*
JESSIE ARRIVED AT KENDRA’S CONDO a little after nine that night. She was carrying a worn leather satchel over her shoulder.
“Did you get it?” Kendra asked.
“I got it.” She patted the satchel. “And now I know more about subepidermal tracking devices than I ever wanted to know in my life. They think there could be a big market for parents tagging their children. Those guys are very proud of their gadget.”
Jessie rested the satchel on Kendra’s dining table and reached into it to produce a small velour box of the size and type one might expect to hold earrings or cuff links. She flipped up the hinged lid and revealed a flat, flesh-toned disk about the size of a quarter.
Kendra picked it up. “This is it?”
“Yes. It goes under your skin, sort of like a pet ID chip. But this is much better. It connects with GPS satellites and continuously transmits your location.”
Kendra rested the tiny device on her forearm. “How am I going to get this inside me?”
“I’ll make an incision in your hip and slide it in.”
“You’re going to do it?”
“Yes. When they bring it to market, doctors will be doing it. But they showed me some instructional videos. I can do this.”
“If you say so.”
“I do.” Jessie pulled a vial from her bag. “They also gave me a topical solution that numbs the skin and a cover-up to blend it so that it will be completely indiscernible. It shouldn’t hurt.”
“You don’t sound all that certain.”
“You’re about to go into the lion’s den, and you’re worried about this?”
Kendra made a face. “You’re right. Let’s get this over with.”
Jessie glanced around. “We need a firm surface. Lie on your stomach on the floor.”
Kendra stretched out on her rug. Jessie pulled down the edge of Kendra’s waistband and rubbed on the topical solution.
“Okay. Do you feel this?” Jessie asked.
“Feel what?”
“You just answered my question. I’m going to just break the surface of the skin with this scalpel and make a small pocket. I guess I should be wearing gloves.”
“Now you tell me. I have some latex evidence gloves in the top drawer of my—”
“Too late. I just made the cut.”
“Seriously?”
“Yes. And I just slid in the tracker. Now I’m applying something like superglue with antibiotics to close it without stitches.”
Kendra looked over her shoulder and saw Jessie peeling off the backing of a square bandage. She applied it and leaned back. “All done. You should be able to take off the bandage tomorrow morning.”
“Wow, that was incredible. You missed your calling as a surgeon.”
“Nah, I’m just a quick study.”
They stood up, and Jessie pulled her iPad from the satchel. She launched an app and stared at the screen. After a moment, a tone sounded, and a green dot pulsed on a map overlay. Jessie pointed at the dot. “This is you. I’ll keep checking today and tomorrow to make sure it’s working the way it should. It’s set to notify me every time you move to a new location.”
Kendra studied the screen. “Thanks, Jessie. This makes me feel a lot better.”
“It shouldn’t. I don’t want you to feel better. It’s still risky as hell.”
And it had been difficult for Jessie to go against her every instinct to help her, Kendra realized. “But then, some people are just worth the risk.” She met Jessie’s eyes. “Aren’t they?”
Jessie opened her lips to reply and closed them again. Then she nodded wearily. “Yeah, they are.” She turned and moved back across the room and sat down at the dining-room table. “Okay, come over here and sit down. If I can’t talk you out of this, I’m going to go over possibilities you might face in captivity and your best method of overcoming them. I learned a lot while I was being held by the Taliban. Some of it works. Some of it doesn’t. But I came prepared tonight if I couldn’t talk you out of this. None of what I’m going to say is going to be pleasant, but you’re going to listen. And I’m giving you everything I can think of to help you come out of this alive.”
Kendra slowly came toward her. Sharing those terrible experiences was going to be painful for Jessie. It would not only stir memories, but reveal her vulnerabilities. It just showed how remarkable a woman she was that she would offer to share them. Kendra sat down opposite her at the table. “I’m listening.” She folded her hands on the table and braced herself. “Tell me what I have to know.”
*
JESSIE CALLED KENDRA AT NOON the next day. “The tracking device is operating loud and clear. You’re still at your studio?”
“Yes, I’ll be here all day and keep my normal appointments. I’ll leave at the usual time to go back to my condo.”
Silence. “We can still do this some other way, Kendra. Let me, at least, come and stake out your studio. I swear no one will know I’m there.”