‘I bet he’s a West Pointer.’
‘I’m a West Pointer, and I don’t have a stupid name.’
‘I bet he’s rich.’
‘Plenty of rich people in prison.’
‘Who’s the other one?’
‘We don’t know.’
‘Crew Scully’s best bud from prep school, probably. Those guys stick together.’
Reacher said, ‘Maybe.’
Espin said, ‘I get Morgan, and Major Turner gets those guys?’
‘You’ll be the human-interest story.’
‘What is it they’re supposed to be doing?’
So Turner ran through it all, starting with cash money obtained on the secondary markets, and ratty old pick- up trucks with weird licence plates, with the cash in the trucks, and then the cash in army containers, and the contents of the army containers in the trucks, which then drive off into the mountains, while the cash is secretly loaded, ready to be secretly unloaded again by the four guys in North Carolina. All enabled by an Afghan native with a documented history of arms sales, and all coordinated by, and presumably enriching, the two Deputy Chiefs, who may or may not also be operating a rogue strategic initiative.
Espin said, ‘I thought you were being serious.’
SIXTY-THREE
ESPIN SAID, ‘WHAT you describe just ain’t happening. The United States military learned its lessons, major. Long ago. We count the paperclips now. Everything has a barcode. Everything is in a bombproof computer. We have companies of MPs at every significant site. We have more checks than a dog has fleas. We’re not losing stuff any more. Believe me. That old-style chaos is way out of date now. If there’s a sock with a hole in it, that sucker comes home. If a single bullet got lost, there would be a shitstorm so bad we’d see the sky turn brown from here. It just ain’t happening, ma’am.’
Turner said nothing.
Reacher said, ‘But something is happening. You know that.’
‘I’m listening. Tell me what’s happening.’
‘Talk to Detective Podolski at Metro. Morgan was off-post at the critical time.’
‘Morgan is still what you’re giving me?’
‘He’s worth having. All I got was two fake lawsuits.’
‘Seems like Morgan’s value just went down, as part of a credible conspiracy.’
‘Something is happening,’ Reacher said again. ‘Fake bank accounts, fake legal documents, beatings, four guys chasing us all over. It’s all going to look plenty credible when it’s done. It always does. Hindsight is a wonderful thing. And the smart guys get their hindsight in first.’
‘Hell of a gamble,’ Espin said.
‘It’s always fifty-fifty, Pete. Like tossing a coin. Either Morgan is high value or he’s low, and either something is happening or it isn’t, and either you’re a boring drone or you’re the guy who was way ahead of the curve, getting ready to put another ribbon on his chest.’
Espin said nothing.
Reacher said, ‘It’s time to flip that coin, Pete. Heads or tails.’
‘Do you have a plan?’
‘We’re going back to D.C. You don’t need to bring us home. We’re going anyway.’
‘When?’
‘Now.’
‘That’s where Morgan is.’
‘That’s where they all are.’
Espin said, ‘Suppose you agree we fly together?’
Reacher said, ‘Works for us. But only you. No one else.’
‘Why?’
‘I want you to leave your guys here another day. The last of the four from Fort Bragg is hanging around. He thinks the girl still works as bait. So I want her protected. She might not be mine, but she’s a sweet kid. Maybe because she’s not mine.’
‘I guess my guys could spare a day.’
‘I want close personal protection, but unobtrusive. Don’t scare her. Treat it like an exercise. Because it’s likely nothing more than theoretical, anyway. It’s us he wants. And he’ll know what plane we’re on, because Romeo will tell him. So he’ll be right behind us. He might even be on the same flight.’
Espin said nothing.
Reacher said, ‘Make your mind up, soldier.’
