back. Somehow. But not at the cost of someone else’s life. Not even one. Burden was probably right that Luquín would find out if he went to the FBI. Sooner or later. And then there was Burden’s other prediction, that someone was going to die anyway, regardless, just so Luquín could establish his authority.
He looked at Burden, who was studying him just an arm’s reach across the round table, his face a narrative of the effects of sustained secret struggles. Whatever his life had been like, it wasn’t entirely hidden from anyone who cared enough to try to understand what they were looking at. It was sculpted into his face and had shaped the sorrowful angle of his eyes. Whatever it was this man knew, he’d paid dearly for it. Titus couldn’t ignore that.
And then there was Gil Norlin’s advice: If you follow this guy’s recommendations, you won’t have to worry about whether or not you’re doing the right thing. You can believe what he says.
Titus took a deep breath, one that reached down into the place that made him what he was, to the place that defined him.
“Okay, ”he said to Burden, “let’s do whatever it is we have to do. And let’s do it as fast as we can.”
Chapter 15
“Guys like Tano have brilliantly taken advantage of the effects that terrorism has had on U.S. domestic security, ”said Mattie Selway. She was the roan-haired woman Titus had seen in Burden’s war room earlier in the day. She had joined Titus and Burden in the study, bringing with her a black ring binder that she kept in her lap, occasionally flipping the pages back and forth, making notes.
“They foresaw that for the immediate future, at least, the preponderance of the U.S.‘s law enforcement, intelligence services, and domestic security would be poured into reacting to this new threat. Addressing a crisis like this creates a kind of tunnel vision in the national psyche. People want the damn thing solved, they want it to go away. The government wants to accommodate them. Luquín knew that in the States it was going to be all eyes—and money and commitment—on international terrorism for the foreseeable future. We’ve seen this in the FBI’s reassignments, pulling huge numbers of agents from narcotics operations, others from violent crime units, others from white-collar crime, to work in counterterrorism.”
The sun had fallen behind the towering
fresno
and
eucalipto
trees outside and was sinking toward the Sierra de Morenos in the west. They sat in an eerie twilight that Titus was beginning to associate with Burden himself.
“Several things stand out as interesting to us, ”she continued. “One: the size of the ransom, of course. That’s probably a reflection of his confidence in his plan. Two: the way he wants it paid. Smart. It’ll work. After you’ve made your investments, the money will evaporate like a morning mist. It just won’t exist anymore, lost in the vast electronic void. And third: the fact that Luquín himself has crossed the border for this.”
“I think this last one’s the one that’ll give us our opening,” Burden said from a dark pocket of the room. He was continuing to roam the parameters of the gloomy space. “Mattie thinks the unusual financial arrangements are our best bet. In any event, there are some basic preparations. Your computer’s ready to go. I talked to Herrin about an hour ago, and he says they’re finding phone taps and bugs all over your house. ”He stopped and looked across at Titus through the dim light. “And you need to get your wife back here, ”he said.
Before Titus could open his mouth to respond, the Mayan woman appeared in the opened doorway where the balconies led to the buildings next door.
“García, ”she said, “we’ve got Luquín coming in on Mr. Cain’s laptop.”
Within moments they were all standing around one of the desks, staring at the screen of Titus’s computer, reading the incredible message.
Following is a list of enterprises
He looked at Burden, who was studying him just an arm’s reach across the round table, his face a narrative of the effects of sustained secret struggles. Whatever his life had been like, it wasn’t entirely hidden from anyone who cared enough to try to understand what they were looking at. It was sculpted into his face and had shaped the sorrowful angle of his eyes. Whatever it was this man knew, he’d paid dearly for it. Titus couldn’t ignore that.
And then there was Gil Norlin’s advice: If you follow this guy’s recommendations, you won’t have to worry about whether or not you’re doing the right thing. You can believe what he says.
Titus took a deep breath, one that reached down into the place that made him what he was, to the place that defined him.
“Okay, ”he said to Burden, “let’s do whatever it is we have to do. And let’s do it as fast as we can.”
Chapter 15
“Guys like Tano have brilliantly taken advantage of the effects that terrorism has had on U.S. domestic security, ”said Mattie Selway. She was the roan-haired woman Titus had seen in Burden’s war room earlier in the day. She had joined Titus and Burden in the study, bringing with her a black ring binder that she kept in her lap, occasionally flipping the pages back and forth, making notes.
“They foresaw that for the immediate future, at least, the preponderance of the U.S.‘s law enforcement, intelligence services, and domestic security would be poured into reacting to this new threat. Addressing a crisis like this creates a kind of tunnel vision in the national psyche. People want the damn thing solved, they want it to go away. The government wants to accommodate them. Luquín knew that in the States it was going to be all eyes—and money and commitment—on international terrorism for the foreseeable future. We’ve seen this in the FBI’s reassignments, pulling huge numbers of agents from narcotics operations, others from violent crime units, others from white-collar crime, to work in counterterrorism.”
The sun had fallen behind the towering
fresno
and
eucalipto
trees outside and was sinking toward the Sierra de Morenos in the west. They sat in an eerie twilight that Titus was beginning to associate with Burden himself.
“Several things stand out as interesting to us, ”she continued. “One: the size of the ransom, of course. That’s probably a reflection of his confidence in his plan. Two: the way he wants it paid. Smart. It’ll work. After you’ve made your investments, the money will evaporate like a morning mist. It just won’t exist anymore, lost in the vast electronic void. And third: the fact that Luquín himself has crossed the border for this.”
“I think this last one’s the one that’ll give us our opening,” Burden said from a dark pocket of the room. He was continuing to roam the parameters of the gloomy space. “Mattie thinks the unusual financial arrangements are our best bet. In any event, there are some basic preparations. Your computer’s ready to go. I talked to Herrin about an hour ago, and he says they’re finding phone taps and bugs all over your house. ”He stopped and looked across at Titus through the dim light. “And you need to get your wife back here, ”he said.
Before Titus could open his mouth to respond, the Mayan woman appeared in the opened doorway where the balconies led to the buildings next door.
“García, ”she said, “we’ve got Luquín coming in on Mr. Cain’s laptop.”
Within moments they were all standing around one of the desks, staring at the screen of Titus’s computer, reading the incredible message.
Following is a list of enterprises
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