Chapter 46

Andie and her longtime partner, special agent Grace Kennedy, were in Blowing Rocks Preserve, a seventy-three-acre nature conservancy

on Jupiter Island. They left the car in the parking lot, found a couchlike formation of limestone rock just a stone’s throw

from the Atlantic Ocean, and sat beneath the stars, facing the waves. More important, they were less than a mile from Jack’s

location, according to the GPS coordinates they’d picked up from his cell phone.

“You think Jack will be mad when he finds out?” asked Grace.

“That I tracked him?”

“Tracked him without telling him .”

The FBI had no legal basis to surveil Jack’s electronic devices, but Andie had the same app that millions of other mothers

had on their cell phones. It allowed her to track Jack, Righley, Abuela, Jack’s father, their dog Max—the whole family.

“He’ll thank me one day,” said Andie. “Maybe. In another life.”

The spray of the ocean soaked the dunes around them like a car wash. The southern tip of Jupiter Island has the largest exposed

bluff of Anastasia limestone on the entire East Coast of the United States, and the chimney-like formations could funnel plumes

of seawater fifty feet in the air at high tide.

Andie zipped up her jacket; the night was turning cool. A minute later her cell phone chimed with a text message. It was from

Jack:

With Zahra and Yasmin now. Both fine. All under control. Will ping you a location for surrender when ready. No SWAT.

Andie shared it with her partner.

“Sounds positive,” said Grace. “But you’ve given him enough time.”

“What would you do?”

“I understand you promised to let Jack work out the surrender with his client before taking this up the chain of command,”

said Grace. “But there’s a child at risk.”

“I asked, what would you do?”

“I wouldn’t call in SWAT to bust down the door. But I’d call in the location and put hostage rescue on alert. If it was anyone

but Jack, you’d do the same. Right?”

The question answered itself. “You’re right,” said Andie.

“You want me to call it in?” asked Grace.

Another plume of ocean spray shot into the air and washed the limestone at their feet.

“No. I’ll do it,” said Andie.

Jack took Zahra outside to speak privately on the patio. It was a crisp night, and Zahra lit the gas firepit. The outdoor

furniture was in storage for the off-season, so the only place to sit was a curved, built-in bench that faced the circular

pit. They spoke in the warm glow of the flickering flames.

“I want you to send Nouri away,” said Jack.

“Why?”

“I came here because you agreed to surrender. Nouri came here to talk you out of it, didn’t he?”

“He came because I asked him to come.”

“Why would you do that?”

“He’s my friend. I trust him.”

“I don’t,” said Jack.

“You should,” said Zahra. “Nouri makes good sense. You want me to surrender unconditionally. Nouri says I shouldn’t surrender

without some guarantees.”

“Trying to negotiate concessions from law enforcement while you’re on the run with Yasmin in violation of a court order is a terrible mistake. It turns you into a hostage taker.”

“She’s not a hostage. I’m her mother .”

“If you have any sympathies left as a mother, you’d be throwing them away by using Yasmin as leverage to get your way.”

Flames flickered in Zahra’s eyes, a fitting reflection from the firepit.

“Get my way? Really, Jack? The only ones getting their way are the Iranian government and the US State Department.”

The patio door slid open, and Nouri stepped out from the kitchen. He joined them near the firepit but didn’t take a seat.

“We’re losing valuable time,” he said.

“Jack won’t negotiate,” said Zahra. “He still says I should just give up and put myself at the mercy of the FBI.”

“Lawyers are such terrible negotiators,” Nouri said with disapproval. “But that’s fine. We don’t need Jack to negotiate for

us.”

“Yes, we do! I can’t do this by myself, Nouri. And if you do it, they’ll know you’re here with me.”

“Trust me, they already know Nouri is here,” said Jack, bluffing.

“No, they don’t,” said Nouri. “If they thought Yasmin was with anyone other than her mother and her highly respected lawyer

preparing to surrender, they would have sent in SWAT already. Actually, let me put a finer point on it: if the FBI knew Zahra

and Yasmin were here with a Muslim man , they would have sent in SWAT already.”

Whether Nouri was right or wrong, Jack knew he had no chance of changing his view.

“You know I’m right,” said Nouri. “We’re talking about a mother who violated a family court order to transfer custody of her

daughter. This happens twice a minute in this country. But somehow this one is a federal case, and the FBI is all over it.”

Jack saw no advantage in explaining the US government’s negotiations with Iran. “This case is different because of Ava Bazzi,

not because you’re Muslim.”

“Two things can be true at once,” said Nouri.

Jack didn’t debate it. “I’m not your negotiator,” he said.

“Agreed,” said Nouri. “Your only job is to present Zahra’s demand to the FBI as her lawyer. No negotiation.”

Jack rose. “I don’t take orders from you, and no one is making any demands. This is a surrender, not a negotiation.”

“Yes, you made your position clear,” said Nouri. “If Zahra won’t surrender, you’re walking out of here. And you’re taking

Yasmin with you.”

Zahra’s mouth was agape. “Is that the reason you came here, Jack? To take Yasmin away from me?”

Jack looked straight at Zahra—his client—but he wasn’t thinking like a lawyer. “I’ll do what I have to do.”

“You can’t!” said Zahra.

“Zahra’s right,” said Nouri. “We can’t let you do that.”

Jack’s gaze swung back to Nouri, and in the glow of the firepit, he saw the business end of a Beretta pistol.

“Nouri, no!” said Zahra.

“He leaves us no choice, Zahra.”

Jack tried to keep calm. “Put the gun away, Nouri.”

“We’re no longer asking for your help,” said Nouri. “You’ll do as you’re told. Give Zahra your cell phone.”

“Zahra, don’t be part of this,” said Jack.

“Give it to her!” said Nouri.

Zahra held out her hand. Jack slid his phone from his pocket and gave it to her.

Nouri continued. “Here’s the drill. You’re going to call your wife and present Zahra’s demand.”

“Leave my wife out of this,” said Jack.

“She’s been right in the middle from the very beginning.”

“Not by choice,” said Jack.

“Maybe not,” said Nouri. “But that’s the way your government operates. It uses people. Puts them in a position where they

can’t say no, ruins their lives, and then leaves them to fend for themselves.”

Nouri was clearly talking about someone other than Andie—something personal. Jack guessed it had to do with the circumstances under which he’d become a witness in the Hague proceeding. He made one more appeal to reason.

“Zahra, this has gone too far. If Nouri has his own score to settle, don’t make yourself part of it.”

Zahra was silent.

“Listen to me closely,” said Nouri. “Zahra’s demand has two parts.”

“Zahra, you’re putting Yasmin in danger,” Jack said.

Nouri kept talking. “One, Zahra will not be charged with kidnapping or any other crime; she goes free. Two, Zahra gets to

keep Yasmin.”

“This is pointless,” said Jack. “Zahra, I’m being straight with you. The FBI will never accept that demand.”

Nouri paused. The steady hiss of the propane tank fed the flames. The sound of the ocean drifted through the black forest.

Finally, Zahra spoke.

“They’ll accept,” she said quietly. “Once the State Department hears what we’re offering in return.”

Jack wasn’t sure what she meant precisely, but it was clear enough that they were coming full circle—back to Ava.

“It doesn’t matter what you offer,” said Jack. “The US government won’t buy it.”

Nouri answered in a calm but threatening voice. “They’ll buy it, because you’re going to sell it, Jack. Sell it like your

client’s life depends on it. And your own.”

The threat had a certain cadence to it, and the proverbial light bulb blinked on in Jack’s head. “We met before you testified

in the Hague proceeding, didn’t we, Nouri?”

Nouri didn’t deny it.

“That night outside my office,” said Jack. “You had a mouthful of cotton or something to disguise your voice. But that was

you sitting on my kidneys, wasn’t it?”

Still no denial.

“Let’s go inside,” said Nouri. “We have some rehearsing to do.”