Zenko had been asleep, drunk on his couch when he’d arrived. The guy had had a pistol laying on the floor beside him which he’d kicked away before shooting good old Lloyd at pointblank range with a silenced weapon.

It had been a thrill getting the drop on a former soldier, even a crappy one like Zenko.

He checked directions on the maps he’d downloaded onto the cell he’d stolen last night and decided it was time to switch plates again. He drove along a quiet backroad until he found a secluded area and pulled over before quickly replacing the license plates. Then he pulled out some large magnetic decals he’d had made and stuck them on both sides of the van.

The vehicle was a rental but the company who’d rented it probably hadn’t even figured it out yet. It was one of many daily transactions and he doubted they’d realize until the Feds started knocking on their doors in about thirty-six hours.

He tapped his fingers on the steering wheel. Did he head back now and switch cars? Or wait until dark as originally planned?

His stomach growled. He hadn’t eaten since lunchtime yesterday and he was starving. He’d go find food and then spend some time taking in the local scenery. He’d traveled all over the US but never explored Shenandoah National Park.

Sticking to the plan was the wisest choice. He’d considered every scenario. Planned for every possibility. He always did.

He sighed. What was he going to do with himself in retirement?

He hadn’t quite decided yet. Maybe he’d buy a yacht and learn to sail. Maybe he’d start an animal rescue. Anything that was the antithesis of Evi1Geni-us. He thought about the dark-haired woman who was starting to appear in his dreams. He was looking forward to discovering everything there was to know about her.

How much would people pay to watch a long, cunning stalk followed by a slow, painful death?

He grinned.

He was pretty sure he was going to find out.

14

Shane held the door of Building 64 for Yael and they headed to the briefing room. Sloan had ordered an emergency meeting of the task force. Most of the agents who’d traveled to Fayetteville weren’t back yet. Some were helping to process Zenko’s apartment and secure his electronics. Zenko had let a friend stay at his place while he went away for a few days. The friend had suffered a nasty surprise when he’d left for a lunchtime shift at a bar and had been detained in the parking lot by twenty heavily armed federal agents.

Another Evidence Response Team was at Zenko’s family cabin, or what little remained of it.