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Hud had nothing as they hit the lobby then headed outside.
A police car was just pulling up to the entrance. Hud followed Ned out.
“Don’t run. Just act normal.” Ned stopped and then, crazily, held the door for the cops as they got out and headed inside.
“What are you doing?”
“Hiding in plain sight,” Ned said, then let the door close. “Now we run.”
Oh, this was fun.
But Ned didn’t run—he walked down the sidewalk, even reached over and grabbed a piece of pizza, folding it, eating it like a sandwich. “It’s good. Not American pizza, but still, good.”
Hud dropped the box in a nearby garbage can. “I may never eat again.”
Ned gave him a look.
Two more blocks away, Ned dialed up an Uber. It picked them up, and they headed back to the hospital.
“I don’t know how you do this,” Hud said. His entire body was a knot.
“Calmly. Gimme the phone.”
Hud handed him the smart phone. Ned turned it on. “Thumbprint entry. Shoot.”
“Are you suggesting that we should have cut off his thumb?”
Ned looked at him, then the driver. Raised an eyebrow.
Oops. But clearly, he wasn’t cut out for this. “Sorry.”
“No. There’s always a backup.” He swiped the phone. “There’s a swipe code.”
“Does that help us?”
“Maybe. Our cousin Coco might be able to help with this.” He turned off the phone and slipped it into his pocket. “If she can crack it, we might be able to see if he was involved with the hit on Iris. In the meantime, I think it’s time Iris went home.”
“To…Lake Como?”
“To Minnesota.” Ned leaned back, ran a finger and thumb against his eyes. “My team is currently OCONUS, and I need to join them. Which means I need to put Shae and Iris on a plane for home so my brother Fraser can keep an eye on them.”
“You’re not going with them?”
“I’m headed the other direction.”
Hud looked at him. “Um, there’s only big country that way.” He indicated east. “You speak Russian?”
Ned just looked at him. Took a breath.
“Okay, so, just so we’re clear, you want to put Iris and Shae on a plane, alone?”
“I’m sure there will be other passengers.”
“Have you never seen any hostage flight movies? Seriously—okay, I’m going with them.”
“To America.”
“To Minnesota.”
