Chapter Twenty-nine
Medina Hotel
Sousse, Tunisia
Karolin insisted she was all right, but Justin would not believe it until a doctor had thoroughly examined his girlfriend. She had scraped her left arm and leg as she tried to escape during the kidnapping. Khazri’s men had rewarded her for the attempt by roughing her up. Her wounds had reopened during the swap, which had gone sideways. Justin would not rest until he made sure she was well taken care of. Begrudgingly, Karolin resigned herself to being treated by a doctor on the CIA’s payroll.
Flavio did not seem surprised by Abdulkareem’s intelligence or offer. Similar rumors that Doma had left Tunisia had been circulating throughout the NSA over the last few hours. Nothing that could be confirmed, and that was why Flavio had not brought the issue up with Justin. Now that Abdulkareem was leading them in the same direction and promising more concrete, actionable intelligence, Flavio authorized the operation without delay.
However, Justin wanted to go ahead with the messenger replacement mission as previously agreed. He reminded Flavio of the details learned from Khazri. A messenger was going to deliver an important message to Doma the next day. The meeting between the messenger and one of Doma’s close confidants was going to take place in Zuwarah, on the coast of northwestern Libya. The port city was about forty miles from the porous Tunisian border. “This presents a great chance to find Doma’s current location, the number of men with him, or the route and perhaps his destination in Pakistan,” Justin said, barely containing the enthusiasm in his voice. “If Abdulkareem’s sources do not come through, or if their intel is sparse, we’ll still have a strong starting point.”
Flavio seemed to ponder Justin’s words for a long tense moment. “Justin, do you realize what you’re asking?”
“I’m fully aware of the op, the difficulties and the consequences, sir. But if we’re going into the snake pit, I’d like to know how many slimy creatures are down there...”
“Yes, Justin, always the Boy Scout ... always be prepared...”
“You got it, sir.”
Flavio sighed. “Well, since I’m not going to change your mind, I’m authorizing it, albeit with great reservations. Send me a detailed plan ASAP, including everything from entry to Libya to the exit plan.”
“I’ll do that right away.” Justin somewhat muted the zeal boiling in his voice.
“And leave the Italian out of this. He has done enough.”
Justin bit his lip at the news. Marco had been instrumental in the recent operations, and his departure would leave a large gap in the team, which would be difficult to fill. Karolin swore she was all right, a fact Justin disputed. Even if she were, he was not keen on bringing her into this operation. That left only Carrie and Patton. That should suffice, and a small team is better. Although, if I’m discovered and captured... He shook his head and did not allow his burdened mind to finish the thought. “Certainly, sir.”
“Good. Leave Tunisia ASAP.”
“Will do.”
“Anything else?”
“No, nothing at the moment.”
“All right, then. Be safe.”
“You too.”
Justin drew in a deep breath and looked at Carrie and Patton, who were eyeing him from across the room. They were sitting around the small table in the kitchen and could hear Justin’s side of the conversation. When Justin drew near, Patton said, “Considering your look, it’s not good news.”
“How’s Karolin?”
“The doctor’s still in with her,” Carrie said. “I checked on them ten minutes ago, while you were still talking to Flavio. Nothing’s broken, but there might be some internal bleeding.”
Justin clenched his teeth and balled his hands into tight fists.
“I’m sorry, Justin,” Carrie said.
“The ones who gave the orders to hurt her are dead. The others, we’ll get to them soon.” He sat on the chair opposite Patton, then said, “Flavio green-lighted our messenger op. And we’re good to go after Doma.”
“AK will like that,” Patton said.
“What about you?” Justin asked. “What do you think?”
Patton shrugged. “It doesn’t matter. We’re soldiers, and we’ve got our orders. I just hope it’s not just the three of us going after Doma’s army.”
“According to AK, the Libyan travels light, so as to not draw attention to himself. Four guards at the most, plus an aide.”
“Right, if we catch him en route.”
“We have to. Once he’s in Pakistan or anywhere else hot, we’ll need reinforcements. A lot of them.”
“Is Marco coming?” Carrie asked.
Justin shook his head. “Flavio wants this to be an in-house job.”
Carrie glanced at Patton.
Justin said, “Patton is a house guest.”
Patton smiled. “I’m touched.”
“Don’t get used to it. You know what they say about guests?”
“I’ve been with you longer than three days. You can’t get rid of me now.”
Justin smiled back, then reached for his coffee cup. It was empty, so he stood up and headed toward the coffeemaker. “I’ll call AK and get everything he has. Then, we’ll draw up a plan for the messenger op. Flavio wants it yesterday.”
“What about Karolin?” Carrie asked.
“She can’t come with us. Too dangerous even if she was in top shape, which she’s not.”
Carrie shook her head. “She’s not going to like that.”
“Yes, Karolin will try to convince me to let her join the team. But she can’t. Not in her condition.”
Patton nodded. “One of the agents will escort her out of the country.”
“Thanks.” Justin started the machine for a fresh pot of coffee. “I’ll see who can help us cross the border and make our way to Zuwarah.”
“Perhaps AK has an asset.”
“He might, although I’d rather not rely on him too much.”
“I’ll see what I can do,” Patton said.
“Good. Let’s put this together fast. We’ve overstayed our welcome in Tunisia.”
Justin returned to the table and scrolled through the handful of numbers of contacts and assets active in eastern Tunisia and western Libya. He muttered a brief prayer in the hope one of them would be interested and available for the life-threatening operation.