I’m sure he’s chosen that location because it’ll provide cover for him.”
“Once we get to Rome,” Grant said, “I’ll meet with the Neutralizer team. We’ll drive down to Naples together and set up a lookout near the plaza. We’ll stay out of sight, but we’ll be in constant contact with Tyler. When he gives us the signal, we’ll move in and take Orr.”
“What if he’s got help?”
“That’s where the tracker comes in,” Tyler said. “I removed it from the geolabe. Grant’s going to have it with him. If Orr’s men try to make an early move, Grant will be ready for them.”
“And if he doesn’t deliver your father and Carol?”
Tyler’s muscles knotted at the thought. He threw a glance at Stacy, who looked just as upset as he was about that prospect.
“This is the only option,” he said. “Once we have Orr, he’ll have to bargain with us.”
He didn’t say any more, because he didn’t know how far he’d go. But, looking at Stacy and knowing how much they both wanted Sherman and Carol safely returned, he realized that he might have to go to some dark places in order to get them back in one piece.
Miles sighed. “All right. It’s your call.”
“Thanks, Miles. You be safe.”
“You don’t think I’m showing up without my own security team, do you?”
Tyler smiled. “No, I don’t suppose you would. I’ll call you when we have Orr.”
“Good luck.”
“You, too.”
The screen went blank.
“I’ll call Neutralizer and coordinate with them,” Grant said, and went to the back of the plane.
“So do you think it’ll be that easy?” Stacy said. “Don’t you think Orr has something else planned?”
“Yes, but unless we follow his rules, he’ll never show up. He’s got the leverage for now.”
“But you’ve got the geolabe. We could find the gold ourselves and then meet up with Orr. Then we’d have the leverage.”
“There’s not enough time. If we don’t meet his deadline, I don’t want to think what would happen. Orr doesn’t seem like the type to bluff.”
“No, he doesn’t,” Stacy said.
Tyler paused. “You don’t have to go through with this. I can make the exchange myself.”
“The hell you will. You just said we can’t change the plan. He wants me there, I’m there. I’ll do worse than chop off his ear if he doesn’t tell me where Carol is.”
Tyler couldn’t tell if she was exaggerating or being literal. Maybe she didn’t even know herself how far she’d go to get Carol to safety.
“All right,” he said. “Grant will have us in view the whole time. We’ll be fine. It ends tonight.”
“One way or the other.” Stacy took a deep breath and closed her eyes. “Orr’s not going to let them go, is he?”
“Not unless we make him. But we’re not meeting with Orr until he shows us in the next video that they’re still okay.”
Tyler checked his watch. It was noon. They’d arrive in Rome and drive down to Naples in three cars, one for him and Stacy and two for Grant and the Neutralizer team, who would keep an eye out for Orr as they drove in case he planned to ambush them early. Once they were convinced that they weren’t being observed, Grant would separate from Tyler and Stacy, taking the tracker and the Neutralizer team with him to a location where they could watch the piazza. At the same time, Tyler and Stacy would head to the concert with the geolabe.
It wasn’t a foolproof plan, but Tyler was convinced that it was the only way to prevent a major catastrophe and save Carol and his father.
FORTY-EIGHT
M etal handcuffs rattled against Sherman’s cell door.
“All right, General,” Phillips said. “Time for your daily video.”
The cuffs dangled through the door’s portal. Sherman slowly pulled himself off the bed, ready to put his plan into motion. They’d fed him only two meals in the past two days, so he’d laid off the calisthenics and conserved his strength for this moment.
He ran a hand over his five days of stubble and grunted as if standing was an incredible effort. He hadn’t seen a mirror in days, but he figured that he looked even worse than he felt. Good. Better that Phillips think he was completely worn down.
Sherman dragged himself over to the portal and grabbed the cuffs with a sigh. The routine he was supposed to go through was familiar by now. Ankle cuffs first, then wrists. Stand back from the door until it was opened, Phillips training the Taser on him while he turned to show that the cuffs were on and secure.
But this time he was going to shake up the routine.
The pat-down had been thorough when they brought him in, but they’d let him keep his clothes, and his dress shirt gave him something that would make his escape possible. In his palm was a thin plastic stay from his collar. He had quietly bent it at night until he could break it into a piece small and stiff enough to insert into the cuffs.
The handcuffs were the type used by most law-enforcement agencies in the US. When the cuffs were closed, the audible click was the pawl engaging the gear in the ratchet, which prevented the gear from opening, locking the cuffs. But if a shim were inserted between the pawl and the gear, the ratchet wouldn’t engage, leaving the cuff free to open.
The stays in his collar were thin enough for the job. He just had to make sure Phillips didn’t realize the cuffs weren’t locked.
Sherman knelt, placed the cuffs on his ankles, and locked them. He couldn’t prop them open with a stay because they’d come undone as soon as he began to walk, exposing his plan even before it got under way.
He stood and put the cuffs on his wrists as Phillips watched. He made sure to keep the stay hidden as he put the cuff on his left hand. As he closed the cuff, he jabbed the stay into the narrow opening. After a few clicks, he felt the shim slip under the pawl. Now it would slide freely if he tried to open it.
The stay was in place, but Sherman was afraid the cuffs would fall open if he raised them. He held them against his body, backed up, and rotated to show that the ankle cuffs were in place.
Phillips unlocked the door and threw it open. He had the Taser at the ready if Sherman didn’t comply. It wasn’t armed with the cartridge that shot the leads out to twenty feet, so the shock could be applied only at close quarters.
“Let’s go,” Phillips said, bored by the tedium of this daily show.
Sherman shuffled out. The chair was in the same place. Crenshaw held the camera. No one else was there.
Phillips put the balaclava on. Sherman sat and was blindfolded as usual. The rustle of the newspaper told him when they were filming. He recited his name. Nothing new.
After a few seconds, Phillips said, “All right. That’s good enough.”
The blindfold came off.
“Get up,” Phillips said as he pulled the mask off and faced Sherman. Crenshaw was already heading back to his workbench, his iPod earbuds blasting away.
Sherman didn’t move.
Phillips sneered. “Didn’t you hear me?”
“I heard you,” Sherman said.
“Then get your ass out of the chair and back into your cell.”
“Make me.”
“Oh, so you want to ride the lightning again. Doesn’t bother me.”
Crenshaw had his back turned to them. With a wicked smile, Phillips pulled the Taser from his belt.
