“But we have to. Unless and until Sam Wingo wises up, we have to follow up everything solo.”

“And wall the Feds off at the same time. And the president. Tall order, Sean.”

“Where’s your usual can-do spirit that I know and love?” he said with a smile.

“I think I left it back at either the blown-up motel room or the woods where we nearly got shot.”

He shrugged. “You were the one who got us involved in this sucker. So, in for a dime, in for a dollar.”

She drew a long breath. “Yeah, I know. I’m just wondering when we’re going to run out of change.”

CHAPTER

53

MICHELLE SAT IN THE PASSENGER seat of the car staring down at her phone.

Sean was in the driver’s seat. It was a vehicle they had borrowed from a friend. They had stayed the night at a motel, paying in cash.

“And?” he asked expectantly, looking at her.

“Edgar came through. The plates on Wingo’s car belong to a vehicle that was impounded by the D.C. cops about a month ago.”

“He stole the plates off it to replace the ones on his. Probably a rental. He’s using a fake ID and didn’t want anyone to be able to trace it back and blow his cover.”

“That’s right,” said Michelle absently. “He’s probably only got one ID and a credit card pack based on that. That gets blown, he’s out of resources.”

“What about the other vehicle?”

“Registered to a Vista Trading Group, LLC, based in D.C. Their office is over off L Street, Northwest.”

“And what do we know about Vista Trading Group?”

“Consultants in the defense contracting arena. They operate in lots of countries but they seem to have a specialty in the Middle East.”

“Special enough to steal a billion euros?” asked Sean.

“Maybe.”

“Connection to Heron Air Service?”

“Nothing mentioned on the site.”

“Did you dig deeper on Heron?”

“They’re a private charter service. They’ve got ten aircraft. All

have the capability to fly across the pond and then beyond with a jet fuel fill-up.”

“And the guy driving?”

“No clue. His photo wasn’t on any screen page. The president of Vista is someone named Alan Grant. His bio’s on here. Late thirties. Family man. Former military. MBA from Wharton.” She held up her phone. “Here’s his picture. Nice-looking guy.”

Sean glanced at it. “But no picture of the guy in the car we saw?”

She shook her head. “Nothing on Vista’s website. And Heron didn’t have a site, which seems odd.”

“Well, if he is involved in this, his mug shot will soon be posted in lots of places.”