They took the twins directly up to their suite in the officers’ quarters. Emily sat them down on the couch in their small living room, glad to see that they appeared a little less uneasy. Nathan grabbed two sodas from the refrigerator and handed them over.
“Enjoy,” he said, giving them his best smile.
Men, Emily thought with amusement. They had absolutely no idea how to talk to young children, especially, these two lovely little girls who were still uncertain as to what was going on. Nathan’s warped smile seemed to have scared them more than anything else. She kicked off her shoes and knelt in front of them, taking one of their hands in each of hers.
“I’m Emily,” she said, tilting her head and smiling. “That’s Nate. Don’t mind him, he’s harmless. So, what are your names?”
“That was such an excellent dinner,” Yvonne said, enjoying a really good cup of decaf. “I guess I shouldn’t have had that second pastry. I’m glad I did though.”
“Gymnasium is down the passage on the left,” James said, with a smile. Just then his phone buzzed. “Excuse me for just one moment.”
Yvonne guessed that for a man in James’s position, business never stopped, even at eleven p.m. at night.
“Hey, Emily,” James said.
“Glad you’re still awake,” Emily said on the other end of the line. “Is Yvonne with you?”
“Yes. We had a later than usual dinner and were discussing cactus.”
“Okay,” Emily laughed. “I won’t ask. Can you pass your phone over?”
“It’s for you,” James said, handing the phone to Yvonne.
“Hello?” Yvonne said, with a puzzled expression.
“Hi, Yvonne, my name’s Emily Hurst. I work for James. I have two adorable little girls with me who would like to say hello.”
The twins were comfortably tucked in to an extra bed that Uri had arranged. They were fast asleep.
“My mind’s in a spin,” Emily said, quietly, looking down at the girls with compassion. “I can’t believe that we just pulled off a hostage rescue.”
“Yeah,” Nathan agreed. “This little decoding exercise has certainly come with its fair share of surprises. Not that I played a major part in this rescue mission. I’m just glad for the girls’ sakes that you volunteered to come along.”
“What do you mean you didn’t play a major part,” Emily said. “If it wasn’t for your presence of mind, we’d all be sprawled out unconscious on the roof of Cevallos’s manor. Those Nano-bots were effective.”
“Well, I suppose there’s that,” he said, feeling good about himself.
“My hero,” she said, teasingly, and gave him a loving squeeze. “And you need to learn how to deal with little children. You scared them with that smile.”
“No, I didn’t,” he objected.
“Did too,” she laughed.
Cevallos was enraged.
“Mr. Cevallos,” the panicky maid said, in her heavy Spanish accent. “As I say, they come by helicopter and land on roof. There were lots, maybe thirty. They had big guns.”
He slapped her.
Holding her stinging cheek, she burst into tears. “I could not stop them. They took girls. Please, Mr. Cevallos,” she pleaded. “You must understand.”
“Liar,” Cevallos said, and slapped her again, harder. “How can thirty people fit into one helicopter?”
“Mr. Cevallos… Please.”
Without a second’s hesitation, he put a bullet between her eyes. “Clean this shit up,” he said to his bodyguard, without remorse.
Carried down to the large furnace in the basement by two of Cevallos’s henchmen, Bonita’s body was thrown in.
Five former security guards were added a few hours later.
“Morning, Monica,” James said, walking with Yvonne through the foyer on the thirty-first floor of SkyTech Tower.
“Good morning, JW, Yvonne,” Monica greeted them in her usual cheerful manner.
“Hi, Monica,” Yvonne said, pleasantly.
“Oh, I have your new phone and access card,” Monica said, picking both up from her desk and handing them over. “The card gives you full access through the Atrium and the elevators to the top floor. It will also give you access to any of the computers in the visitor workstations scattered about. The only place you can’t get into is Info Tech. Also, as soon as you activate the phone, it will prompt you for a PIN. A minimum of five numeric digits will be required. If you forget your PIN, ask Phil Roberts to reset it for you.”
“Thanks, Monica. Do I need the card attached and visible?”
“No. Just keep it safe.”
“Is Sven in yet?” James asked.
“Right here,” Sven said, walking in from behind. “JW, Monica,” he acknowledged. “It’s nice to see you again, Yvonne. Hope you’re not thinking about stealing any of SkyTech’s valuable plastic spoons.”
“Don’t mind him,” James laughed. “Sven thinks he has a sense of humour.”
Sven looked at Yvonne sideways. “You seem in very good spirits.”
“Sven,” Yvonne said, with a broad smile. “My girls are on their way home.”
Sven beamed. “That’s wonderful.”
“They were rescued last night and should be getting on a plane in a few hours,” she said, unable to contain her delight.
“Are they coming in directly from Groom Lake?” Sven asked.
“As far as I know, they’ll be getting a regular flight from McCarran,” James answered. “They’ll be in the care of a military escort. I spoke briefly with Emily last night after the girls had a chat with their mum.”
Yvonne’s smile grew even broader.
“Emily or Nate will fill me in on the exact details later.” James pulled up his shirt-sleeve and looked at his Rolex. “It’s only just after five thirty a.m. there, so I doubt anyone’s awake yet.”
“McCarran? As in Las Vegas International Airport?” Monica asked with surprise. “Did any of you see the news last night at eleven?”
“Yes,” Sven said. “CNN has been broadcasting it repeatedly. Wasn’t that horrific?”
“Yes,” James agreed. “We heard about it on the radio on our way here. Terrible, just terrible.”
Monica dropped her eyes. “Those poor people. And did you see what was left of the plane?”
“Nothing but a burned-out shell,” Sven said.
“Haven’t seen it yet,” James said. “But the radio newscaster gave a very unnerving description.”
“How did they get the girls out of Angelo’s clutches?” Monica asked. “Send in a SWAT team?”
Glad to get off the subject of airline disasters, James smiled. “Yes, in the name of Uri, Obadiah, Emily and Nate.”
“What?” Sven looked up in awe. “You’re joking?”
James described the brief sequence of events Emily had relayed the night before.
“Well, that’s one for the books,” Sven said, running his fingers through his hair. “Techies pulling off a successful hostage rescue using Nano-bots. Incredible! And they did it all in two hours?”
“Apparently,” James said. “And without a glitch.”
“I’ve met Dr. Lovinescu,” Yvonne said. “He’s a wonderful man.”
“That he is,” James agreed.
“JW,” Monica interrupted. “You have a video conference with Trish LaForgue in about twenty-five minutes, and a rep from AT&T is coming at ten thirty.”
“Thanks,” James said. “Yvonne, Sven will take you through to Info Tech where you can work together to try and figure out what Joseph Müller’s game plan is. Sven, I would suggest that you set yourselves up in the media room.”