Page 58 of Exit Strategy
‘Then we wipe it down and stick it in Kasselwood’s hand.’
‘She didn’t do it.’
‘She killed two other guys. Three, if you’re right about your coworker.’
‘That’s not the same thing. Although, I guess she’s no angel.’ Gilmour turned and looked down at Kasselwood for a moment. ‘Here’s another thing I don’t understand. It seemed like the original guys had bought her bogus message. Why else weren’t they here at the start?’
Reacher said, ‘I think they did buy it.’
‘Then why show up when they did? What changed their minds?’
‘It’s not what changed their minds. It’s who.’
‘I don’t follow.’
‘You had a file at Dr Martin’s office. Patten had a file. Who didn’t?’
Gilmour thought for a moment. Then he said, ‘Arlon James.’
‘Remember Patten said she didn’t understand the shenanigans to get James the job, because he was actually qualified for it? I think the guy Weaver sold the information to didn’t have a computer person. He didn’t have an HR person. He needed Weaver to recruit you and Patten to fill those gaps. But he did have someone who could work security. So he only used Patten to put James in place. Not to find him. Then, when we showed up this morning and told James that the message about the delay was bogus …’
‘… He called his boss. His boss sent the guys in the van. Damn. And James has seen us. He can describe us to the police. Come on. Let’s go.’ Gilmour hurried toward the car.
Reacher said, ‘Don’t worry. James will be long gone by now.’
Gilmour slowed down. He said, ‘I wonder if James knew what was taken. Aren’t you curious about that? What could be worth all this effort?’
‘It’s notwhatwas taken.’ It was a woman’s voice, wheezy and hoarse, low down behind them.
They turned and saw that Kasselwood had opened her eyes. She said, ‘It’swho.’
Kasselwood struggled to sit up. Reacher offered his hand but she batted it away, then noticed the body lying behind her. She said, ‘You did that?’
Reacher didn’t answer.
Kasselwood pointed at the hole in the fence. ‘That’s how they got away? Nice job, fellas.’ She took a deep breath, winced, but managed to haul herself to her feet, keeping her weight on her left leg. She clutched her ribs and looked at Gilmour. ‘You work at the scheduling office. You told them where to be. And when.’ Then she turned to Reacher. ‘I don’t know who you are, but I don’t need your help. Stay away from me. Both of you.’
Kasselwood gave them each one more scowl, then set off walking, threading past Gilmour’s rental car and toward the terminal’s main gate.
Reacher handed the gun to Gilmour then stepped across to the body. He said, ‘Turn the car around. We need to stop Kasselwood. I’ll be there in a second.’
Gilmour opened the driver’s door. He said, ‘How are you going to shut her up?’
Reacher started going through the dead guy’s pockets. ‘We need to talk to her first. She saidwhowas taken. You saw the size of that crate. It could have been a child in there. Or a small woman. If human trafficking is going on here, we’re not just walking away.’
THIRTY-THREE
Part of Morgan Strickland’s rehab after he’d gotten blown up in Iraq was counseling. At their first session his therapist told him that the psychological recovery would be a harder row to hoe than the physical. He told him it would take longer. And he said it would be more important, too. Strickland was going to have to transition into a new role. He would no longer be on active duty. He would no longer be a soldier at all. The therapist told him that a key strategy for survival would be to redefine his identity. At the time, Strickland thought that was the biggest bunch of BS he had ever heard. Now, twenty years later, he had to accept that there was some truth to it. And if he was honest, he would have to admit that despite everything he had achieved with his company in the intervening decades, he still hadn’t adapted all the way. That morning was acase in point. Instead of being at the port making things happen, he was left behind, stuck at the base, waiting for secondhand information. He couldn’t focus. He couldn’t plan. There would be no after-action report for him. There couldn’t be if there’d been no action.
Strickland pulled and kicked at his couch until it flopped back down to form a cot, then he flung himself onto it. He couldn’t lie still. Every cell was vibrating. The tension was destroying him. Not knowing what was happening was the worst part. If the operation were happening overseas, his tech guys could have extended their radio net to cover the port, but that wasn’t possible at home. There were too many regulations. Too many rules standing in his way. He pulled out his phone, stared at it, and willed it to ring. After another ten minutes, which felt like ten hours, it finally did. The man on the line didn’t identify himself. He just said, ‘We have the woman. One KIA. Out.’
Strickland felt himself relax. He wasn’t sure how his guys had managed to take a casualty carrying out such a straightforward mission, but strategically the loss was acceptable. To assess how it ranked financially, he would need more information. All he could do for the moment was hope that the guy on the phone hadn’t been stupid enough to leave the body behind.
Kasselwood was in sight a hundred yards ahead. Gilmour resisted the urge to lean on the gas. There was plenty of time to catch up to her before she got close to the gate, and he didn’t want to attract attention. He didn’t want her ducking into any of the clusters of containers where she would be hard to ferret out. And he really didn’t want anyof the workers he’d already pissed off intervening on her behalf. That wouldn’t work out well for anyone.
Reacher had scooped up the dead guy’s gun and had brought everything else he found in his pockets. There was a spare magazine, which he kept. A phone, which he set aside for Gilmour to look at later. A bunch of keys. And a dog-eared leather wallet. The wallet contained $120 in cash, which Reacher took. It was a time-honored tradition, in his mind. Spoils of war. Then there were three credit cards. One ATM card. And a work ID. Reacher pulled it out and showed Gilmour. It was issued by an outfit called Strickland Security Solutions, Inc.
Reacher said, ‘Ever heard of these guys?’
