All I could say in a whiny voice was, “You warned him?” It was completely demoralizing.

She turned to me and said, “We’re fighting terrorists, not releasing them.” Then she pulled out a stack of cash from the envelope and said, “Besides, a girl’s got to party.” Now she was smiling. Enough so her dimples showed.

I managed to stand and wrap my hands around the bars. “You’re not going to leave me in here, are you? There’s no telling what they’re going to do to me.”

Now she stepped right next to the bars. I noticed Jackson keeping a close eye on her from across the room. Vicki reached up and stroked my cheek with the back of her hand.

She said, “Don’t worry. You’ll be home soon. Jackson told me they’re just going to ship you back. They don’t need another screw-up like you caused in New York. And I’ll have some extra cash.”

I said, “You don’t understand.”

“I understand enough.” And she held up the cash again and said, “Enough to know I’m going on a serious spending spree on Amazon. And you’re right where you should be. If it were up to me, people like you would have to serve real jail time.”

She turned and nodded to Jackson and marched toward the front door. As she grabbed the door handle, she turned to me. “I hope one day you’ll understand what you did.”

Then she was gone.

Chapter 36

Chapter 36

I dozed that afternoon. It was my only defense against a feeling of hopelessness. After Vicki left the building, I saw no way to escape.

I awoke to a hood being slipped over my head. I was hurried out of the building and twenty minutes later found myself on a ten-passenger prop plane. Just Jackson, me, and the thin Afghan pilot.

I couldn’t keep from looking around the airplane with an eye to escape. I had no idea how, but I knew I had to try.

Jackson sat in the seat across the row from me. “Not so sure of your plan to capture me, are you?”

“I still know where you are.”

Jackson laughed and waved me off. “You don’t even know where you are. We could touch down anywhere. Even Pakistan. And you wouldn’t have a clue.”

I decided it was best to keep my mouth shut. I also decided to keep my eyes open. I watched Jackson when he worked his way up to speak with the pilot. The tiny plane made him walk at a funny angle to get past every seat. The handle of his pistol caught on the seats over and over.