“Why? What difference does it make?” She fell into step with him as they walked down the long corridor. “No matter who they are, there’s no question we’ll have to go get them. We can’t leave them there.”
“I didn’t say anything about picking and choosing. But everyone in that detention camp has to have someone looking for them. I was searching for Patrick for eighteen months. God knows, I would have been grateful to have had someone call me and tell me that they knew where I could find Patrick.”
She slowly shook her head. “That’s not what you meant. You said power base.”
“I did mean it.” He shrugged. “But it wouldn’t hurt to gather a little more firepower to help us if we need it. Nicos may bring his men from the island to search the area if he finds out that we’ve taken Patrick. And we know Nicos has most of the government military forces in the area in his pocket. We could have them to contend with, too, if he decides to turn them loose on us.”
“What kind of firepower?”
“Diego Estefan for one. He has a brother, Carlos, who took over the rebel forces when Diego disappeared. I told Mandell to call the CIA and try to locate Carlos’s rebel encampment and get me a contact. I want to phone him and let him know where Estefan is being held.” He paused. “And now I’ll also let them know that Estefan’s wife was tortured to death by Nicos’s men. I’d think that would give them motivation to help us deal with Nicos.” He added, “And I’ll go through the rest of the list of prisoners and see if anyone else can be used to block his moves.”
She was silent, her eyes narrowed on his face. “You’ve been thinking about this. Ever since you left me today, you’ve been plotting and planning, setting up scenarios and then discarding them.”
He didn’t answer for a moment. Then he shrugged. “Before then, actually. Since the time I found out that Patrick was too ill to chance moving. Everything changed from that moment. That’s why I wanted you somewhere safe and out of the line of fire. I knew I’d probably have to forget about going after Nicos later. It was all going to come together now. So I had to have an alternate plan.”
She should have known that Lassiter wouldn’t just be down here spinning his wheels while he waited for Patrick to heal enough to be moved. From childhood, he’d been involved in cons and intricate manipulations of computers and individuals. It was the natural way for him to go. “What alternate plan?”
“We were going have to go get those other prisoners anyway or else risk having them killed by Nicos. I’m just trying to use the friends and families of those prisoners to help us save them … and ourselves, if it comes to that. I’m going to contact them and see if I can persuade them it’s the only way to be sure of getting them out alive.”
“And how can we protect Patrick?”
He smiled faintly. “I’ve already started. I just talked to the doctor. He thinks, barring complications, that Patrick will be out of danger by at least the middle of the day tomorrow. We’ll try to get him to the helicopter pad by noon and I’ll have you and Cambry take him to Bogotá.”
Now wasn’t the time to argue with him about his trying to get rid of her again. “Noon tomorrow. What if Nicos makes a move before that?”
His smile vanished. “Then I won’t be able to get Patrick out of the immediate area. But I’m having Mandell scout for caves or any other places to hide him in an emergency until this is over.”
“I thought that Cambry said Father Dominic had told him there would be a couple villages that might be possibilities.”
“I decided that I didn’t want to place Patrick anywhere that the monks knew about. It could endanger both them and Patrick if they were questioned.”
She should have thought of that. So many innocent people threatened by Nicos. “They’ve been so kind to Patrick. I hate the idea of them being put in danger because he was brought here.”
“I know. That’s why I’ve been looking around for caves or any other options in the area.”
She made a face. “Caves aren’t very sanitary.” She held up her hand as he opened his lips. “Look, I lived in the woods for all those years. Sanitary isn’t always necessary. We’ll make it work as long as Dr. Armando gives Patrick the okay. But it can’t be for very long. We have to get him in a hospital as soon as possible.”
He raised his brows. “‘We’?”
“What did you think I would do? You’re going to set all of this up and I have to find a way to follow through with it. I don’t like not having any say in what you’ve already done, but I’ll make sure that I do in what goes forward.” She rubbed her temple. “But you hadn’t told me nearly everything. I was just concerned about Patrick.”
“Perfectly natural. That’s where your priority would be.”
“No, it shouldn’t. I should be worrying about everyone. Those monks … and particularly those poor prisoners.”
“Look, the prisoners should be safe even if I can’t get them out right away. As far as Nicos knows, I don’t care anything about anyone in that camp except Patrick. He wouldn’t see any advantage in hurting them or using them as pawns. It should be status quo at the camp. There’s no reason why we have to move immediately.”
“Yes, there is,” she said fiercely. “You know there is. Nicos doesn’t always think logically or reasonably. When he’s angry, he explodes. He lashes out and tries to cut deep. If he doesn’t have the target he wants, then he makes do with anyone within range. Those people will be within his range. So don’t you dare think coolly or rationally where he’s concerned. You work on getting them out now. Understand?”
“I could hardly help understanding,” he said gently. “You’re very clear. I can’t help being logical and rational, but I wasn’t going to waste any time. I just want to make sure that we’re doing it in the best way to benefit everyone.”
“Get them out of there.” Her hands clenched into fists. “I hate prisons. Nicos had me in one for nine months. I felt helpless. Rosa was helpless. Nicos likes to make people feel that way. If he gets frustrated by not finding us, he might strike out at them.”
He nodded. “I told you that I was doing everything I could think to do. We’ll move as soon as we can.” He smiled. “Without being totally unreasonable. Is that all right with you?”
She drew a deep breath. “A little patronizing, but I guess I was a little over the top. It’s your fault for hitting me with all this at once.” She grimaced. “Of course, I guess I wouldn’t have let you do anything else. But you should have told me before this, instead of leaving me in the dark.”