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“What are they targeting?” he said, his words coming in a panicked jumble. “Riyadh? Jeddah? Where are they entering our country? How many are there? Do you—”
“Your Highness! Please. Try to be calm.”
“You’re giving me no information I can act on!” he protested. “You tell me my country is under a catastrophic threat and you don’t have even rudimentary intelligence. How can I be calm in the face of this kind of incompetence?”
The fact that his organization didn’t know anything at all about it seemed to escape him. And, of course, she did have actionable intelligence. She just had no intention of sharing it with him. The moment she did, he would send patrols into the desert, likely spooking the ISIS teams and scattering them. At that point it would be virtually impossible to track them or to discover their secondary targets. Once Krupin lost control, ISIS would be free to act on its own, potentially striking Israel, Europe, or the United States.
“Confidentially, we have an informant inside ISIS and he’s working to provide us with details of their plans.”
“I demand that you contact him immediately so that I can speak with him.”
“I’m afraid that we don’t currently have that capability, Your Highness.”
“Who is this man? Where in ISIS territory is he?”
She ignored his questions. Abdullah wouldn’t hesitate to contact ISIS leadership and expose Rapp if he thought it might be to his benefit.
“I assure you that we’re doing everything possible to reestablish contact with him and that you’ll be the first to know when we do. In the meantime, may I suggest you put your special forces on alert? When my man resurfaces, it’s likely that we’ll have to move quickly.”
CHAPTER 47
AL-SHIRQAT
IRAQ
“SHIT!” Rapp said, staring down at the phone’s screen. He’d never reestablished contact with Kennedy and now the signal had disappeared. By his calculation exactly eight hours after it came on.
“Is everything all right?” Laleh asked, coming out of the kitchen. She had spent the last hours cooking every MRE in Eric Jesem’s collection, sampling each with infuriatingly fatalistic pleasure.
“The jamming’s started again.”
“Oh, that,” she said dismissively. “I’ve just made jambalaya. It’s not as good as the chicken and rice, but you should have some.”
Her expression was impossible to read. The apartment had turned gloomy with the setting of the sun, putting her face in the shadow of her dark hair.
“I wanted to set up an extraction for you, Laleh. But it’s not going to be possible.”
“No. Of course not.”
“It’s time for you to get out of here,” he said, holding out the phone. “Go to your brothers and tell them to take you east toward the Iranian border. That’s your best bet for a signal. When you can, dial the last number in the registry and tell the woman who you are. She’ll help you.”
“My brothers won’t leave. They’re not as strong as you, but they can still fight for their home.”
“Then go there and stay with them.”
“I told you, my presence would be too dangerous.”
“It will be worse if you don’t. They’ll try to rescue you again. And take it from me, they’re not cut out for that kind of work.”
“I’m twenty-two years old and no longer a virgin. I doubt I’m worth much more than a pack of cigarettes. But even if I was, I don’t think that will be my fate. No. There will be no attempt to rescue me this time.”
Rapp knew she was right. The auctioneer she’d partially blinded would take her and immediately put her to death by the most painful means possible.
“Then just leave. Better to die trying to save yourself than waiting for death to walk through the door.”
She had a beautiful smile, even in the semidarkness. “A woman alone? You know this place as well as I do, Mitch. It’s impossible.”
“Nothing’s impossible, Laleh.”