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His words landed with the desired impact. Some of her resentment peeled away. “What do you want from me, Christian?”
“Patrick’s kidnappers made a ransom demand.”
“How much is that going to set you back?”
“They don’t want money. They want code.”
“What code?”
“That’s the problem. I don’t know. Kate doesn’t know. They put Patrick on the phone to make the demand. Jeremy Peel and Kate were on. Patrick called it Code Six.”
“Never heard of it.”
“It doesn’t exist,” he said.
She smiled a little.
“What’s so funny?”
“That’s so Patrick. Mess with his kidnappers and make something up on the fly.”
He didn’t see the need to discuss his daughter’s play. “Just because Patrick came up with a bogus name doesn’t mean the code the kidnappers really want isn’t real.”
Her smile faded. “And you think I can help with that. Is that it?”
He checked left, then right, making sure no one was within earshot. “I have a theory. Do you want to hear it?”
“I have a feeling I’m about to.”
“My theory is this: the code these kidnappers want is the same code you tried to steal.”
Her expression went stone cold. “I told you before, Christian: I didn’t steal any code.”
“Cut the bullshit, Sandra. This is life or death for Patrick, and now my daughter’s down in Colombia, trying to get him home.”
“You’re asking me to confess to a crime.”
“I’m asking you to help save two lives that shouldn’t be lost.”
“I’m slated for release in less than two years. If I confess to espionage, I could be stuck here, or more likely someplace much worse, for another ten to twenty.”
“Do you really think I came here wearing a wire, Sandra?”
“I don’t know. Maybe.”
He looked at her from across the table, and the way their eyes locked reminded him of how much he’d once trusted her. Apparently, she’d gotten the same reminder.
“No,” she said, in a much softer voice. “I don’t think that.”
“That’s good. Because I came here to have an honest conversation.”
Sandra took a breath, and then began.
“The deal I cut was pretty favorable. Plead guilty to three counts of lying to an FBI agent. Minimal jail time.”
“You were fortunate. Some people thought the Justice Department was too lenient.”
“That’s an understatement. Even the Justice Department thought my deal was too lenient. Lucky for me, my deal was with the CIA.”