"When Travis knew Andreas was going to stash him somewhere, he called me and told me to be ready to set up a technical van."

She frowned in confusion. "To intercept the call to the hospital?"

"Oh, that came later. He wanted me to trace his location at Juniper from his phone signal. And he wasn't sure the Secret Service boys would obey the President's orders not to listen to his calls. He wanted my guys to occasionally interrupt their satellite signal monitor when he said a code word to van der Beck. Of course, not all the time, or it would have tipped them off."

"Van der Beck?"

"Never mind, I'm probably throwing too much at you."

"Yes, you are. And all this technical mumbo jumbo will be for nothing." She shook her head. "Andreas will set every law enforcement agency in the country after us."

"I admit it's quite a challenge."

She looked at him in astonishment.

"Okay, maybe a little bit more than I'd usually take on." He shrugged. "But Travis promised me he'd make it right."

"He's going to make kidnapping the daughter of the President right?"

He made a face. "Don't remind me. As long as I take one step at a time, I'm okay. When he first told me about his plan, I wanted to break his neck. I told Travis the last time I saw him that I didn't like living on the edge anymore."

"But you're doing this for him. Why?"

"I owe him." He shrugged. "Even so, if it was an ordinary job, I'd have told him to find someone else. This one means something to him."

"Money?"

"Sure, but there's something else thrown into the pot." Then he added, "Besides, I like him. God knows why. He's not an easy man to like. You have to beat down too many walls to get to him."

"Then I wouldn't bother." She glanced away from Travis. "What airport are we going to?"

"A private field north of Baltimore. We'll transfer to the jet there and by morning we should be in Antwerp. We drive from there to Amsterdam." He grimaced. "I told him that's the first place they'll look for him. He said it was necessary."

She shook her head in wonder. "You talk as if flitting around the world is going to be so easy. I don't even have my passport with me."

"That's okay. I have all kinds of documents for you. Part of the service. Of course, you'll have to get used to a new name. I think it's Mary or Marilyn or something like that. You won't have to use it very often. We sort of skirt around immigration. Piece of cake."

False documents. Illegal entry. Piece of cake? The casualness with which he spoke made her think that for him criminal activity was a simple fact of life. To her it was a new and frightening world. "That's hard for me to believe."

"You'll see." His gaze went to Melissa. "She's looking better. Her color's coming back. Is she on drugs?"

"No."

"Sick?"

"No." Her grasp tightened around Melissa's shoulders. "She's going to be fine."

Melissa woke up as they were getting her out of the helicopter.

"Jessica…" She looked around dazedly. "What the devil…?"

"It's okay."

"No, it's not. Nothing's been right all night. Broken. All broken…"

"Can you walk?"

"I'll try…but slow. I'm groggy…and my knees are like rubber."

"Slow isn't possible." Galen picked her up and started at a run for the small private jet. "Just hold on and we'll get there."

Melissa frowned up at him. "Who are you?"

"Sean Galen."

"It's okay, Mellie." Jessica was running beside him. "I'll explain later."

"You'll have to." Her eyes closed. "I'm too tired to think now. Where's Travis?"

"With Cassie."

"Good."

Her eyes suddenly flicked open and she stared up at Galen. "No. Don't do it."

He looked down at her.

"Don't…" Her eyes closed again. "Don't let him, Jessica…"

She was asleep.

Galen ran up the stairs to the jet and deposited Melissa on a leather couch. He nodded at the privacy curtain that divided the plane into two compartments. "Travis is up front with the kid. Sit down and fasten your seat belts." He headed for the cockpit. "We're out of here."

"Wait."

He looked back at Jessica.

"I'm calling Andreas."

He stopped short. "You'd better talk to Travis about that."

"I don't care what Travis says. I'm calling Andreas and telling him Cassie's safe." She added dryly, "Don't worry, I won't blow the whistle."

"He won't believe you, but I suppose it can't hurt. Make it less than two minutes. I'll tell Travis." He disappeared behind the curtain.

She drew a deep breath and then dialed Andreas.

"You bitch."

"I can understand how you would think that."

"How much money were you paid to take my daughter?"

"It wasn't money. I had no choice. I was afraid for Cassie and I didn't see any other way out."

"You said she was getting better."

"She was getting better, but it was only temporary and-"

Travis was standing in the curtained doorway, and he made a motion to cut the call short.

"I have to go. I just want to tell you that none of us intends to harm your daughter."

"What do you want from me?"

"Nothing."

"I want to talk to Travis. Put that bastard on."

"He wants me to hang up."

"Tell him if he so much as touches her, we'll catch him and crucify him. And that goes for you too."

"I'd probably feel the same way. You have to do what you have to do. But Cassie's safe and we'll try to keep her safe." She hung up and looked at Travis. "I had to do it. I couldn't let him go through that hell."

"I'm not arguing. My only priority was to get you off the line before the call could be traced." He turned back. "Fasten your seat belt."

Tokyo

Andreas whirled on Keller. "Did you get the location?"

The Secret Service man shook his head. "She hung up too soon. If we'd just had thirty seconds more…"

Andreas's hand clenched until the knuckles turned white. "What the hell is all this Star Wars technology for if you can't do a simple trace? If you can't find a child who-" He had to stop and wait until he could speak again. "You promised me she'd be safe at Juniper. Now, you find my Cassie, damn you."

"Yes, sir, I've already notified Danley."

"Have they picked up Travis's contact in Amsterdam?"

He shook his head. "They were in van der Beck's flat five minutes after we knew what Travis had done. He'd already slipped away."

"Then tell Danley to locate him."

"Danley's boarding a plane in D.C. in twenty minutes. Should we notify the media about the kidnapping?"

"God, no. If the whole world knows Cassie's out there and vulnerable, she could be targeted by other groups. And how the hell do we know Travis won't call back with a demand? I only talked to that bitch of a shrink. We're not sure of anything, and until we are, you make damn sure no one knows Cassie's missing. You find her."

"If Travis heads for Amsterdam, there's a good chance we'll need international help."

"Circulate pictures of Travis and Jessica Riley to every police department in Europe. Tell them the U.S. government would be very grateful for their cooperation in apprehending them. Make up some story. Call them…terrorists or anything else you can think of. Just don't mention Cassie."

"Yes, Mr. President."

"I'm going to return to Washington. Make some excuse and call the Vice President to replace me here. Tell them I've got the flu or something."

"Yes, sir."

"And, Keller."

"Yes, sir?"

"Make sure my wife doesn't find out." His voice was uneven. "Until you bring my daughter back, she's not to know that Cassie's not safe at Juniper."