“They prevent them from receiving any communication, put a bug in the systems that wouldn’t allow for autopilot or manual command. The planes are literally dead in the air and the pilot has no option but to bail out.” Her grandfather smiled at her, nodding. He stepped forward, Quinn finally allowing him to hug his girl.
“I’ve missed that beautiful mind of yours,” he whispered in her ear.
“I’ve missed your hugs,” she laughed, crying into his shoulder. “I wish you would have trusted me, told me about all of this.”
“Honey, if I had told you anything then your life would have been in danger. I know that’s stupid and that it ended up being in danger anyway but I thought I was protecting you.”
“Grandpa, I’m a capable woman. I’m not saying that I wouldn’t have still ended up in some sort of trouble but I would have tried to get help. I would have tried to help you.”
“I know,” he nodded. “I know that now. I’m sorry I didn’t trust you with all of this.”
“I’m not,” said Quinn. “If you had, I might not have met the woman I love. I know it’s a bit awkward right now, but you need to know that I love your granddaughter and I plan to make her my wife.”
“I suspected that when you acted like a brick wall, shoving her behind you,” smiled the colonel. He looked at April with a smile. “Do you love him?”
“Very much, Grandpa.”
“Well, it might seem a strange question but around here it’s probably normal. Who’s your father?” Quinn laughed.
“My father is him, Patrick Jordan,” he said pointing. “My grandfather is Wes Jordan, my great-grandfather is…”
“Angel,” he nodded, grinning at Patrick and the brothers. It all made sense now. When he first saw them he had a feeling of déjà vu and now he knew why. “You definitely have my vote, son.”
“What’s the game with the board and this dude, Gustav? And why did we find DNA, blood, and tissue, and possible remnants of weapons in the bags?” asked Rush.
“The blood and tissue is easy. They transported stolen organs on the side. A side hustle if you will. The weapons were something new. Strip them, put them in tiny little pieces and transport via several different bags.”
“Okay. The better question is, who the fuck do they have that’s capable of this type of technology?” asked Ham. “This isn’t something you can buy at the corner electronics store. This requires someone with a lot of knowledge.”
“All true,” nodded the colonel, now sitting next to his granddaughter. “Gustav Bernhard is a Swiss businessman, primarily involved in banking. He also has diplomatic immunity.”
“How is he allowed to be on the board of an American airline?” asked Ham.
“There’s no law against it and it’s not completely American. The conglomerate has members based in multiple countries. The idea was that eventually it would expand into those regions. Or, at least, that’s what I was told. It’s not the truth. Gustav is working with multiple criminal organizations to help to provide clear air space so they can do their work.”
“I see,” nodded Jak. “So, he found a way to provide information to the drug lords, traffickers, and terrorists about when and where there will be empty airspace and then found a way to neutralize communications on the planes.”
“Yes. And no. The technology to neutralize communication is not proven yet. That’s part of what the passenger going to Cuba and the Caymans was working on. I figured that out because he used to work for the DOD in our stealth technologies unit.”
“Damn,” muttered Quinn. “Why did he defect, so to speak?”
“Money. What else?” said the colonel. “He was one of those egghead genius kids who graduated from college at nineteen, had a PhD by twenty-two and was given a huge contract. The problem is he’s spending money as fast as he makes it. Fast cars, fast women, elaborate homes. The kid wanted more and Gustav gave it to him.”
“Where do we find them? Where do we find Gustav and this brainchild?” asked Patrick.
“Gustav is still on the board and from what I was able to gather while in hiding, he has more power than ever before. I heard that you approached Daniel Harvey about Jerry and April. Daniel was told what to do, or else. He was weak and agreed to do whatever they wanted. Jerry was dating Gustav.”
“Wait, Gustav is gay?” asked April.
“Very. He isn’t what I would say, openly gay but he’s definitely more interested in men than women. Jerry was greedy and wanted more. Gustav bought him that penthouse apartment, allowing him to live like a king. His only thing to do was keep an eye on you.”
“Me? I didn’t know a thing,” she said emphatically.
“They didn’t know that. They thought I’d spoken to you about work. I think the longer it went on, they knew I didn’t share anything with you but they just couldn’t risk it any longer. That’s what led to your kidnapping.”
“Grandpa, why didn’t you warn me?” she frowned. “Why? You could have left a message, sent a note, something.”
“I should have,” he said quietly. “I should have and I regret that I didn’t. I kept thinking that if I exposed myself, then we’d both be dead and no one would ever know about this.”
