| |
Kai didn’t show any reaction to Jared’s statement. She held his gaze for a beat, then turned her attention back to the sea in the distance. Her breathing was steady, but she had to force herself not to sigh. So there it was. Jared wanted her for an op. Fair enough. She’d known that was why he’d come. The puzzling part was why he had come in person. Now she knew.
Masha’al Al-Amin had been a high priority target of every intelligence and security agency in the west for ten months now. Last August a bomb had been detonated inside the US embassy in New Delhi, killing over two hundred American citizens and wounding many more, both American and Indian. Two hours after the explosion, Masha’al Al-Amin had taken credit for the attack, promising many more until the United States was brought to its knees. He’d immediately disappeared, forced into hiding when every free nation vowed to assist the Americans in hunting the terrorist. The wave of public support for retaliation was overwhelming as the American people were suddenly, and violently, made aware of his existence.
Masha’al had been a thorn in Israel’s side for over a decade, as well as terrorizing the entire Middle East. Jordan, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and Israel had all been plagued by the up-and-coming figurehead who openly and arrogantly compared himself to Bin Laden. The rest of the world had been content to stand by and observe, until he had gone after the United States. Suddenly, overnight, the Middle East had the full and unrestricted support of the Americans, the United Kingdom, and the United Nations. The only government who was notably silent was Russia, but that was hardly any surprise; Moscow had condemned the bombing with words of censure, but nothing else.
Mossad had been working closely with the CIA and MI6 to track down Masha’al ever since. And now Jared was sitting next to her in Spain, sipping vodka and watching the sky change color over the sea as the sun sank on another day, telling her that they’d found him.
“Where?”
“Our intelligence points to a compound outside of Tanta, just north of Cairo.” Jared sipped his drink and glanced at her. “I know you’re familiar with the area.”
Her lips curved wryly. Last year she had spent three months in Cairo, tracking a target that had been particularly elusive. In the end, she had cornered the woman in Alexandria after a week-long trek through small villages and barren deserts.
“I’m putting together a team,” Jared continued. “Security on the compound is heavy, and the director doesn’t want any mistakes.”
Kai looked at him sharply and he gave a faint smile.
“I know you prefer to work alone, but I’ve been instructed to put together a team of my best operatives.”
“How many?” she asked after a moment of silence.
“Four so far, plus myself. You would make five.”
She shook her head, watching as a hawk glided over the tree line, making his first sweep of the evening.
“Four agents? Plus yourself? You don’t need me, Jared. Not for one man. I don’t care how heavily guarded he is.”
“I wish it was that easy,” he murmured. “The team isn’t just for Masha’al.”
She looked at him, her attention caught. “What?”
“If this was a straight-forward operation, I could send anyone. Hell, I could do it myself.” Jared finished his drink and set the glass down on the stone tiles next to his chair. “It’s a bit more complicated than that.”
Kai watched him for a moment, then turned to pick up his empty glass.
“I’ll get you a refill,” she said, standing, “while you decide how much you can tell me.”
He watched as she walked around the foot of his chair. “You’re assuming that I’ll tell you anything.”
“If you want me on this op, you’ll tell me something. Otherwise, you’ll be working with a team of four.”
She went into the house and exhaled. She had no choice. If Jared said she had to go, she would go. They both knew that. But she knew he respected her enough to give her some insight into why he was determined to place her in a situation where she would be supremely uncomfortable. She had actively avoided working with other agents for over a year, and Jared had humored her until now. The least he could do was give her a reason.
Kai went through the kitchen to the refrigerator and pulled the bottle of vodka out of the freezer. After dumping the used ice into the sink, she refilled the glasses with the chilled alcohol and glanced out of the window. Jared was still reclining on the chaise lounge, his head back and his eyes closed. He looked perfectly at ease and relaxed, the picture of a man who knew he would get he wanted.
Her lips curved despite herself and she turned to put the vodka in the refrigerator. She supposed she should be flattered that he thought highly enough of her to come all the way here in person. He could have summoned her to Tel Aviv, which is undoubtedly what he’d done with the others. The least she could do was go without a fuss.
But Kai had never been one to do what was expected of her. And besides, something inside her wanted to see how far he would go to convince her.
When she handed him his glass a moment later, Jared opened his eyes with a nod of thanks.
“Tell me what you know about Masha’al,” he said, taking the drink.
“As much as anyone else,” she said, taking her seat again. “Born in the Gaza Strip, fighting by the time he was twelve, and joined the upper ranks of the Taliban in his late teens. He spent seven years in Iraq before moving to Pakistan, and then back to Khan Yunis five years ago. Since then, he’s moved around and, of course, he disappeared ten months ago after claiming responsibility for the embassy bombing in India.”
“And his family?”
She shrugged. “Parents were killed in a missile attack when he was ten. He had three brothers. Two were killed and the third is a prominent businessman in Jerusalem. As far as I’m aware, he never married.”
Jared nodded. “That’s the basics covered. There are several aunts, uncles and cousins as well, but the one we’re concerned with is Riyad Bilal.”
Kai frowned in thought. “I know that name.”
“Yes,” he agreed. “Most of us do. He’s a businessman who, among other things, is suspected of leading a Hamas cell.”
Her brow cleared and her lips parted on an inhale.
“Of course! The two soldiers who were mutilated in the West Bank! There was a rumor not long ago that Hamas had authorized the attack as retribution for the deaths of two of their lieutenants.”
“Yes.” Jared took a drink. “We’ve known for some time that Bilal was involved with Hamas, but it’s only recently that intelligence has made clear that he’s actually the leader of a cell in Tel Aviv.”
Kai looked at him sharply. “In Tel Aviv? Are you sure?”
“Yes, but that’s as far as we’ve got. We can’t locate the cell, and the man is protected on all sides by his business contacts and reputation. There’s nothing that leads directly to him.”
“There’s always something,” she murmured.
Jared smiled faintly. “Yes, and we believe we’ve found it. Riyad Bilal was born Riyad Al Najjar. His father was Mansur Al Najjar, husband of Aliya Al-Amin. Riyad Bilal is Masha’al’s cousin.”
Kai exhaled and lifted her glass to her lips. “Well, that’s certainly something.”
“Mmm.” Jared nodded. “We believe that Cousin Masha’al financed Riyad’s early investments and, if that’s the case, he can provide the information to move against Riyad.”
“Since when does Mossad need proof?”
“Since Riyad has become the darling of both the Jordanian and the Egyptian financial communities.”
She was silent for a moment, then glanced at him. “So Masha’al is the key to taking down Riyad.”
“Something like that.”
“That still doesn’t make this a team project,” she pointed out. “I’m sure there’s something that can be used as leverage to make Masha’al talk.”
“Of course there is,” he replied calmly, “but I don’t think the Americans are very interested in leverage at the moment.”
Kai raised her eyebrows, surprised.
“The Americans? What have they got to do with...” She stopped abruptly and sucked in her breath sharply, looking at him. “They’re sending a team in after him.”
“Yes.”
She stared at him for a beat, then exhaled, shaking her head as a reluctant smile curved her lips.
“Well that certainly does complicate things.”
A laugh leapt into his dark eyes. “Just a bit.”
Kai sipped her vodka, the alcohol sliding easily down her throat, and leaned her head back on the chair. She stared up into the darkening sky thoughtfully.
“Let me guess,” she said after a moment. “CIA?”
“Worse.”
She frowned and turned her head to look at him. “Who?”
“Navy SEALs.”
She let out a snort of disgust and lifted her head, raising the glass to her lips again.
“You’re right. That is worse.”
“If they get to Masha’al first, he’ll disappear into a black hole in the States and we’ll never get what we need from him,” he said unnecessarily. “You know how their special forces work.”
“Yes.” Kai shook her head, her lips tightening. “Once they get involved, there’s no hope for Masha’al. They’ll level the whole compound to the ground rather than let him go.”
“Or rather than let anyone else have him,” Jared agreed. “Unless, of course, they think he’s already dead.”
Kai felt a grin pulling at her lips and she glanced at him, meeting his dark and steady gaze.
“I’m beginning to see why you need a team.”
He was silent and she turned her attention to the purple streaks on the water in the distance. Something close to excitement surged through her at the prospect of something entirely unexpected and different. This was a challenge worth cutting her vacation short.
“The plan is to create a situation where the Americans are convinced Masha’al is dead,” Jared said in a low voice. “The only way for us to do that is to have their SEAL team witness his execution. Once they’re convinced, he’ll be all ours.”
Kai took a deep breath, her mind spinning.
“The timing will have to be exact,” she murmured almost to herself. “We’ll have to have him in transit almost immediately, then have a body that will pass for Masha’al. Knowing the Americans, they won’t settle for anything short of DNA.”
“Which is why there can’t be a body.”
“What then?”
He smiled slowly. “You’ll find out when you come to the briefing.”
Kai laughed. “Oh, that’s low.”
“That’s good negotiation.”
She sipped her vodka, staring into the trees, her mind already grappling with the difficulties of the type of operation he was proposing. Not only would they have to infiltrate the compound ahead of the US military, but they would have to transform it into an elaborate production set. In addition to convincing the Americans that the terrorist was dead, they would have to get the terrorist, alive and well, away from the compound without American satellites or military personnel seeing. It was impossible.
And it was exactly the kind of operation Kai lived for.
“The amount of precision that will be needed is staggering,” she finally said, glancing at him. “If one person is off by a second, the whole thing will blow up in our face.”
“That’s why I’m here. I need my best agents on this, and you’re at the top of the list.” He smiled and lifted his glass in a silent toast. “I wouldn’t have come all the way to Spain otherwise.”
She nodded in acknowledgment. “When?”
“I need you in Tel Aviv the day after tomorrow.”
Kai finished her drink. “I’ll be there,” she said, “but you already knew that. You knew I wouldn’t turn down a chance to completely fool the Navy SEALs.”
He let out a bark of laughter and got up, tossing back the rest of his drink.
“Guilty,” he said with a grin. Then he sobered as she stood up. “It won’t be easy, and if anything goes wrong...”
His voice trailed off and Kai smiled faintly.
“I know the drill.”
He nodded and smiled. “I know you do.”
They walked through the house to the front porch in silence, the impromptu visit over. He had done what he came to do. There was nothing more to be said.
“I’m sorry to have interrupted your vacation,” he said, pausing at the steps. He looked down at her, his face unreadable. “I hope you know that it wasn’t done lightly.”
“I know it wasn’t.”
“When you arrive in Tel Aviv, don’t go to your apartment. Check into the Crown Plaza under an alias and then go to this address.” He passed her a business card with an address scrawled on the back. “This entire operation is a black op. No one can know you’re in the city.”
“I understand.”
Jared pulled his hand out of his pocket and held it out. As she grasped it, Kai felt a USB stick slide into her palm.
“I’ll see you on Tuesday,” he said, releasing her hand.
She nodded and watched as he went down the steps and strode to the black sedan. A moment later, the engine purred to life and he was pulling away from the house. She watched him go, absently twirling the USB stick between her fingers as the taillights disappeared into the trees. Pressing her lips together, she glanced down at the flash drive in her hand and turned to go back into the house.
It was time to go back to work.
Miami, Florida
The restaurant was crowded when a slender man in a navy suit approached the concierge. He murmured a name and the concierge raised his eyebrows in surprise, nodding. The man passed him a card and the guardian of the dining room looked at it for a moment before turning and motioning to a nearby server. A moment later, the server was murmuring an apology as he presented the card to the head of a table next to panoramic windows overlooking the water. The man glanced at the card and nodded to the server.
“Yes, let him in,” he said, tossing the card onto the table next to his plate.
“Very well, Mr. Young.”
Richard Young watched him leave and turned to smile apologetically at his wife. He reached out and covered her hand with his.
“Don’t worry. It’s only Peter,” he told her. “It won’t take long.”
She made a face, but nodded.
“My PA,” he explained to the other couple at the table. “He has a message for me. It’s probably something completely inane, but it’s best to be safe.”
“Of course,” the man agreed instantly. “Business doesn’t stop when the workday ends. I understand.”
“And he does,” his wife said with a light laugh. “I wonder what it’s like to married a man who isn’t a workaholic.”
“If you ever find out, let me know,” the other woman said with an answering laugh. “I swear they never stop, do they?”
“No.”
Richard looked up as Peter was shown towards the table. He wiped his mouth with his cloth napkin and nodded to him, pushing his chair back.
“Please excuse me,” he said with another flash of white teeth. “I won’t be long.”
He stood up and motioned for his assistant to follow him to a door a few feet away. They stepped outside onto a wooden deck with a bar at one end.
“I’m sorry to interrupt your dinner, Mr. Young,” the young man said as they turned and headed to the opposite end of the deck, away from the bar. “You wanted to know as soon as I had something.”
“It’s quite all right, Peter,” Richard replied easily. “The Adamses’ have got to be one of the dullest couples I know. I have no idea why Mary enjoys them so much.” He stopped at the railing and looked out over the dark waves lapping against the support beams below them. “What have you got?”
“I heard back from Zurich.” Peter cleared his throat. “It looks like Bucharest is more of a problem that we first thought.”
Richard looked at him sharply. “Oh?”
Peter nodded. “There’s some concern that Vali Melnik wasn’t killed by one of his own, as we were led to believe.”
Richard glanced around, making sure no one was within ear shot, then turned and faced Peter, his lips pressed together grimly.
“Tell me.”
“There are indications that the security system was hacked and the cameras disabled. Originally, we presumed that was done by one of Melnik’s own people.”
“And now?”
“There’s speculation that the Israeli special forces were involved.”
Richard swore under his breath and turned to look out over the water again.
“How reliable are these speculations?”
“I wouldn’t disregard them, Mr. Young. This information came directly from Germany’s intelligence service.”
“Any ideas why Mossad would have been interested in Melnik?”
“According to my sources, he was doing business with an organization that Mossad has under surveillance. Some neo-Nazi group that’s been making some noise internationally. I’ve never heard of them.”
“What’s the name?”
“Eisenrennen.”
Richard’s lips tightened, the only indication that the name meant anything to him, and he shook his head.
“Damn fool,” he muttered. “Yes, I think it’s very safe to say that Mossad would have taken an active interest. You’re right. Bucharest is a larger problem than we were first led to believe.”
“What do you want to do about the operation in Paris?” Peter asked after a moment. “Should we continue?”
Richard was quiet for a moment, then he nodded slowly. “Yes. Let it continue as planned.”
“And Cairo?”
The silence was longer this time, then he exhaled and turned away from the water.
“Let it go, but tell Sergei to monitor it closely. If there’s the slightest indication that the operation has been compromised, have him notify me immediately. I’ll do a risk assessment then.”
“Very good.” Peter looked at him apologetically. “I’m sorry to bring bad news in the middle of dinner.”
Richard clapped a hand on his shoulder. “You can’t control the information,” he said. “Don’t worry about it.”
He dropped his hand and started to move back towards the door to the restaurant. He’d only gone a few steps when he paused and turned to look at Peter.
“Do me a favor and try to get a hold of Yosef.” He glanced at his watch. “It’s two in the morning in Tel Aviv now. Don’t call. Send him an email and ask him to call me at the office tomorrow.”
“Of course.”
“Thank you. Now go and relax. Grab a beer. I’ll see you in the morning.”
They parted company inside the door, and Richard slowly made his way back to the table, his lips pressed together in a grim line. When Vali Melnik was found with a bullet in his head three weeks ago, it had quickly been established that the only possible explanation was that his killer was someone within his inner circle. His security system was inaccessible from the outside, or so they said, and there was no sign of forced entry at the gates. It was therefore assumed that someone inside had organized it, killing many of their associates in the process. As unlikely as it had seemed at the time, all the evidence supported the idea, and Richard had ultimately accepted that an internal power struggle had led to Melnik’s untimely demise. It had been an inconvenience, but nothing more.
Now all that had changed. If Mossad was behind his death, he had to worry about what, exactly, Vali had said before he died.
And whether or not Mossad knew about what they had planned.
