“Twenty-four-point match,” Edith said. She had a British accent. “It’s her. Emmanuella.”
The cartel chief climbed after two of her bodyguards into the eight-person jet. Two more bodyguards followed her inside.
The door was pulled up. The Cadillac drove away. The jet began to taxi.
It got no more than thirty feet toward the runway when it exploded in a fireball.
The entire room stayed dead silent for several beats.
Malcomb broke the tension, saying, “Well done, little burglar.”
“Thank you, M,” Alison Purdy replied in his ear. “My great pleasure.”
“Mine too,” M said, and he began to clap.
Starting with Vance and then Edith, one by one every person in the room stood to clap as Malcomb called out, “Brilliantly done! All of you! The dream we shared is now manifest. The Alejandro cartel is no more. This battle against the darkness is over. The forces of Maestro have triumphed!”
As the others in the room cheered and hugged, Edith said, “Do you wish to notify Alex Cross, M?”
Malcomb’s expression tightened a little before he smiled and shook his head. “I’m sure Dr. Cross will find out soon enough, Edith.”
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About the Author
James Patterson is the world’s bestselling author and most trusted storyteller. He has created many enduring fictional characters and series, including Alex Cross, the Women’s Murder Club, Michael Bennett, Maximum Ride, Middle School, and I Funny. Among his notable literary collaborations are The President Is Missing, with President Bill Clinton, and the Max Einstein series, produced in partnership with the Albert Einstein Estate. Patterson’s writing career is characterized by a single mission: to prove that there is no such thing as a person who “doesn’t like to read,” only people who haven’t found the right book. He’s given over three million books to schoolkids and the military, donated more than seventy million dollars to support education, and endowed over five thousand college scholarships for teachers. For his prodigious imagination and championship of literacy in America, Patterson was awarded the 2019 National Humanities Medal. The National Book Foundation presented him with the Literarian Award for Outstanding Service to the American Literary Community, and he is also the recipient of an Edgar Award and nine Emmy Awards. He lives in Florida with his family.