“I’m sure. I talked to her. I heard that son of a bitch, Masenak, talk to her. As I told Korgan, the only doubts he has are about who Sasha’s parents are, and if Baldwin is trying to screw him out of any ransom.”

“You actually talked to her?” she asked incredulously. “You went into the camp on the night after Baldwin disappeared? Are you crazy?”

“Not crazy. Not weird as your friend Sasha called me. Merely doing the unexpected, which works in the majority of cases.” He took a swallow of his beer. “And Korgan insisted on conversation and delivery as well as a report, so I obliged him.”

“Thank you,” Korgan said dryly.

“You should thank me,” Gilroy said. “Though to be honest, she didn’t need any urging to accept that delivery. She was already almost there. All it took was the signal jammer.”

“Signal jammer?” Alisa repeated. “What are you talking about?”

“Since I was having Gilroy check on her, I thought I’d accomplish two aims at once,” Korgan said. “I sent him with a signal jammer to temporarily disarm the CL-20 detonator and a chemical to dissolve the chain links connected to the posts.”

“What?”

“But I told her that it was Korgan’s idea to give it to her, and it was without your approval,” Gilroy said quickly. “And that it had to be her choice.”

“‘Choice’?” Alisa repeated harshly. “Dammit, the minute you gave her that jammer she had no choice. It was like giving candy to a baby. She can’t think of anything but helping those students.” She whirled on Korgan. “I thought we’d talk about any action we asked Sasha to take. Yet you sent him to toss that jammer in her lap without even consulting me?”

“I wanted to get the equipment she might need to her right away,” he said quietly. “I’m moving fast, and I didn’t know how many opportunities I’d have to make certain she had it if she needed it. I was sending Gilroy there anyway, and I took advantage of it.”

She was in such a rage she was having trouble keeping her voice steady. “You certainly did.”

“Yes, I did. But I didn’t coerce her. I just gave her the weapons to help and told her we’d be behind her…if she decided to do it. We’d both agreed that to involve her was the best and safest way to handle the extraction. I didn’t tell you I was doing it today because I knew you’d agonize over it and delay and worry about how to handle it. I didn’t want to put you through that and thought I’d merely present you with a fait accompli.”