Page 83 of In Too Deep

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 itthe 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 realizedwhy. 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 calledTube 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 firstout 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 upthe 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.”

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