“Let’s hope his guards are servicing their lady friends, then.” Bobby nodded to Jay. “Sounds as good as anything else I’ve heard.”
Jay stared at Jim for a moment then turned to Gregg. “Get them an engine cutout.” He pointed to Deric. “Be sure you are in and out. No witnesses.”
Deric stood and reached for his jacket. “We’ll wait until it’s dark. No worries, boss.”
Langley, VA
“I DON’T THINK you fully comprehend who we’re messing with here.” Colonel Nelson pulled a thick dossier from his personal files and handed it to Agent Chesterfield. “These are the ‘mercs’ you listed on the phone.”
Darren lifted the thick file and browsed through it. “Okay. So we’ve used them a time or two.” He gave the colonel a shrug. “It’s not like there aren’t more contractors we can use. We burn these guys along with Bridger and call it a night.”
Colonel Nelson snatched the file back from the man and slammed it on his desk. “I don’t think you’re getting the seriousness of this fuck up.” His teeth were clenched and Darren took a half step back.
“Enlighten me, please.” His eyes probed the colonel and he watched as the man pinched at the bridge of his nose, his mind racing to find the right words.
“These aren’t just field operatives that we use on a regular basis. These are the guys we call in when we want to know that a job is done to the letter.” He pointed to the dossier. “These men could topple most Third World nations over a weekend and never risk a night’s sleep over it. These are our go-to operatives. And now you’re telling me that they’re wrapped up with your patsy?”
Chesterfield shrugged again. “Yeah. So? We burn them all and—”
“Again, I think what we have here is a failure to communicate.” Colonel Nelson stood and squared his shoulders. “These are not men you want to fuck with.”
Chesterfield smiled. “They can never tie this back to us. All of the evidence points to Bridger being—”
Nelson held his hand up, stopping the man midsentence. “If Bridger is friends with these men, no amount of manufactured evidence will sway them. If they have his trust, they will burn the world to the ground to prove him innocent.”
“And they won’t be able to.” Chesterfield attempted to explain but Colonel Nelson stopped him again.
“You’re either very stupid or very naïve.” He tilted his head and studied the agent standing before him. “I’m not sure I can tell which.” Colonel Nelson sat back down and blew out a long breath. “Either cancel the op or find another patsy.”
“But Colonel…it’s too late. Stage one is already in motion and the strike teams are in place to initiate on the primary target.”
Colonel Nelson glared at the man standing in his office. “Then find another scapegoat. Bridger is off limits. If he’s associated in any way with Baba Yaga then you’re playing with a fire that you’ll never control.”
Darren Chesterfield stared at the military man sitting in front of him. “They’re just men, Colonel.”
“They’re more than just men, Chesterfield. Fuck with one of theirs and you’ll see what I mean. I meant what I said. Bridger is no longer your target. Go to an auxiliary.”
“There are no auxiliaries. He’s our man. You signed off on him and even cleared the FBI flags protecting him.” Darren squared his shoulders and looked down at the man. “Like it or not, Bridger is our man. Baba Yaga be damned. If they try to intervene on his behalf, we’ll quash them as well.” He turned to leave then turned back. “We are the Federal Government, remember?”
Colonel Nelson smiled slightly and leaned back in his chair. “Son, these are the kind of men who could topple the federal government if they thought their cause was righteous.” He leaned forward and pointed at the man. “But you do what you want. As I recall, it’s your balls on the line.”
Colonel Nelson looked back down to the paperwork he’d been working on when Chesterfield entered. “You have your orders. That will be all.” He didn’t look back up as a pasty Agent Chesterfield walked out of his office.
Karachi, Pakistan
ASMA ABU FAQIR paced slowly in her office. She glanced back to the chair where Muhammed al-Abadi had sat and she shook her head. She should have told him that these buyers were to be followed. Their intentions discovered prior to the delivery of the weapons they requested.
Her phone rang and she reached across the desk to answer. “Yes?”
“How are the tests coming?” a heavily accented voice asked.
Asma closed her eyes and fought the wave of nausea that rose in her throat. “They are coming. Slowly, but they are coming.”
“We’ve waited a long time for the weapons you promised. One hundred million is a lot of money.”
“I understand. But I explained in the beginning that we had to construct the facility. Recruit the right minds…this takes time.”
“Perhaps time is something you don’t have much of.”
She fought a shiver at the threat and did her best to ensure her voice didn’t reflect the dread she felt. “If you are so anxious, I can release the product to you now. They aren’t fully tested, but it sounds as though time is more important to you than quality.”
“You know what we want. You know what we paid for. You promised a specific timeline and you are well past that.”
“We had unforeseen complications. Weapons of this type are not something to take lightly. As I said, we are nearly complete with our testing, but if you must have your product now, we can certainly arrange for you to get it.”
She smiled to herself as she listened to the man breathe on the other end of the phone. “How much longer?” he barked.
“A month at the most. We are quite confident that our product will not be detectable by the West. That
