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SAM DRUMMED HIS FINGERS on the armrest of the C-17 as they flew across the Atlantic Ocean that night. The team often flew via commercial or private jets, but Jett had arranged for them to hop the military transport to Germany. The next leg of the trip would be on their own. They’d touch down in Damascus and covertly make contact with a U.S. government source, a Syrian national they were helping to exfiltrate out of the country. In exchange for the information the Syrian, Yousef Al Noury, had provided over the years, the man would be relocated to America. Although State would fly him out of the country and escort him onto U.S. soil, the team had to hand him over to U.S. officials first.
The entire region was currently filled with instability and unrest. Although El Din had been taken out of the equation, his successor had risen to power quicker than anyone anticipated. Sam’s gut churned as he recalled the latest intelligence. The Syrian branch of ISIS was still looking to move weapons to Cairo. They didn’t know the names of all the men on the receiving end, which meant they would need to be stopped before the transfer occurred. While they were in-country, Sam and his teammates would gather additional intelligence. If they had enough details to stop the movement of weapons, they’d end this.
It didn’t—
“What’s up, man?” Luke asked, interrupting Sam’s thoughts as he grabbed a seat beside him. Luke tipped back a bottle of water, taking a long pull.
“Eh, just trying to rest up before we land,” Sam said. “I can’t sleep. Got too much on my mind.”
Luke raised his eyebrows. “I noticed. Most of the other guys are out.”
“You’re not,” Sam needlessly pointed out.
“I was thinking about Wren. She was a little more nervous than usual when we left. It’s still all new for her—us deploying on missions and being out of contact. Plus, one of her best friends is gone for the summer. You know how the women love to talk.”
“I talked to Ava the other day,” Sam admitted.
Luke let out a low whistle. “No kidding. How’d that go? I thought she was still giving you the cold shoulder.”
“Yep. She was. Ava hadn’t responded to any of my texts. I told her I might be out of touch for a while and she actually texted me back.”
“Wren’s worried about her,” Luke admitted. “I got the impression that the summer wasn’t anything like she expected.”
“It’s not. She hasn’t even started on the sculptures yet, and the people who hired Ava are keeping pretty close tabs on her,” Sam said with a frown. “I told Ava to send me a name so I can look into the guy, but she hasn’t yet. She got annoyed and hung up on me after we talked a couple of minutes. When we get back, I’ll reach out again. There’s little I can do when we’re incommunicado, but I want to research the people she’s working for.”
“You’re worried,” Luke said.
“Yep. Didn’t Wren wonder why Ava got a new phone number?” Sam asked, eyeing his buddy.
Luke frowned. “No. I was under the impression the old phone wasn’t working or something. That’s not the case?”
Sam shook his head, briefly explaining what Ava had told him. “If she feels like she’s being watched, she probably is. Add in the fact that Cairo is a potential hotspot for terror activity, and it’s all I can do not to convince her to come home. I’m worried she’s in danger.”
“She’s a beautiful woman,” Luke said. “No disrespect,” he added, holding up both hands. “You and I both know that we deal with a lot of sex-trafficking cases. Any chance it’s something like that?”
“I don’t think that’s it,” Sam said, shaking his head. “She didn’t mention anyone being inappropriate or feeling uncomfortable in that sense. It’s more like they’re interested in her routine, noting when she’s coming and going. It’s not sitting right with me. Why are they so interested in when she’s leaving her apartment? If she was working on the sculptures as planned, they’d know exactly where she was.”
Luke looked thoughtful. “Maybe they’re storing something in her apartment and accessing it while she’s gone?”
Sam frowned. “I don’t think so. I got the impression that it’s sparsely furnished. Where would they hide anything? I suppose there could be a false wall or safe hidden in the floor, but again, why chance that she would discover it? It’s not practical.”
“I’m just tossing out ideas, man. They could be monitoring her—installing surveillance cameras.”
“I thought about that, but she’s an artist, not a government official or former military. It’s not like she’s spilling State secrets or carrying around Top Secret information. I suppose they could have hidden cameras for other nefarious purposes—voyeurism or whatnot. Why fly an American in for that though? There are plenty of beautiful local women if that’s the angle. I wish she’d have given me a name, but there’s not much I can do at the moment with this whole Mohammad Al Noury shit to deal with. He took over that branch of ISIS faster than anyone could’ve expected after we took out El Din.”
“You saw the new intelligence,” Luke said. “They’re still trying to move weapons into Egypt. ISIS will increase their stronghold in the region by combining forces with another cell. They’ll try to take as many American lives as they can if they’re able to smuggle weapons into the country.”
“We’ll get the data on Al Noury,” Sam said with a frown. “His routine, his family, contacts—everything.”
Ford quietly walked over, grabbing an empty seat near them. “I couldn’t sleep either,” he said in a low voice. “Too keyed up to rest.”
“You left your new bride,” Luke said sympathetically.
“Yep. I’ve left her before, but it feels different somehow now that we’re official.” He shook his head, rubbing a hand over his eyes. “Nothing like being tired but unable to wind down. What do you think of this source we’re exfiltrating? It seems odd that the intelligence community wouldn’t directly be involved.”
Sam lifted a shoulder. “Jett’s doing it as a favor to a contact. It’s unconventional, but so is he. It sounds like the Syrians were growing suspicious of the intelligence community officers on the ground. They should’ve been able to get him out unnoticed.”
“They were made?” Ford questioned.
“Apparently they weren’t very good at what they do,” Luke said. “They were probably in-country too long and not as clandestine as they thought. No matter. We’ll move in and handle it. After we get Yousef, we’ll hand him over to State and then see what additional intelligence we can gather while we’re on the ground.”
Sam swiped the screen on his phone, looking at the photograph of the man they were bringing in. The new head of ISIS in Syria, Mohammad Al Noury, had a wild look in his eyes and violent aura about him. His brother Yousef seemed calm and almost innocuous in comparison. He wore glasses and was slim, making him appear somewhat weak. Looks could be deceiving, but he didn’t have the crazed look of those in the terrorist cell. Sam was amazed he’d been able to pass on intelligence to U.S. officials over the years. He didn’t look particularly brave or bold.
“What else do we know about this guy?” Ford asked.
“He’s a scientist,” Luke said. “His ties to ISIS are strictly because of his brother’s involvement in the extremist group. He’s generally flown under the radar, living a quiet life. From what I understand, his brother didn’t want to include him—some sort of sibling rivalry shit. Jihad is more important than education, I guess, at least to those assholes. He’s the brains of the family and didn’t become radicalized like his brother. Most of his career was doing research at a university. His wife and child were killed in an automobile accident earlier this year—mysterious circumstances, from what I understand.”
“I wonder if they offed them,” Ford said. “If he and his brother have this extreme sibling rivalry or hatred of one another, we can’t rule it out.”
“It’s a good question,” Luke said. “There’s no telling how deep this contention between them runs. Clearly, Yousef was willing to out his brother and others in the terror cell. He’s certainly shown no loyalty to him. Who’s to say Mohammad wouldn’t target Yousef’s family?” He shook his head. “We could get some sleep. We’ll be landing in Germany in five hours, and then we’ll hop on the private jet. We’ll go over mission specifics then and make final plans to locate and bring in Yousef.”
“Something feels off about this entire mission,” Sam said, uneasiness churning in his gut. “We’re sure this guy’s been thoroughly vetted?”
Luke eyed him. “He’s been an Agency source for years, providing credible intelligence. He’s been vetted by both them and State. You sure you’re not just worried about Ava?”
“I’m worried about her, but this is different,” Sam said. “It feels like something is coming, and we just don’t see it yet.”
