“He doesn’t want people to know about her,” Larison said. “He has a lot of enemies. That’s probably why she uses her mother’s name. Makes it that much harder for anyone to make the connection.”
“Well, how did you make it?” Dox asked.
Larison smiled. “I always knew if I ever got exposed and someone came after me, it would be Hort, and I wanted an insurance policy against that possibility. So after I pulled my little disappearing act, but before I made my move with the torture tapes, I tracked him. Caught a lucky break, observed him having lunch one day with a pretty young woman in downtown D.C. Followed her back to Georgetown University. Spent some time on Facebook and found her. Her page was privacy protected, but it was easy enough to use the name to confirm she was an undergrad at Georgetown, to track the name Kei to Hort’s failed marriage, and then to do some judicious social engineering to get her to accept a friend request from a Facebook profile I created. I can tell you from her photo page that she’s close with both her parents. And more importantly, that Hort dotes on her. You should see his face in the photos of them together. I guarantee you, take her as collateral, and Hort will do anything we tell him.”
I realized that an hour earlier, I had reacted with anger and disgust that the plotters were threatening someone’s family. And yet here I was, contemplating the same. I had two routes of rationalization available: first, that unlike Schmalz, Horton had brought this on himself. Second, that unlike those of the plotters, our threats against Mimi Kei would be bluffs.
I looked at Larison’s expression, and realized we weren’t going to see eye to eye on that last point. I would have to watch him. Closely.
“And she’s at UCLA now?” I asked.
Larison nodded. “Second-year this fall. Taking summer classes even as we speak. I’ve been keeping tabs.”
“That’s why he knows L.A. so well,” I said. “I wondered about that the two times I met him there. In fact, he suggested L.A. to me. I first thought he was just proposing it as a convenient point between Washington and Tokyo, but no. He was looking for an excuse to visit his daughter.”
Larison smiled again. “His little girl.”
“All right,” Treven said, “but what’s the play? We don’t know where she lives, we don’t know her habits, I don’t think we know much about UCLA. Where do we grab her? Where do we hold her? Without the right tools, I don’t see how we’re going to ensure she’s quiet and cooperative without being brutal. And look, we’ll do what we have to do, but if we fuck her up too much, it’s hard to say which way it’ll cut with Hort. We want to threaten her, absolutely, but if we have to start actually doing it, we lose leverage.”
“I don’t know about that,” Larison said. “I’d even argue that hurting her, with the promise of much worse, would be the ideal way to ensure Hort is as compliant and cooperative as possible. But I’m confident he’ll do what we want either way.”
“Okay,” Treven said. “Assume we grab her. Hold her somewhere, threaten to hurt her if Hort doesn’t cooperate. But cooperate how? Even if he calls off the dogs, the second his daughter is safe, they’ll be on us again. You planning on holding her forever?”
“Not forever,” Larison said. “Just long enough to recover the diamonds.”
“You’re still thinking about the diamonds?” Dox said. “Shit, I’m just looking for a way to get the president to take my ass off his personal assassination list, and not put me in one of his secret prisons for the rest of my life.”
“It’s the same thing,” Larison said. “You ever thought about how much security you can buy with twenty-five million dollars?”
“I know you want those diamonds back,” I said. “But I don’t think the diamonds alone are going to solve the problems we have now. We need to be clear about our new situation, and how we address it.”
Larison rubbed his hands together. “What do we do?”
“I don’t know exactly. But I agree it’s going to involve the daughter one way or the other. Find something that’ll act as…well, if not a guarantee of our safety, then at least an inhibition on Horton’s ability to direct forces against us. Anyway, we don’t have to figure it all out now. We’ll have plenty of time while we’re driving.”
Dox said, “Road trip!”
I checked the secure site. Kanezaki, confirming the pickup was on schedule.
“My contact should be here in just a few minutes,” I said. “Let’s get moving.”
We wiped down the surfaces we might have touched and policed up all sandwich wrappers and other visible evidence that anyone had been in here. Not that anyone would be looking, and there would likely be some hair and other DNA evidence regardless of our other efforts, but better to leave less of a trail to follow than more.
We moved to the door. I looked through the peephole-all clear. I was about to turn the handle when I remembered the two bodyguards I’d seen at the other end of the hallway. I hesitated.
Larison said, “What is it?”
I turned to them. “When you all arrived, was there a security detail at the other end of the hallway on this floor?”
They all shook their heads.
Well, that was odd. These weren’t the kind of men who would overlook something like that.
“Why are you asking?” Larison said.
“Because there was one when I got here. Two bodyguards, who must have taken up their position after you all arrived but before I did.”
No one said anything, so I went on. “Could be a coincidence, of course. Just a high-profile guest who happened to check in after you arrived but before I did. But still.”
I paused and considered. As always, I assumed the worst, the worst in this instance meaning that Horton had somehow anticipated us, or followed the others, and had people in place in the hotel even now.
“Here’s how we’re going to play it,” I said. “Treven and I are going to head out into the main corridor first. If those two guys I saw are just someone’s diplomatic security detail, fine, we’ll hold the elevator for Dox and Larison and we’ll all go down together. But if they’re not just security, and we have a problem…”
I thought for a moment. I wanted Treven alongside, not behind me, so that was good. But…
I looked at Dox and Larison. “If we have a problem, Treven and I will drop and create a clear field of fire for the two of you. Whatever happens, we’re going to use the elevator. I don’t like the idea of the stairs right now. Everyone okay with this?”
They all nodded. I checked the peephole again, turned the handle with my jacket sleeve, and opened the door. The three of them moved out past me and I closed the door behind us as softly as I could. Then I moved ahead again.
I looked at Treven. “You’re too tight,” I said softly.
He frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I mean you look tense. Even if those guys are legitimate, they’re watching for trouble. I don’t want to do anything that makes them remember us. And if they’re not legitimate, let’s not do anything to make them feel like we’re clued in. Not until we’re clearing leather and putting rounds in their heads. Okay?”
He frowned more deeply.
“Goddamn it,” I said, “it’s not a criticism. Just relax and follow my lead, okay? Relax.”
We turned the corner into the main corridor. I saw the two bodyguards, same position as before. My heart kicked up a notch.
“I told him,” I said, remembering a banal sports conversation I’d once overheard. “I told him, ‘What the hell were they thinking, trying to play a zone defense against Kentucky?’ I mean, you don’t play a zone against Kentucky.” I actually had no idea what this even meant, but it must have meant something.
To his credit, Treven picked up the vibe immediately and ran with it. He laughed and said, “I was saying the same thing. Told them, ‘not unless you want to get your ass kicked, you don’t.’”
The two bodyguards peeled off from the wall and started moving toward us. Rather, the two not- bodyguards. My heart started hammering harder.
“Best part?” I said. “Those dipshits were betting. Against someone trying to play a zone against Kentucky! Kentucky, can you believe that?”
