Survival Read Free Page B

how?”
    “If we know the course she’s on and can track the locator chip, we can arrange something before she gets near Panama.”
    “Arrange something?”
    Fernanda explained what she was thinking. When she finished, Igor frowned. “It could work. But there are a lot of moving parts. Not the least of which is getting there and setting it all up.” He paused. “It’ll be expensive.”
    “Yes, I expect it will be. What do you think we should budget?”
    Igor thought about it. “Hundred thousand U.S.”
    “I’ll call the client and get his okay. I’ll give him a summary and leave it to him whether he wants us to intercept it or not. If he does, he can execute a wire today while we’re in the air. If not, we tried. But my gut says he’ll go along with it, because there’s no way we’ll be able to find them once they’re on a small fishing boat headed for some obscure harbor. To dodge immigration, they’re going to have to avoid Panama City.”
    “We could look at the ports along that coast.”
    “Yes, but remember, the area’s a major fishing hub, so every few miles there are going to be moorings and bays where they could disembark. Even our most educated guess is likely to be wrong.” Fernanda looked at her phone screen. “I’ll call our contact in Panama and see if our cost estimate is about right.” She paused, thinking. “I don’t see a better way to do it. Ideally we want to take them while they’re still in Colombian waters. That stretch is a major narcotics smuggling corridor, so we’ll have much better luck taking them in Colombian waters than off Panama, where there are likely to be coast guard and naval patrols to stop traffic north.”
    Igor eyed her appreciatively and put the car in gear. “Have I told you how arousing you are when you’re talking operational details?”
    She grinned. “Not nearly enough. I was beginning to think you didn’t care anymore.”
     

Chapter 3
    Madrid, Spain
     
    The plane pulled into the Jetway at the Aeropuerto Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas, and Jet watched as the ground crew scrambled to get everything into place so the passengers could disembark. The five-hour flight from Moscow in business class had been bearable, but not something she planned to ever repeat if she could help it. She stretched and continued to ignore the executive in the seat next to her, who’d thankfully spent the entire flight fiddling with spreadsheets and reports.
    On disembarking, Jet followed the signs up a long corridor to the connecting international flights. She had a three-hour layover and then a flight to Mexico City, connecting through Panama City, and with any luck at all she’d be in Panama with hours to spare before Matt and Hannah arrived on the fishing boat.
    She stopped at a bank of telephones and tried calling Matt’s satellite phone, knowing that the odds of him having it on all the time were slim. She wasn’t surprised when it went to voice mail, and she left a brief message.
    “Hi. I made the first leg with no problem. Hope you’re enjoying your cruise. I’m looking forward to seeing you both tomorrow. Matt, this is for Hannah.” Jet paused, envisioning Matt holding the phone to her little girl’s ear. “Sweetie, this is Mommy. I love you more than anything and I miss you something fierce. I’ll see you tomorrow. Be good.”
    When she hung up she felt deflated, and her gut twisted into a tight knot. She willed herself to relax, reminding herself that there was no way to accelerate her journey, and so to accept that she’d be flying another fourteen or fifteen hours rather than bemoan it.
    Jet moved to an area with wireless and powered on the tablet she’d bought. She searched the news and saw another short piece on the dead Russian attorney – a tragic loss to the community, another casualty of depression. The party line, she thought, still no hint of foul play, so her gambit had worked and she was in the clear. Not that she expected anything