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A quick laugh. “Are there really any secrets left in this world, Liam? A request is made and various technical avenues are searched, until there you are, at the home of Hannah Abrams, director of the Central Intelligence Agency.”
“Yes, here I am. And where are you? And again, who are you?”
“South Africa, in Johannesburg,” she says. “My name is Chin Lin, and I bring you best wishes from Benjamin Lucas.”
The director’s eyes widen and she grabs a legal pad, pen, and waits.
Liam says, “I’m not sure I know what you’re talking about, Lin.”
She sighs. “Let’s not play these games, Liam. You and Benjamin work for the CIA. You have been on a team conducting paramilitary operations overseas. Benjamin left your team to come to Johannesburg to exfil a defector from China’s Ministry of State Security. That defector is me.”
The director slides over the legal pad.
Get her to the point.
“Then what happened to the exfil?”
“I was forced by my superiors to betray Benjamin. He’s currently in our custody in Joburg. We only have a short window before he gets transferred to one of our black sites.”
A laugh. “We learned that from you, after your Iraq war. Funny world, isn’t it?”
“What do you mean, ‘we only have a short window’?”
“Oh, haven’t you figured it out? Ben and I had a romantic relationship when we went to Stanford. We still love each other. And I want to free him, and you’re going to help me do it.”
Another scribble from the director.
The word is straight and to the point.
No.
CHAPTER 84
LIAM LOOKS AT the single word.
No.
As if.
“Why should I do that?” Liam asks, as the CIA director glares at him.
“Because he’s gettable at the moment. In a couple of days, he’ll be unreachable.”
“Tell me more,” Liam says.
The director’s face reddens. The pad goes back to her and then back to Liam.
NO!
Chin says, “He’s your teammate. I hope that gives you incentive enough to come here and help me rescue him.”
“Hope is not a strategy,” Liam says. “I can’t go on a one-man crusade to rescue him, as much as I admire him for his service and expertise. You have him, and your government will eventually work out a deal with my government to free him. Don’t bring me into this.”
Lin says, “Are you not listening to me? That’s not an option. He needs to be rescued. And by you only. I can’t have one of yourSpecial Activities Division teams roaring in with their black gear and weapons. It has to be done quietly. With only you.”
Noa is looking at him, Bruce’s face is blank, and the director looks at him with the expectation that he will follow her orders to a T.
“I admire what you’re doing,” he says. “But it can’t be done. I can’t pop overseas like this. Especially if this is a trap and you’re trying to capture me.”