“And you’re just ready to roll the dice with the whole world at stake?” Sean exclaimed.

“Well, if we don’t, someone else will.”

After he left, Michelle added glumly, “I’m sick of geniuses.”

Joan smiled. “Good work, Sean.” She paused and glanced at Michelle.

“And you too, Maxwell. From what I’ve heard I don’t think Sean would’ve made it without you.”

She knew nothing of their ordeal at the hands of Valerie Messaline or their arrangement with the government, and never would.

The two women extended to each other a grudging handshake.

When they returned to their apartment and were getting out of their car in the underground parking garage a limo pulled up in front of them. Ian Whitfield leaned out and said tersely, “Get in.”

They sat across from Whitfield, who said, “Sorry it took me so long to spring you.”

“And how exactly did you manage to turn the tables on the wicked witch?” Sean asked.

Surprisingly, Michelle answered. “You found out she was taking a cut from the drug shipments and selling them. You nailed her with that, right?”

Whitfield said, “How do you figure that, Maxwell?”

“When I was at the airport and they loaded the drugs on Champ’s plane, I noticed they kept some bales back. That was Valerie’s cut. The old guy from the government told us the CIA was destroying the drugs, but Hayes and Ventris said the area was being flooded with drugs.”

Whitfield said sternly, “Not even Valerie was connected enough to dig herself out of that one.”

Sean snapped his fingers. “That explains her going to that bar and pretending to get hit on. She was really moving her drug shipments.”

Whitfield nodded. “I finally got one of her team to turn on her. I used his information to crack her plan open, spring you two and nail her.”

“But why take the risk of Champ flying the drugs out? Why not just destroy them at Camp Peary?” Michelle asked.

“We don’t have the facilities to do it there. But when Michelle caught Champ in the act, we didn’t have time for anything else.”

Sean said, “Okay, what happened to old Val and her homicidal sidekick, Alicia?”

In answer Whitfield held up a copy of the Washington Post. On page A-6 was a brief story about the unfortunate deaths of two State Department employees in a car accident near Beijing. There were two grainy photos of the victims.

Sean looked at Michelle and then back at Whitfield. “Damn, I didn’t mean for them to be killed.”

“And what exactly did you expect would happen to them? That we’d try them in a court of law where their stories would come out? Where highly sensitive programs they were involved in might possibly be revealed to the public?” He looked at the photo of Alicia. “I was riding in the Humvee with her in Iraq when we hit the IED. I was the one who pulled her out. That’s how my leg got banged up. She used to be a good agent. Something just went wrong somewhere.”

“What about the treasure?” Sean said.

Whitfield pulled out some documents and handed them to Sean.

“The full proceeds were split into thirds, tax-free, as you requested. A nice gesture,” he added. “Most people wouldn’t have been so magnanimous.”

“And Viggie?” Michelle said.

“That’s where we’re headed right now. And she’s absolutely fine. It was fortunate Valerie was so busy with you two she put her plans for Viggie on hold.”

Sean hunched forward. “Ian, you took our side against your own agency. Why aren’t you dead or under arrest?”

His features turned grim. “I was the technical head of Camp Peary, but Valerie really ran the place. She’s done impressive work and her rise at the Agency has been amazingly swift. I didn’t know that was the deal when I took the job, but I had to live with it if I wanted to continue my career.

“Very quickly I saw it was a mistake because she started doing things that were way over the line. She co-opted several of the paramilitary squads based at the camp. All I could do was wait for an opening, though it didn’t look like one would ever come along.” Whitfield glanced at Sean. “I know Valerie made a hard rush at you to get you in the sack.”

“I didn’t have much trouble resisting,” Sean said almost truthfully.

“Good. Because you wouldn’t have walked out alive. That’s why I showed up on the beach. I knew she was concerned about how much you were finding out. I followed her and pretended to be the cuckolded husband. She was pissed at me for letting you get away.”

Sean looked stunned. “Thanks for saving my life. Again.”

“It’s my job to protect Americans, even from my own agency.”

“I’m surprised Valerie just didn’t have us killed right away.”

“I think she wanted to pay you back, for messing up her plans. And she also needed to find out how much you knew.”

“So who killed Len Rivest?” Sean asked.

“The only thing I can tell you is that Alicia’s interest in Rivest wasn’t romantic.”

Sean said, “And her and Champ being at Babbage Town was no coincidence?”

“Champ and Alicia were recruited long ago by the CIA. They were posted at Babbage Town when it first started. By the way, they were the real deal in the science world.”

“And they were at Babbage Town to steal whatever technology they came up with on quantum computers?” Michelle said.

“Let’s just say they were very interested observers. But what they were really working on at Babbage Town was a counter to the quantum computer.”

“A counter?” Michelle said.

“It’s a given that a commercially viable quantum computer will be a reality one day. The folks that owned Babbage Town were attempting to build a quantum computer so they could, in turn, construct an effective counter-device to it.”

“So the owners of Babbage Town were the very ones who would be hurt by quantum computers?” Sean said.

“Like banks and multinational companies?” Michelle added. “Really deep pockets.”

Whitfield nodded. “They had to do it on the Q.T. If the public found out, there would’ve been a panic. But the CIA wasn’t going to stand by and let something like that take place right under its nose. I can’t say we were interested in a counter-device though. We are spies, after all.”

“So how close are they to stopping the world in its tracks?”

Whitfield shrugged. “If I were you I’d start paying in cash and stocking up on paper and pen for your correspondence.”

“But was it a coincidence that Babbage Town was located right across from Camp Peary?” Sean asked.

Whitfield shook his head. “CIA owns the estate through a shell company. They bought it because it was right across from Camp Peary. Champ convinced the people behind Babbage Town to lease the place.”

Michelle added, “And Champ was a pilot who could fly the drugs out for you.”

“Be clear on this point: Champ is a good agent. He was doing what he was ordered to do. That’s all. He wasn’t working with Valerie or Alicia.” He glanced at Michelle. “He told me to tell you that he was sorry how things turned out.”

“Sorry! The bastard shot me in the arm!”

“If he wanted to kill you, you’d be dead.”

“Viggie was in his plane. Was he going to kill her?”

“No. We were getting the girl away from Valerie. You just got in the way.”

“Oh,” Michelle said, looking chagrined.

“Champ also told me to tell you that you have a lot to live for. And to give up trying to fly planes. I’m not sure what he meant by that.”

Michelle looked down at her hands. “So Champ is okay?” she said.

“Yes. And like me, he’s been reassigned.”

“Why was Viggie taken?” Michelle asked.

Whitfield said, “There was also code in the song’s notes that Alicia managed to break using the computers at Babbage Town. It was actually based on the World War II-era Enigma code.”

Sean said, “I knew it! She used my clue about the Enigma code to break it and then lied to us about it. And Viggie was also a code, a living, breathing one.”