“He took a boat,” he said. “Don’t know how long ago. Pretty sure he took the cigarette boat we saw in the satellite photos. And you’re telling me you can’t find a fifty-nine-foot racing boat on a sea as small as the Adriatic? It’s what? Only five hundred miles long and one-twenty wide? How’s that even possible?”

“Satellites aren’t in geostationary orbit, Pappy,” said Scott Wilson, speaking from the TOC five hundred miles away. “We retasked a CIA eye in the sky to sync up with your infiltration, but it’s necessarily moved on.”

“All due respect, Grendel,” said Top, using Wilson’s call sign, “but you can shove that answer where the sun don’t shine. Outlaw’s on a boat in the Adriatic. You telling me we have no assets that can find him? I don’t want to hear that bullshit.”

“Calm down,” began Wilson, but Top cut him off.

“Don’t you fucking tell me to calm down,” snarled Top. “Tell me you can find him. The man has an RFID chip, for god’s sake. So does his dog.”

“Those chips went inactive thirty-seven minutes after Havoc Team entered the mansion,” said Scott, his tone patient but not contrite. “Unknown yet whether he removed the chips or is using a Faraday wrap on them.”

Faraday wraps—like Faraday cages and bags—were sophisticated tech that nullified all electronic signals. Each member of the team carried them to secure devices taken from targets. The wraps were used to blank out RFID chips implanted in hostiles they apprehended. RTI policy forbade any team member from using them to shield their own telemetry. Those chips sent a continuous signal even if the host died.

“Or,” continued Wilson, his tone as dour as an undertaker’s, “Bug thinks there’s even a chance Ledger may have used a Lightning Bug. Some of the island’s perimeter security and electronics went out shortly after Ledger left the building. And I’m not talking about the stuff Andrea took out during the mission. Ledger may have deliberately killed his own RFID. I’ve told the cleanup team to look for evidence.”

Top looked up at the sky for a long moment, then rubbed his eyes. “Then how do we find him?” he asked wearily.

Instead of a direct answer from Wilson, a new voice came on the line.

“Pappy,” said Mr. Church, “we’re on a confidential line, just the two of us.”

“Sir,” said Top.

“Tell me exactly what happened. Be as detailed and precise as you can.”

Top took a breath and then gave his report. He left nothing out and included his conjectures about Joe Ledger’s crumbling mental state. He mentioned that Ledger had reported seeing someone in the woods, and then mentioned “Dad” later on. Church listened without interruption.