Chapter 28 Summary
At the George Bush Houston Airport, Bravo pulls into short-term parking with Larry in the back seat, who is restrained and barely conscious. Larry’s muffled protests are drowned out by tape across his mouth, and Bravo waits for his contact, Remington. As he watches the busy scene of travelers, families, businesspeople, and farewells at the curb, he feels detached from their everyday lives. When a large stranger finally shows up, eyeing the car, Bravo tenses until the man identifies himself as Remington. Their exchange is brief and laced with dark humor as they size each other up.
Remington’s cryptic assurance that he’ll “take good care” of Larry unsettles Bravo, even though he’s no stranger to cold dealings himself. Retrieving his belongings from the trunk, Bravo gives one last look at Larry, whose desperate, fearful eyes silently beg for mercy. Any sympathy Bravo might have felt vanishes as he recalls the rope burn on his neck, a reminder of Larry’s betrayal. With that, Bravo walks away, leaving Larry and Remington behind, and heads into the crowd toward the terminal to book his next flight.
Meanwhile, across the country in St. Louis, journalist Jennifer Bennett starts her morning in a hotel room overlooking the Gateway Arch. She’s torn between duty and instinct; her editor is urging her to go back to Chicago since the Walter Jenkins story has gone cold, but something inside her still feels there’s more to discover. Thinking about her charming evening with Tony, she senses a rare connection she hasn’t felt in years. As she considers her next step, she chooses to call Agent Javon Morris before heading home, hoping for even a small piece of new information that might justify staying on the story a bit longer.
