Chapter Thirty-four

 

 

Saloya, five miles north of Rutbah

Iraq

 

Not even a sliver of doubt remained in Justin’s mind about Ying’s deceit. One of the Peshmergas that Carrie had contacted came through with some intelligence. According to this source, Ying’s role had been far from a simple advisor or observer. She had been one of the rescue team members who had stormed the village where the hostages had been held. The source noted that the Peshmergas were stunned at Ying’s bravery, tactical skills, and marksmanship.

Justin sighed and shook his head. He could not help but blame himself for the failure to see through Ying’s and Suen’s lies. Am I losing my edge? he asked himself more than once. Am I trusting too much? He knew full well that background checks, more often than not, did not reveal everything about the target. But we should have learned this about Ying. We should have.

“Justin, what’s going through your mind?” Carrie asked.

They were standing in the courtyard, near the porch. Stephan and two gunmen were smoking on the other side of the courtyard, beyond earshot.

Justin shrugged. “Nothing important. The past, which should stay in the past. Now that we know Ying played us, it’s time to pay her back.”

“How?”

“I don’t want Ying or her boss to know we’re aware of their trickery. I want them to still believe we’re in Iraq, looking for her.”

“The phone signals?”

“Yes, exactly. We’ll leave our phones with Isaac’s men. As they roam the area, if the Chinese are tracking our phones, the signals will indicate we’re still here.”

“And if they call us, we can still pick up, thanks to the forwarding system.” Carrie smiled.

Justin nodded. “Yes, before we go, let’s call HQ and ask for a TE.”

That meant a total erase. The CIS’s information and communications team would remotely delete all data stored on the phones and restore them to factory settings. Whoever possessed the phones would still be able to make and receive calls, but that was about all they could do.

“And Isaac, do you think we’ll get any help from him?”

“I don’t think so, but then, I wasn’t expecting much. As long as he stays out of our way, I’m happy with that.”

“Let’s ask him to take care of al-Rawi’s funeral. It doesn’t have to be in Rutbah, if that’s not possible.”

Al-Rawi had succumbed to his wounds shortly before the team had arrived in Saloya. The news had first reached Isaac, who had then informed Justin.

“Yes, Isaac should be able to arrange that.”

“Will he let us take Thames with us?”

“He promised, so he’d better keep his word. As soon as he’s finished with Stephan, we’ll get in the truck and head back to Jordan.”

“Hopefully, we’ll have better luck at the border.”

“We’ll call ahead this time. The Brits would be happy to give us a hand, considering we’re bringing back one of their own.”

“Yes. We should call Mandy, inform her, so she can tell Mary.”

“Good idea.”

“And the Russians? We need to give them the heads-up.”

“Right, but after I’ve talked to Flavio. Once I’ve briefed him on the situation, we’ll know what course of action he will authorize.”

“We need to go after Ying and Lim.”

“Yes, but once we are absolutely certain about the details of the assassination plot. We don’t know where Ying and Lim might be, but we know where they’ll strike. And we’ll be there to stop them.”

Carrie turned her head just as Isaac stepped out on the porch. Stephan and the other gunmen raced to him. Isaac exchanged a few quick words, which started as whispers and ended in shouts. “No, it’s done. And that’s my decision,” Isaac shouted to Stephan.

“I don’t take orders from you.”

“Yes, you do, and if you disobey them—”

“I’m not letting their blood be spilled in vain.”

“It’s not. The detainee gave us valuable intel.”

“About what?”

“You don’t need to know that.”

Stephan shook his head and spat on the ground. “This is crazy.”

“Whatever it is, your order is to stand down. If you don’t, you’ll be sorry.”

Stephan cursed in German and cast a menacing glance at Justin. “One day, I will have your head.” He cursed again and walked out of the courtyard.

Isaac drew in a deep breath and dismissed the gunmen. Then he made his way to Justin and Carrie. “Take your man and leave, before Stephan does something stupid.”

“Thanks, Isaac.”

“Don’t mention it. And forget everything that happened here. Everything you saw or heard.”

Justin nodded. “I gave you my word. But will you tell Mossad everything Thames said?”

“Of course. I have to. But don’t worry, we will not intervene.”

“Is it in Mossad’s interest that the Russian president is killed?”

Isaac shrugged. “People higher up the ladder than me decide on Israel’s interest. As far as I’m concerned, the Russians have helped and are continuing to help our sworn enemy, Syria. The Russians think they’re invincible. Perhaps it’s time for them to learn a lesson.”

“That’s a pricey lesson,” Carrie said.

“Not my choice, but again, I don’t make those decisions.”

“All right,” Justin said. “I’ll bring Thames. Carrie, get the truck ready.”

“Right away.” She headed toward the gate.

“I’ll give you a hand. He can barely walk.” Isaac followed Justin inside the house.