have any ideas?”

“A few. There are a couple of powerful people who believe that if the United States was caught resorting to the kidnapping and murdering of children, the world would make concessions on their nuclear program.”

“So he wants prisoners.”

Jaimie stiffened. “If we turn those men over to the general, you know what he’ll do to them. We can’t do that.”

“They took his son, Jaimie,” Griffen pointed out. “He has a right to question them. We can’t do it. We can’t let anyone know we were even there.”

Her breath hissed out between her teeth. She looked around the room and knew immediately none of the men had the least bit of sympathy for the terrorists.

“What do you want us to do with them, Jaimie?” Javier asked.

“That’s enough,” Mack intervened.

“No, he has the right to ask,” Jaimie said. “Everyone’s entitled to their opinion, especially if we’re all going in, risking our lives. I’d rather see them dead than tortured, Javier. And imprisoned rather than dead.”

“I can arrange their deaths,” Javier agreed and turned to Sergeant Major, one eyebrow raised in inquiry.

Griffen shook his head. “As much as we’d like to settle things that way, we can’t. We have to pull those kids out of there without a shot fired. No one can know. We’ll get them out of China and back into General Chun’s hands immediately. You tranquilize whoever you find and walk away. I mean it. Leave them where they lie and get those kids out of there. That’s your part of the mission.”

“Is that all? You’re sending us in without bullets?” Mack asked.

“It has to be this way,” Griffen said. “You’re ghosts. Get in and get out. We don’t have much time. We can’t take the chance that they’ll move those kids again. It’s one of their favorite tactics with hostages, moving them every few days to a new location.”

“They won’t move them, Sergeant Major,” Mack said with a small sigh. “And I think you know that. They’re going to kill them and leave the bodies near the gates inside the embassy. God only knows what they’ll do to the kids first. You can bet they’ll have pictures and arrange for reporters. They’re looking for a big splash. The video will be a YouTube hit on the Internet. You know they’ve got someone ready to record the deaths.”

“We have military transport standing by,” Griffen said. “You can sleep on the plane. You’ll leave in two hours. You’ll be infiltrating the U.S. embassy in Beijing. We don’t want anyone in the embassy informed at this time other than the captain.”

There was a long, shocked silence. “You’re not letting the embassy know?” Mack echoed softly. “I don’t think so. What the hell are you trying to pull?”

“I told you it was a hot one. What better way to start an international incident? If the children are found there, the United States would be publicly blamed,” Griffen snapped. “Who do we trust? You know there would be a leak.”

“The Marines guard all of our embassies,” Jaimie pointed out. “Security is ultra tight.”

“Don’t worry, we’ve planned for that.”

“The Marines, rather a Marine, spotted them. A very smart young man. Instead of shooting it out, he quietly reported to his captain. He was able to find the traitor working with them and to uncover the cell underground,” Griffen said. “They took the information directly to the secretary general.”

“They entered the embassy through a tunnel?” Jaimie found that unbelievable.

“The tunnel had been sealed years earlier. Someone spent a great deal of time and energy reopening it. We knew about the tunnel and also the seven seals that were cleverly worked into the building structure that amplified sounds so we could be monitored.”

“Someone on the inside helped,” Mack said.

“Three people. One, a young man who will be very quietly court-martialed,”

Griffen continued. “Another works on the grounds. Both contributed a great deal. The work was done on the guard’s shift and the groundskeeper kept everyone away from the area with various ingenious ploys. He did it right out in the open in front of embassy officials, guards, personnel, everyone. We also suspect a low-level paper pusher who is a friend of the Marine guard. No one has moved on any of those involved.”

“Who knows about this?” Mack asked.

“The secretary general was apprised of the situation immediately by the commanding officer, and of course the young Marine. The secretary general asked specifically for this team and I told him you’d do it.”

“He doesn’t want the terrorists dealt with?” Mack asked.

“Not by your team. He wants them tranquilized quietly. Once you’re out with the kids, the Marines will go in and sweep the tunnel. They’ll be turned over to Chun’s men.”

Jaimie stirred but she didn’t say anything.

“You won’t object to our defending ourselves if it comes to that, right, sir?” Javier demanded.

“Defend yourself with tranqs,” Griffen said. “We’ve got one chance to do this right. If we don’t get those children back, the United States will be very embarrassed and North Korea will be put in an impossible position.”

“They could be dead,” Mack said.

“If that’s the case, we get them out, kill everyone involved, and lose the bodies. We’ll have to deny all knowledge.”

Jaimie closed her eyes briefly as she leaned back against Mack’s chest, pulling herself in. This had to be done. She could see the reasons clearly, but it still didn’t stop her from feeling sick about it. “I take it you have all the intel we’ll need.”

“The layout, guards, the total security system. We’ll have full cooperation once we contact the embassy and let them know you’re there. We’ll do so at the last possible minute.”

Jaimie was already shaking her head. “Too risky, too many people in on it. We can’t know who else they’ve bought. If this was really over some formula the terrorist wanted, that might work, but not this. This is designed to pit the United States against North Korea.”

“The guards will be handpicked, assigned a special duty, because the embassy will be receiving a surprise visit from a bigwig dignitary.”

“Please God, tell me it isn’t General Chun,” Jaimie muttered aloud. “It sounds like something brilliant someone sitting behind a desk would come up with.”

“It wouldn’t be so unusual,” Griffen countered.

“Nothing would put that group on alert like a surprise visit from the kid’s father.”

“What do you suggest?” Mack asked, his voice strictly neutral.

“A dinner party.”

“Excuse me?” Griffen scowled at her.

“A dinner party. I know you’ve heard of it. Coat, tie, maybe a tail or two. Open the place up. Up the security. Get tons of dogs out sniffing the grounds.”

“You’re crazy, Jaimie.” Kane scowled at her. “That will only add to the nightmare.”

Mack shook his head his slowly. “No, wait a minute, Kane. She just might have something.”

Jaimie jumped up and paced across the floor with her quick, fluid step. “Excuse me, guys, but this happens to be my area of expertise. You go out, shoot ’em up, bang, bang, but I plan for stealth, silent training if you recall. Trust me on this. If the embassy is putting on a high-profile dinner party-announced, say, now-the security will be upped like you wouldn’t believe. They won’t be able to kill those children. They’ll have to stay tucked in that tunnel waiting until security eases a bit.”

Gideon cleared his throat. “Sergeant Major. If there’s even a small chance that the terrorists will kill the children, shouldn’t the Marines on-site go in and rescue them now? Not wait?”

“Doomsday will kill them. You know they would, Gideon,” Mack said. “You’ve seen the way they operate. At the first sign of trouble, they’ll kill the kids and try to fight their way out. The few times an operative has been close to capture, they’ve blown themselves and everyone around them up.”

Gideon nodded. “I knew you’d say that, but I had to ask.”

“I think Jaimie’s on to something,” Mack said. “Doomsday will be pinned down until we get there. They’ll keep the kids alive until after the dinner party. They’ll need to just for insurance, for bargaining chips. They’ll want fresh bodies for the optimum scandal, probably cut their throats on the embassy lawn. Hopefully the captain has kept the corporal from guard duty so he hasn’t given them the opportunity and won’t before we can get there.”

“He has,” Griffen said grimly.

Javier pulled his knife from his boot and began sharpening it. Griffen shot him a speculative look.

“You’ll have to keep your men in line, Mack,” he warned.

“My men know what to do, Top,” Mack said.

He caught Javier’s eye and shook his head. Javier sighed and put the knife away, having made his point. “Maybe we should make some fresh coffee and give ourselves time to think this through.”

“I’ll make a fresh pot,” Marc volunteered.

Javier snorted. “No way am I drinking his coffee. I’d rather go to this embassy buck naked and armed with only water guns.”

Laughter accompanied the shudders that went around the room. Almost as one they stood up and headed for the stairs. Jaimie turned off her computers and followed. Mack waited on the bottom stair for her, reaching for her hand. He brought her fingers to his mouth. “We’ll do this, baby.”

“I think we have a good chance. We’ve got all the right people,” Jaimie agreed.

“You know if something goes wrong, I probably won’t be much of an asset to you.”

“You can fire a gun, Jaimie. No one’s going to ask you to shoot through a hostage. We’re there to save them.”

She took a deep breath and let it out. “Don’t worry. Really, Mack. You know me, once I make up my mind to do something, I’m in all the way.”

That was true. She was very disciplined and methodical. She’d be a huge asset in planning how to get in and out.

It was Kane who put on a new pot of coffee while the men raided the refrigerator and cupboards, reminding Mack of locusts.

Jaimie and Mack followed Griffen to the comfortable chairs and sank into them. Jaimie leaned toward Sergeant Major. “Put your handpicked embassy Marines at the gate, let them watch all the people going in, but don’t tell them about us. Believe me, Sergeant Major, if the guards know someone is meant to slip through, they’ll never be as alert and neither will we.”

“You have a plan?” Griffen asked.

Mack nodded. “You said the commanding officer was going to take his Marines in and clean up. How exactly?”

Griffen hesitated again.

“I need to know,” Mack said.

“We’ve got a small unit standing by. Special Ops. They’ll go in with the commander, take the sleeping terrorists to a waiting unmarked car. It will have tinted windows so no one can see in. The commander will go about his business as if nothing has transpired. The Special Ops team will take the terrorists to the North Korean embassy in Beijing. They’ll leave them right outside the gates and General Chun will be notified that they are on the way. He’ll have his men waiting. Special Ops will walk away, leaving the car and the keys for the North Koreans to just drive inside their gates.”

Mack nodded. “This Special Ops unit. Marines?”

“Of course,” Griffen replied.

“Then let’s use them to help us get inside. They have to be briefed on what’s going on, right?” Mack said. “Put them in the guard’s position on the side nearest the tunnel and tell them to stand down when we come over the fence.”

Griffen shook his head. “They don’t know about the kids. This is need-to-know only.”

“But they know someone’s going in and tranqing the terrorists. They know the cell is beneath the embassy, right?”

“Yes.”

“Put the Special Ops team in uniform and arrange for them to guard the fence near the tunnel entrance. They can know we’ll be slipping onto the grounds. Or just one of them. Tell their Top. We can make our way through the roving guards and the dogs both going in and getting out. The danger is at the fence itself, especially coming out with the children. If they know, they can let us slip over the fence with our packages. Once we’re clear, the captain can relieve them of their duties and they can get out of uniform and carry out their orders. They can strip down in seconds.”

“I hate it when you’re right,” Griffen said.

Mack laced his fingers through Jaimie’s. “I wouldn’t mind this one over here admitting I’m right-all the time.”

“Not likely,” Jaimie said amid the laughter.

“But, damn, she does have a magnificent brain, doesn’t she?” Kane nudged Mack.

“Either that, or not one at all,” Jaimie interjected sourly. “This is crazy, you all know that, don’t you?”

“We were all born crazy,” Javier said with a cocky grin.

Griffen nodded his head. “I like it, Mack. At least it should minimize some of the risk to your team getting out. I’ll have the secretary general send you everything they have on the tunnels and the workings and security at the embassy.”

“This low-level paper pusher,” Jaimie said. “By any chance do you have pictures and data on him? If so, I’d like to see it. I’ll need everything you’ve got on all three of the traitors.”

“Already sent to you.”

“Not from Beijing?” she asked, holding her breath.

“No. The captain didn’t know who or what he could trust. He flew in to inform the secretary general.”

Jaimie let her breath out and went to her laptop, her fingers flying over the keyboard. The pictures of three men appeared, files flying across the screen, stacking up so fast Mack had no way of reading them. “Corporal David Shanty is our guard and this is his roommate, Corporal Fred Simmons. They entered the Corps in the buddy program. And Mack, this isn’t good. Simmons knows what he’s doing with computers. The captain was smart to worry that his computer might be compromised. The third man is Chang Lui, a fourth-generation gardener. Father is Chinese, his mother American.”

“Just because this kid is good on a computer…” Griffen began.

“Trust me on this, Top,” Jaimie said. “If they’re in it together, Simmons is the one providing intel. His major was in computer science. He knows his stuff.”

“What do you want us to do?” Griffen asked with a small sigh.

“Have them announce the dinner party immediately. Tighten security. Put a death grip on that place. As soon as it’s locked down, ask the captain to send me everything he has. Use the encrypted program, but before he does, have them check his computer. Tell them they’re looking for a hardware keystroke logger. If they’ve compromised his computer, that’s what they’ll have used. Tell him to change his password after they’ve removed the card and then send me everything.”

“You’re certain his computer is compromised?”

“If he’s the captain, everything going on in that embassy is going to go through his office. Simmons is keeping a low profile, but he’s working in the office. He’ll have had access to the captain’s computer at some point. It would only take a couple of minutes to slip a keystroke logger into an unused PCI mini slot. He’d just have to wait for the captain to log on. His log-in information along with everything he types would be recorded. When he’s waited long enough to be certain he’s gotten everything he needs, all he has to do is wait for the captain to leave the office again and recover the card. He has total access to all the captain’s files.”

“But the captain would change his password periodically.”

“Which is why I think the card will be there. In the meantime, even if they don’t find one, have him change his password before he communicates with me, that way we’re sure no information will be compromised. If we’re going in naked, at least let’s make certain no one knows we’re coming.”

“Done,” Griffen said.

“Let’s get our gear ready, then,” Mack said. “We don’t have a lot of time. Anyone have any questions?”

“How are we getting them out of there, Mack?” Gideon asked.

The others, gathered in the kitchen, turned to listen.

“Same way we go in. No one can see us. The idea is that no one ever knows the kids were at the American embassy. We slip in and slip out.”

“Through the Marines. During a heavily guarded political dinner.”

“Yep,” Mack said.

A slow smile spread across Gideon’s face. “Just like in the old days when we were training, boss.”

“Except this time,” Jaimie pointed out, “you’ll have a couple of terrified kids who may not understand you’re there to help them.”

“We don’t know what shape they’re in,” Mack added. “Jaimie, you’re good with languages. You’ll have to do all the reassuring.”

“You’re just as capable,” she corrected.

“Yeah, but you’re a girl,” he said with a smug grin.

“Paul can monitor everything from DC,” Griffen said.

There was a small silence. Paul stood up slowly, a scowl on his face. Mack held his hand up, silencing the boy. “Paul’s a valuable member of my team. You’re not going to cripple us by breaking up the team now when this is so important.”

“You said yourself that Paul couldn’t communicate telepathically and would endanger your team,” Griffen pointed out.

“That was before I knew him. He’s a good soldier and we’ll need him and his talents. He’s a member of my team, Sergeant Major. You can’t pull him without a reason.”

For the first time Griffen hesitated. It was clear he didn’t want to send his son on what might be a suicide mission, or one where, if they were caught with the children, they might be branded criminals for life-tried and convicted worldwide. Even if they were cleared later, the shadow would forever follow them. And they’d be exposed to the world. Considered a liability.

Griffen drew in a deep breath and glanced at his son. Paul looked excruciatingly embarrassed. The other team members were looking anywhere but at him. Griffen forced himself to nod. “Good, then. You must have a plan for communication.”

“I always have a plan, Top,” Mack said. “But the details of this mission I’ll keep to myself. It’s the way I always work and it keeps us alive.”

Griffen stood up. “I’ll leave you to get ready, then. I’ll be flying back home. Paul, walk me out.”

“You got it, Top,” Paul said.