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Was he flirting with her? Seriously? “You mean mykidnapping?”
He waved that off. “That’s such a loaded word. I prefer tothink of it as a meeting you didn’t expect to take. In another country.”
So they were heading to an airport. Probably a privateairport where she would be driven right into the hangar, and everyone insidewould be in on the plot. She wouldn’t have much of a shot if she got on thatplane. “I assure you kidnapping is the word my team is going to use. If you’reMI6, I want to know why you didn’t call Langley. What do you need to knowthat’s so secret you couldn’t use proper channels? If this Jester person isreally so dangerous, I would think you would want my team helping out.”
“Your team is too close to the target.”
“TJ isn’t The Jester, and he doesn’t know who he is.”
Her captor chuckled. “I certainly didn’t imagine TJ is TheJester. The Jester is brilliant. Criminal, but brilliant. However, TJ couldserve as a go between. I’ve been looking into his former commanding officer andseeing some things I don’t like.”
“His former CO is dead.”
“Yes, I find that intriguing as well,” he admitted. “He diedin Australia. I believe your team had something to do with that. And a CIAoperative named Chet Whittington recently died under mysterious circumstancesin prison. No one seems to know how that happened.”
“Are you trying to tell me MI6 thinks TJ is working withthis Jester person and he what? Is doing the dude’s wet work?” It was aridiculous thought, but the truth of the matter was she couldn’t clear it upfor him. What happened on the Australian op was classified, and he was a foreignagent.
“I’m not sure what to think. That’s why I’m here. I haveintelligence that points me in the direction of TJ. Because of his connections,I’ve tried to keep that quiet until I can figure out what kind of trouble he’sin. However, I’m working with someone who wants answers, and he wants them now.I’m in a bit of a bind, love. That’s where you come in. You’re going to spend acouple of days helping us figure this out so I can either have TJ brought in orI can exonerate him.”
“All right. Let me see this intelligence of yours.” TJ hadmentioned some pictures, but naturally he hadn’t been able to take them withhim so she couldn’t debunk them. “I assure you I can take it all apart if youset me up with a laptop.”
“I think setting the brilliant Louisa Ward up with a laptopwould be the height of idiocy on my part.”
“You should call my boss. This whole kidnapping thing isn’tnecessary. Or his boss, Drake Radcliffe.”
The man snorted, an oddly elegant sound. “I doubt IanTaggart believes Radcliffe is his boss. And I have my reasons for not involvingthe higher-ups. I’m working with someone who thinks you’re the key to figuringthis all out. He wants to avoid the rest of your team if he can.”
“They will look for me.” Of that she had no doubt. “Therewill be repercussions.”
“I think I can handle anything the old man wants to throw atme,” he said with all the surety of someone who had obviously not spent a lotof time with Big Tag.
What would TJ do? Would he be angry she’d let herself getkidnapped?
Or would he be the one leading the charge to find her?
“Tell me something. Do Kenzie and Kala know The Jester? DidTJ make contact for them?” the man asked.
“Who the hell are you?” How did he know about her bestfriends and their secrets?
“Let’s say I’m an old friend,” he allowed. “Which isprecisely why you should trust me. Like I said, I’m hoping to clear TJ and yourteam before anyone can think to bring you in for more formal questioning. Idon’t believe for a second the twins are doing anything criminal, but mypartner in this endeavor apparently got burned by them once.”
That could be any number of foreign operatives. Kala couldbe stingy with intel. She didn’t like to share, and she didn’t mind stealinganything she thought her team could use.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” he continued. “We’re goingto a private airfield. We’ll fly to a location where we’ll meet with my partnerin this endeavor. You’ll be kept safe. I promise I won’t let anyone hurt you.You’re going to give me the information I need to make contact with The Jester,and I won’t turn over the intelligence connecting your friend to an arms dealerto Interpol. Right now, they don’t have any idea TJ is involved with him. Ifthey do, he’ll likely be arrested, and I doubt you’ll see him again. Is thatthe outcome you desire? This doesn’t have to be hard. Unless you’re involvedwith The Jester, too?”
Lou glanced out and realized they’d been driving for awhile. They’d left Dallas and were on the road that would eventually take themto Fort Worth, though she doubted they would go that far. There was a privateairfield outside of DFW airport, and that was almost surely where they wereheaded to. “I barely heard the name twenty-four hours ago.”
“Then he’s been keeping secrets from you or you’re anexcellent liar. I’m not sure which. All right. Let me lay a couple of facts outfor you. I came across the man known as The Jester three years ago. We believehe’s responsible for the bombs used in the Jakarta terrorist attacks. I managedto connect with him via the Dark Web. It took eighteen months to get him toagree to meet with me. In Berlin.”
Where TJ had said the photo of him had been taken. “And whathappened at your meeting?”
“He didn’t show,” the man admitted. “He did, however,apparently meet with the young Taggart.”
“Why are you asking me and not TJ?”
“Because I need to know if he’s working for the Agency, andI don’t think he’ll tell me the truth. Besides, his family has a certainreputation, and I would like to avoid getting on their bad side. There areconnections I would disturb. So I’m here with you.”
“I assure you I can figure out exactly who you are.”
