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Kai stepped out of the hotel and put on her sunglasses, turning to walk up the busy street. The hot afternoon sun beat down on her head as she moved along the sidewalk, reminding her that when in Cairo, hats were definitely preferable.
She hadn’t gone more than a dozen steps before she felt someone run up behind her. Turning swiftly, she let out a muffled exclamation at the sight of Kodak’s grinning face.
“I thought you and Rina were hatching the master plan,” he said, falling into step beside her.
“I’m running an errand first and meeting her in half an hour,” she said. “God you’re an idiot! Don’t you know better than to run up behind someone like that?”
“I figured I was safe since you couldn’t take your trusty Jericho on the plane with you. Or did you already get another one?”
Kai chuckled reluctantly. “What do you think the errand is? I feel naked without it.”
“It is still the Jericho then?” he asked, surprised. “You haven’t moved on yet?”
She shrugged. “I like it. I haven’t found anything to tempt me to replace it yet. The Ruger comes close, but I still prefer my old stand-by. It hasn’t failed me yet.”
“I like my Beretta, to be honest. I know it’s not sexy, but it’s accurate and gets the job done. Where are you going to rearm?”
“I keep a storage locker here.”
“Good girl. Mind if I tag along? You can blindfold me if you like.” He grinned and winked at her. “In fact, I might like that.”
“Don’t get excited. No one’s getting blindfolded.”
“Kill joy.”
Kai was silent for a moment, then she shot him a look under her lashes.
“Why do you want to come?”
“Hello? Do you know me? I want to see what kind of hardware you’re hoarding!” He shrugged. “Besides, I’ve got an hour to kill before I meet with my supplier’s agent. I’d rather spend it with you than wandering around this hell-hole.”
“You don’t like Cairo?”
“Hate it.”
Kai was surprised into a short laugh. “Me too.”
He looked at her with a smile. “I knew we had more in common than we’ve ever known,” he said. “So are you going to show me your guns? If you show me yours, I’ll show you mine. Spoiler alert — mine are bigger.”
“I wouldn’t be so sure of that.”
Kodak grinned and was opening his mouth to say something when he suddenly grabbed her arm, pulling her to an abrupt stop. She looked at him sharply.
“What?”
He glanced behind them and pulled her to the side of the pavement, closer to a building and out of the way of the flow of pedestrians.
“Look!” he said, nodding towards the other side of the street.
Kai turned to follow his gaze and her lips parted in surprise. Raj had just come out of a building and was putting sunglasses on, his head turned away from them. A man dressed in jeans and a black linen shirt followed him, obviously speaking to him.
“What’s he doing?” Kodak wondered with a frown. “When he left the hotel, he said he was going back to his room to sleep.”
“Clearly he’s not,” she said. “Who’s he with? Do you recognize him?”
“No. It could be someone he uses for supplies. There are certain things he’s very picky about, and he insists on getting his own.”
Kai pursed her lips, then started walking again. “Could be.”
Kodak shot her a look. “What are you thinking?”
“Nothing much, really. I think it’s strange he’s meeting someone when we’re in the middle of an op. The more people who see us, the more chance there is of being recognized.”
“He might be setting up a meeting for his supplies. We’re on a tight schedule. Maybe he’s trying to get a head start. That’s what I’m doing this afternoon. I’m making sure my man can deliver at a moment’s notice.”
“I suppose.”
He looked at her in amusement. “Are you always this suspicious?” he demanded. “Or is it just because you’re being forced to work with us?”
“Me? You’re the one who grabbed me like something was wrong!”
“I was just surprised to see him. Still am. Like you said, it’s strange. Why not just say that he had to go meet someone? Why say he was going to his room to sleep?”
“Now you sound like the suspicious one.”
He laughed. “I do, don’t I? Old habits, I guess. I’m not used to working with other people anymore.”
Kai nodded. “I know. Neither am I.”
“Do you really think we can pull this off?” he asked after a moment.
“Yes. I don’t think it’ll be easy, but I think we can do it. Are you having second thoughts?”
“No, but I’m not happy that we don’t have time to plan and shop. Jared’s out of his mind if he thinks he can get a quality product in such a short amount of time.”
Kai was silent for a minute, then she shrugged. “I’ve done jobs with less time on the clock. It’s difficult, but not impossible.”
“So have I, but you have to admit that it’s not a good recipe for success.” He looked at her, his customary smile gone from his face. “I don’t like any of it. Except perhaps the part about fooling the Americans.”
“Funny how that’s the part we all can agree on,” Kai said with a laugh. “It’s down here,” she added, motioning to a side street.
They went into the narrow street and she led him to a tall building halfway down. Inside, they climbed a narrow flight of stairs to the third floor. Pulling a set of keys from her pocket, she went to a door at the end. While she unlocked it, Kodak looked around the grimy hallway curiously.
“No cameras,” he noted.
“No security at all,” she said over her shoulder. “The people who own this building don’t need it. Locals know better than to touch anything in here.”
She opened the door and reached inside to flip on a light.
“Watch the wire inside the door. They might not need security, but I don’t take any chances.”
Kodak nodded and stepped over the nearly invisible wire that ran along the floor inside the door, looking around the small room. Unlike the hallway, there were two cameras in here, and he knew they were streaming to a server accessible from anywhere in the world. It’s what he would have done.
“How did you find this place?”
She closed the door and moved around him to a tall safe on the back wall.
“An old contact.”
She paused at the safe and looked at him pointedly. He grinned and turned his back, shifting his attention to a row of upright tool boxes along one wall.
“What’s in the tool boxes?”
“Tactical gear.” She typed in her ten-digit code and opened the safe. “And some knives in the one over there.”
Once he heard the safe open, Kodak turned and looked, letting out a low whistle.
“Do you plan on invading a small country?” he asked, moving forward. “I was expecting a couple of pistols and maybe some grenades. You have a whole armory here!”
Kai nodded and pulled out a Jericho, tucking it into the holster sewn into the back of her jeans.
“The last time I was here, I needed most of this,” she said. “I hate Cairo. Nothing good ever happens here.”
Kodak leaned against a folding table beside the safe and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Do you have these caches in all the major cities?” he asked, watching as she pulled out a combat knife and bent down to slide it into an ankle holster under her pant leg.
“Not all of them,” she said, straightening up.
“Just most?” he asked with a smile. “Hey, I’m not saying it’s a bad thing. It’s smart.”
Kai paused in the act of pulling out another pistol and glanced at him. “You don’t have them?”
He shrugged. “I don’t need to. I have contacts everywhere that can get me what I need. They work fast, and the product is untraceable. It works for me.”
“Ah yes. The secret suppliers.” She tucked her backup Ruger into her cross-body bag and swung the safe closed, locking it again. “I’m surprised Mossad allows you to use them.”
“They don’t know,” he said promptly. “Jared knows, of course, but he’s smart enough not to ask too many questions.”
She tilted her head and studied him. “Why do you go outside our normal avenues?”
“Why do you keep a hidden stash of weapons in every city?” he countered.
Kai smiled slowly, a new respect for him budding inside her. He didn’t trust anyone either. In their world, they couldn’t afford to risk it.
“If you keep looking at me like that, I’m going to try to kiss you, and then I’ll end up like that poor schmuck on the plane.”
Kai burst out laughing. “That poor schmuck was a dirt bag, and he deserved it. I’m not sure you would.”
“Really?” he asked, a mischievous glint leaping into his eyes. “Should I try it?”
“I wouldn’t advise it,” she said, shaking her head. “I might change my mind. I tend to be fickle that way.”
He grinned and dropped his arms to his sides, straightening up. “Shame. We have a lot in common, you and I.”
“That’s the problem. We have too much in common. We’d kill each other.” She turned towards the door. “Not to mention that it would be a very, very bad idea right now.”
“Mixing business with pleasure? Yeah, you’re probably right. Besides, you’re screwing Jared, aren’t you?”
Kai stopped and swung around to face him.
“Oh, not you too!” she exclaimed. “What is wrong with everyone?! No, I’m not sleeping with the boss!”
Kodak threw his head back and laughed.
“Oh my God, that was awesome!” he chortled. “Rina said to say it, but I didn’t think it would get that big of a reaction!”
“Rina put you up to it? I should have known.”
“So that’s a no then?” he asked, still laughing.
“It’s a no.”
“Then why are you suddenly his favorite?” Kodak tilted his head and looked at her consideringly. “Because you are, you know.”
She shrugged. “I have no idea. I didn’t know he was going to put me in charge of the op. The first I heard about it was when you all heard it.”
“Huh. Now that’s interesting.” He followed her to the door and they stepped over the wire and into the hall. “Do you think there’s something else going on here besides Masha’al?” he asked suddenly, watching as she closed and locked the door.
She looked at him sharply. “Why do you say that?”
“I don’t know. It’s just...this whole business seems off somehow.”
She pocketed her keys and started towards the stairs. “I don’t know,” she said finally. “I know as much as you do. I just want to get it done and get the hell out of here.”
“I’ll second that,” he agreed, jogging down the stairs next to her. “The sooner we leave Cairo, the better. So you and Rina better come up with something good.”
“Don’t worry about us,” she retorted. “You just make sure your supplier can deliver in time. Who is it, anyway? Anyone I know?”
They emerged into the side street again and Kodak looked at her, winking before he put his sunglasses on.
“Someone even more cautious than you,” he told her. “I’ll tell you what. If you ever end up in a bind, I’ll pass along the recommendation. But until then...”
She smiled at him and dropped her own sunglasses over her eyes.
“Understood.”
Camp Arifjan Army Base
Arifjan, Kuwait
Dean lifted his hand and pushed his sunglasses back up on his nose as he waited outside the squat, square building. A hot midday sun glared unrelentingly down on him and he glanced at his watch. If Ressler didn’t hurry up, he was going to the armory without him. The sun was too hot to stand around waiting indefinitely. A truck rumbled by, the back filled with sandbags, and Dean watched it go, his lips curved in amusement. They were calling for rain in the next twenty-four hours, and with it, the possibility of flash flooding. Personally, he thought it was a bunch of bull. He’d been through this base a few times now and had never seen a single rain drop. He’d believe rain when he felt it on his face, and not a second before.
Looking at his watch again, he was just turning away when the door to the building opened and Brian emerged, pulling on his hat.
“About time!” Dean called. “I was just about to leave without you.”
“I wasn’t that long. What? You can’t take a little sun?” Brian retorted, putting on his sunglasses and joining him on the paved road. “You’re getting soft, man.”
“How’d it go? Did you get through to Diane?”
“No. I’ll try again later.” Brian fell into step beside him as they started down the road. “She’s probably at the shelter.”
“She’s still volunteering?”
“Yes. She says it keeps her mind off of what I’m doing.” Brian looked at him with a grin. “One of these days, I’ll go home to a house full of dogs. I can see it coming.”
Dean chuckled. “There are worse things you could go home to.”
“True dat.” They glanced up as a pair of helicopters flew over, heading towards the landing zone on the other side of the base. “How’s Ron’s arm? The infection gone yet?”
“Just about.”
“Good. It’s been too quiet. We’ll be getting sent out again soon.”
Dean nodded in agreement and was about to respond when a truck pulled over ahead of them and a Petty Officer got out.
“Lieutenants!” he said, saluting. “I’m glad I found you. Lieutenant Commander Jones wants to see you right away. Hop in, sirs.”
Dean looked at Brian as they went towards the truck. “You had to say something, didn’t you?”
Brian shrugged. “You knew it was coming.”
“Yeah, but I was hoping to finish the mods on my gun first.”
They made the trip to the Officer’s building in silence while the driver and petty officer in the front argued over baseball. By the time they reached their destination, Dean was heartily sick of hearing about the Yankees. As they climbed out of the truck, Brian looked at him with a laugh.
“I’m surprised you kept your mouth shut,” he said as they started up the short pavement to the door. “Aren’t you a Phillies fan?”
“I wasn’t getting into it with them. Not worth it.”
Opening the glass door, they stepped out of the sun and into a blast of cool air. Pulling off his hat, Dean rolled it into a cylinder and tucked it into the side pocket of his desert fatigues. He took off his sunglasses and tucked them into his front pocket and turned towards the side corridor that would lead them to their superior’s office.
“It better not be Afghanistan again,” Brian muttered as they strode down the narrow corridor. “I’m getting tired of the mountains.”
“You’d rather have desert?” Dean shot him an incredulous look and he shrugged.
“I’d rather be back in Virginia,” he retorted, “but where that’s not possible, a little variety wouldn’t be a bad thing.”
“I don’t know, man. I think I’ll take the Afghans over Iraq.”
They reached a door midway down and Dean rapped on it sharply. Hearing the command to enter, they went in and stood to attention before a large desk, saluting as one.
“At ease.” A man with hair graying at the temples looked up from his computer screen. “Have a seat, gentlemen.”
They moved to sit in the two chairs positioned before the desk, murmuring thank you. Once they were seated, Lieutenant Commander Jones sat back in his chair and looked at them. He was in his late fifties and had a sharp gaze that never seemed to miss much. Dean had always had a healthy respect for him, supported by the fact that Jones had always had their back.
“How’s Baker’s arm?” he asked, looking at Dean.
“Better. The infection’s almost gone.”
“Good. You guys are heading out in forty-eight hours.” Something reminiscent of a smile passed over his face. “I can’t tell you how happy I am to give you this assignment.”
Dean raised an eyebrow. “Sir?”
The smile grew. “We found Masha’al Al-Amin.”
They stared at him, stunned, and Jones nodded, breaking out into a chuckle.
“I had to fight for it, but your platoon is finally going to take the bastard down.”
Dean felt a surge of excitement go through him and he glanced at Brian to find him looking the way he felt.
“Where?” Brian asked.
“He’s camped out in Egypt, just outside Tanta. It’s in between Cairo and Alexandria. The Egyptians have authorized the strike and will provide additional air support if needed. The briefing is in two hours, so get your teams together. You’ll be extracting him and bringing him here, where he’ll be transported stateside.”
“And if that’s not possible?” Dean asked.
“Make it possible,” came the short answer.
“Yes, sir,” they said in unison.
Jones looked from one to the other.
“JSOC is coordinating with Mossad, so intel will be exceptional. I don’t foresee any problems. It’s a simple operation. Get in, get him out, and get home. Quick and easy.”
Dean grinned. “That’s how I like ‘em.”
“Don’t we all. That’s it, gentlemen. You’ll get the details at the briefing. I wanted to give you a heads up because I know how much everyone has been waiting for this.” Jones smiled. “You get the chance to capture the bastard. I almost wish I could go with you.”
“We’d be lucky to have you, sir,” Brian said, standing, “but you’re more valuable where you are.”
“That’s what the Navy says.” Jones nodded to them. “Good luck, gentlemen.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Dean and Brian saluted, then turned and left the office. Once the door closed behind them, they looked at each other, grins breaking across their tanned faces.
“Holy crap,” Brian said.
Dean nodded in agreement. “Yep.”
“I’ve been waiting to hear that we got that bastard for months, and now we’re the ones who get to do it.” They turned to walk back down the corridor. “Now I know how they felt when they found out they were going after Bin Laden.”
“Well, he’s no Bin Laden,” Dean said, “but I’ll enjoy it just the same.”
“You’ll definitely get your promotion after this,” Brian said, clapping him on the back of his shoulder. “Hell, I might even get mine now.”
“Let’s get him back here first,” Dean retorted, “then we’ll discuss promotions.”
