Chapter 40 Summary

Samir Patel, plagued by anxiety about his upcoming trip to San Francisco, wakes early and contemplates cancelling his travel plans. However, when the cab driver arrives unexpectedly early, Samir feels pressured to proceed, especially given the favor Thomas Allen did in arranging the opportunity. Despite his growing sense of unease and even catching a glimpse of news coverage of the Learjet crash in Chicago, Samir decides to continue with his journey. On the way to the airport, Samir has a friendly exchange with the cab driver, although he remains burdened by an ominous gut feeling.

Mark Peltier, posing as Tyler Winslow, prepares for the same flight. Running on little sleep due to lingering stress over Charley’s CID complaint and Colonel Weaver’s threats, he decides to portray himself as a bodyguard, though he hasn’t yet settled on a backstory for his San Francisco presence. Mark is determined to strike up a meaningful, strategic conversation with Patel during the flight to assess his mental state.

At the airport, Mark successfully checks in under the alias and initially receives a seat several rows away from Samir. Using a clever ruse, he convinces the airline agent to seat them together.

Chapter 39 Summary

Mark contacts Colonel Weaver to warn him about the CID and FBI complaint filed by Officer Charley. Weaver explodes in fury, demanding Mark get the report retracted immediately, warning him of severe consequences if the investigation proceeds. Feeling the weight of this threat, Mark briefly contemplates disappearing for good, recalling his offshore accounts and how easily he could vanish. But his emotional bond to Becky keeps him grounded—he can't leave her without explanation.

He calls Officer Charley, who is surprised when she learns why he's calling. Mark pleads with her to withdraw the complaint, citing national security and the risk to innocent people, including Samantha, Becky, Tim, and Lisa. Charley hesitates, having already submitted compelling evidence, but ultimately agrees to try to have the files pulled, though she makes no promises.

Just as Mark is settling down, his government-issued phone rings. It’s Dr. Alexandra Conner, informing him that Samir Patel is confirmed on a morning flight to San Francisco, and Mark has been booked on the same flight under the alias Tyler Winslow. She advises him to try to sit near Patel to gauge his mental state during the trip. Mark agrees, hopeful he can engage Patel meaningfully during the flight.

He then informs Conner about Dr. Lana Harding’s crash in Chicago. Surprised and concerned, Conner thanks him and says she’ll check in with Lana the following day.

After the call, Mark pulls out Patel’s file, preparing mentally for the encounter ahead.

Chapter 38 Summary

Mark, upon seeing the news of Lana’s plane crash, calls her. She answers groggily, under the effects of painkillers, but reassures him that she's physically okay, suffering only bruises and soreness. Grateful for his concern, Lana appreciates the call, and they agree to check in again in a few days. Mark, confused by the intensity of his emotional response, begins questioning his feelings toward her.

Meanwhile, Samir Patel receives confirmation for his early morning flight to San Francisco via Charlotte. Despite nagging doubts about the trip, he proceeds to pack and arranges for a cab pickup at 5:00 a.m. With everything set, he distracts himself with television in an attempt to suppress his anxiety.

Back in Westwood Village, Robert Jackson wraps up his workday, reassured that the earlier server outage was resolved. Feeling hungry, he ventures down to the grocery store deli, where he meets Kathy, a warm, friendly woman working the late shift. Jackson orders some food, enjoying the brief human connection and charm of the local store.

Mark returns to the restaurant after his call with Lana. His original order had been given away, but the bartender ensures he gets a fresh burger and beer. Later, back in his hotel room, Mark uses a secure phone to call Samantha. Their conversation takes a sharp turn when she mentions that Charley plans to file a report with the Army CID and the FBI regarding Mark’s abduction and mistreatment.

Mark is alarmed, knowing this could provoke retaliation from Colonel Weaver, who would likely claim he was conducting a routine interrogation. He scolds Samantha for disclosing what he had told her in confidence, though he ultimately admits he should have warned her not to share it. She breaks down in tears, feeling remorseful, and Mark ends the call abruptly to start damage control.

Chapter 37 Summary

Lana Harding’s return flight to Chicago is delayed as her Learjet is forced into a holding pattern due to building storms near O’Hare Airport. Once cleared to land, the small jet encounters severe turbulence, worsened by the Learjet’s design, which prioritizes speed over stability. The flight becomes increasingly dangerous, with violent jolts, lightning, and an abrupt loss of control during the descent.

Despite the pilots’ efforts, the left wing strikes the concrete, flipping the plane sideways and causing the nosewheel and right landing gear to collapse on the runway. After the harrowing impact, the cabin settles. Lana and the pilot attempt to open the jammed cabin door but fail. Emergency responders soon arrive, cut through the fuselage, and pull Lana to safety.

Though in shock and unable to feel pain initially, a paramedic checks Lana’s vitals and recommends a hospital visit. Lana passes out as she’s being transported for observation.

Meanwhile, Mark (posing as Tyler Winslow) gathers his mission credentials and rents a Mustang convertible to begin his surveillance of Samir Patel in Newport News, Virginia. After checking into a hotel near Samir’s residence, Mark walks to a nearby restaurant for dinner.

While enjoying a beer and chatting with the bartender, Mark notices a news broadcast about the day’s top stories. A headline suddenly grabs his attention: a Learjet has crashed at O’Hare, and the sole passenger was Dr. Lana Harding. She has survived and was treated and released from Cook County Hospital.

Stunned and deeply concerned, Mark asks Garth to rewind the broadcast to confirm what he saw. After reading the report again, he abruptly pays his bill and rushes out of the restaurant, his focus now shifted from Samir to Lana’s well-being.

Chapter 36 Summary

Jackson (Robert) starts his morning in his secure apartment with a strong espresso and breakfast from a nearby coffee shop. Despite the new accommodations, his sleep had been disrupted by the unfamiliar setting. He uses secure protocols, including a One-Time Passcode device, to log in to the FBI network. While this access makes him slightly uneasy about exposure, he quickly checks in with his team via their internal chat system.

Tracy Cummins, one of his teammates, informs him about a server failure from the previous night. Jackson uses a cover story for his absence, joking that he’s in Delaware “counting chickens,” which Tracy understands to mean he’s on a classified assignment. The exchange reassures Jackson that his absence has not raised suspicion, for now.

Meanwhile, Dr. Lana Harding waits in her hotel lobby, feeling a whirlwind of emotions—humiliation, anger, and sorrow—after her abrupt dismissal by Dr. Conner. A curt message informs her that Officer O’Neill will be picking her up for transport to the airport. Lana is especially shaken by having been reprimanded in Mark’s presence, which deeply bruised her professional pride.

At the private terminal, Lana is met by the same pilot who had flown her in. He jokes about returning her safely, though he warns of possible thunderstorms in Chicago. Lana boards the plane, helping herself to a couple of mini rye bottles and Coke, intending to “drown her sorrows” on the flight home.

As the plane takes off, Lana stares out the window, reflecting on the harsh end to her involvement and the emotional aftermath of being judged and dismissed in such a cold and public way.

Chapter 35 Summary

Thomas Allen works hard to promote Samir Patel's skills, hoping to land him a contract. After nearly giving up, a surprise call from ByteForge Security offers a promising opportunity. The company, working on a military defense system against electronic jamming, agrees to a 30-day trial for Samir’s services. Allen negotiates a strong contract rate and convinces a hesitant Samir—who’s emotionally deflated and wary of further rejection—to give it a chance, even offering to cover his travel and hotel costs. Samir eventually agrees to fly to California for the opportunity.

Meanwhile, Mark and Dr. Lana Harding return to the CIA’s NHB building. Lana gives Mark her detailed psychological report on the three men involved in the Quest project. Mark, now convinced Samir poses the greatest risk, tells Lana he intends to visit him first in Hampton, Virginia, rather than Thomas Allen in California. Lana agrees, acknowledging that Mark’s insights reshaped her thinking—particularly his empathy for Samir’s emotional state, which mirrors his own past struggles.

Mark then visits Dr. Conner, who briefs him on his funding and logistics. He receives several bank and credit cards and is instructed to keep records for all credit purchases. After signing the agreement, Mark informs her of his intention to prioritize Samir. Conner, surprised, calls Lana in to explain the change. Lana reaffirms that Samir now appears more unstable and potentially vengeful, confirming Mark's judgment. Though she accepts responsibility, Dr. Conner sharply reprimands Lana for her earlier misjudgment and dismisses her from the project, abruptly ending her role and arranging her return to Chicago.

As Lana leaves emotionally shaken, Mark criticizes Conner’s harshness. But Conner defends her decision, emphasizing the mission’s importance and her unwillingness to tolerate analytical errors that could jeopardize national security. The chapter ends with Conner leading Mark to retrieve his forged IDs, preparing him to depart on the next leg of his assignment.

Chapter 34 Summary

As Mark and Lana stroll through the grounds of the CIA complex, their conversation deepens. Lana elaborates on the psychological profiles of the three men involved in the Quest project, highlighting Thomas as the greatest potential threat due to his arrogance, ambition, and greater personal investment in his company and reputation. By contrast, Samir and Robert are more modest and appear less volatile—though she expresses some concern about Samir’s emotional instability since losing his NASA contract.

Mark challenges her assessment, drawing from his own experience of being cast aside by the military. He describes how his self-worth was shattered, leading him to make choices he never thought he would. This insight causes Lana to reconsider her initial evaluation, realizing that Samir’s emotional vulnerability could make him a bigger risk than Thomas under the right conditions.

The conversation turns personal as Mark reflects on how he found peace on his remote property in the Virgin Islands, which he views as a sanctuary from the world. But Lana confronts him, suggesting that Mark might be hiding from life, not simply living peacefully. This irritates Mark, who reacts defensively, prompting Lana to reveal that her provocation was intentional—a test to gauge how deeply Mark’s past trauma still affected him.

She concludes that while Mark has largely restored his sense of self-worth, he’s still driven by unresolved anger and a yearning for serenity. Mark admits she might be right and opens up further about his recurring combat nightmares, which Lana recognizes as signs of PTSD. She encourages him to seek treatment using a method called EMDR (Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), explaining the process and how it helps reframe traumatic memories into healthier beliefs.

Though skeptical, Mark agrees to consider it and promises to reach out after his assignment is complete. Their moment of candor ends on a warmer note as Lana links arms with him and they head back to the building, where Mark will pick up the documents and gear needed for his mission. He’s less sure than she is whether the emotional exercise was beneficial—but it’s clear it left a mark.

Chapter 33 Summary

Officer Charley formally opens an FIR (First Information Report) to document Mark’s alleged abduction, based on her conversation with Samantha. She includes everything Mark shared—his experience of being drugged, transported, and confined—and supplements it with her own observations at the scene. She attaches photographs showing signs of a helicopter landing, disturbed foliage, and the placement of Mark’s wallet and phone under the vehicle. The report is submitted to the CID Southeast Field Office at Fort Stewart, with copies also sent to the Carolinas Field Office at Fort Liberty and the FBI office on St. Croix.

The process brings back memories of her late colleague Agent Mateo Santiago, with whom she’d once grown close. Overcome with emotion, Charley steps out to a local coffee shop, where she symbolically shares a coffee with Santiago’s empty seat, quietly toasting his memory.

Meanwhile, Mark arrives at CIA headquarters dressed in his new civilian attire. After a cheeky comment from the security guard, he meets with Alexandra Conner, who escorts him to a subterranean level to handle his new identity documents. In a secure, windowless room, he meets Greg, an eccentric but meticulous photographer who insists on being recognized as an artist. Despite Greg’s objections to being rushed, the session finishes on time, and Mark proceeds to the NHB building for his next appointment.

There, he meets Dr. Lana Harding, a psychologist from the University of Chicago. Their initial exchange has a light, flirtatious tone, quickly interrupted by Conner, who tasks Lana with briefing Mark on the psychological profiles of the three men involved in the Quest project—Mark’s current mission. Lana suggests they talk outside, noting that she’s already prepared a formal report for him but prefers a verbal debrief to answer any questions in real time.

As they walk through the sunny campus, their conversation turns to Dr. Conner and the controversial nature of the mission. Lana admits she's conflicted—while she doesn’t believe two of the three men pose a threat to national security, she’s less certain about the third. She acknowledges that while intellectual brilliance sometimes borders on instability, the third man stands out as potentially dangerous.

Chapter 32 Summary

Robert Jackson wakes in a FBI-arranged safe house—a third-floor apartment in Westwood Village, ten miles from his actual home. The night before, he'd met with Oliver Franklin, who had set up the secure location.

Despite the apartment’s comforts, Jackson is uneasy. Though he’s operating on a secure government network, he’s fully aware that the CIA or other government agencies could trace his activity via his FBI-issued laptop’s IP address. He also worries about being tracked through his personal cell phone using GPS or cell tower triangulation. The paranoia leads him to reflect grimly on how hard it is to stay off-grid in the modern surveillance age—even AI-driven facial recognition systems make hiding nearly impossible.

Meanwhile, Mark finishes his shopping trip at the mall by purchasing three burner phones, activating one on the spot. He uses it to call Samantha, who answers cautiously. Their conversation reveals the full scope of what’s happened: Mark confirms he was drugged and abducted by order of Colonel Weaver and taken to Fort Liberty, where he was held in a detention cell. Weaver had used blackmail over his property purchase to force Mark into accepting a mission.

Mark assures Samantha he’s now in Virginia, safe for the moment, and officially working on a reconnaissance mission. He tells her that a letter guaranteeing immunity from prosecution has been sent to her home. Sam, who’s still staying at Mark’s house, is relieved to hear his voice and promises to update Tim, Lisa, Becky, and Officer Charley.

After the call, Sam rushes to Lisa’s to share the good news. Lisa contacts Tim and Becky, while Sam heads back to call Charley. When Sam recounts Mark’s experience, Charley is alarmed, declaring the act highly illegal. She vows to contact both the Army’s Criminal Investigation Division (CID) and the FBI, explaining that while the military has internal investigation branches (like CID, OSI, and NCIS), civilian involvement necessitates FBI jurisdiction.

Charley hints that Colonel Weaver may face serious legal consequences, warning that if the truth comes out, it will not end well for him.

Chapter 31 Summary

The chapter opens with Officer Charley receiving confirmation from the FBI lab in St. Croix: the wallet and cell phone found under Mark Peltier’s car both contain only his fingerprints. While this confirms ownership, it doesn’t resolve whether Mark dropped them during an incident or intentionally placed them there.

Charley calls Lisa and Tim to update them. Lisa reveals that Colonel Daniel Weaver had visited Mark days before his disappearance to offer him an assignment—one Mark had refused. Charley suspects Weaver may have coerced Mark into accepting, possibly even forcibly taking him. She asks Lisa for Weaver’s contact info, but the call had come from a private number, prompting Charley to begin her own investigation into Weaver’s whereabouts.

Meanwhile, Mark wakes up in a hotel near CIA headquarters, recalling that the meeting with Dr. Alexandra Conner and George Ramsey had run late into the night. Conner had provided him with a prepaid credit card to cover his hotel and other immediate needs. After a hearty breakfast, Mark is ready to ditch his Army fatigues for civilian clothing.

He visits a shopping mall and enters a men’s fashion store, requesting a complete wardrobe overhaul: casual, semi-casual, and formal attire, as well as shoes, jackets, and accessories. The attentive clerk helps him select and tailor outfits, even offering delivery to Mark’s hotel.

Dressed in new clothes, Mark leaves the store and heads into the mall to purchase a new, private cell phone, aiming to regain personal communication outside of the surveillance tied to his government-issued device.

The chapter ends with Mark stepping further into his covert role—blending in, re-equipping, and preparing to operate independently.