“She was supposed to take them to a safehouse in Europe.”

“Instead, she got scared of the security cameras and dumped them at O’Hare.”

“She nearly ruined the entire plan.”

“But Vivian Mercer kept her mouth shut,” Ryker said.

“Vivian knew exactly what would happen to her if she spoke,” Voss said.

He picked up the fountain pen again and tapped the paper.

“Now, enough of this trip down memory lane.”

“Sign the papers, Ryker.”

“You want your niece and nephew to stay safe, don’t you?”

“Of course,” Ryker said.

He did not reach for the pen.

Instead, he reached into his dark breast pocket.

He pulled out a small, rectangular black device.

He pressed a button on the side.

A tiny, bright blue light began to blink rapidly on the device’s face.

“What is that?” Voss asked, his hand freezing over the document.

“It’s a digital receiver,” Ryker said.

“We have been live-streaming this entire conversation to a secure off-site server.”

“And directly to a federal task force parked in a surveillance van three blocks away.”

Voss’s face instantly drained of all color.