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know,” Winters said. “Her entire detail was killed, and she was taken away.”
    “By whom?” Jonathan asked.
    “We don’t know.”
    Jonathan looked to Irene. “How is that possible? She’s the First-freakin’-Lady. How does she get out of anyone’s sight?”
    “The first step is to kill her security detail,” Miller said.
    Okay, this was getting circular. “What do you want from us?” Boxers asked. “You’re the FBI.”
    “We want to keep this incident low profile,” Winters said.
    A laugh escaped from Jonathan’s throat before he could stop it. Irene put a hand on his arm to silence him.
    “These are difficult times,” Winters said. “Our enemies feel more empowered than they have in years—”
    And whose fault is that? Jonathan didn’t ask.
    “—financial markets are fragile. Americans’ confidence in their government is at an all-time low. If this news leaked out, the results could be devastating.”
    “Shouldn’t it be devastating?” Jonathan asked. “I mean, agents are dead and the First Lady is being held hostage. That’s pretty damned hot stuff.”
    “Of course it is,” Winters said. “We’re willing to move heaven and earth to clear this up. That’s why we’re turning to you, Mr. Grave.”
    Boxers laughed. “You’re shitting me, right? What, you got more important things to take care of? The president too consumed with raising campaign money to devote time to this little detail?”
    Winters shot a forefinger at Boxers’ nose. From the posture, he might have been pointing at a hole in the ceiling. “Watch yourself,” he snapped.
    Boxers growled.
    “Let it go, both of you,” Jonathan said. “Why us? You are, you know, the federal government. A few million folks in uniform and all that.”
    “It’s a domestic matter,” Miller said. “The military is banned by law.”
    “Jesus.” Jonathan turned to Irene. “And last time I checked, you have a few ambitious people working for you, too.”
    Irene held up her hands. “Don’t think I haven’t offered.”
    “We can’t risk it,” Winters said. “The news is just too big. To do what we have to do would require the involvement of courts and other law enforcement agencies. There’s no way the secret wouldn’t leak out.”
    “And the secret is more important than Mrs. Darmond’s life?”
    “Of course not,” Winters scoffed.
    “But kinda?” Jonathan prompted.
    Winters set his jaw and took a loud, deep breath. “Are you willing to help us or not?”
    Jonathan squinted and looked to Boxers for a hint to what he was missing. “You’re not willing to trust the entire United States government, but you’re willing to trust me? How does that work?”
    Winters nodded toward Irene. “You come very highly recommended. Director Rivers assures me that you’re very good at what you do, and that you know how to keep secrets. We’ll give you all the access you need. And we’ll pay your gate rate.”
    Jonathan started to say something, but Irene cut him off. “Do this for us, Dig,” she said. “I swear to you that we’ll give you all the resources you need.”
    “People?”
    “Except people. We figure that we’ve got some time to work. Whoever took Mrs. Darmond hasn’t yet contacted us with a ransom demand, and they haven’t put her picture up on a website. That means they want this to stay quiet, too. Or, they’re waiting for us to break the news.”
    “Or maybe they’re in the process of killing her now,” Boxers offered.
    “In which case, we still have the benefit of time,” Miller said. “If she is dead, then she will be no less dead in a week.”
    In a twisted way, Jonathan actually admired the honesty, despite the coldness of the delivery. “Does the president know about this?” he asked.
    “Of course he does,” Winters replied. “He’s worried sick, but he also understands the gravity of the global concerns.”
    Boxers shook his head. “You’re telling me that in the entirety of the US