“Seems like something Alex Lansdowne would have known,” said Patton. “Strange he didn’t mention it.”

“I don’t trust him,” said Nemo. “All that business about not choosing sides.”

“He did give us the guns,” said Patton.

“Because he knew I’d break his neck if he didn’t. I’ve seen his kind before—people who only care about their own hides, who would never take a risk for anyone else.”

“Doesn’t that pretty much describe you?” said Patton.

“Not always,” said Nemo, thinking of Jack. “I rescued you, didn’t I?”

“And me,” said Jean.

“Fair enough,” said Patton.

“Listen,” said Jean, “I told you everything I know about Ingrid Weiss, so do you want to tell me how you ended up in her basement just in time to save me?”

“I’ll tell you this,” said Nemo. “You’re right about Weiss being bad news.”

“We think she is running some sort of Aryan organization,” said Patton. “Something tied to the sick ideals of Heinrich Himmler and a racist manifesto called the Fourteen Words.”

“And apparently Himmler discovered the secret to alchemy,” said Nemo, “so if Weiss finds that, she’ll have limitless money to promote her agenda.”

“But we’re still one step ahead of her,” said Patton.

“OK, I was with you until the part about alchemy,” said Jean. “Do you seriously believe . . .”

“We don’t know what to believe,” said Patton, “but Weiss obviously believes, and does so strongly enough to kill to get what she wants. You of all people should realize that.”

“So where is Ingrid Weiss now?” said Jean.

“If all has gone to plan,” said Nemo, “she’s waiting outside a hotel in the German Alps south of Munich.”

Ruthie dozed in the back seat and soon enough Jean fell asleep as well. Patton followed roads north and east and eventually began to see signs reading Praha.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to drive for a while?” said Nemo when they had been on the road for a couple of hours, but Patton insisted that being in control made her feel better after what had happened in Munich, and he didn’t press the subject. He understood flashbacks and traumatic episodes. Even if he had never been to a doctor, never had anyone tell him that he suffered from PTSD, he thought he understood what Patton had felt in that basement when they discovered the suicide vest. The same thing he felt every time he saw a ten-year-old boy who reminded him of Jack. He would not ask her about it now, but the time might come, he thought, when they could talk.