Chapter 31

Reacher and Knight were silent until they were outside the building, on the sidewalk. Pedestrians hustled by. The streets were busy with traffic and a helicopter was coming in to land on a narrow strip next to the river.

Knight said, "I'm going to Chicago. I want to be at Midway when they catch Kane. Will you come with me?"

Her phone rang before Reacher could respond. She checked the screen. It was Wallwork. She held the phone out and said, "You really ought to get one of these. I'm not your damn assistant."

Wallwork didn't have time for any pleasantries that morning. His voice was a low whisper. He said, "Albatross's handler was at the motel. That's it. Got to go. Don't call me back. Ever."

Reacher said, "Thanks for the intel. Now, one more thing."

"No. Never. We're done. No more things."

"This is even more important. Even more urgent. I need to know if anyone of interest to the Bureau has been acquiring quantities of gold. If so, where is it? And I need the answers yesterday."

"How am I going to find that out?"

"I don't know. Think outside of your box."

—

Knight waved to a taxi that was stuck on the far side of the lights then turned to Reacher. She said, "Why are you asking about gold?"

Reacher said, "Something about the way Vidic's deal went south. It doesn't ring true."

"So what does gold have to do with it?"

"I don't know. Maybe nothing. But for the test run with the property guys Vidic insisted on payment in gold. I thought that was weird at the time. If he changed what he wants now, that's weird, too."

"Maybe he changed because asking for gold the first time was a fiasco. Or maybe because this deal was set up in a hurry. Not a lot of people have a ton of gold lying around."

"Like I said, it could be nothing."

The light changed. The cab crossed the intersection and pulled up next to them. Knight opened its rear door. She said, "The airport, please." Then she turned back to Reacher. "Are you coming?"

Reacher said, "I'll ride to the airport with you. But I'm not going to Chicago."

The cabdriver set his meter running then pulled away from the curb. He tapped a white plastic device in his right ear and began talking, soft but fast, in a language Reacher didn't recognize. Reacher watched the Arch until it disappeared from view then turned to Knight. He said, "Ever had a case that came together like dominoes falling? One fact after another, neat and tidy, nothing out of place?"

Knight nodded. "Once or twice."

"How did they turn out?"

"Badly. One was a murder case. A rich guy strangled his wife after an argument over a pair of shoes got out of hand. He paid some poor guy who had terminal cancer to take the fall in return for putting the guy's four kids through college. The other was a woman who was running for her local school board. She planted porn on a rival's computer to try and knock her out of the race."

"So when a case seems too good to be true?"

"It usually isn't true. I have to admit, the Bureau melting down over this report and a lead popping up the very next day? That's a little convenient."

"Paris is such a skilled hacker, she can get into the computers of a defense contractor with top level clearance, but she can't keep her email secure?"

"A woman who encrypts her private records with some complex code but doesn't put a password on a priceless document?"

"And why did Vidic set out driving in the wrong direction, then turn around and fly to St. Louis? It would have been quicker to drive directly there from the house, like we did. And more discreet. No passenger manifests or credit card transactions for the Bureau to comb through."

"He did use a fake ID for the flight, though."

"Right. Which could be the smartest part of the plan. He had the IDs in his wallet when I knocked him out. He guessed that I would have searched him while he was unconscious. And that I would have seen the selection of names he could use."

"He couldn't be sure you'd do that."

"True. But most people project their own actions onto others when they're trying to anticipate what they might do. So the question is, what would Vidic do in that situation? And we don't even have to speculate. We know the answer because of what he did when he pulled me out of the car wreck. He looked in my wallet. My passport. The first thing he did when I ran into him was use my name."

"So Vidic wanted to be followed to St. Louis."

"I think so."

"Which means he wanted the deal to tank. He wanted the FBI to retrieve the report."

"Looks that way."

"Because, what? He realized how hot the report is? He figured that as long as it was unaccounted for the Bureau would never stop looking for him. Which would put a dent in his plan to start over somewhere new with Paris and set up their hack and blackmail racket. Maybe he figured the smart play was to burn the report. Trade the short-term pain for the long-term gain."

"That's possible. No doubt about it."

"But you don't think I'm right."

"I think you could be. But it's more likely you're half right. Vidic wanted the Bureau to retrieve the report. Or to believe they'd retrieved it."

"But they have retrieved it. Do you think it's a fake? Quantico said it was real."

"I believe it's real. I believe all the non-copying gobbledygook. I just don't believe it's all Vidic and Paris took. Everyone keeps referring to it as a report, right? Think about how reports are written. They always have summaries and extracts and conclusions and appendixes. All kinds of places where the important stuff is mentioned and repeated and reiterated. If I was in Vidic's shoes I'd have trimmed off enough to look compelling, used that as a decoy, and sell the bulk of the thing as originally planned."

Knight tipped her head one way, then the other. "How do we figure out which one it is?"

"For me it comes down to the money. The report is supposed to be worth a fortune. Is two million a fortune these days? Divided three ways?"

"Six hundred and sixty-six grand? I wouldn't turn it down. But I wouldn't quit my job, either."

"Then there's also the coincidence. They steal two million in cash from Fletcher's safe, and the next day the asking price for the report is two million in cash? Plus one of them flies, to attract our attention, while the others drive. What can you take in a car that you can't take on a plane?"

"A giant sack full of twenties. You think the whole setup was a fake. They were providing both ends of the transaction."

"Walking away from that kind of money makes their position more authentic. It makes it look like they lost everything, not gained something. And it's easier to snub two million bucks if you know you've got a bigger payday just around the corner."

"So you think the main part of the report is still out there?"

"I don't have proof. Your theory could be right. You should go to Chicago. If they catch Vidic there, I'll be the first to cheer. I'll call you tonight. You can tell me if you're celebrating."

"I will. But if there's any chance you're right, you should talk to Devine. If the report is as sensitive as she says, with all the national security stuff, you can't take chances with that."

—

The cabdriver continued his conversation until the moment he pulled up outside Departures. Knight settled the bill in cash, climbed out of the car, and stood on the sidewalk. She turned to Reacher and said, "Is this it, then? Is this goodbye?"

Reacher said nothing.

She said, "Can we make it au revoir, at least? Promise you'll come out to Phoenix and visit."

Reacher said, "That's not a promise I'm sure I can keep."

The corners of Knight's mouth curled down and she blinked, twice. "That's honest, at least. OK. Bye, Reacher."

"Look after yourself. Get that shield back."

Knight took two steps toward the terminal entrance, then turned back. She said, "I don't get it. You ride in the cab with me. You lay all that stuff about a second report on me. Then you dump me? That's an asshole move, Reacher. And I didn't have you pegged as an asshole."

"Dump you? No. You're the one who's leaving. And I didn't ride with you to talk. I shared a cab because I needed to get here and that was the most efficient way."

"Where are you going? You didn't say anything about flying anywhere."

"I'm going back to the city. To Tower Grove Park. Just like Vidic did. I need to see the route through his eyes."

"How come?"

"It'll help me figure out how dire the situation is."

Knight shrugged. "Well, have fun with that." Then she turned and walked away.

—

Reacher found his way to the ride share pickup area on the Arrivals level. Twelve people were waiting there. A mixture of men and women, young and old. They were spread out, apparently at random, no sign of forming an orderly line. Some had multiple suitcases with them. Others, just a purse or a briefcase. The only thing they seemed to have in common was that they were all staring at their phones. A car pulled up to the curb. A black Tesla. A woman in a business suit waved to the driver then climbed inside. Reacher knew that the phones had something to do with summoning cars, and with pairing the drivers and the passengers, but he had no idea how the system worked. He scanned the remaining eleven faces to see which seemed most approachable when he sensed someone walking up behind him. He looked around and saw Knight. She pointed at a yellow plastic hut, about twelve feet by eight, that looked like it had been abandoned in the middle of the sidewalk, twenty yards away. She said, "Come with me."

Knight got to the hut first. It had no windows. Its edges were rounded and a sign above the single door read, Smoke Shack. Knight opened the door, looked inside, coughed, then said, "Come on." She stepped inside. Reacher followed. The interior of the hut stank of cigarette smoke. The walls and ceiling were stained orange. There was nowhere to sit, and the ashtrays that ran along the walls at waist height, like narrow troughs, were all overflowing.

Knight said, "Horrible place. Let's make this quick. Tell me what you think the report is about."

Reacher said, "Everyone just calls it the report. I don't even know its title."

"That's not what I asked. Listen, a penny dropped just now when I was walking to security. Something Devine said. Or let slip. I think she gave the game away. If we're on the same page, I'll stay. I'll help."

Reacher took a moment to think. Then he said, "Department of Energy."

Knight nodded.

Reacher said, "The report's about nuclear weapons. Specifically, I think, the design for a new warhead."

"I got the weapons part. The Department of Energy is responsible for the nuclear arsenal, for some odd reason. Where do you get the new warhead from?"

"I'm speculating. It could be anything. But something about the name Cone Dynamics has been bugging me. This morning I realized why. In World War II the Brits began an atomic weapons program that wound up getting swept into the Manhattan Project. They needed to keep it top secret so they had to find a way to account for all the expenditure. So they created a fake company as a front. It was called Tube Alloys. They figured it was innocuous. Boring. Not the kind of thing to attract attention. Cone Dynamics strikes me as similar."

"You know what this means. We have to call Devine. Right now. You can't go rogue on this. It's too important."

"I'll call her. There's one thing I need to nail down first. To make sure she gets the full picture. If she doesn't have it already."

—

Reacher was first out of the hut. He hadn't enjoyed the atmosphere inside, but he hadn't hated it. And it had made an impact. It had been decades since he'd smoked a cigarette. Years since he'd thought about having another one. But right then, he could have been tempted.

Reacher led the way back toward the pickup area. As they came close, he turned to Knight and said, "I guess you've done this before? Used the Uber app?"

She said, "I'm not dead, and I'm not a hermit, so yes."

"Good. I want you to—"

Knight's phone rang. She glanced at the screen, then held it out for Reacher. She said, "Do I need to start billing you for the airtime?"

Reacher hit the Answer key and Wallwork's voice came on the line. He said, "This is awkward. Before I tell you what I found, I need to ask you something, but it's something I can't ask you about. I'm right up on the limit of crossing a line, here. Truth is, I might have crossed it already."

"I can't tell you what to do, Wallwork. If you're worried, hang up the phone. I don't want to put you in a bind. All I can say is, I bet that if someone could have provided information that stopped the Rosenbergs before they passed information to the Soviets, even if they had to cross a line, I bet they wouldn't have regretted it."

"Did you pick the Rosenbergs at random?"

"No."

The line was silent for a moment, then Wallwork's voice returned. "A few days ago a request came in for information relating to the sales or shipping of gold. It came from counterintelligence. I called a buddy who works there. He told me three shipments had been traced to an address in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. I'll give it to you. It's basically an aircraft hangar at the executive airport. Belongs to a little outfit that hops between the mainland and the Bahamas. Passengers, and cargo."

"Thanks, Wallwork. We'll be discreet, but this could be critical."

"Don't thank me. Just leave me alone. I'm going to lie down now and have a heart attack."

"Before you do, there's one more thing I need."

"I've told you, stop this. I'm not going to keep—"

"I have a name. An alias. I think Vidic is using it. I need to know if any transport has been booked for the next couple of days that corresponds. The name is John none Austin."

"You know you'll get a million hits."

"Filter by destination. Fort Lauderdale, or anywhere less than two hours away in a cab."

—

Knight took her phone back. She said, "John Austin? That's the alias Vidic used when he booked your room at the motel."

Reacher said, "Right. But he didn't mention it at the time. He doesn't know that I know about it. I'm thinking, if he's using the IDs he left in his wallet to lead the Bureau by the nose, what is he using for himself? It has to be one he believes is still under the radar."

"OK. And why Fort Lauderdale?"

Reacher told her about the gold.

"You think someone is building a stash of gold to trade for the report?"

"I think it's possible." Reacher started moving toward the ride share area again. "Now, I want you to do whatever you would normally do if you wanted to get a ride to the park."

Knight moved closer to the edge of the sidewalk and pulled out her phone. She opened her Uber app, entered the address for the park, confirmed her current location, and picked a luxury car. She figured she'd find a way to bill Reacher for the extra cost later.

Reacher was on the sidewalk behind Knight. The height difference between Vidic and any agent who was likely to be tailing him was probably significantly smaller, so Reacher factored in an estimate. He moved up as close behind her as he could without attracting attention. He stood beside her and pretended to check the license plate of a car that had just pulled up. He moved to her other side and acted like he was watching for any new cars arriving. A couple of minutes later a car did pull up. An Audi A8. Knight opened the rear door and climbed in. Reacher looped around and got in the other side.

Knight said, "What could you see?"

Reacher said, "Nothing. Were you trying to hide the screen?"

"Not at all. I was holding it like I always do. Unless I was talking to someone, or texting with them. And then the Uber app is hidden, anyway."

They made good time into the city. The traffic was kind and the driver took detours around the parts where congestion was starting to build. He checked his mirror at one point to make sure Reacher was watching him, then said, "This is my own route. I'm not following the phone. I could get in trouble, but I want you guys to get where you're going without any delays."

Reacher had nothing to say to that.

Knight said, "Thank you. Very good. We'll make sure that's reflected in the tip."

—

Reacher figured the spot they got out at was close enough to where Vidic would have been dropped off the day before. The park didn't look exactly as he had expected. It was wide and open, with bushes and shrubs surrounding neatly trimmed grass. The air was heavy with the scent of tree blossoms. They set out along a path opposite the mouth of Thurman Avenue. It was a straight shot south. Reacher figured that if they kept going they would come out to the east of the softball field he'd waited next to last time, so instead they took a diagonal fork that cut through a stand of mature trees. A moment later he caught a glimpse of the North Pavilion. They moved closer and he saw it was an open structure with eight pillars supporting an octagonal roof. A cupola perched on top and a weathervane sprouted from its peak. The whole thing was painted green and cream and the center was full of picnic tables with attached benches. A half dozen more were scattered around the outside.

Reacher circled the pavilion, observing it from all angles, then continued around the oval to the south, the way Vidic had done after he had deposited the memory stick. Knight followed. They came to the second pavilion. It was just like the first, except for the shape of its cupola. This one had a rounded dome and no protruding vane. Reacher didn't like it. He would have made them identical.

Reacher spotted the trash can where the man in the hoodie had dropped the backpack full of money. He walked toward it, picturing himself executing a covert exchange. He imagined something had spooked him. He stopped and turned 360 degrees, checking his escape routes, looking for places to hide. Then he turned to Knight and said, "Enough. We need to talk."

She said, "To Devine?"

Reacher said, "To each other. We have a decision to make."