As the pair left the gym, Cade felt lighter than he had since he found his car empty, but as they approached the conference table and saw Annabeth hunched over her keyboard, her posture rigid, and Hamm hovering behind her, the weight came crashing down again.
"We were just coming to get you," Annabeth said, looking up.
Cade's heart stuttered at the possibility of a lead. "What did you find?"
"I intercepted a message from the Gem Collector to the Handler," Annabeth replied without urgency or excitement, and Cade's stomach dropped.
"What does it say?" he asked cautiously.
"It says, 'I accept your proposal. I'm sending details for the transfer of the fire ruby using previously established codes. Contract will be cancelled upon receipt of the product.'"
Hope flickered as Cade asked, "So what do the details say? When and where?"
Annabeth's face drew into a deep frown. "I don't know. The information is coded, and without the key or some sort of clue, I can't read it. I'm running it through standard programs, but it will take time. I'm sorry, Cade, truly."
Feeling like the floor dropped out from under him, Cade's gaze shot toward Natalie. She met his eyes, her mouth fallen open, her face pinched in distress.
He drew in a harsh breath and melted into a chair, despondent that every lead came to nothing, that they found obstacles around every corner. Dropping his head into his hands, he whispered weakly, almost too low for anyone to hear, "We need to find him."
He felt Annabeth's hand on his back, offering comfort or maybe strength. "We'll find him, Cade. It's going to be okay."
No, Cade thought, as despair swelled and then overflowed, drowning him.
If we don't find him, I will never be okay again.
Cade had no sense of how much time passed as he sat there numbly, too exhausted and broken to think about how to find Tristan. He stared at one white wall, his mind blank, a weight pressing on his breastbone so heavily that each breath felt labored.
The urge to do something productive nagged at him, but he was unable to act, paralyzed by fear and helplessness and maybe even a shattered heart.
As he summoned strength to move, to take some initiative, Annabeth's shout had his head snapping toward her and his body springing from his chair.
"I've got it!"
Cade, along with Natalie, Hamm and the rest of the team, gathered around the blonde.
"I missed it at first, but the Gem Collector said he was using previously established codes. I thought maybe he was referring to codes he used in the auction, so I cross-referenced those messages with this one, searching for the term "ruby," and it worked. I've cracked the code."
"What does it say?" Cade asked, heart hammering, hardly daring to believe they had what they needed to find Tristan.
"The transfer is scheduled for four thirty. I have the coordinates."
A whooping sound from one of his colleagues and the chorus of praise for Annabeth's genius barely registered in Cade's brain as he gulped big breaths and tried to steady his trembling hands. When he was able to focus on his surroundings again, he met Annabeth'sshining eyes, and unable to force words out, nodded in thanks. She reached out a hand to squeeze his forearm, silently reassuring him.
Hamm instructed everyone to gather round, and bodies filled chairs at the table as Annabeth pulled up satellite images of the drop site at the back of a sprawling self-storage facility.
Taking a seat, Cade glanced at Natalie, and as the two exchanged a look, Cade felt the silent communication, the guarded hope, the cautious optimism that this would be the lead they were waiting for. He tamped down his excitement and anticipation, knowing he needed to focus on the specifics.
"Okay, now that we have a time and place, let's get a plan," Hamm began.
Cade listened to the options, chimed in with suggestions, and helped evaluate approaches and alternatives. It took them about forty minutes to come up with a solid plan and a couple of contingencies, and once it was decided which agents to send, others began rising from the table.
Glancing at the clock, Cade realized that with any luck, they'd have Tristan back in a few hours.
Looking over at Natalie, he managed a reassuring, half- smile, which she returned. As he rose from his seat, he prayed that he wouldn't let her down.
Again.
Chapter 21: Retribution
