Page 12 of The Rebel King

“Solutions, Grim,” I say through a cage of teeth. “Can you activate it remotely? Is it too late?”

“Not sure. They could be underground. Underwater, for all we know. There’s no way to know the conditions where they’re being held. With them being in such a remote place with no Wi-Fi, satellite, or electricity—finding that signal could be like pulling a single thread from the rain forest.”

“But that’s exactly what I need you to do. If anyone can, it’s you.”

Grim gives a terse nod and rubs a hand over the back of his neck. “I’ve had an initial conversation with CamTech’s negotiator.”

“And?”

“Like I said, I don’t feel good about it.”

“I expected as much. What’s their position?”

“They don’t have one. The kidnapper wants ten million dollars and the vaccine. We both know they’ll never hand over that vaccine. Their only hope is getting them to settle for the money. They’re actually willing to pay the ten if they have to because K&R will reimburse that payout. And apparently Dr. Murrow is a pretty big deal. He’s the brains behind this vaccine they’ve developed, and they see its potential.”

“Its potential to kill millions of people, you mean?”

“Hey, war is a dirty business, but it’s still business. They may be required to report it to the CDC before they issue it as a drug, but they could eventuallysellit to our government, even if only to keep it from the hands of any other government, and they know it. Bringing him home is a huge priority for them.”

“And Lennix? What about bringing her home?”

He shakes his head, his expression grave. “The kidnapper has tied their hands on it. Maybe they can talk this guy down and convince him to cut his losses, grab the ransom, and run without the vaccine, but I’m not sure we’ll get there in forty-eight hours.”

He pauses, flicks me a careful glance. “The best we can hope for on this abbreviated timeline is that the kidnapper stretches out the threat of killing Lennix.”

“Stretches it out? What do you mean?”

“Instead of killing the hostage right away, it’s common practice for kidnappers to…assert pressure by sending fingers, toes—”

“Fuck!” The expletive explodes from my mouth. I pull my hair until it hurts and pace my office like a trapped animal.

“I can’t take it, Grim.” I stand still long enough to tell him. “Getting her back in pieces…” I close my eyes and drag in a breath tainted with fear and rage. “What do you recommend?”

“Ifwe can activate that tracking device remotely, we may be able to attempt a rescue, but we should try a conversation with this guy first.”

“Aconversation? With the man who held a gun to her head? I don’t want a conversation with him. I want him to know how it feels to have a gun held tohishead…for about thirty seconds before I blow it off.”

“King—”

“I’m serious, Grim. I don’t want to negotiate with the guy on that video. He killed an old man to prove a damn point. He’ll kill Nix, so I’m killing him first.”

Grim scowls his exasperation. “It’s not a matter of packing a lunch and taking off for the jungle. A rescue mission in conditions like these would require extensive tactical planning, strategy, assembling the best team possible. Time.”

“We don’thavetime. We have to get her out of there.”

“In half these K&R rescues, someone dies. Often the hostage.”

That alarming truth sinks in alongside the just-as-alarming alternatives.

“Let me at least try to speak with him,” he says. “I asked CamTech’s negotiator to inquire, to see if this guy will talk to us.”

“And?”

“He will.”

“When?”

“Today. If you’re saying yes, we’ll try to talk to him as soon as we can.”

---