Ben exchanged looks with Pastor Mike. Jed recognized Victor, of course, but he’d never seen the other two dudes. They were obviously Dark Ones, probably Victor’s lieutenants, and he realized in that moment how much he still had to learn about the Dark Ones’ global hierarchy and various HVTs operating in the shadows around the world.

The Q and A with Dr. Zhao continued for another thirty minutes as the team tried to extract as much knowledge from the Chinese weapon creator as possible. Peru had obviously been a proof-of-concept test of the weapon on whatever aviation platform the Dark Ones were using. Now the Shepherds had to hurry up and find the plane and the weapon before they hit whatever their real mission objective was. To Jed that seemed obvious: the Trinity complex broadly and the man across from him—the man who led Trinity—specifically. Jed hazarded a guess he might also have made that short list, with his link to Victor and his having rescued Sarah Beth from the demon’s clutches.

Ben assigned a security detail to Dr. Zhao and offered to let him stay on campus until a permanent WITSEC-type solution could be arranged with the CIA. Zhao was working under the mistaken assumption he was in CIA custody presently, and nobody, including Gayle, had taken any active steps to dissuade him of this belief.

All in good time . . .

Once the Chinese scientist was safely whisked away, the debrief continued in a much more freewheeling and emotionally charged manner than it had before. Like the good leader he was, Ben let everyone vent and express their concerns until the process was no longer productive. At that point, he cut it off and gave everyone their marching orders . . . everyone except Jed.

“Jed, hang back a second,” Ben said after ending the meeting.

“Sure thing, boss.” Once they were alone, Jed asked, “What’s up?”

“Pastor Mike is having a similar discussion with David as we speak about putting Sarah Beth onto this case,” Ben said. “The Yarnells have expressed concerns and misgivings about accelerating their daughter too quickly, but this particular threat is too dangerous not to leverage all our best talent, and that girl is exceptionally gifted.”

Jed nodded. “Yes, she is . . . but why are you talking to me about it?”

“Two reasons. First, because David might need a sounding board, someone to talk to about it. Second, because from what I’ve seen, the girl has bonded with you. If she has a vision, I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re the person she reaches out to first.”

“Understood,” Jed said. “I’ll make sure I’m available for both of them. But, Ben . . .” He paused, not sure how to express the fear he had.