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I sighed. "I'll talk to my handler. Maybe they can get her a new identity in return for the evidence she can provide about her abduction."
"Would be best," George said, his eyes closing like he was too tired to continue talking.
I stood up and squeezed his hand. "You're tired. I'll go for now and come back later."
He nodded without opening his eyes, obviously exhausted by even this much talking.
I left the ICU room and found my way out to the parking lot, glad I'd spoken with him and had come to my senses.
Then I took out my cell and texted Millar, asking for a meet.
The waterfront a few blocks away from downtown had been rejuvenated in the past decade, but farther down the coast, the buildings were still rough, with the rusting hulks of old warehouses and lots of deserted back alleys. Millar and I met without much chance of being observed.
I pulled up to his car and opened my window as he did his.
"How are you? How was your time in the cells?"
"I've been in worse in Afghanistan," I replied.
"I bet you have. So, what's the purpose of this meeting? I take it you want to go and get your girlfriend from Sergei."
"You got it. I know he wants me to run guns for him. I said no before, but obviously, he didn’t like that answer. If I agree to his request, he'll return Celia."
He nodded and surveyed the water. "If we can build a case against him on guns, we can take him out on a RICO warrant."
"I won't wear a wire," I said. "It'll have to be some other way."
"We'll see what we can do. We have some nifty ways of overhearing conversations. Micro drones, hacking electronics, that kind of thing. We may have to put a GPS chip in you so we always know where you are when you go to meet him, get him to give you orders that way."
I nodded, willing to do whatever it took to get Celia out safely. I'd read about some of the FBI special surveillance tech before, and was sure the FBI had access to a lot of great gadgets. Sergei was an expat Russian. He would be a target of surveillance for sure.
"You guys aren't already listening in to him?"
He smiled at me. "That's a whole other branch of government, Hunter. We'll have ways of getting evidence on what you two discuss. That's all I'll say."
"Okay with me," I said. "I just want to get Celia out and then nail the bastard."
"You meet with him. Let me know where and when, and leave the rest with our little friends in the NSA."
"Will do."
He rolled up his window and then drove off. I sat in my car for a few moments, considering. Then I took out my cell and called Sergei.
The number rang several times and then a man answered. It wasn't Sergei, but I didn’t expect it to be.
"Hunter Saint for Mr. Romanov."
There was a pause. "Mr. Romanov is unable to take your call. What is your message, please?"
"Tell Mr. Romanov that I'll do whatever he wants. Let me know when and where I can pick up Celia. Tell him I said please don't hurt her."
There was another pause. "I will call you back with time and place."
Then the line went dead.
I drove back to the gym, waiting to hear from Sergei's assistant when and where so I could get Celia back and find out how much I was going to pay for the privilege.
I said I'd do anything to get her back. I meant it. I wanted to kill Sergei Romanov for everything he'd done to me and my family – and to Celia. But if I had to work with the FBI and NSA to take him down legitimately to get Celia back alive and in one piece, I would.
