He ignored that and asked Brodie, “What was your rank?”
“E-Five,” meaning a three-stripe sergeant.
“Ms. Taylor?”
“Same.”
“Good soldiers. Good schools. Surprised you didn’t go to OCS.”
Brodie explained, “I don’t like officers.”
Mercer smiled. “I don’t like wiseasses. But I liked my sergeants. They were good men.”
“And,” said Brodie, “by all accounts you were a good officer. So what made you desert?”
Mercer again ignored the question and asked, “Are you working with Worley?”
Taylor replied, “We are in contact with Colonel Worley, but we are here with CID orders to find and apprehend you.”
“Well, you’ve found me. Actually, I found you.”
“And we have informed you that you are under arrest.”
“You have. You’ve fulfilled your responsibility, and I’ll even acknowledge your authority. But you don’t have the power to take me into custody. Or am I missing something?”
Brodie said, “You have the power, Kyle, to come along voluntarily.”
“That’s not going to happen. But if it did… just curious… how would you get me out of the country?”
Brodie didn’t want to mention Captain Collins at this point, so he replied, “We can work something out with the embassy. We’ll get you inside, and the dips can negotiate an extradition.”
“Okay. And once I’m in the embassy, I’m going to kill Worley.”
“I don’t think we can work that out, Kyle.”
“Why not? He wants to kill me, so why can’t I kill him?”
“Well… I suppose you could do that here. Or someplace else. But that’s not really something you should do in the embassy.”
“Then let’s get him here.”
“I think he’s on the way. And not alone.”
Mercer didn’t respond. He picked up the sat phone from the table. “There’s one number in this phone, and I’m guessing it’s his.”
“Good guess.”
“Did he tell you he wants to kill me?”
“He didn’t indicate that he knew you that well. But if that’s true, it’s better that we found you before Worley does. And better that you come with us.”
“This is between Worley and me. Not you.”
“I want you to tell us about that.”
“Maybe if I call him, he’ll tell you. But then he’ll have to kill you. He kills people who know too much.”
“Okay… I can believe that. In fact, Maggie and I will look into that when we leave here.”
