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PLEASE LET’S MEET — ANYWHERE YOU LIKE

I’M SURE WE CAN WORK THIS ALL OUT

With what? Another bullet?

Slow down, Mag . . .

She quickly typed:

I NEED $200,000 CASH BY TOMORROW.

I’LL BE IN TOUCH.

Where did that come from?

She hit SEND, then clicked to shut down the connection with the satellite. Then—unnecessarily, but it made her feel better—she unplugged from the computer the cable that linked to the antenna.

I have to think this through.

She then looked at her hands and realized they were shaking uncontrollably.

With some difficulty, she got the top unscrewed from the bottle of Cruzan gold rum, sloshed some into a glass, and drank it all at once.

[FOUR]

Philadelphia International Airport

Monday, November 17, 2:35 P.M.

John Garvey walked down Concourse A, his nerves on edge despite all the free first-class alcohol he had consumed on the flight.

Once the aircraft had rumbled down the Saint Thomas runway and left the island, he had felt some relief. And the drinks had certainly helped calm, if not numb, him. But now that that period was over, his mind had begun to spin again.

What guarantee do I have these animals will live up to their end of the bargain?

Once I’ve done this, what’s to stop them from coming after me, making me do it again and again? I should’ve gone right to the cops. But they’re watching—and he said that would’ve been a swift death sentence.

The piece of paper with the telephone number that he was supposed to text after he had his suitcase felt like it might burn a hole in his pocket. As a precaution, in case it did burn a hole or otherwise got lost, back at the hotel he had punched the number into his cell phone.

What if whoever I’m supposed to text doesn’t show?

Who am I kidding? I have their drugs.

And they know how to find me. Find us.

—

John Garvey heard the loud warning buzzer sound over the baggage carousel. Then came the huge metallic clunking of the carousel starting to turn.

The first bag slid down, a black one similar to his. Then another followed it.

They’re all black. All the same.

What if someone grabs mine by mistake?

What if mine doesn’t show up at all?

Then what?