In Palestine, Yassin, with a full-grown beard, wearing a kaffiyeh, waited as the imam poured the tea. The man appeared to have aged far more in the three years that had passed than at any time before. He seemed as fervently determined as ever, but his too-thin body, stooped-over posture, and nearly all-white hair gave him the look of someone frail and well past his prime.
They were seated in the imam’s office in the mosque Yassin had prayed at as a child. The room seemed smaller than he remembered: somber earth-tones with a fold-up table, now unfolded, floor lamp, and three wooden chairs.
“Why so glum?” the imam asked as he slowly lowered himself into the seat opposite. “Not every operation can end successfully. This one failed. So what?”
Yassin shrugged off the question.
“You still seem bothered by it.”
“Shouldn’t I be? We were this close.” He held up two fingers pressed together.
“Ah, but time will heal. You just have to be patient.”
“I don’t think so!” Yassin said heatedly. Patience had nothing to do with it. He was the one to blame, and he would never forgive himself.
“How are your parents?” the imam asked, changing the subject. “I haven’t seen them in a while.”
Yassin hated small talk. “My parents are fine,” he said. “My mother’s sister is ill so they went to Norway to visit her. I expect they will return shortly.”
“And you? What have you been up to?”
He didn’t reply. Admitting that he’d done nothing but brood since he’d returned from America was not something he was willing to reveal.
“I might have another project for you.”
His head partially cleared. “You do?”
“Yes. Interested?”
Yassin felt a familiar kick in his gut, the one that gave purpose to his life. “Of course, I’m interested,” he said emphatically.
The imam smiled as he took another sip of his tea. “You know a man by name of Taher Ramli?” he asked.
Yassin rubbed his chin for a moment. “The name is familiar…”
“Taher looks after another part of the world, one you haven’t been involved with yet.”
“And?”
“He has a few personal problems he has to attend to. But this couldn’t have come at a worse time. We have something going on that is close to completion. I was hoping you could replace him.”
The buzz in his chest shot to his head. “What’s involved?”
“Another trip to a foreign country.”
“How soon?”
“A few more weeks, maybe a month at the most.”
“I’m ready.”
“This can’t turn into a mission of revenge, Khalid. What happened in New York is over with and done.”
“It won’t be revenge,” Yassin lied.