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Crater speaks. "Jamie Fields, at that point, had no immediate contact with Bobby Hughes. At that juncture we thought you were safe."

"Jamie Fields works for a counterintelligence organization that has infiltrated Mr. Hughes' organization," Palakon says. "At the time you were sent, we had no idea this was happening. We didn't know until you disappeared from London what the situation was." He pauses. "Until it was too late."Advertisement

"But they met a long time ago," I mutter. "Jamie told me she'd met Bobby years ago, that they were hanging out for years."

"They had met, this was confirmed," Palakon allows, nodding. "But Bobby Hughes meets a lot of people. Not all of them tend to work for him. Not all of them end up being recruited."

Pause. "What about the hat you asked me to bring?" I ask.

Palakon sighs. "The hat I asked you to bring was intended for the group that Jamie Fields works for." A long pause suggests that this is an answer.

"So... Jamie Fields doesn't work for Bobby Hughes?" I ask.

"No, she doesn't, Mr. Ward," Palakon says. "Jamie Fields works for the United States government."

"What was... in the hat?" I ask tentatively.

Chapter Eighteen

All around: heavy sighs, a smattering of flinches, men repositioning themselves. Palakon glances over at Crater, who nods, resigned. I'm on the verge of placing where I first met the Interpol inspector but Russell distracts me by lighting a cigarette. There's no relief in knowing Jamie doesn't work for Bobby, because I don't believe it.

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"In the seams of the hat," Palakon starts, "was a prototype for a new form of plastic explosive."

I turn ice cold, chills wash over my body in one enormous wave and veins freeze up, start tingling. I'm writhing in my chair, unable to sit still.

"We were uncertain of how detectable it was," Palakon says. "We needed a carrier. We needed someone no one would suspect. Someone who could transfer this sample to Europe."

"But once you boarded the QE2, Victor, you had obviously been spotted," Crater says. "Something got leaked. We're not sure how."

"I'm not... really clear on this," I manage to say.

"I agreed to get you out of the country for your father and I did," Palakon says. "I also agreed to something else." He pauses. "I owed... a favor. To another party." Another pause. "I agreed to bring this other party the prototype for Remform. But the two things-you heading to Europe and the delivery of the plastique-were not related. Your father knew nothing of that. This was my mistake and I take full responsibility. But things were urgent and moving fast and I needed to find a carrier immediately. You were available."

"What exactly is Remform?" I'm asking.

"It's a plastic explosive that escapes detection from, well, just about anything," Palakon says. "Metal detectors, x-ray machines, trace detectors, electron-capture vapor detectors, tagging, trained dogs." Palakon shrugs. "It's highly efficient."

"Who was the Remform... for?" I ask.

"It doesn't matter. It's not something you need to know, Victor, but it definitely was not intended for Bobby Hughes. In fact, quite the opposite. It slipped into the wrong hands." Palakon pauses gravely. "I thought you would be protected. You weren't. I'm sorry. The Remform was stolen-we now realize-during your voyage on the QE2. And we did not-I swear to you, Victor-understand the situation until we met last week at the hotel."

"We didn't realize any of this until Palakon made contact with you last week," Delta confirms.

"I didn't realize where the Remform was located until you told me," Palakon says.

"Why don't you guys just tell Jamie what's going on?" I ask.

"That would be far too dangerous for her," Palakon says. "If we attempted any kind of contact and she was found out, an enormous amount of time and effort would have been wasted. We cannot risk that."

"Does my father know any of this?" I ask.

"No."

I'm stuck, can't form a sentence.

"The fact remains that Bobby Hughes has the Remform and obviously has plans to manufacture and use it," Palakon says. "That was not supposed.to happen. That was definitely not supposed to happen."

"But... I start.

"Yes?"

The room waits.

"But you know Bobby Hughes," I say.

"Pardon?" Palakon asks. "I know of him." pqdm.com