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“THIS IS THE LATEST SITREP,” Luke said, slapping a map and report on the small table of the private jet as the team flew over the Atlantic. Sam shoved the laptop he was using aside, moving over to his teammates.
“Jett had West do a deep dive into Mohammad Badr and his men. Badr is a prominent businessman in Cairo but has well-hidden ties to ISIS. His primary motivations are money and power. Badr was paid royally by the terror cell to help smuggle weapons into the U.S.—chemical weapons. Although his plans originally involved an American artist—Ava—making sculptures to conceal the materials and bringing them into the country herself, he will have to find someone else to carry them in now.”
“That’s messed up,” Nick muttered.
“I still can’t believe Ava got herself involved in any of this,” Sam said. “I should’ve insisted she let me research the guy.”
“The past is in the past,” Luke said. “Let’s move forward with where we are now. She’s in danger, and we have the opportunity to stop Badr’s plan.”
“What about the shipment of weapons from Syria to Cairo?” Gray asked. “Were the weapons we were looking for all along chemical weapons?”
“Intelligence analysts assess that yes, that is the case,” Luke said. “Mohammad Al Noury was able to smuggle the chemical weapons during his travels back and forth between Syria and Egypt. They’re now in the hands of Mohammad Badr.”
Sam shook his head. “These two Mohammads are confusing as hell.”
“Mohammad Al Noury is head of ISIS in Syria. Mohammad Badr is an Egyptian businessman. Two different men, both intent on harming Americans,” Luke said.
“Got it. Al Noury moved weapons from Syria to Cairo. He wanted his brother Yousef involved because he’s a scientist.”
“That’s the assumption we’re working under, although Yousef didn’t have specifics given his refusal to help,” Luke told the team. “We don’t know how they procured the chemical weapons, but Al Noury was able to hand them off in Cairo. A terror cell there recruited Badr. With his wealth and connections, he was able to hide in plain sight, hiring Ava and moving forward with the plan.”
“Except they grew to suspect Ava,” Sam said. “She was wary about the situation, and they were watching her closely enough to figure that out. Jesus,” he murmured, rubbing a hand over his eyes.
“We’ll find her,” Gray said, his voice lethal. “There’s not a chance we’re leaving Egypt without Ava on the plane with us.”
“I just hope it’s not too late,” Sam replied.
“We’ll have to search her apartment when we land,” Luke continued. “It’s in this section of Cairo,” he said, pointing to the map. “No doubt Badr’s men will have it watched. Ava believed the building was owned by him, which will make entering unnoticed tricky.”
“But not impossible,” Nick said with a smirk.
“We’ll get in,” Gray confirmed.
“While Nick and Gray search her apartment, Sam and I will be investigating Badr’s businesses. West got us a list of properties owned by him in Cairo. We need to figure out which is the most likely location for them to have brought Ava. They’ll want her to finish the job,” Luke said. “It’ll be a warehouse or industrial type of building, not an apartment. If Badr needs her to complete the sculptures, that’s most likely where she’s being held.”
“God damn it!” Sam swore, frustrated.
Luke leveled him with a look. “You need to calm down and keep your head on straight. Ava needs us. We’ll pore over the businesses now and make a list of the places we want to investigate. We can conduct surveillance when we’re on the ground. Once we narrow it down, we’ll move in.”
Sam was breathing heavily but nodded, hustling back over to the laptop he’d been using. He tapped at the screen, typing in his password again. “I see West’s email. Hell, this guy owns a lot. Let’s divide up the possibilities. We can look at sat imagery to determine which might be a good spot for housing this operation and hiding chemical weapons.”
“Let’s do it,” Luke said.
***
AVA WATCHED AS THE man helping her attempted to weld the pieces of the sculpture together. It was a nightmare, ruining the delicate details of the piece and leaving a big glob of molten metal at the edge. He cursed and ranted in Arabic. If Mohammad wanted these to look artistic, it was a complete failure. The man helping her had botched the job, making it look like a child had made it, not a talented artist.
“No, no, no!” Badr said as he stormed in. He yanked the man helping Ava out of the way. “No one would believe I paid an artist for this,” he seethed. “These all need to inconspicuously pass through airport security. This will never make it on a plane because it will be thoroughly examined.”
The man apologized, bowing slightly.
“You will have to do this yourself,” Mohammad snapped at Ava. “I will have one of my men watching you the entire time. You are dismissed,” he told the man backing away.
Ava glanced nervously across the room. They’d been up for hours, and her eyes stung, both from the chemical residue in the air and lack of sleep. All of the metals Mohammad had procured were stacked in a corner as well as boxes of whatever he planned to use.
“Isn’t it dangerous having that here?” she asked.
He chuckled. “It’s reactive. Nothing will happen until another easily made ingredient is added. When the time is right, my men will see that these are in working order.” Ava eyed him warily. The carefully constructed persona he’d always had around her seemed to be crumbling. There was nothing but evil and greed in his eyes now. “I can see you doubt me,” he said with a smirk. “I was paid a lot of money to get these into place, and the idiots I have working for me won’t prevent that from happening. You are proving to be a valuable asset, Ms. Kincaid.”
He stepped closer, looming over her, then smirked as she stepped back. “I need you for your artistic skills, not your American pussy. My men, on the other hand....” He shrugged carelessly. “If you fail to do as I ask, you will be passed around to them.”
Ava tried to school her expression, hiding the shock that coursed through her. Mohammad was nothing like the polite businessman she’d met when she first arrived. He’d been hiding his evil, sinister side. Was his wife in on this, too? Or did she have no idea what was happening? Maybe he was wealthy enough that she just didn’t care.
Mohammad called out something in Arabic, and she froze as the doorman from her building walked in.
“I see you recognize Ahmed,” Mohammad said. He began speaking in Arabic again as the doorman moved inside, watching her. Ava shivered in her camisole, taking a step back. Mohammad smirked again and then strode out, not bothering to say anything else to her. The threat was clear. She was to do what they wanted, or the doorman would do what he wanted with her.
