“Jack is still back there. And there was a fed agent, undercover, who was coordinating things on the fed end. He’s out there, also, sorting things out with law enforcement. Olivia and I are contractors for a security agency that had been hired to do surveillance on a few persons of interest, so until we’re needed for any investigation that will likely come out of this, we’re staying with you,” Bai explained. “We’ve taken turns watching you ever since we all got here.”

“So, is that why Brom said he was still in the middle of …” I started to ask.

“Yeah,” Bai said. “Because that target managed to escape and there’s a massive manhunt going on to find him. So Brom is keeping on top of that.”

“What?!!” I exclaimed.

“Jack is refusing to leave the scene. The main thing they’re concerned about is that the target knows you, and, by now, he must know that the van you’d been taken in has gone quiet…” she added.

“So he may tie me to this scheme to take him down?” I asked nervously. This guy sounded like the worst sort of criminal.

“He may or he may not, to be perfectly honest with you,” Bai said calmly. “He may think that your security is just that good … able to thwart a kidnapping attempt like that before it can be thoroughly executed.”

“But until they catch him, Jack and Brom are sticking around,” Bai added.

“In any case … they’ve narrowed down the list of places he’s likely to have escaped to, so …” she said.

“So … this may all end, soon?” I asked in a hopeful voice.

Bai nodded.

She gave me an encouraging smile, and then lifted the lid off of one of the plates that I hadn’t looked at yet, and then exclaimed, “Oh, look! More jello-like stuff!”

It was an effective ploy to get us off the subject momentarily.

As I spooned more of the “jello stuff” I was reflective.

A few minutes later, Olivia came in, bearing bags of their food.

I shook my head at them with a rueful grin as they teased me by slowly opening up the foil that had been used to “tent” their food. The aroma of the food was definitely more tempting than mine had been.