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“Hope you found someone to take Champ’s and Alicia’s places. Too bad you lost such valuable people.”
“Oh, we have. But thanks to you our research won’t be preyed upon by electronic eyes anymore,” said the man.
As the fellow was leaving Sean couldn’t resist a parting shot. “So why spend all this time and money on creating something that will stop the world in its tracks?” he said.
The man had looked at him quizzically. “Who told you that’s what Babbage Town was doing?”
“A couple of real geniuses.”
The man raised an eyebrow. “Well, let’s just say that while what you described is certainly a possibility, it’s a tad more complicated than that.”
“And you’re just ready to roll the dice with the whole world at stake?” Sean exclaimed.
“Well, if we don’t, someone else will.”
After he left, Michelle added glumly, “I’m sick of geniuses.”
Joan smiled. “Good work, Sean.” She paused and glanced at Michelle. “And you too, Maxwell. From what I’ve heard I don’t think Sean would’ve made it without you.”
She knew nothing of their ordeal at the hands of Valerie Messaline or their arrangement with the government, and never would.
The two women extended to each other a grudging handshake.
When they returned to their apartment and were getting out of their car in the underground parking garage a limo pulled up in front of them. Ian Whitfield leaned out and said tersely, “Get in.”
They sat across from Whitfield, who said, “Sorry it took me so long to spring you.”
“And how exactly did you manage to turn the tables on the wicked witch?” Sean asked.
Surprisingly, Michelle answered. “You found out she was taking a cut from the drug shipments and selling them. You nailed her with that, right?”
Whitfield said, “How do you figure that, Maxwell?”
“When I was at the airport and they loaded the drugs on Champ’s plane, I noticed they kept some bales back. That was Valerie’s cut. The old guy from the government told us the CIA was destroying the drugs, but Hayes and Ventris said the area was being flooded with drugs.”
Whitfield said sternly, “Not even Valerie was connected enough to dig herself out of that one.”
Sean snapped his fingers. “That explains her going to that bar and pretending to get hit on. She was really moving her drug shipments.”
Whitfield nodded. “I finally got one of her team to turn on her. I used his information to crack her plan open, spring you two and nail her.”
“But why take the risk of Champ flying the drugs out? Why not just destroy them at Camp Peary?” Michelle asked.
“We don’t have the facilities to do it there. But when Michelle caught Champ in the act, we didn’t have time for anything else.”
Sean said, “Okay, what happened to old Val and her homicidal sidekick, Alicia?”
In answer Whitfield held up a copy of the Washington Post. On page A-6 was a brief story about the unfortunate deaths of two State Department employees in a car accident near Beijing. There were two grainy photos of the victims.
Sean looked at Michelle and then back at Whitfield. “Damn, I didn’t mean for them to be killed.”
“And what exactly did you expect wo
uld happen to them? That we’d try them in a court of law where their stories would come out? Where highly sensitive programs they were involved in might possibly be revealed to the public?” He looked at the photo of Alicia. “I was riding in the Humvee with her in Iraq when we hit the IED. I was the one who pulled her out. That’s how my leg got banged up. She used to be a good agent. Something just went wrong somewhere.”
“What about the treasure?” Sean said.
Whitfield pulled out some documents and handed them to Sean.
