Of course. Romero wanted to be present as each member of the ops team was put to death. It was the only theory that rang true, and it also lent more credence to Quinn and Orlando’s belief the man was still alive.
What about Nate? Now that he’d most likely been taken to Romero, were they already too late to save him?
As soon as the question entered his mind, he pushed it away. What-ifs like that could derail them. He needed to stay focused. They would find Nate.
They’d find him alive.
To do that, though, they needed to find Romero and Harris. And to find someone, you started at their last known location. Romero’s public trail had gone cold a little more than three years earlier, at the Isla de Cervantes hospital where he was treated for his wounds.
That’s where they would start.
As the plane taxied from the runway to the area reserved for private aircraft, Quinn got out of his seat and turned so he could talk to everyone at once.
“We need to track Romero down fast.”
“If he’s still alive,” Daeng said.
“He is,” Quinn said. “I’m sure of it.”
“How do we find him?” Liz asked.
Quinn looked at his sister. “Orlando and I are going to pay a visit to the hospital where he was last treated, and see what we can turn up. You’re going to stay here with Daeng.”
Liz didn’t look happy. Before she could argue the point, Orlando said, “He’s right, Liz. We need to keep a low profile. The more people, the more chance we’ll be discovered.”
“I can wait in the car,” Liz said.
“True,” Quinn said. “But what will you say when a security guard comes out and asks what you’re doing? It’s the middle of the night. People don’t just sit in their cars.”
She looked at her brother, her fear for Nate written on her face, but then she nodded. “You’re right. Sorry, I…just…”
Quinn reached over and touched her hand. “We’re going to find him. Don’t worry.”
Liz tried to smile, but failed. “I know.”
Two Customs and Immigration officials met them in the parking area and processed their documents. Once that was done, Daeng and Liz headed back into the plane with the two pilots, while Quinn and Orlando hitched a ride with the C amp;I guys back to the main terminal.
On the road, in front of the passenger arrival area, were two taxis, both drivers asleep in their seats. Quinn and Orlando woke the man in the first cab as they climbed in, and had him take them to Cristo de los Milagros Hospital, where Romero had been treated.
By American standards, the place was small for being the main medical facility in the biggest city in the country. Of course, size was relative. Cordoba only had thirty-five thousand residents, while the island as a whole boasted somewhere in the vicinity of a hundred and seven thousand. When viewed that way, the two-story structure that wasn’t much larger than a grocery store back home was undoubtedly more than adequate for the people it served.
They had the cabbie drop them off at the entrance to the parking lot, then took a quick, wide walk around the entire place.
“CCTV,” Orlando said, pointing out the closed-circuit security cameras as she spotted them.
Using the camera function on his phone, Quinn zoomed in to get a better look. “Reycons. Y23s,” he said, citing the make and model.
They were decent enough, but not top of the line. Using his knowledge of their specs, he picked out a blind spot that would get them right up to the hospital next to a nondescript side door without being seen.
They walked across a parking area, not deviating from the path, and reached the side of the building without incident. By the look of things, the door was used by hospital personnel in search of a smoke break. Butts littered the ground, and the aroma of stale tobacco and smoke lingered in the air.
Before leaving the plane, Quinn and Orlando had equipped themselves with some of the items Veronique had loaded onto the aircraft at their request. Quinn removed a set of lock picks from his pocket, and seconds later had the door unlocked.
Orlando ran a handheld scanner along the door, checking for an alarm. It vibrated once near the top. She hit a few buttons, put the scanner back over the spot, and held it there until the vibration stopped. Once she gave Quinn a nod, he opened the door.
The hallway they entered was well lit and deserted.
“That one,” Orlando whispered, pointing at a door just ahead on the right.
From the name plaque mounted on it, it was clear that on the other side they’d find an office. And where there was an office, there would be a computer.
Quinn picked the lock and then shut the door after they were both inside. The room was cramped but neat- books on shelves on both sides, and a desk in the middle with the hoped-for workstation.
While Orlando delved into the hospital’s network, Quinn perused the books. They were mostly medical text, a mix of Spanish and English. There were also several binders specific to the hospital-guidelines, standard procedures, employee handbook, and a facility directory.
After several minutes, Orlando sat back, her eyes still focused on the screen. “I need to get to another computer. This one’s blocked.”
“If this one’s blocked, won’t they all be?”
She paused. “I should be able to get around it in IT.”
Getting them into an empty office in the middle of the night was one thing. Sneaking into the hospital’s main computer room was something else entirely. While there wouldn’t be a full staff on duty at this time, someone would be around in case any problems came up.
Quinn snatched the facility directory off the bookshelf. Inside was a map, followed by pages listing names and extension numbers by department. He first located the computer room. It was on the same floor, but clear on the other side of the building. He pulled the map out of the binder, and found the page with the extensions for the IT department and one listing all hospital department heads. He removed them also.
“Here,” he said, showing her the map. “This is where you want to be.” He gave her a moment to memorize it. “What’s the extension here?”
She looked at the phone. “425.”
“I’ll scope it out and clear the way, then call you.”
He turned for the door.
“Hey,” she said, stopping him.
He looked back as she stood up and came around the desk.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” she said. She pulled his head down and kissed him.
When she finally backed away, he said, “We haven’t been doing enough of that lately.”
“You’re telling me.” She gave him a playful smirk. “Now go do your job. I’ll give you another one when we get out of here.”
“Always nice to have a little motivation.”
CHAPTER 44
It was even worse than Nate thought.
As he set out from the fort, he hoped to find a small village or, at the very least, some facility that might have a means for him to get a message out. But the journey to the far side of the island took only forty minutes, and in that time, the only man-made thing he came across was an empty blacktopped landing strip.
He circled around the beach, thinking there might be a fishing hut or a dock, but it was clear that with the exception of the fort, the island was deserted.
What made it even more frustrating was the glow on the horizon. It was too big to be a ship, so it must have
