Meghan adjusted her shades as she laughed at something Beth said. She turned to the salon and waved at Arian who was on her phone.
She scanned the street swiftly in the reflection on the glass windows.
No one who seemed to be armed. She reached inside her pocket and discreetly slid her earpiece into place. Tugged her collar so that the mic came closer to her lips.
‘See anyone?’
‘Nope,’ Beth replied. ‘Zeb?’
‘Yeah?’ he replied a moment later.
‘We’ve walked into an ambush. Quds. Fathi and his men. The hairstylist warned us.’
‘How many men?’
‘Can’t see anyone.’
‘We’ll be there.’
Beth pointed at a storefront and stopped in front of a mannequin. Meghan joined her and the sisters admired the dress on it.
‘Lot of foot traffic. They’ll wait for us to hit clear space,’ she told the younger twin as her eyes checked out every visible vehicle, every passerby, in the reflection.
‘This is Quds,’ Beth drawled. ‘There’s no saying how they’ll react. They might open fire in a crowded street.’
Meghan grinned and punched her sister lightly on the shoulder. They could go down in a hail of bullets any moment, but her twin wasn’t fazed. She felt a surge of pride in Beth. If we have to die here, there’s no one else I want by my side.
‘You got your Glock?’
‘Yeah,’ Beth pointed discreetly at the open mouth of her bag. In position for a quick draw.
They spread out discreetly, their eyes scanning the street as they strolled up Fereydoun Alley.
Alert, ready, for the hammer to drop.
‘AMBUSH!’ Zeb yelled and grabbed his Bianchi shoulder holster and tightened it around his chest. He snatched his jacket and burst out of the office. Was zipping it up when he heard footsteps pounding behind him. Looked back to see Bear, Roger, Bwana, Broker, all of them following him instantly.
‘Beth,’ he explained tightly in his earpiece. ‘She and Meg are expecting an attack by Fathi. Outside their salon.’
Their faces tightened. Bear swore. Bwana looked like he was going to snap the nearest enemy in half.
‘Fereydoun Alley,’ he threw himself inside their vehicle, his friends jamming themselves inside the same ride.
‘I’ve got them,’ Chloe held her phone up to show two green dots on her screen, the GPS footprints from the transponders sewn into the sisters’ jackets. Each of them had similar trackers on their clothing and in their shoes. Werner monitored them and sent alerts to all of them if it noticed unusual movement.
Zeb accelerated. The tires spun for a moment before biting and the vehicle leaped out of the parking space.
Broker, by his side, reached underneath his seat and brought out a red, strobe light, the kind the local police used.
He leaned out and stuck it magnetically to the roof while Zeb turned on his headlights and jammed the horn.
‘Seven minutes,’ he burst on Komeyl Street.
No one replied.
Anything could happen in that amount of time.
Mostofi was in a good mood when he left the Supreme Leader’s office. The cleric had been delighted at the video of the prisoners dying from the virus. He had patted the Quds boss on his wrist and beamed.
‘Do it,’ he had told the commander. ‘Teach the Shaitan a lesson from which it will never recover.’
Mostofi bowed reverently and kissed his hand. He left the leader’s office with a smile on his face and a spring in his step.
‘We are good to go,’ he told his aide who was waiting for him in his ride. The Quds boss clambered inside and clamped his seat belt. ‘The Leader has given us his blessing. What?’ he noticed the expression on Nassour’s face.
‘Fathi called, agha. He has got those women in his sights. He will be capturing them any moment now.’
‘Where are they?’
‘Fereydoun Alley.’
Mostofi’s head snapped up. ‘That’s close by. Just eight or nine minutes away. Let’s go.’
‘Go there, agha?’
‘Yes. I want to see this.’
‘Let Fathi do his job, agha. I’ll ask him to bring the women to your office.’
‘No. I want him to know I was watching the takedown. Tehari, Vahdat and Miri, they are all disappointed that I selected Golzar. I know they think I am favoring you. This way, I want to show I am thinking of them, too.’
‘It’s not a request, Habib,’ he said firmly when his aide hesitated.
Nassour nodded and reached for the comms handset in the vehicle.
‘Wait for a few minutes,’ he told Fathi. ‘The Commander and I are not far. We want to see them captured.’
Fathi didn’t argue. It was a huge privilege to have Siavash Mostofi personally witness the capture of the Mossad operatives.
‘Does everyone have them in sight?’ he barked out as he peered through the windshield at the two women who were at a shop window.
‘Yes, agha,’ his men replied.
He calculated swiftly. A bigger avenue, locally known as Special Street, opened up at the mouth of the alley. More traffic, more people.
We might lose them if they get there.
‘Agha,’ he called Nassour, ‘block the entrance of Fereydoun Alley with your vehicle. Stay there. You can watch everything from inside. Prime viewing,’ he added with a sly smile.
‘Keep them in your sights,’ he told his men after he hung up. ‘Don’t take them down until I give the order.’
Fathi got out of his vehicle to get a better view. There was a risk that the Mossad women would spot him, but that was worth taking.
They don’t know me. I am in uniform but not in their line of sight.
He waited as the hands on his watch crawled on the dial.