The memories shocked Jay. Now it was starting to make sense.
“Why did you drug me and send me to the bottom of the world?”
“I had my agency clean up the scene, and Steve and I arranged for you to leave the country for your own safety. The Iranians were furious. They brought in hundreds of agents, but you were thousands of miles away in the Falkland Islands. Steve made the arrangements and kept an eye on you. One of his contractors worked on the ship as the executive officer.”
“That was Dora Williams?”
“Yes.”
“So why are you telling me this now? Do you want to work for me, or is this all an elaborate cover scheme?”
“No, I retired from Mossad. I live in Israel, and I want some action without working for the government. I know Gia Khalil, and she’s confirmed what I already knew — you’re a great guy, and your company is growing. I want to be part of your success.”
“Does Gia know about what happened in Bahrain?”
“No, only Steve knows since he was there. He contacted your friends when you disappeared so they wouldn’t worry but never told them why.”
“Does he work for Mossad too?”
“Who, Steve? Oh no, they use him to transition retiring agents back into civilian life. Many friendly intelligence agencies use him because he’s professional and loyal.”
“What do you think?” Steve asked Jay and Antonio after Renee left.
“I like Benoit and the Pugatsky guy,” Antonio said. “They seem like solid operators. Benoit’s a leader, and Pugatsky’s a sniper and has personal protection experience.”
“What about the girl?” Jay said. “She has a lot of great connections in the intelligence community.”
“Do we really need another intelligence agent?” Antonio said. “You have Gia and me.”
“I know, but Gia is my second-in-command in the U.S. I need her to manage my field operations. And you’ll be doing the same in Europe. Having a dedicated intelligence operative with contacts at the CIA, Mossad, and Jordanian intelligence will be beneficial.”
“Well, you are the boss,” Antonio said. “I’ll go along with your suggestions. Steve, what are the next steps?”
“I’ll present the offers to the three candidates. If they accept, I’ll help you onboard them, and the rest is up to you.”
Jay and Antonio rode the elevator down and retrieved their car from valet parking.
“What’s next, boss?” Antonio said. “I like the sound of that word. We will make quite a team.”
“I agree with you, Antonio. Actually, I had a thought about one other candidate.”
“Who’s that?”
“Silvie Bruehner. She’s professional and intelligent.”
“She is brilliant, but she doesn’t have any special operations training. I’m afraid she might not have the skill set we need. She’s an investigator. Remember your fallen hero back in the States.”
“Who, Bill Shannon?”
“Yes, you weren’t going to work with part-time police officers because they didn’t have the same training special ops soldiers had. I believe Silvie falls into that category.”
“Okay, that’s a good point. I’ll trust you to work with Steve to find more agents.”