Page 119 of Code 6

“Except that Patrick isn’t giving up any secrets.”

“Not willingly,” said Kate. “But everybody has a breaking point. I’m very afraid of what they might do to him if they figure out Code Six is a ruse.”

“If? Or when?”

Kate’s cell rang. It was the encrypted line that she shared with Jeremy Peel. Adjusting for the time change between Virginia and Cali, exactly twenty-four hours had passed since the last call, just as Javier had promised. Kate answered on speaker, expecting to hear Javier’s voice in reply, but it wasn’t.

“Kate, this is Patrick.”

A rush of relief came over her. “It’s so good to hear your voice.”

“I wish I could say more, but I have a script. By now, you should have Code Six on a flash drive. I’m going to tell you exactly how the exchange is going to be made. So please listen carefully.”

“No,” she said.

Enrique did a double take, and even Kate was surprised by her own words.

“What do you mean, no?” asked Patrick.

She had no doubt he trusted her, but in his voice she heard more than a hint of hope that she knew what the heck she was doing.

“Tell Javier to listen carefully,” said Kate. “We are going to do thismy way. I’m here for one reason. That’s to get you. Jeremy Peel will deliver Code Six. We’ll talk again in six hours.”

Kate hung up.

Enrique’s eyes were the size of saucers. “What the hell was that?”

“That,” said Kate, collecting her breath, “is step one of my plan.”

“What’s step two?”

“We wait for the shit to hit the fan,” she said. “Three, two, one.”

The phone rang. She didn’t even have to check the caller ID to know who it was.

“Hello, Mr. Peel.”

“What kind of stunt are you trying to pull?” he shouted. “I told you I don’t know what Code Six is!”

“I accept that. But whatever it is that Javier really wants, only you can give it to him.”

“I can’t give it to him! We’re talking national security. I’d be in violation of the Espionage Act.”

It was a setup question, and Peel had fallen for it, effectively admitting that he knew what Javier really wanted—just as Kate had suspected.

“That’s your problem, Mr. Peel. Not mine.”

“You’ve got it backwards,” he said. “If there’s no ransom, you don’t get Patrick.”

“If there’s no ransom, the Department of Justice will be on the next call.”

There was silence on the line.

“I thought that would get your attention,” said Kate. “Here’s what I think, Mr. Peel. I think you’re more worried about the Justice Department hearing these negotiations than Javier is.”

“That’s preposterous.”

“Is it?” she asked, and then she played the ace in the hole she’d just dealt herself. “Then how is it that youknowwhat Javier really wants, and that giving it to him would violate the Espionage Act, when all he’s asked for is Code Six—which doesn’t even exist?”