He couldn’t help it. He was boiling like a teapot, and the steam had to come out.

And then he saw her.

He couldn’t believe it.

He saw her.

His fit of anger made her turn around, far down the hallway, but it was her, it was unquestionably her. But where was she going? The exit was in the other direction.

She turned. Kept walking. Meng couldn’t tell whether she’d seen him or not. Probably not. She was a librarian, not an agent. She wasn’t trained to note a face, to stay alert at all times, on the watch, on the prowl.

He ran after her. Not jogged, ran. Sprinted. Full speed. Cornelius had made the importance, the utter consequential magnitude of delivering April to him quite clear.

“FBI,” Meng said, knocking over a little girl, who clung to her father’s hand for dear life.

“Watch it, buddy!”

“F! B! I!” Meng shot back. It was simpler than an apology. The crowd ahead began splitting apart, seeing the crazed man with the badge held out like the headlight on a train.

April saw him. She was running now too. And she was surprisingly fast. But Meng knew where she was going. He pulled out his phone.

“Where are you?” Meng jumped out of the way of a concourse golf cart.

“At the gate. Xandria should be landing any minute.”

“We got a runner, coming your way.”

“Who?”

“The ex-wife.”

“I thought that—”

“She got away.”

“Does Cornelius know?”

“Yes.” Meng tripped over a man with a cane. He jumped up, asking someone to please help the man as he raced off.

“And you’re still alive?”

“Shut up and listen. If you come toward me, the girl will be trapped between us. Do you see her?”

“Hold on a second.” Pause. “Yes. Man, she’s quick!”

“Grab her.” Meng hung up. He looked ahead and saw the agent, a former lumberjack before he joined the FBI, step out and catch April like a Frisbee.

Meng pulled out his gun. “Move, people!” he said, pushing the crowd aside. He put his badge away, trading it for some handcuffs. “Good to see you again, Ms. Adams.”

“I just want to see August.”

“And you will,” Meng said, clamping the braces around her wrists behind her back. “But not yet. Besides, a family reunion just wouldn’t be right unless everyone was there.”

“What do you mean?”

Meng pulled April close and pressed his lips against her ear. “Charlie will be happy to see the whole family back together again, won’t he?”

“Charlie? No . . . I made sure he was safe.”

“There is nowhere safe. The eyes of the Dragon are everywhere,” Meng said. He tightened the cuffs one click.

Two airport security officers approached the commotion, their clubs and walkie-talkies out and ready for action. “Problem here?” one of them said.