Iris Johansen - Final Target

"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."

Melissa didn't wake again until they were over the Atlantic.

Vibration. Throb of engines. A plane…

Plane?

Jessica. Where was Jessica? She jerked upright.

"Shh. It's okay." Jessica was suddenly beside her. "Everything's fine, Mellie."

"I don't think so." She slowly sat up. It was a plane and she was lying on a leather couch." I have an idea nothing's fine. Cassie?"

"She's sleeping in the front. Travis is with her. I wanted to stay with you."

"Is she well?" She tried to remember. "There was an ambulance…"

"Travis arranged that."

"And this plane?"

"Travis and his friend Sean Galen."

"Where are we going?"

"Amsterdam. By way of Antwerp."

"Amster-" Melissa drew a deep breath and said slowly, "I believe you have a few things to tell me. I go to sleep at Juniper and I wake up on my way to Amsterdam?"

"Would you like a cup of coffee?"

"No, I'd like to know every single thing that I've obviously not been privy to."

Jessica sighed. "Okay, I just thought you might need the caffeine before I throw all this at you." For the next several minutes she detailed the dilemma with which Travis had confronted her.

Melissa started swearing. "I can't believe it. I asked you what the problem was the other night, and you lied to me."

"Not really. I just didn't tell you everything. Okay, I lied to you."

"Why?"

"It was my decision whether or not to give in to Travis, and you would have complicated things."

" Your decision? I'm pretty deeply involved in this. I think I should have been allowed to put in my two cents' worth."

"Cassie's my patient."

"And you still think of me as a patient too. Which leaves you in charge, right? Well, I'm not a patient and I won't be treated like one. I'm not sick or off my noggin and I can pull my own weight."

"You didn't look like you were pulling your own weight tonight."

"That was a low blow."

"You deserved it. You may not be my patient, but as long as you have this connection with Cassie, you're as much in danger as she is. Do you think I'm going to let anything bad happen to you because I'm afraid of hurting your feelings?"

Melissa stared at her for a moment and then said grudgingly, "Dammit, you could have let me be right this one time, Saint Jessica. I'm all full of righteous indignation and you pull the carpet out from under me." She shook her head. "But you still should have told me. Together we could have found a way to pull the plug on Travis. His whole scheme is absolutely insane."

"Do you think I don't know that? I couldn't see any way out. We need him."

She couldn't argue about that, Melissa realized in frustration. "Why Amsterdam?"

"Travis has business there." She hesitated. "I didn't tell you, but I got him to promise me…the Wind Dancer."

Melissa froze. "What?"

"I pressured him into promising he'd find a way to bring Cassie and the statue together."

"No."

"Yes." She looked down at Melissa's hands clenched on the coverlet. " I knew this would upset you, but you're wrong. I believe this is a chance to help her. I'm not sure I can trust Travis to keep his word, but I'm going to try to hold him to it. I won't go through all this madness and not get something out of it."

Melissa could feel the muscles of her stomach twist. "Christ, how can I convince you what a mistake you're making?" she whispered.

"You can't convince me. My patient. My decision." Jessica squeezed her hand. "I'm afraid this time you'll just have to come along for the ride." She got to her feet. "Now I think I'll make coffee and sandwiches. If you want to get out of that nightshirt, there's a change of clothes and a toothbrush in the bathroom. They're in an overnight case neatly labeled with your name." She headed down the aisle toward the back of the plane. "Galen seems to have provided for everything."

Galen. A memory came back to Melissa of the man who had carried her to the jet. Dark hair, dark eyes, quick, strong…

And dangerous, very dangerous.

She had gotten those same vibes from Travis. He was probably even more dangerous than Galen. Certainly more dangerous to her, because he was the one who had promised Jessica the Wind Dancer. She had to talk to Travis, tell him to forget about the damn statue.