Page 224 of Whisper

Once, hadn’t he thought the same? Hadn’t he argued for the same? Argued for compassion, for humanity, for Zahawi, a man who would rather Kris be dead than interrogating him. That touch of humanity, though, had won out over brutality.We’re all just human.Could he fault Dawood for not giving up his brothers to their death?

Or was the refusal to give up his brothers in Yemen his Achilles’ heel? The weak point to Dawood’s master plan, the coordinated confusion of Kris’s soul?

Whose side are you on?

Or are you on your own side now?

Dan met him outside Langley, pacing by his assigned parking spot as he talked on his cell. Kris heard him say goodbye to George as he jumped out of Dan’s little car.

Dan grabbed him, pulled him close. Wrapped both arms around him and sighed into his neck. “Are you okay? You’re shaking.”

“I don’t know.” Kris gripped Dan’s elbows. His fingers felt like claws. He was still trembling. Maybe he’d never stop.

“Did he hurt you?”

“No.” Kris swallowed. “He never touched me.”

Dan exhaled hard, squeezing Kris against him. Kris could feel his relief, the deluge of it. He pulled back. “We have a big problem. Dawood, he followed me because he said he had to tell me what was really going on.”

Dan frowned. “What do you mean? What did he say?”

“He said there’s a mole in the CIA. Someone who has been feeding al-Qaeda intelligence. Information on operations, for over two years. That he was brought in by al-Qaeda to verify what this mole was giving them.”

Dan turned bone white, every speck of color draining from his face. His jaw dropped. “Holy fuck,” he whispered. “Who?”

“He doesn’t know. He’s been trying to find out.” Kris paced away from Dan, one hand on his forehead. “That’s why he stole my laptop. He was trying to find out who had been in command of the Afghanistan missions where we lost our officers this past year. And who was the lead on the other missions that went sideways. That were sabotaged from within.”

“You don’t have that access anymore.”

“He didn’t know. He’s… been gone a while.”

Dan blinked. A breeze would have knocked him over. “What proof did he have? How do you know this is real?”

“I don’t know,” Kris whispered. “All he had was a cell phone number, someone who has been giving him instructions over text. He says the texts are from the CIA mole. But…” He shook his head. “We have to find that cell phone. Who’s been texting him.”

“I’ve got to call Ryan. He’s with the FBI. They’re the ones who can look this up. You know the CIA can’t do anything on American soil.”

“Dan, wait. If there is a mole, it’s someone high up. Someone who could access all the intelligence in Afghanistan, across the drone program, joint military missions, and dig into our clandestine program, our SAD officers. Who fits that description? Who has that kind of access?”

“You think it’s Ryan?”

“Only a handful of people have that access. And, think about it. Why do you think Ryan has been on a hair trigger for years? Stress from a double life? Trying to keep his spying for al-Qaeda secret?”

“Ryanhatesal-Qaeda,” Dan breathed. “Why would he spy for them? Pass along CIA secrets?”

“I don’t know!” Kris snapped. “I don’t fucking know! I don’t even know if Dawood told me the truth or not! He’s giving me mixed signals. Wants my help one moment, but is keeping secrets the next. When I brought him to your house, he wouldn’t even tell me the names of his Yemeni brothers!”

Dan froze. “When youwhat?”

Fuck. Kris gritted his teeth, groaned. Clenched his hands into fists and looked away, shaking his head.

“I thought hefollowedyou to my house. Now you’re saying you brought him…”

“I went to our old house first. Just to see it. I was being... maudlin, I don’t know. He followed me there. We went into the woods. Talked.”

Dan cursed. “And then you brought him to my house?”

“You weren’t supposed to know that. I wanted to keep you out of this.”