“You.”
Brodie thought he saw a trace of a smile on Mercer’s face, but not a nice smile. Mercer said, “I assume you’re here to place me under arrest.”
“Correct. The charge is desertion.”
“Do you have a warrant?”
“We have written orders. Back in Quantico. Couldn’t get that past customs.”
“But you got two Glocks past customs.”
“They were given to us here.”
Mercer nodded and asked, “So have you seen my old friend Brendan Worley?”
“We have.” Brodie added, “How do you know him?”
“Didn’t he tell you?”
“No.”
“Then you don’t need to know.” Mercer asked, “How is he doing?”
“Enjoying Caracas.”
“He should enjoy it while he can.”
“Right. So—”
“Does he know where you are right now?”
“Of course.”
“Then why isn’t he here?”
“This is a criminal investigation.”
Mercer nodded as though trying to recall Army protocols and areas of responsibility. “So you’re here to arrest me.”
“That’s the plan.”
“But you have no warrant, no identification, and actually no authority to make an arrest on foreign soil.”
“You’ll have to take our word that we’re CID investigators. Not sure about our authority here, but I can show you our written orders when we get back to Quantico.”
“All right. So should I just come along peacefully?”
“That would be good.”
Mercer pretended to think that over, clearly enjoying himself. It probably wasn’t that often he got to spar in English.
He took a sip of water, then looked at Brodie and Taylor. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but it seems to me that you are my prisoners. So how can I become your prisoner?”
“I’m glad you asked. You need to accept our authority, Captain, return our weapons, and fulfill your duty as an officer by turning yourself over to our custody for transportation back to CONUS,” meaning, in military acronym, the continental United States.
Mercer seemed to be considering that, then asked, “Aren’t you supposed to read me my rights?”
Brodie confessed, “I don’t have the cheat card with me, and to be honest, I can never remember the wording.” He turned to Taylor. “Maggie?”
