struggled to ignore the pounding in his skull. He couldn’t lose her again. He wasn’t strong enough to deal with it. And for the first time he could remember, he was about to say to hell with the mission and put something else as his priority. Something he should have done a long time ago.
His phone buzzed on the table, and Gabe let out a slow breath when he saw the number. He hit speakerphone and waited to see who he’d be talking to.
“Son of a bitch,” Ethan said, his voice higher pitched than usual. “That was a hell of a bomb. For a minute there I didn’t think I was going to make it. I thought the tunnels were going to cave in on me.”
“Where are you?”
“A coffee shop for now,” Ethan said. “They’ve closed off all the streets in a half-mile radius around the detonation site, and it’ll be a while before I’ll be able to make it to the safe house. The city is going crazy with panic.”
“A coffee shop is fine. Just stay put.”
“I’ve got my laptop, but I don’t know how I can help you with all these people around.”
“Logan will have to do it from inside the hotel room. You need to stay hidden. Put the computers away and just act normal for a change until you can get to the safe house.”
Jack interrupted them, his voice harsh. Gabe knew they were in for a hell of a night. Sometimes friendship only went so far.
“Get back to Kimball wanting to trade the painting for Grace. Do you want to elaborate on that?” he asked.
“Kimball has taken over The Passover Project from his employer. I was informed during our conversation that he already had a new scientist working on recreating the first part of the formula. And he also mentioned that his employer had the other painting with the hidden formula right from the beginning.”
“Which means that we can’t under any circumstances let him complete the formula,” Jack said with warning.
“We’ll have time,” Gabe said. He was only speaking to Jack now. He had to make Jack understand. “If Kimball follows his MO, he’ll auction the weapon and sell it to the highest bidding terrorist. I know from experience it takes a couple of weeks to set up an auction like this. Not to mention the added time it will take for Kimball’s scientist to complete the formula. We have time,” he said again.
“You’re speaking in code, Gabe,” Logan said. “And skirting the issue. What are you not saying?”
“You heard me mention William Sloane,” Gabe said. “It turns out he’s the one who initiated the recreation of the weapon. Kimball said he’s a descendent of the original scientist, and we all know that he’s very powerful in Washington. He’s not afraid to throw his weight around to get what he wants, but no one has the balls to come up against him. He’ll be President after the next election.”
“So you’re saying we’re going to what? Kill him?” Ethan asked. “What about Kimball?”
“Jesus, Ethan,” Jack said. “You’re in a public place. We’ve talked about this before. Keep your mouth shut and just listen.”
“I locked myself in the bathroom. I’m all alone.”
“This is perfect,” Jack said, dropping into a chair and running his hands across his scalp. “So we get to take out the Speaker of the House, whose security is as good as, if not better than, the President’s, inciting a national panic and getting our asses in a whole hell of a lot of trouble.”
“One problem at a time,” Gabe said. “Kimball’s the bigger threat now.”
“Why?” Ethan asked. “He doesn’t have an auction if he doesn’t have a weapon. Seems pretty simple to me.”
“I don’t think Gabe’s idea of saving the world and ours are the same any more,” Logan said.
He’d been the quietest up until now, listening and processing in his silent way, but his eyes spoke volumes. Logan was pissed. And he had every right to be.
“Kimball wants to trade Grace for the painting, and Gabe wants to accommodate him. It’s what he meant when he told Jack there was plenty of time. He wants to give him the weapon and then try to stop him once the auction location is determined.”
“Weren’t you the one who lectured me on the importance of the whole as opposed to the individual?” Ethan asked, the anger in his voice evident. “SOP says we have to leave her behind. We can’t turn over a portion of a weapon that could wipe out civilization for her.”
“Agreed,” Logan said. “You don’t have a choice here. You have to let her go.”
“Would you?” Gabe asked, speaking directly to Logan.
They never talked of Logan’s past or the horrors he’d been forced to live through. Of the wife who’d died screaming his name for help. The puckered scars of fire covered a good portion of Logan’s neck, back, and arms. He was the best explosives man Gabe had ever worked with, but no one was perfect. “If you had the chance to save her,” Gabe said softly, “would you do it? Or would you walk away?” He wasn’t talking about Grace any longer, and he could tell by the shadows that came into Logan’s eyes that he knew it too.
Logan stared at him silently—defiantly—but Ethan wasn’t afraid to break into an awkward pause.
“Hell, no,” Ethan said. “This is bullshit, Gabe. You seriously think her life is worth everyone else’s? I know she’s your wife, and I’m sorry about that, but she knows the risks. I’m voting with Logan on this one. What about you, Jack?”
He looked at Jack and watched his friend close his eyes, knowing what was coming.
“Gabe,” Jack started to say.
“This mission is aborted,” Gabe interrupted. “The Collective is disbanded. Thank you for your work, gentlemen. Go home.”
“I don’t understand,” Ethan said. “You’re telling me you’re going to throw all this away for her? You’re going to risk the safety of the world for one woman?”
“You can’t possibly understand, Ethan,” Gabe said. “It’s not about
“This is pointless. You can’t get the painting without us,” Ethan argued.
“Sure I can,” Gabe said, pulling the laptops in front of him. “Go home. All of you.”
Gabe caught Logan’s smile, and knew he understood. Jack groaned from across the table and muttered several inventive curses.
“Like hell I’m going home,” Jack said. “Someone has to watch your back. I’m in.”
“Me too,” Logan said. “But you’d better have one hell of a plan.”
Ethan sputtered from the phone on the table. “You’ve all lost your minds. This is insanity.”
“Goodbye, Ethan,” Gabe said, moving his finger toward the phone to disconnect.
“Wait, wait,” Ethan said. “Can’t you even give a guy a chance to think?” He sighed heavily across the line. “I guess I’m in too. Though I want it noted that I reserve the right to say I told you so.”
“So noted,” Gabe said. “Now let’s go get that painting. We’ve got to be back in London by noon tomorrow.”
Darkness had crept across the city with reluctance, edging out the harsh sunlight as if night and day were fighting their own inevitable battle. Yellow lights flickered from buildings and parking garages, and traffic was sparse.
The air turned cold and replaced the terrible heat of the day, and a rolling wall of sand came into the city just after midnight. Already, visibility was almost impossible. Car alarms blared, and everyone was tucked safely in their homes for the night. The only bad thing was that Logan had no more visibility through the outside cameras they’d placed than anyone else might. All they had to go by was their GPS units and night-vision goggles.
“We’re going to be in trouble if this storm lasts long,” Jack said. “The replacement plane will be grounded.”
“One thing at a time,” Gabe said, staring straight up the side of the museum walls.
He could only see a few feet in front of him, and he didn’t like the idea of climbing the side of a building mostly blind. He and Jack stood on the side opposite the main road, the lake at their backs. They were both dressed
