Trust Me

45

Henry wanted to be present for Luke’s capture – or at least in the van that would be taking him away from the Quicksilver building. But an absolutely critical component of Hellfire required his attention. He especially wanted to be there to kill Drummond personally, if Drummond was at the address. But priorities were priorities. He could not delegate this task.

The storefront in a quiet street in Queens read Ready-Able Services. A recent change in ownership was not reflected in the store-front. The company, which was headquartered in New York and had branches in fourteen major metropolitan markets, contracted out cleaning and maintenance services to government and corporations. The workers were bonded and underwent background checks. The company was twenty years old, successful, and privately held. The inside man had been hired, inserted at Henry’s suggestion four months ago. He cleared the background check because he had no record; he had never been caught. He took a salary cut for the job at Ready-Able, and his boss thought the company lucky to have landed such a smart, hard worker.

Henry went inside and gave a false name. The inside man, with the rank of supervisor, was expecting him. The two of them walked past the other supervisors and employees and headed for a storeroom at the back of the facility.

In the storeroom, the supervisor opened the box. ‘You can see,’ he began in Arabic.

‘English,’ Henry said. ‘I don’t wish to be overheard.’

‘Yes, well,’ the supervisor said in lightly accented English. ‘As you asked. Twenty surgical masks.’

‘It’s not uncommon for the employees to wear these?’

‘No. Cleaning can be a nasty job. They go with the uniforms. I have provided twenty, in the sizes you asked for.’

Henry looked at the uniforms. ‘The pocket here is big enough to hold a gun.’

‘Yes, a variety of models, I tested it myself.’

‘And the access passes?’

‘Activated. That took a bit of fiddling with the master database. You cannot have substitutions of personnel, though. I cannot issue new picture IDs at this late date.’

‘I understand.’ Henry carefully inspected all twenty passes. They looked entirely genuine because they were. Ready-Able had just added twenty employees that had not been hired or interviewed, hidden inside an access pass database that held information about two thousand employees around the country.

‘The database audit was completed yesterday. I added the new records immediately afterwards. We should be good for two or three days. I hope your operation takes place by then…’

‘Not your concern.’

‘The company will be seen as a common element of the attack’s targets when Hellfire is completed.’

‘You will be extracted and sent wherever you like. Go to the airport, go to the Travport cargo office. They will smuggle you out of the country.’

‘Understood.’

The supervisor and Henry resealed the boxes, and loaded them into Henry’s van. Henry drove to a Travport satellite office and shipped the boxes to an address in Chicago.

This was the next to last stage before Hellfire could be launched. If only he had Luke under his thumb, then all would be well.

Henry’s phone rang, and he opened it, sure that it would be good news.

The car’s phone rang as Luke pulled into airport parking. He hit the talk button. ‘Hello?’

‘Is this Luke?’ A man’s French-accented voice, the same one from Drummond’s phone.

‘Yes.’

‘Are you all right?’

‘Yes, but Drummond is dead. I’m sorry I couldn’t save him. He saved me.’

‘We mourn him more than you know. I can tell you he had a rewarding life.’

‘I have the fifty million the Night Road wants. I will trade it to you for information on my father’s past, and for you to set up Aubrey someplace where she is safe.’

‘I do not understand. Your father’s past?’

‘Drummond was investigating one of our attackers, a man known as Mouser. I want to know if Mouser is suspected of killing my dad.’

‘And what about you?’

A surprising certainty filled him. ‘I want to keep fighting these people. I want to join you.’

A pause, and then: ‘This is not your fight, Luke.’

‘It is entirely my fight. I don’t want to hide under a name somewhere and hope you defeat Night Road. I am in this fight.’

‘Luke, you fought hard for someone who was cast as simply a pawn.’

‘Are you in Paris? Because I found tickets for today’s flight. Drummond was supposed to bring me to Paris, wasn’t he?’

‘Yes. If we agreed it was best. But-’

‘Then I’ll see you soon.’ He switched off the phone.