44
After seeing the text, Braden’s first thought was, We missed the business day. He called Seamus, making sure it wasn’t a mistake.
“You want me to launch the Snapchat now? At this time of night?”
“Yeah. Get them moving across the pond. I’m sure they’ve got forces in place over here, but they’ll need to be redirected to Paris.”
“Seamus, even given the time change it’s dark over there. Nobody’s working. I’m afraid it’ll be missed. Best case, this’ll sit until morning.”
He heard his brother chuckle. “Braden, they’ve probably got twelve people staring at a computer screen waiting on our contact. Trust me, they’ll get it. You have the Bitcoin address?”
“Yeah. I got that.”
“Read it back to me. I need to know it’s correct.”
“You know they’re not going to pay up front, right? Who in their right mind would pay just because of a video? I mean, you’ve put me in a serious problem with the Serbs, and we’re not getting anything out of it. Tell me you’ve got this wired. Seamus, tell me you know what you’re doing.”
“Braden, calm down. I know what I’m doing. I’ve met Ali. He’s set to go. I’ve given him the cache location for the explosive, and he’s now fire and forget. The hostages are secure, and the plan is working fine.”
Braden soaked up the confidence coming from the handset. Something he needed. Something that allowed him to continue. He said, “Okay, Seamus, okay. I’m ready to go here.” He read out the Bitcoin address and asked, “You want me to send that at the same time as the Snapchat? Or wait?”
“Same time. You send the Snapchat, then send the message on the White House page. You need to tell me when you do it. Send me a text. As soon as that’s done, I’m giving them an address for direct chat that Kevin’s created. A way for real-time communication that’s autonomous.”
“So you think they’ll pay? Just because they see the video?”
“No. You’re right about that. No way will they pay at first. They’ll try to drag it out, try to get clues to our location so they can send in a rescue force. Which is where your diversion comes in. They’ll be talking to me but hunting you. We set off that trap, and then I hit them with the chat. They’ll be in a panic over the deaths. Stricken by our ability to be one step ahead. Then they’ll pay. We keep the prize, and they’ll pay.”
“How long will that take? I mean, how long until they get here?”
“I don’t know. Could be hours. Could be a day, but I’m betting it’s more like hours. That’s why you’ve got three people. Work it in shifts. Can you leave the hostages alone?”
“Yeah, yeah. We’ve taken to roping them up like the goats on a farm. We can leave them for the duration of the operation. Days if necessary.” He gave a brittle laugh. “I mean, it’s not like we want to be in the room with them anyway.”
“Good. But don’t let them suffer. That’s not our way. We get nothing by dragging out the suffering. Make them as comfortable as you can.”
Braden quickly said, “That isn’t what I meant. We still let them go to the bathroom and feed them on a schedule. I remember what you told me. I’m doing what’s right.”
“I know you are. It’s why I picked you for this mission.”
Braden let the praise wash over him, buoying his psyche. He said, “Keep me in the loop. I’ll be working the diversion, so I’ll be busy.”
“The Serbs ready to go?”
Braden barked a laugh and said, “Yeah, that wasn’t pretty. I swear, I thought they were going to gut me.”
“But they’re on board? Ready to execute?”
“Most of them are here. They left a couple of guys in Brussels, but they brought the hit team with them, including the females. They are really not comfortable with me controlling the timeline. Not comfortable at all. I made them leave on the spur of the moment, and now they’re sitting around wondering why. I’m not sure they trust me anymore.”
“Did you clean out your signature in Brussels?”
“Yeah. I no longer have a room there.”
“Then we’re good.”
Braden said, “We’re not good. Only you are. Do you know why he left those guys in Brussels? He was going to use them on the operation, but he didn’t. You know why he’s not?”
“Why?”
“Me. He thinks we’re pulling something shady, and he’s left them there to find me after it’s done. He wanted some insurance in case things go bad.”
“It won’t go bad. Remember why we’re doing this. Keep the faith.”
Braden said, “For Brian.”
“For Brian.”