" I've been there a few times before." " How come I haven't seen you?" "I noticed you the first night I walked in." "You always stand out." "Well, thank you." "How come it took you till tonight to talk to me?" "You're not shy, are you?" "Maybe a little." "You OK with this?" "Just taking off with someone you hardly know?" " I trust myself." " What do you mean?" "Well, I believe in human nature." " That people are basically good." " You're right." "Most people are." "Tracie, do you spell that with a "y" or an "i-e"?" ""i-e"." "Guys are always assuming I'm a T-R-A-C-Y." " Oh, I hate guys who assume." " Me, too." " You look like a James." " No, just Jim." " How about Jimmy?" " No, just Jim." "Oh, come on, you are shy." "Look, there's something I've been meaning to tell you." " I think you have beautiful hair." " Do you think so?" "Brown Bag, this is Brown Bird." "We have audio-visual." "You think it's sexy?" "Brown Bag, close in to one click." "Oh, yeah." "There's nothing sexier than short hair on a beautiful woman." "Why does big hair turn men on?" "What is it about big hair that turns guys on, anyway?" "Bad taste." "Look at me." "I want to see your eyes." "Innocent." "Just the way I like them." " It's him." "He's our man." " Car is registered to a Jim Galway." "Brown Bird, this is Brown Bag, move in." "He's testing, Tracie." "Tell him... he's got the Midas touch." "You got the Midas touch." "That's because I'm God's gift to women." "You know what I think you are?" "I think you are a natural born cocksucker." "It's time you did what you were born to do." "No..." "What's this?" " What the fuck is this?" "!" " Oh shit." " Bust him." " Brown Bird, move in." "Take him now." "Pull your vehicle to the side, and keep your hands visible." "Police." "Pull over." "Now!" "I got him, Alex." "Call for help!" "Tracie!" "Hold on!" "Don't move!" "Stay where you are!" "Stay still!" "Tracie, hold on!" "We're gonna get you!" " Come on, guys!" " There's nothing to hook on to!" "Alex..." "Tracie!" " Hey, Hannah." " Megan!" "I hope there's no math test." " Jezzie!" " Hey, Megan." " Guess who called again last night." " Let's see..." "Good morning, Dimitri." "I downloaded some cool GIFs." "You wanna see them?" "Yeah, sure." "What are they?" "Agent Flannigan." "Control, check in Starodubov and Rose." "Check." "What do we call the Ruskies these days?" "Russians?" "Former Soviets?" "I forget." "New world order, Devine." "Get used to it." "Charles Lindbergh, Lucky Lindy or The Lone Eagle, as he was called, is our subject today, because he was the first man to..." " What?" "Megan?" " Fly over the Atlantic?" "Very good." "First man to fly solo non-stop from New York City to Paris." "That was 1927." "An astonishing accomplishment, which brings us to today's assignment." "Let's see which of you can navigate, or fly, if you will, from our home base to our hero's web site here in the fewest number of links." "All right?" "And you're off." "That's very clever, Dimitri." "Megan, might I have a word with you?" " Save me a seat, OK?" " OK." "Come to my office." "Take a seat." "Megan, you know I understand the particular pressures of your life." "Your father being who he is and the enormous expectations." "All adds up to rather a lot, doesn't it?" "Yes, sir." "But none of that excuses your breaking the honour code." " What?" " I know all about you and Dimitri." " We don't tolerate cheating, do we?" " Cheating?" "!" "Mr. Soneji, there's been a mistake." "We only pass notes." "Jokes and stuff." "Megan, before you go any further best have a look at that." " Mr. Soneji?" " Yes?" " This essay, it isn't mine." " Beg your pardon?" "What do you mean?" "Oh, my." "Oh, dear girl, I'm..." "Oh, dear, dear" "Gary, why is the door locked?" "My God, what happened?" "She's collapsed." "Stay with her." "I'll get some help." "Megan?" "Hey, sweetheart." "Can you hear me?" "Megan?" " Hey, Jezzie." " Hi, Kila." " Hey, Hannah." "Where's Megan?" " She's with Mr. Soneji." "Control, I'm en route to Soneji's classroom." "I'm sure it's just a meeting that went long." "It's against procedure." "Mr. Soneji should know better." "His office." "Mr. Soneji, Secret Service, open up." "Mr. Soneji." "Do you have a key?" "I'm sorry." "There seems to be something stuck in here." "Stand back." "Control, shut down." "Stop all vehicles." "Lock on Soneji and Rose." "How many boats do you have to make before you become shipshape?" "I have never seen a man work so hard at looking busy." "Alex." "It's been eight months." "It's time you forgave yourself." "Vickie..." "You know that forgiving yourself is the one thing a person cannot do." "We are currently trying to put together how and why this man would murder a teacher and kidnap a young student." "Here's a photo of the missing student." "Megan Ann Rose is 12 years old." "Blonde hair with hazel eyes." "She's 3 feet 5 inches tall and weighs about 52 pounds." "She was last seen inside the school with the suspect around noon today." "We've just got information senior FBI and Secret Service officials have arrived at the family home of Senator Rose." "We will go there live as soon as we have our satellite feed." "Technicians are setting up extra phone lines at the Rose home should the kidnapper" "Mom... please..." "I wanna go home." "FBI and police are on the lookout for this man, Gary Soneji." "This is a recent photo" "He has disappeared with the 12-year-old daughter of Senator Rose." "Police are trying to find out who this man really is, his motives for killing Amy Masterson and kidnapping Megan Rose." "We go back live to join reporter Alison Peretsky, who has been at the scene since law enforcement officials arrived." " Yeah?" " Mom... please..." " I wanna go home." " Hello?" "You tuned into me, Dr. Cross?" "Sounds like Alison Peretsky at WNKW Action News." " Gary Soneji?" " That'll do for now." "How did you get this number?" "Unlisted numbers?" "Alex, there's no such thing." "It's all out there if you know how to grab it." "So, my kidnapping is bigger news than your tragedy with Jim Galway." "You ought to give an interview about what happened that night." "You know what they say about sharing your pain, it's very cathartic." "Thanks, but I'm OK." "Now, that's good to hear." "That's very good." "I thought you wouldn't get your act together, that would be a great shame." "I've been planning for a long, long time to get you involved in the fate of little Miss Muffet." "Megan." "Do you have trouble saying her name?" "First name rapport?" "Hostage negotiation 101?" "Alex, you can do better than that." "You think you're gonna dissect me in three blinks of an eye?" "I'm not that easy." "But with a little patience and a little help you just might profile me to a T." "What makes you think I'm interested?" "They say that when I die, the case will die." "They say it will be like a book I close." "But the book, it will never close." "Very poetic." "What the hell is it?" "I have left you something for your visit with the Roses tonight." "You'll find it in your cold, corrugated mailbox." "Time to get back to work, Dr. Cross." "I've been planning for a long time to involve you in the fate of little Miss Muffet." "Megan." "Do you have trouble saying her name?" "Sorry, detective." "This is a federal case." "I've been invited." "We have a detective who may have evidence pertinent to the case." "Alex?" "Special Agent Craig." "Well I'll be" "Dare I ask?" " In my mailbox." " Anything else?" "That'll get you inside." "Terry." "Get this to McArthur." " Who's in charge?" " Ollie McArthur." "Pedigree FeBe." "Made his bones busting wackos in the Seattle office." " Soneji clean?" " Clean!" "Squeaky." "Fibres look generic, fingerprints nada." "The school is a forensic vacuum." "All he left us was one very neatly strangled teacher." "Heads are gonna roll with the Secret Service." "Jezzie Flannigan, Alex Cross." "Flannigan was in charge of the Secret Service detail at Cathedral." "Dr. Cross." "I've read your books on profiling." "Obviously not close enough, but" "Kyle." "The shoe was ID'd by the Roses." "It's Megan's." "Dr. Alex Cross, Special Agent in charge..." "Oliver McArthur." " Alex, I'll catch you later." " Forensics." "The senator and Mrs. Rose are through here." "Before we talk to them." "Any idea why Soneji is involving you?" " None at all." " This way." "Excuse me." "Shouldn't Agent Flannigan be in the room?" "No." "Miss Flannigan is not welcome." "But she is a material witness." "She failed the Roses, and she failed the Service." " I think Agent McArthur has a point." " No, he's missing the point." "You saw Soneji five days a week for how long?" "Two years." "You have no idea how much you know about this case." "Agent Flannigan." "They say that when I die, the case will die." "They say it will be like a book I close." " But the book, it will never close." " Very poetic." "What the hell is it?" "I've left you something for your visit with the Roses tonight." "You'll find it in your cold, corrugated mailbox." "For what it's worth, that's Soneji." "The speech pattern is the same." "Is he..." "Are we dealing with a sex maniac?" "Someone who might, you know..." "No, sir." "This man has no such interest in your daughter." " She's merely a means to an end." " What do you mean?" "I see no standard procedure in anything he's done." "No." "This is a professional kidnapping." "It'll be about money, which is good." "But you're saying it isn't about money?" "I think he wants to draw this out." "From what he said, whatever his motives it's very unusual." "What did he mean about the book, that it will never close?" "I honestly don't know." "Well, I think I do." "Let me tell you what this Gary Soneji is up to." "The last thing he wants is good crisis management." "He wants to confuse." "Rancour, mixed signals, disorientation are his tools." "So he calls a local cop." "A damaged cop shouldering some heavy baggage." " He's using Dr. Cross as messenger." " Excuse me." "The kidnapper didn't call you, so your agenda is what?" " To insult the man he did call?" " I never intended" "You wait a second!" "A madman has our daughter!" "For some reason he contacted this man!" "Do you know why?" "No, ma'am." "Not yet." "Hello." "You OK?" "You got any tips for helpless situations?" "Well, you could smoke a carton a day." "Or you could bounce back." "I don't see anywhere to bounce to." "Like to get out of here?" "Can I ask you something?" "Sure." "What did McArthur mean when he referred to you as damaged?" "Last summer I let a sting operation get out of control." "My partner was killed." "Hey, Megan." "How are you?" "Coming to see you." "Do you recognise my voice?" "It's me." "Mr. Soneji." "I brought you a cup of tea with honey." "It'll make your sore throat better." "Here you go." "It's all right." "You have nothing to be scared of, Megan." " I'm not scared." " Good." "But you wonder what's going on." "I know what's going on." "You're a kidnapper and a sick weirdo." "Megan, you're the most opinionated girl in my class." " Got that from your mom?" " I wanna go home." "You will." "Just promise me you're gonna behave yourself." "OK?" "That's all." "Listen, if you need to use the bathroom, or anything at all, just press that." " I wanna go home." "Now." " Look." "I brought you fresh clothes." "Please!" "Mr. Soneji, please!" "This is a fine gun." "It's Turkish." "Handmade. 1924." "That is nice." "My daddy won it in a game of poker." "Aces and eights." "Dead man's hand." "That's about as much as I know about my father." "Have a seat." "Do you know of any relationship between Amy Masterson and Soneji?" "Amy, no way." "Why do you ask?" "He strangled her." "It's an act of passion." "It's a demonstration of will." "A message." ""Take me seriously." What do you see?" " Dr. Cross..." " Alex." "Women's intuition, third eye, sixth sense, whatever it is, I don't have it." "Sure you do." "You just don't look at it right." "Every face has two aspects." "Look down the middle, one side at a time." " Would you say he was confident?" " Yeah." " Narcissistic?" " I wouldn't know." " Any flashes of hatred?" " No." " Anger?" "Hostility?" " No!" "Look, everything about him was right." "He was patient and pleasant." "He had a sense of humour." "He was the perfect teacher." "What do you see?" "I see" "No, I mean about me." "What do you see about me?" "That's why you're here, isn't it?" "To size me up." "Evaluate your primary material witness." " You're about to start an argument." " I need to help get her back." " Why would I want a part in that?" " You don't." " I can understand that." " No, you can't." "Can I tell you why I don't care?" "Shoot." "Look..." "When I was assigned to Cathedral, it was a job I didn't want." "It's a far cry from working rope lines or flying Air Force One, but I have been there for three years." "I have been responsible for Megan for three years." "That little girl means more to me than even a partner." "Can you understand that?" "I suppose so." "Even if I say no, you'll probably follow me around wherever I go." "If it's a choice between having you as a partner or as a stalker, I guess I'll take my chances with a partner." "Thank you." "Student drop-off is there." "That's my morning post." "Students sign in." "Cameras are there, there, there and there." "Motion sensors all around the periphery." "Foolproof way to keep the kooks out." "Exactly." "We were always looking in the wrong direction." " Which door did he go out?" " That one there." "It's a straight shot to his parking space." "Let's go in." "His classroom." "He was teaching the kids how everything on the Internet is connected." " Alex." "You got a sec?" " Sure." "I think turf wars are a total waste of time." "If I was out of line last night, I apologise." "Don't." "I've been there." " Anything you need, let me know." " Sure, Mac." "Dr. Cross, you might wanna see this." " Is this Megan's desk?" " Yeah." " What are you doing?" " Scoping GIFs." "Graphic Interchange Formats." "They're all stego-encrypted." "Among the billions of zeros and ones making up this image is a string of text." "It's the cutting-edge method of passing notes in class." "It's driving the teachers nuts." " How long before you can access it?" " Try never." "You don't crack stego without a password." "Would you take me to his office?" "When you find Soneji, ask him for the password." "He planted a monitoring virus on the girl's hard drive." "Every keystroke Megan hit, Soneji was recording it." "Good move, Jezz." "Angling for position with the DCPD." "I like that." "Dr. Cross, Agent Ben Devine." " Devine's security systems supervisor." " Well, for now." "We'll be thrown to the wolves as soon as they find Megan dead in a ditch." "Why are you so sure that'll happen?" "Me getting fired or the girl in a ditch?" "Sorry." "I'm having a pessimistic day." "Tell me, Soneji, did he..." "Did he ever show any interest in what you do?" "How you do it?" "The man never talked to me." "I never talked to him." "Well, thanks for your time." "Hello..." "What?" "What do you think that is?" "An empty frame." "Otherwise known as..." "A missing picture." "You on to something?" "A missing picture." "Our Mr. Soneji has a sense of humour." "He didn't just kidnap a girl, he turned it into a game." "OK." "Let's see what you know, Mr. Lindbergh." "My, my." "Dr Cross isn't in cyberspace any more." "You're at a live site, looking through a video camera." "The arrows move it." "Where are we?" "I would guess we're at Soneji's home." "Now we're supposed to find out where that is." " Oliver McArthur's office." " Yeah, it's me." "Hold on." "How about the files?" " On the wall." " Can you zoom in?" "Yeah." " Jonathan M..." " M-E..." " M-E..." " Hold on." "Can't move that around." "It's stationary." "There's something somewhere else we'll get." " Right there." " You can zoom." " Focus." " Bingo." " M-E-R..." " Mercusio." "M-E-R-C-U-S-I-O." "1432...35 Granville." "Gary Soneji is also known as Mercusio, Jonathan, 1435 Granville Street." "Well done, Alex." "In!" "In!" "Move in!" "Left!" "Eyes open!" "There." "His surveillance was better than ours." "He's been at this for years." "Imagine the patience." "The dedication." "You sound like an admirer." "Well he's like a spider." "And I happen to like spiders." "He's got an elaborate set-up." "Wanna see how he stayed clean at school?" "It laminates a plastic veneer over your hands." "Look at this." "Foam rubber." "Looks like he was wearing prosthetic appliances." "I understand the Secret Service are being cautious tonight." "A full investigation is underway into how Gary Soneji was able to kidnap a student from under their cameras." "Yes, Kevin." "One of the Secret Service agents" "Evening." " What's the problem?" " Help!" "Help me!" "You got a rule 21 problem:" "no running lights." "Again!" "I just replaced the fuses yesterday." "Help!" "Help!" "Sir, no running lights." "You're gonna have to follow us in." "Help!" "Please, help me!" "Let me see what I can do with the fuse box." "Hold on." "I'm in here, help me!" "I'm in here!" "Help!" "How's that?" "Thanks a lot, fellas!" "Help!" "Help me, please!" "Help me, please!" "Help me!" ""Before the hood was pulled over his head, he bragged to his executioner." ""'They think that when I die, the case will die." ""'They think it will be like a book I close." ""'But the book, it will never close.'"" "Soneji was quoting the final words of Richard Bruno Hauptmann." "I'm sorry, I don't follow." "1932, the infant son of Charles Lindbergh, America's greatest hero, was kidnapped." "When Bruno Hauptmann was arrested, what followed became known as "The Crime of the Century"." "I believe Soneji wants to do the same thing." "You think we're dealing with a copycat?" " Something like that." " Dr. Cross." "What does he want from you?" "He's brought me in and left this trail, because he wants me to make sure he's properly appreciated." "But in order for him to achieve this..." " ...he has to kill Megan." " No." "No, not necessarily." "The death of the Lindbergh baby was accidental." "Nevertheless, it's critical that we pull his strings." "The more we make him a legend, the more likely he is to keep Megan alive." "What can you tell us about Gary Soneji?" "I can tell you that Soneji is very determined, obviously highly capable." "And we consider him a serious adversary." " And Megan Rose?" " Megan Rose is Soneji's ace." "As long as he has her, he's in control." "Would there be as many agents if she wasn't a senator's daughter?" "The size of our task force reflects who Gary Soneji is, not Megan Rose." "Mr. Soneji?" "You can parse the words if you like." " Hello?" " I need to go to the bathroom." "All right." "Be right there." "Come on." "Come on." "Please, help!" "Help!" "Please!" "Help me!" "Please!" "Help me!" "Help, please!" "I'm coming!" "Hold on!" " Help!" " Hold on!" "No!" "No, please!" "Please..." "Help me, please!" "This will keep you warm." "There you go." "Megan, you promised you were gonna behave yourself." "Because of you, what you've done, that man is dead." "Now, promise me you're gonna be a good girl, OK?" "Say "Yes, Mr. Soneji"." "Say "Yes, Mr. Soneji"." "Yes, Mr. Soneji." "Ok." "Let's go have a cup of tea." "I'd say eight hours." "About 9:00 a.m." "Slugs of large calibre." "Shots at him here, here." "Kill shot tapped him." "Crown of the head." "This is Thomas Mathias." "He found all this." "This way." "She's not in the water, Jezzie." "Soneji still has her." " There's no way of knowing that." " Think about it." "Megan is precious cargo." "Soneji is not gonna let a twist of fate bring her harm." "But why Megan?" "Why her?" "Come on." " Where are you going?" " Back to the city." "We'll talk in the car." "You ask, "Why Megan"?" "That's the question we should've been asking from the start." "Why Megan?" "Who is Senator Hank Rose?" " He's" " Nobody." "Most people don't know who he is, couldn't pick him out of a line-up." "This case is front-page news now." "Where will it be in two months?" "A year?" "Oblivion." "Know why?" "Because Senator Hank Rose is no Charles Lindbergh." "OK, then, who is?" "There's the troublesome question." "Come on, Jezzie." "Two years, five days a week." "You know Soneji." "Who's a bigger fish than Megan Rose?" "Dr. Cross, Agent Flannigan, we appreciate your concern, but Dimitri is fine." "Our security service is most capable of protecting the son of the Russian president." "Can we at least talk to him?" "Nothing would please us more than to be of help, but speaking to Dimitri right now would be inappropriate." "Thanks for your time." "What?" "McArthur is dragnetting the bay and is not really missing us, so I was thinking we could stick around and scope out the place a bit." "Agent Flannigan, are you...?" "Are you suggesting a stake-out here?" "Yeah, you know, stale coffee, some doughnuts." "No, that's a first class stake-out." "What you're talking about would be no-frills." "You'd only get to think about stale coffee and doughnuts." "I can handle it if you can." " I get the feeling you've done this a lot." " Oh, yeah." "Every chance I get." "Especially when it's cold and wet." " No parking here." " We're on the clock, officer." " Everything OK?" " Everything's all right." "What's the problem?" "Go ahead, Jezzie." "What?" " Have one." " Thank you." "Alex, that's Dimitri." "Jezzie, it's him." "It's him!" "Soneji!" "Hold it right there!" "Jezzie, shoot the tyres!" "Police!" "Don't shoot!" "You're gonna get Megan back, right?" " Yes, we are." "I promise." " Use this to get Mr. Soneji." "I will." "Thank you." "You talk to Hal." "Bring him up to speed." "Well done." "Avert an international crisis and paint Soneji into a corner." " Not bad for a night's work." " Soneji left the car near Reno Park." "Hijacked a Sierra." "Put one bullet in the driver's head." "Went towards Route 50." "Annapolis." "I knew it. 75000 boats." "Other marinas?" "We're here." "The dead fisherman here." "All marinas are locked down." "Listen up." "We gotta move fast." "Roadblock Route 50." "Triple harbour surveillance." "I want two choppers on the pad in five minutes." "Let's go." "What's wrong?" "I blew it." "That's what's wrong." "I had a shot right before he hit the hydrant, but instead of pulling the trigger, I was thinking." "I was thinking!" "About your shot going astray and blowing Soneji's head off." " In which case" " We'd never find Megan." "Don't beat yourself up for being prudent." "You don't get it." "I was trained to shoot first and think later." "Jezzie, for heaven's sake." "If you hadn't made me stay there, Soneji would have two victims." "Plus we'd have an international incident on our hands." "You did good." "You did good." " Anything?" " Not yet." "We're sitting on the area." "Chief, Soneji's on the phone." " Soneji?" " Detective Cross." "The agenda is changed." "Bring me ten million in diamonds." "0.5 carat, colour D, clarity SI-2." "In a thermos in nine hours." "If the stones are rigged, laser-tagged, irradiated, the girl dies." " Does that penetrate?" " It does." "I'll call back 4:00 p.m. sharp." " He beat the trace." " Clock's ticking." "Let's move downtown." " Dr. Cross?" " I'm here." "The Watergate. 20 minutes." "There's a packet for Mr. Antwerp." "OK, people, let's move." " Don't lose me, kiddo." " You won't even see me." " I'm on police business." " Eddie, this way." " Hi, how are you?" " You have a packet for Mr. Antwerp?" "Yes, sir." "Over there." "That one." "Leave the phone." "Leave the car." "Pennsylvania and 6th." "The fountain. 14 minutes." "Run." "Thanks." "Mac?" "He made me ditch the car." "Looks like it's a running game." "I'm on my way to 6th and Pennsylvania." "I'm left and behind you, Alex." "Bearing on to Pennsylvania." " Cross." " 12th and Madison. 12 minutes." "Go." "Unit 3, loop on 23rd Street." "Unit 6, take K Street and double back." "You got four units on top, Alex." "Cross." "Four minutes." "Union Station." "Main entrance." "Union Station." "Main entrance." "It's rush hour." "He's drawing him into a crowd." "Hey!" "Hey!" "Don't answer that!" "I think it's for me." "Cross." "Keep this phone." "Take the Metro." "Platform A. You got two minutes." "Go." "Jezzie, Metro." "Downstairs." "Platform A." "Cross." "Go to the centre of the platform." "Track 15." "Go." "Go to the first car." " You there yet?" " Yeah, I'm there." " Go to the left side." "Open the window." " These windows don't open." "You're smart, detective." "Improvise, quickly." " Police officer, everybody down!" " Get down!" "Out of the way!" "You ready?" "All right." "Now, throw." "I can neither confirm nor deny Soneji was involved in the MTA train incident." " Was a ransom paid?" " I can't comment on any of that." " What about Megan Rose?" " I won't go into details at this time." " What about Soneji's state of mind?" " I won't comment on that." "You can draw your own conclusions." "Now, Senator Rose has agreed to make a statement" "That file on Soneji, is it still on your kitchen table?" " Yeah, why?" " I'm gonna have another look at it." "This business about the diamonds, I didn't see it coming." "...absolute helplessness." "I'm grateful the FBI is here with the objective expertise required to find out where my daughter is." "Secondly, I now" "This is worse than killing time." "You'd be amazed at how often the small, neglected things become the most important." "I just got the feeling we are missing something." "Maybe I'm in the wrong line of work." "Maybe I should take on something less challenging." " You do what you are, Jezzie." " You mean, you are what you do." "No, I mean, you do what you are." "You're born with a gift." "If not that, then you get good at something along the way." "What you're good at you don't take for granted." "You don't betray it." "What if you do betray your gift?" "Then you betray yourself." "That's a sad thing." "Who is it?" " Gary Soneji." " Hi, Alex." "Right hand, thumb and forefinger." "Give me the gun." "Alex, you can't shoot me." "You'll never find Megan." "Sit down, Alex." "I'm a little concerned, Alex, I'm a little worried you don't care to understand any more and won't paint an accurate portrait." "I need you to convince me I'm wrong." "To do that we have to talk about Megan Rose." "No." "I'm not bargaining." "No cheap interrogation techniques." "It's transparent and clumsy." "This is between me and you." "I want you to see." "I want you to look inside here and tell me what the fuck you see!" "I'm a gift to you, Alex." "I'm a gift to you." "And you are beyond pitiful if you cannot understand that." "I'm living proof that a mind a mind is a terrible thing." "I see you got your sense of humour back." "I wondered what happened to it during the ransom drop." " The ransom drop." " It was a well earned 12 million." "12 million." "Senator Rose says he can pull strings." "He can fix it so you keep the 12 million and walk." "All you have to do is return the child." "Where is Megan?" "Where is Megan?" "Where is Megan?" "Where's Megan?" "Where's Megan?" "Where's Megan?" "She's trapped on my boat, isn't that right?" "Maybe she's stuck in a warehouse or floating in a river, swinging from the end of a rope, buried alive." "I envy her." "What would life have been like with parents like that?" "Blaming your parents for what you are?" "I'm not blaming them, Alex." "They've been punished already." "I burned down the house while they slept." "I was 15 years old." "Was it what you expected?" "Not really." "It was a new experience." " What?" "Killing?" " No, being in the newspapers." "So, in your opinion, doctor, were my actions triggered by nature or nurture?" "If you want me to be brutally honest, I think you just have a morbid desire to burn in hell." "We're done for today." "I'm taking her with me." " You're not taking her anywhere." " I'll send her back to you." "Tell me which piece you want first." "Oh, shit!" "Damn it!" "Alex!" "Oh, my God!" "What have you done?" "What have you done?" "Residents of this suburb are in shock as news of the shooting of Gary Soneji, America's most wanted man, filters through their community." "Soneji had come to confront members of the task force hunting him." "So he came after Jezzie as payback for Dimitri?" "Ostensibly, yeah." " That's how you want it on record?" " Yeah, for now." "Here they come." "Tell me you have an idea where my little girl is?" "I'm sorry, sir." "I can't." "You kill the one man who has the answers, and you haven't a clue?" "Not one clue?" "!" "The man walked into the room, and you shot him!" "Standing in his shoes, I'd have done the same." "That's your job, not his." "He's supposed to find my girl, not shoot the man who knows where she is." "Senator" "It's not over." "The book is not closed." "Alex..." " Thank you for saving my life." " Bye, Jezz." " You wanna hear something funny?" " Sure." "Cheer me up." "I congratulated Soneji on scoring 12 million dollars." "You mean ten million." "Exactly." "He had no idea what I was talking about." "I know you." "You work at my school." "Eat your food, Megan." "Alex, where is this going?" "We've been through these tapes backwards and forwards." "I can't see how this is helping us find Megan." "You know what?" "Someone was on to Soneji long before we heard of him." "Look at this." "What do you see?" "Agent Devine hauling ass out the front gate." "He could've shut this whole place down from right there." "You wanna tell me why he didn't?" "God..." "Devine was in on it." "When Soneji hit the embassy, he double-crossed him and ran his own ransom." "No." "Soneji was a loner." "An accomplice would've been beneath him." "I'll tell you what happened." "Soneji was hoodwinked." "And so were we." "Details are still emerging, but this much is clear." "The manhunt that began a week ago in the capital came to a violent end yesterday with the death of Gary Soneji." "Don't move!" "Turn around." "Hands on the wall, feet apart." " Hi, Jezz, where'd you come from?" " Devine, you are pretty stupid." "Your car in the driveway." "The TV so loud you wouldn't hear a SWAT team." " What are you doing?" " Shut up!" " Where's Megan?" " She's in the barn." "So doped up she didn't know I took her out of the boat." "She still alive?" "You were to dump her in the river after you got the diamonds." "Well, maybe killing a kid is something I'm not prepared to do on my own." "It'll still look like Soneji killed her." " She can't die after Soneji." " It doesn't make any difference!" "They're never gonna find the body." "I'll do it now." "Would that make you happy?" "Yeah, it would." "Wait." "Can I see them?" "Do you realise we spent an entire year following Soneji's every move?" "I think we deserve these." "It beats the hell out of a Secret Service pension." "Profiling the profiler." "Kidnap from the kidnapper." "That's brilliant." "You are a genius, Jezz." "Genius has nothing to do with it." "I'm just good at what I do." "Didn't hurt that the others involved were halfwits." "You think Alex Cross is a halfwit?" "You really believe he shot Soneji to save my life?" "Cross shot because he knew Soneji didn't have Megan any more." " What are you saying?" " Sooner or later he'll figure it out." "He already knows Soneji didn't run the ransom." " He's on to us already, isn't he?" " No, he's not on to us." "But I think he is on to you." "It's Turkish." "My daddy won it in a game of poker." "It's about as much as I know about my father." "Megan?" " Megan, it's me, honey." " Jezzie!" "Jezzie, I'm in here!" "Open up." "I'll take you home." "It's all over." "Yeah, sure." "Just hold on a second." " Jezzie?" " Yeah, honey?" "What happened to that other guy?" "He's dead, Megan." "You're safe now." "Open up." " Jezzie?" " Yeah, honey?" "Why isn't there anyone else with you?" "Megan, it's me." "Don't be scared of me." "Open the door." "I'm gonna ask you one more time to open the door." "Right now." "Open the door." "Open the door." "Listen, open the door!" "Megan, open the fucking door!" "Open it!" "Bitch!" "Stop it!" "Very clever, Megan." "Come on." "Jezzie?" "It's over." "Drop the gun." "Alex..." " How did you--?" " Aces and eights, Jezzie." "Plus your timing was a little off." "I watched the tapes." "You and Devine could've stopped Soneji at the school." "So could you at the Russian embassy." "But you had a different agenda." "You know something, Alex?" "When you said you do what you are, you were right." "I'm living proof." "Put the gun down, Jezzie." "Would you kill another partner?" "You're not my partner." "You all right?" " You're a very brave girl, Megan." " Who are you?" "I'm a policeman." "My name is Alex Cross." "I'm a friend of your parents." "Can you take me to them?" "Nothing would give me greater pleasure." "Could you...?" "Thanks."