Sam mulled that over. "Why go to the trouble of having dinner with him?"
"Maybe she needed confirmation that he was what she thought," Nichols mused.
Becker nodded. "We know that Shu has connection to Thai organized crime through Ted Prat-Nung. And at their dinner there was heavy Nexus traffic between Shu and Lane. That might have been the confirmation she was looking for."
Sam frowned. "Sir, how do we know that?"
"Lane's phone was recording all Nexus traffic near it for later analysis," Becker replied.
"Sir, I turned off the Nexus functions on the phone before their dinner, per plan, to minimize the odds of it giving Lane away."
"The record function remained on, Sam. We needed to determine whether or not Shu has Nexus capabilities."
Sam frowned again. "Why didn't I know that?"
"It was on a need-to-know basis."
"And I didn't need to know?"
"No, Agent Cataranes," Becker's voice was firm. "You didn't need to know."
"Sir, with all due respect, I think that data would have been operationally relevant."
"Agent Cataranes," Becker said sharply, "that information was not operationally relevant to you. The phone was in passive record mode. There was no way for Shu to detect it."
"Sir–" Sam started.
"This topic is closed, Agent."
Sam took a breath, held her temper.
The pawn seldom knows what the King has planned, Nakamura had said once.
She didn't like feeling like a pawn.
"Next possibility," Becker said.
Nichols cleared his throat, looked at the camera again. "Ananda," he said. "He had Lane followed, demonstrating interest. It's possible they had a Nexus interaction as well. If so, Lane's technology could be valuable to him."
"Any luck identifying the man who followed Lane and Cataranes?" Becker asked.
"Not yet, sir," Nichols replied.
Sam held her tongue. Ananda seemed an unlikely suspect, but he had sent a monk to follow them. And stranger things had been true.
"Next possibility," Becker said.
"There are two possibilities left," Nichols said. "First, it's possible that someone else who knows Lane's work sold him out to some organization here, maybe Thai mafia, or Ted Prat-Nung's distribution cartel."
Sam was frowning.
"Yes, Agent Cataranes?" Becker asked.
"Something just occurred to me, sir. Narong Shinawatra, the student who invited us to that afterparty. He introduced himself to Kade, apparently bumped into him randomly. He rapidly befriended us, invited us to this relatively small event. He knew the route we were taking. He had the opportunity to notify the ambushers when we were leaving the club."
"…and we know that he's had contact with Suk Prat-Nung." Nichols was nodding.
Becker nodded as well, thoughtfully. "Good observation. Any suspects on the US side who might have sold Lane out?"
Nichols shook his head. "We'll get on it, sir. We can mine phone and email for any contacts with people in Thailand or obvious short hops away. We'll look for sudden bank deposits as well."
"Nichols, you mentioned one more possibility?" Becker prompted.
"Yes, sir. The last possibility is a leak within our organization. Someone inside the ERD could have sold this information, to the same sorts of sources as discussed in the last possibility."
Becker nodded. He looked troubled.
Sam spoke up. "My instincts say no."
"Why is that, Agent Cataranes?" Becker asked.
"They would have come at us harder."
Kade came slowly back to consciousness. The panic attack had passed. Sam was gone from the bed. He could feel her across the link. She was nearby, still in the safe house. It comforted him. She was talking to her superiors. Becker. The thought of the man was like a bitter taste in his mouth.
Nexus felt much stronger now, much more stable. Whatever effect the taser had on it, it seemed that sleep and time were undoing it.
Tasers. They'd wanted to take him prisoner. He was lucky they hadn't gotten him. He owed Sam. She'd risked her life to keep him from them.
There was only one reason for them to try to take him prisoner. They wanted what he knew about Nexus. They'd wanted to take it and make it their own, use it however they chose. And him? Perhaps they'd planned to kill him after they had what they wanted. Perhaps they'd planned to make him a slave, improving the technology for them.
I won't be anyone's slave. No one.
And the ERD?
Ilya was right. He shouldn't have given Nexus 5 to them. He didn't trust them. That was the past. He wouldn't make the same mistake again. Had he actually thought of going to work for them, trying to change the system from the inside? No. He would just become another slave. He would find another way.
And Shu?
The same. Her goals attracted him, her promises captivated him. He wanted with all his being to join her. But her compromises were many. She was a tool of her country's military. And he wouldn't be a slave of the Chinese military any more than he would of the ERD.
He would find another way.
"…they would have come at us harder," Sam said. "They would have known that I was a field agent. They would have brought more firepower to bear, and started with me."
Nichols looked thoughtful.
Becker nodded. "OK, I agree that a leak is a lower likelihood. Let's focus on the organized crime angle, Shu, and Ananda. The dead assailants are our best evidence. Any data on them?"
Nichols shook his head. "No matches on face recognition, DNA, or prints."
"What about the fourth person?" Becker asked.
"Nothing so far," Nichols said. "We're running deep trawls now. If there's anything out there on any of them, we'll find it."
Becker looked down at his wrist. It was early afternoon on the US East Coast by now, Sam knew.
"OK," he said. "Good work, both of you. If there's one silver lining to this, Sam, it's that you've saved his life now. He'll be more in your debt. He's primed to trust you more. He's vulnerable now and he's gonna look to you for protection and guidance. Take advantage of that."
Sam felt something inside her twist. Trust? Is that what this was about?
Becker was continuing. "Nichols, I want you moving forward on all angles. This is a Pri 1 investigation now. Tap whatever resources you need. Sam, keep your chin up. You did good today. I want another report in eighteen hours."
"Sir," Sam said. "There's something else I'd like to discuss."
"OK," Becker said. "But make it quick. I have a meeting on the Hill shortly."