The Midas Code

“Let’s think about what would happen if we got the FBI involved right now. I’m not saying it’s the wrong thing to do, but we have to be smarter than Orr about this. Grant, you play the FBI.”

“Okay, but I’m not putting on a suit.”

Tyler got up and paced. “I call you up and tell you that my father and Stacy’s sister have been kidnapped.”

“When were they kidnapped?”

“Yesterday morning.”

“And you’re just calling now? From London?”

“We were worried about Orr killing them.”

“And you’re coming forward now because…?” Grant asked.

“Because I have new information that the kidnappers may have an unknown quantity of strontium-90.”

“What’s your evidence?”

“My father sent us a message via sign language. I have the video.”

“Maybe he’s sending you his location. Why jump to the conclusion that it’s strontium-90?”

“My father is a retired general who specialized in tracking threats from radioactive materials.”

Grant shook Tyler’s hand. “Thank you, Dr. Locke. We’ll start our manhunt for this Jordan Orr and alert every agency in the country that there is the possible threat of a nuke. By the way, we’ll need to tap your phones and have you come back to the US.”

Tyler stopped and pointed at Grant. “And now Orr finds out he’s being investigated and kills Carol and my father.”

“Or maybe he sets off his radiological weapon prematurely,” Grant said. “Or he doesn’t set it off, because we can’t be sure he has one. Right now it’s just a hunch.”

Stacy threw up her hands in defeat. “Okay, okay, okay. You’ve made your point. We don’t call the FBI. So what’s the alternative? We’re just going to go along with Orr’s demands?”

“No,” Tyler said. “If he really has a WMD and my father has seen it, Orr will never let him live whether or not we can lead him to the treasure.”

“And Carol?”

When Tyler didn’t say anything, Stacy folded her arms and crossed to the window.

“I know it looks hopeless,” he said, “but the good news is that if we can get the geolabe back, we can stop playing defense and go on offense.”

“Offense?” she said.

“The next time we see Orr, we won’t let him get away.”

“What about your dad and Stacy’s sister?” Grant said.

Tyler took a deep breath. “We trade with Orr. His life for theirs. Then we bring in the FBI.”

“Let’s just tell him we’ve solved Archimedes’ puzzle and meet him in Naples,” Stacy said. “Why are we going through all this?”

“Because I’m sure Orr has some way of knowing if we’re lying about where the entry to the tunnel system is. He wouldn’t go to all this trouble without that kind of safeguard. We have to show up holding some aces because I’m sure he’d call our bluff.”

“So what’s the plan?”

“The plan is to figure out a way to get the geolabe back from Cavano. Let’s listen to the audio file from Cavano’s office.”

Tyler played it back. The voices on the phone were muffled, and they faded in and out as people walked around the room. He just hoped Stacy could catch enough of it to do them some good.

She peered intently at the computer as she jotted down notes. Tyler admired how she was handling all of this, never complaining, focusing completely on the job at hand. But he could see that the strain was beginning to wear on her. He’d seen it before with soldiers in his command who were suddenly thrust into battle. They wanted to stay strong for their buddies, but the haunted stares and creased brows betrayed their fears.

That’s why he and Grant had joked around when things got too grim on their tour of combat duty. Some of their subordinates appreciated it, but a few found it off-putting. Those were the guys Tyler had to worry about the most. So far, Stacy didn’t worry him.

After a couple of playbacks, Stacy stopped the audio. “Here’s what I could understand. After Cavano finished swearing about the mess you made of her office, a man said, ‘Do you still want to leave on the six-twenty tomorrow?’ Cavano said, ‘No, move my reservation to the eight-thirty. Just make sure the Ferrari is ready to go in Brussels by the time I get there. I’ll call Rodel in the morning and tell him I may not reach Boerst until four. The meeting shouldn’t take more than twenty minutes.’” Stacy looked up from her notes. “Any idea what all that means?”

“Apparently she’s flying to Brussels,” Tyler said. “But you said earlier she was going to Munich.”

“Maybe she’s stopping in Brussels on the way.”

“I’ll see if I can find the flight,” Grant said as he tapped on the keyboard. After a few minutes he said, “Not a flight. Eurostar. The high-speed Chunnel train. Leaves from St. Pancras.”

“So she must be taking the train to Brussels, then driving to Munich from there,” Tyler said. “That’s why the geolabe is in the trunk. The car is being shipped ahead to meet her in Brussels. What about Boerst and Rodel?”

Grant checked again. “I can’t find Rodel, but Boerst is a German commercial real-estate brokerage headquartered in Munich. Rodel might work there.”

“We’ll find out tomorrow. Anything else about the brokerage?”