The man flicked a hand at Julie, and her gag and bindings were quickly removed. He put his hands on the table in front of him.
“Welcome,” he said, a smile flitting across his lips but never coming close to reaching the blue eyes.
Julie simply stared at him.
“I’m sure you are wondering where you are and why you are here.”
“Did you hurt Jerome?” she said.
“Jerome?”
“My guardian. I live with him. Did you hurt him?”
“Not to the extent that he will not recover. Now, getting back to the matter at hand, I’m sure you have no idea where you are or why you’re here.”
She looked him over. “Well, we’re not in Germany. The plane was a turboprop. No transatlantic range. And no plane can take you back in time to, say, the 1930s.” She said this last part with a disgusted look at the swastikas on the walls. She continued, “We were in the air about two and a half hours. So I’d say we’re somewhere in the Deep South.”
He looked bemused by this statement. “Why not the North? You don’t think our brethren dwell there?”
“Your accent is southern.” She glanced down. “And the dirt floor is red clay. Georgia. Alabama, maybe.”
The man’s bemusement receded and he looked stonily at her. “You would make a good detective.”
“Yeah, I’ve heard that before. What do you want?”
“I want nothing from you.”
“So it has to do with someone connected to me, then?”
The man nodded.
“Do you want me to guess?”
“You’re good at deductions. Continue making them.”
“Your hair doesn’t match your eyes, and your face is way too old for the hair, which means you dye it. With all those age spots on your hands I’d say you’re probably in your late fifties or even sixties. And the type of uniform you have on was worn by Himmler, who headed the SS. He was also the asshole behind the concentration camps. Congratulations. Something really to be proud of.”
Julie heard the breathing of the men behind her accelerate, but the man across from her didn’t change expressions. He said, “No, I was speaking of who you might be connected to. Please elaborate on that.”
“And give you intel you might not otherwise have? No, I think I’ll pass.”
“You are a most unusual young woman, not at all like I expected.”
“What, did you expect some timid pre-feminist girly-girl quaking in her boots at the sight of you? Sure, I’m scared. You guys kidnapped me. You have me outnumbered. You have guns. I’m completely in your power here.” She looked at the swastikas again. “And you’re all obviously full of hate and seriously demented. I’d be an idiot not to be afraid. But that doesn’t mean I’ll help you, because I won’t.”
“I actually have no need for you to do anything, Miss Getty.”
“I’m not impressed that you know my name. Easy enough to find out.”
“Do you know the name Sally Fontaine?”
“No.”
“How about the name Jessica?”
Julie said nothing.
“Tall, lean woman with blonde hair?”
Julie still said nothing.
“Your silence speaks volumes.”
“Okay,” said Julie. “So what’s the plan? Me for her? Won’t be happening.”
“Well, for your sake, you should hope that it does happen.”
“It’s not up to me. It’s not up to you. It’s actually not up to her.”
“So you do admit knowing Jessica?”
“I admit to nothing. But let me ask you something, if I may?”
She waited until he nodded.
“You think this Sally Fontaine is the same person as this Jessica?”
“I know that she is, beyond doubt.”
“And how do you know Sally Fontaine?”
“She used to be one of my most loyal followers.”
“Okay, that’s bullshit.”
The man hiked his eyebrows. “And how do you know that? A guess with no factual foundation?”
Julie shook her head but said nothing.
“You don’t seem intimidated by your surroundings. Most people, even adults, would be very distressed at being kidnapped and held at gunpoint.”
“It’s not my first time being kidnapped and held at gunpoint.”
“Really?” he said in a skeptical tone.
“Yeah. The last time was a Saudi prince with serious jihadist tendencies. He nearly killed me.”
“And why didn’t he?”
“My friends came and rescued me.”
“That won’t be happening in this case.”
“Never say never. And you have no intention of letting me go.”
“And why is that?”
“You let me see your face. I can identify you. So, you can’t let me go.”
“We’ll see. As you said, never say never.”
“What is Sally Fontaine to you?”
“As I told you, she was one of my loyal followers.”
Julie snorted at this.
The man pulled out a picture from his pocket. “Perhaps you will recognize your friend.” He showed it to Julie.
It was of a teenage girl standing next to a younger version of the man across from Julie. He was dressed in a similar black SS uniform. As Julie looked closer she could see that the girl was Jessica Reel. And there was something else.
“She’s pregnant,” exclaimed Julie.
“Yes, she was carrying my child. Our love child, as I liked to say.”
“But she looks my age and you were a grown man. Are you a pedophile too?”
The blow knocked Julie out of her chair and she landed on the hard clay. An instant later she was jerked up and thrown back into the chair by the men behind her. The man across from her was rubbing his hand where he had struck her.
“Forgive my outburst of anger. But your words struck a chord deeply in me.”
Julie rubbed the blood off her mouth and stared across at him.
“We were very much in love,” he said. “Despite our age difference.”
She said, “But no longer in love, then.” He cocked his head at her. “If you have to kidnap me to get to her.”
“Time passes and things change, it is true. But my feelings are still there.”
“And the child?”
“Another empty hole in my heart. I wish to rectify that.”
“Did you know Sally’s father?”
“Earl? Yes, a good friend of mine.”
“I’m sure he is. Is that how you got on to her and to me?”
“You really are extraordinarily precocious. I could use someone like you in our effort.”
Julie didn’t bother to respond to this. “So what’s the next step?” she said.
“We have made contact. We expect her to do the same shortly.”
There was a buzzing sound. Julie looked around for a moment before realizing it was coming from the man’s pocket.
He took out the phone and looked at the screen. “Speak of the devil.”
He turned and left the room.
Chapter
40
SO TELL ME, DO YOU prefer Sally or Jessica?”
Reel said, “How are you, Leon? Still playing behind closed doors with your little swastika?”
Leon Dikes smiled and looked toward the doorway to the room where Julie was being held. “It’s so wonderful to hear your voice, Sally.”
“Let’s live in the present. The name is Jessica.”
“All right, Jessica.”
“Next time you see Earl, tell him I said hello. It’s heartwarming to see that you two have remained close.”
“The truth is, I never really cared for your father, Jessica. He’s uncouth and uneducated. I have a PhD.”
“Yeah, in the I Love Hitler program at the University of the Demented.”
“Actually, it was political science and it was at Berkeley.”
“Now, t
hat’s something I never knew about you, Leon.”
“But your father did prove useful. He was dying, but he was dying unfulfilled.”
“Let me guess. I was the last item on his bucket list?”
“It was a mutual goal. You cost me several years of my life in prison.”
“What you did should have cost you your life. You got a ridiculously short sentence because I was prevented from coming back and testifying against you.”
“But you decimated my organization. It took me a long time to rebuild it.”
“Goody for you. Let’s talk about the future.”
“Julie is a very intelligent girl. She could go far in any field she chooses. Will she get the chance?”
“Let her go and the answer is yes.”
“I would like to let her go. If my price is met.”
“I’ve got a few bucks in my 401(k).”
“You and my daughter are the price.”
“She’s not your daughter.”
“I am her biological father.”
“You raped me.”
“Your words. But in any case it does not take away my status.”
“It most certainly does. And it did. The court already ruled on that.”
“American courts do not have jurisdiction over me.”
“Not really sure how you figure that one. But I don’t want to get into that. You take me in return for Julie. It’s me you really want, after all.”
“I said you and my child.”
“It’s called compromise, Leon. You never get all you want.”
“I do. Because if I don’t I will impregnate Julie, hold her for the term of the baby. And then kill her. That way I will have my child. Those are my terms. They are not negotiable. You know me well enough to understand that.”
Reel didn’t say anything for several moments. “It will take me some time to get hold of Laura.”
“Laura? You named her after—”
“My mother, yes.”
“I told you her name was Eva.”
“I was not naming my daughter after Adolf Hitler’s mistress.”
“They were lawfully married. Eva Braun was Der Führer’s great love.”
“Yeah, he married her and then killed her. Some love.”
“I will not argue political philosophies with you. His mind was too advanced for someone like you to understand.”
“And thank God for that.”
“I will give you two days to locate ‘Laura.’ Then I will call and give you instructions on the exchange.”
“Look, Leon, I can’t just take Laura from the life she has and give her to you.”
“Then I will get to you another way. And I will have my new child with Julie. And I will send you Julie’s head nine months from now. It is simple. Do not worry yourself over it, Sally. You are female. Know your limits. Remember, I often counseled you about that.”
“Well, this female brought you and your horror act down.”
“You were lucky beyond all reasoning.”
“I was smarter than you!”
“Do you want me to send you the girl’s head now?” barked Dikes.
Reel calmed. “Call me in two days.”
“You can count on it.”
“And if you harm Julie in any way you will seriously regret it.”
“I have already struck her once. She was disrespectful. You know I do not tolerate that. Two days, Sally. Please be ready to deliver what I ask.”
He clicked off.
Reel put the phone down on the table. She didn’t look at Robie, who had listened to every word of the conversation.
“He sounds as sick as you said,” Robie noted.
“He’s a monster, Robie.”
“You said you were prevented from testifying against him again?”
“I was at CIA by then. They wouldn’t let me. I tried everything I could think of, but I wasn’t even twenty. They intimidated me into just ignoring it. I’ll never forgive myself for that, Robie. Never.”
“I get that, Jessica. I really do.”
“And Dikes is a pathological liar and he has no intention of letting Julie go regardless of what I do.”
“I never thought he would voluntarily let her go.”
“Well, then what do we do?”
“We get Julie back safe. You walk away alive. And we nail this scum to the wall.”
“That sounds like a plan. How exactly do you propose doing that?”
“I bet he still thinks you’re in WITSEC.”
“He may.”
“Jessica, this guy has no idea what you are, does he?”
“You mean a stone cold killer?” she said grimly. “No, he doesn’t.”
“No, I mean a highly skilled government operative who knows how to take care of herself.”
“Okay.”
“And he doesn’t know about me, does he?”
“No. Well, we were undoubtedly spotted at the prison. So he knows you were with me.”
“But he has no idea what I do, and I sincerely doubt he can find out in two days.”
“Agreed.”
“Well, you know what I think?”
“What?”
“That he should be the one who’s afraid.”
Reel took this all in and nodded. “I’m an idiot, I really am.”
“No you’re not. You’re stressed beyond belief and feeling incredible guilt. Most humans aren’t equipped to deal well with that combination.”
“But I’m not most humans, am I? I forgot that for a bit. I guess it seemed to me that I was still a teenager dealing with this piece of filth. But I’m not.” She stood. “I’m not.” She paused, choosing her words with care. “This actually might be a blessing in disguise, Robie. He used my old man to get to me. But he never looked at it the other way around.”
The Target Page 24