Mostofi went through his speech again. We will destroy the Shaitan once and for all. He read it aloud in the silence of his office. No, it was too aggressive. Morgan might take it as an act of war and send his bombers before the virus could act. This is our last warning to the Shaitan. Leave us alone. Stop meddling. End the trade tariffs. Let our people breathe. That was an improvement and the last sentence was a neat touch.
He ran his eyes down the rest of it and imagined himself in the conference center.
He raised his fist in the air. ‘This is my promise to you, my countrymen. As billions of people in the world sleep or work, many of whom are our enemies, we have acted today to reclaim our strength and respect. Tomorrow is a new day. And with it, you will see, Iran will be a new country.’ He finished on a thundering note.
Yes, it would bring down the house.
‘Come in,’ he ordered when someone knocked at his door.
Nassour rushed in. ‘Agha, we are running late!’
Mostofi looked at his watch and swore. It was already six pm. His makeup would need an hour. The program was deliberately designed to start late. At seven, a host would open the ceremony and there would be light entertainment. Eight pm was when the Quds boss was scheduled to arrive and present the awards. Ten pm was when he would make his speech.
‘Let’s go. How do I look?’
His aide inspected him critically. Adjusted a medal on his chest so that it was in line with the rest. Smoothed down an epaulet and then nodded.
‘You look fantastic, agha. Just like you should, the most powerful man in the country.’
‘Flattery is not required, Habib.’
‘It’s the truth, agha.’
Nassour narrated the security details as they climbed into Mostofi’s ride. ‘Armored at the front and back of the conference center. Salim will be with you on the stage. No,’ he said when the Quds boss frowned. ‘Not sitting along with you. He will be behind the curtains to escort you or pass you any urgent message.’
The Agency operatives left Naeem’s at six pm as well. While they were still tracking Nassour’s phone, their movement was independent of the Quds aide and his leader.
Zeb fist-bumped with Bwana who jammed a hat over his head and loped away with Roger in his wake. The two men had a dark-window SUV that the Texan would drive. They would switch to the military van which had their gear.
The remaining operatives broke up. Zeb, Broker and Meghan took a cab to Mehrabad Airport. Bear, Chloe and Beth drove. They rendezvoused at Scott’s hangar. The pilot was all business as he pointed to the equipment on the floor. He had gathered it up from the CIA safe house.
‘All there. Check out my bird,’ he said proudly, pointing to the missiles, rocket pods and cannons attached to the chopper. ‘It’s fully loaded. I’ve repainted it as well. No logos, no visible identification.’
Bear whistled as he circled the helicopter and felt its gleaming surface.
‘Last chance to back out,’ Zeb addressed the pilot.
‘Me? Heck, no. I wouldn’t miss it for all the money in the world.’
‘It won’t be difficult for the Iranians to identify you. Even with stealth mode, we will be seen. Not that many private Black Hawks in the country.’
‘Guess you haven’t been following the news … or that the boss hasn’t updated you. Today is our last working day in Iran. Yeah,’ he chuckled at their expressions as the operatives gathered around Zeb. ‘Dan has wound up all the charities in the country.’
‘The children?’ Beth’s jaw dropped.
‘All of them on an educational tour,’ Rubin made air quotes. ‘To the Middle East. All of them. Some staff have accompanied them.’
Zeb shook his head in bemusement. ‘That size of operations … where will you base it?’
‘Jordan. Dan’s made all the arrangements. Today, we are in Iran. Tomorrow,’ he snapped his fingers, ‘we will be in Jordan. Just like that. Fully operational.’
‘Quds will harass the remaining employees.’
‘We have thirty full time staff. Every one of them was single, no big commitments. That was a requirement for the kind of work we do. Boss arranged for every one of them to move as well. Visas, apartments, offices, all done.’
‘Caton did all this from the time I called him?’
‘Nope. We’ve been working on this for a while. This country’s turning too insular. Too rigid. Dan wasn’t happy. Your call, it just accelerated things, though, there wasn’t much more to be done other than the physical shutting down of offices and the movement of people. Tomorrow, the Modiriat tower will be empty.’
‘You won’t return after our mission?’
‘Nope.’ He extracted his passport from an inner pocket and flashed it in the air. ‘I’ll be going to Jordan, too.’
Zeb felt Meghan’s eyes on him. ‘No, don’t look at me like that,’ he protested. ‘Our last leg is to Jordan, but heck, I didn’t know what Caton was planning.’
‘Yeah,’ she rolled her eyes.
‘I mean it.’
From their expressions he knew he would have a tough time convincing them it was a coincidence.
No time for that.
He broke off and went to the gear. Grabbed his combat suit and headed to the bathroom. When he returned, the rest of them were assembled, all of them geared up, with body armor.
‘Security set up?’ Chloe asked, her game face on.
‘Soldiers everywhere,’ Rubin admitted. ‘I counted close to two hundred armed officers at the conference center, in addition to its own security team. Armored vehicles at the front and the back. Every car is inspected for bombs. A dog squad.’
Mostofi is taking no chances. Zeb went to the harness and with Bear’s help, tried it on. It was heavy, but he could cope with it.
‘It won’t be just you,’ his friend reminded him.
‘I know. But we’ve done this before. Mostofi doesn’t have a big build.’
He turned to find Broker and Meghan slapping twenty-round magazines into their HK G28s. Sniper rifles that were their preferred long-range weapons.
‘EMPs?’ he asked.
‘Ready to roll,’ Beth replied.
He checked out the other operatives. Each one of them similarly geared up. Glocks, HK MP5s, combat knives, helmets in their hands.
‘Mic check,’ Meghan ordered.
‘Copy Thats,’ rolled in his earpiece. Bwana and Roger checked in too.
They relaxed.
The twins broke away for alone time. Bear and Chloe drifted off while Rubin showed Broker through the inside of the chopper.
Zeb went to the hangar’s opening, careful to shield himself from any prying eyes. Bright day. Sun beating down on them. A few fleeces of clouds in the sky. Smog, from Tehran’s vehicular traffic and industrial units, settled over the city.
It was like any other day.
The next day would be the same too.
For most Iranians. Not for Mostofi.