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“I’ve never assaulted a woman in my life,” Robert replied. “Whatever decisions they made, they made of their own free will.”
Simone shook her head in utter disbelief. “You take no responsibility for your actions, do you?”
“Only those I’m guilty of.”
At that, Simone’s fingers tightened reflexively on her pistol. “You mean things like putting an innocent girl’s life on the line in the most horrific way possible?”
Robert heard Jia li’s quiet weeping, but he was totally focused on Simone’s accusation. “What are you talking about? Jia li is in no danger. She’s establishing her professional future.”
Simone raised her pistol. “No games, Robert. You know damn well I’m not talking about Jia li.”
He spread his hands wide, shaking his head at the same time. “Then who are you talking about? Whose life is in danger?”
“Lauren Pennington. Or did you think I didn’t know?”
His brow furrowed. “Lauren—Vance’s daughter? What does she have to do with anything?”
Simone studied him for a long moment before realization exploded in her head like fireworks. “You really don’t know, do you?”
“Know what, for God’s sake?”
Simone answered with a question of her own. “What’s your arrangement with Xu Wei? How is he getting your technology, given Nano’s impenetrable security? Clearly not directly from you. And clearly not with the help of anyone at Nano, for the same reason. So who in the US is working with him?”
“I have no idea. Nor do I care. The security measures at Nano apply to everyone, including me. I’m not a spy and I wasn’t about to jeopardize my career at Nano by stealing trade secrets. That was what Xu Wei was for. Our agreement was that he steal the technology. That was his buy-in. Once that was done, we’d move forward. However he accomplished that was his problem, not mine. And you haven’t answered my question—what does Lauren Pennington have to do with this?”
Simone laid it out in several tersely worded sentences, so as to gauge Robert’s reaction.
“She’s the bargaining chip Xu Wei played to gain access to the technology when other methods failed. Xu hired a brutally violent Albanian organized crime group. They kidnapped Lauren, snatched her off the streets of Munich, and took her to a remote farmhouse in Croatia, where she’s been held hostage. The instructions to Vance were to get them the drawings they wanted in seven days or his daughter would die. That’s the nightmare your friend has been living while you’ve been plotting your professional future.”
For a long moment, Robert simply gaped at her, as non-comprehension transformed into agonized awareness.
“Oh my God.” His entire body recoiled, his pupils dilated with shock—a reaction that left no doubt as to his obliviousness over Xu’s methods. “Oh dear God.”
Sweat broke out on his forehead, trickling down onto his face, and Simone wondered if he was going to be sick. He swallowed convulsively, and his hands shook as he gripped his knees, leaning forward to scrutinize Simone’s expression. “Is Lauren… Is she… Did they…?”
Part of Simone wanted to prolong his fear, to remind him that he could be facing another charge—accessory to murder. But the man was in obvious torment, his features twisted with panic and anguish, his breathing coming so fast that Simone feared he’d have a heart attack. Human decency prevailed and she went on to end his suffering.
“Lauren was rescued a few hours ago,” she told him. “She’s alive, traumatized but physically unharmed, and on her way home to her parents.”
“Thank the Lord.” Robert sagged into the sofa cushion, covering his face with his palms. “Poor Vance. And Susan, my God, Susan. What they must have been through.”
“I think you know the answer to that.” Simone had everything she needed. Time to wrap this up and get the wheels of justice in motion. “It’s over, Robert. Now it’s time to do the right thing—actually, the only thing, given that an FBI agent is arriving on the scene as we speak and that our entire conversation here has been recorded. They’ll be receiving the recording of this conversation, along with all the evidence we’ve compiled against Xu Wei—enough to implicate him and to link him to Jia li. Which makes her an accessory—an accessory who I’m sure will be more than willing to cut a deal, now that she knows how meaningless your love affair is.”
Jia li nodded vigorously, anger and betrayal stemming her flow of tears. “I knew nothing about this,” she stated flatly. “Only that Robert was being wronged by NanoUSA and that he was negotiating with Xu Wei to take his technology with him and use it to start a new company. The rest…” She shuddered. “Violence? Kidnapping? Organized crime? I had no idea.” Her lips thinned. “Nor did I know anything about the women—about there being so many others before me and how my future would be when I’m no longer as young and fresh. He told me it was his age, that they didn’t want a sixty-three-year-old man running their company when there was so much young blood out there. Clearly, I was a gullible fool. I won’t make that mistake again. Anything the FBI wants to know, I’ll tell them.”
“None of this is necessary.” Robert spoke quietly, his shoulders slumped in defeat. “I’ll voluntarily talk to the FBI myself. I’ll admit to my crimes. But I swear those crimes were limited to conspiring to commit industrial espionage. I would never… never…” He broke off, tears shimmering in his eyes. “I have to face Vance, to explain, to apologize, to…”
“I doubt he’ll want to hear your explanations. Instead, I suggest you contact your attorney.” Simone took out her extra phone and made her call. “Yes, Agent Albertson. As you heard, Robert Maxwell has agreed to come in willingly. As has Jia li Sung.”
“Yup, I heard it loud and clear,” Terri replied. “That works out perfectly.” She gave Simone the necessary information Marc had provided, together with the details of the plan. “By the time Albertson returns from his stroll, you’ll be gone. Time to make a graceful exit. Tell Robert you’re meeting up with Agent Albertson outside for a quick, private briefing and that he’ll be coming in shortly to take them into custody. As soon as you’re out the door, get those gloves on, get out that pen, and scribble the drop box link I’ll give you on the outside of the envelope. Then slide it through the open window in Albertson’s car. Between the contents of the USB drive and what I’m uploading to the drop box, the FBI will know about everyone, from Robert Maxwell down to David Cheng.”
“I understand.”
“Aidan was worried, to say the least,” Terri added. “I’ll let him know you’re okay.”
“I appreciate that.” Simone disconnected the call.
“I’m meeting Agent Albertson outside to tie up loose ends,” she told Robert and Jia li. “I’ll stress the fact that you’re both eager to cooperate. The rest is up to him.”
