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A few moments later, Parsons said, “What can I do for you?”
“You mentioned that you have connections all over Australia,” Juan said. “Do you have any on Christmas Island?”
There was a hesitation. “Well . . . not really.”
“It sounds like you do. This is important. We need a guide who might know the island’s flora.”
Parsons sighed. “All right. I do know someone. Renee LaBelle. She runs an eco-tourism business there. If she can’t help you, she’ll know someone who can. But she might not want to hear from me.”
“Why’s that?”
“We had a fling a few years back and it didn’t work out.”
“Listen, we’re sending a team there, and we just need an introduction.”
“Better I go with you, then,” Parsons said. “I should do it in person.”
“You’re on the team,” Juan said before switching back to Hali. “Tell Gomez to get the tiltrotor ready to fly. As soon as Max has the hangar doors fixed, we’re heading to Christmas Island.”
FORTY-NINE
JAKARTA, INDONESIA
It was near midnight as Polk drove his black Toyota SUV behind two other identical vehicles through the city’s central business district, its dazzling array of skyscrapers awash in a variety of colors. Their destination was far less glamorous—the manufacturing region east of downtown known as Cikarang.
He had the vehicle to himself so he could speak to Jin freely.
“Are you all right?” he asked when she told him about the sea battle with the spy ship.
“Just a few scrapes from some shrapnel,” Jin said. “We lost four crew and the plasma cannon was damaged, but I was able to get away.”
“And we still don’t know who we’re up against?”
“The only person I spoke to was a cheeky woman named Linda. Their ship had more advanced features than we realized.”
“Like what?”
“Like an anti-missile laser and some sort of camouflage system.”
“You’re joking.”
“There are only a few countries in the world with the resources to fund something like that. But it was odd, as the woman spoke English with an American accent. I’d say the United States must be involved.”
&n
bsp; “How much do you think they know?” Polk asked.
“I wish I had an answer. But they obviously found out about the archaeological dig. Who knows what they discovered there.”
“Then it’s good I came on this trip. We can’t have them making their own antidote.”
“Be careful. They seem to be a step ahead of us.”
“Do you think Lu is playing some sort of game with us?”
“I don’t think so,” Jin said. “But that’s why we have our backup plan.”
They had never put all their confidence in the cryptocurrency payout for accomplishing their objective in Sydney. If the money didn’t come through as Lu had promised, they still had a way to profit from the paralysis of five million Australian citizens.
