“And you’re certain of its efficiency?”
“So far, the morbidity rate has been one hundred percent.” She smiled to herself at the idea that these savages would screw up and kill themselves. “We even tested the most common treatments against our developments and they were completely ineffective.”
The voice on the phone was silent a bit too long. She opened her mouth to ask if he was still there when he finally replied. “One month. Not a day later.”
She listened to the phone line click and she placed the receiver back in its cradle. She braced herself against the top of the desk and turned her eyes to the ceiling. “What have I gotten myself into?”
12
Karachi, Pakistan
ROGER STEPPED OFF the plane in Karachi and held a hand up to his face to fend off the wall of dry heat that assailed him. He could feel his eyes dry out behind his sunglasses and all moisture suck from his skin.
“Good god, it’s like walking into an oven.”
He took the short steps to the tarmac and half expected his soles to melt as they touched the scorched surface. “Over here.”
Roger looked up to see two men waving at him from a Range Rover. “Where’s Bridger?”
“At the office. I’m Steve.” Gibbons stretched his hand out.
Roger clasped his hand absently as he looked to the other man. “I’m Deric.” Bundy nodded to the man. “AC is on in the car, if you’d like to acclimate a bit before we get back.”
Roger slid his sport coat off and draped it over his arm. “Please tell me it’s hotter here than wherever we’re going.”
“You’ll get used to it.” Deric held the back door open for him.
“God, I hope not.” Roger slid across the cool leather of the vehicle and felt the solid thunk of the door as Deric shut it.
“Armored truck,” Steve answered before Roger could ask. His sunglasses gave away nothing in the rear view mirror.
“Somebody care to explain why I just flew halfway across the world?”
Deric hooked an arm over the back of the front seat and shot him a crooked grin. “You had a wetwork team after you, didn’t you? Odds are they won’t find you here.”
“I have to go back some time,” Roger moaned.
“Hopefully by then, we’ll have this mess straightened out.” Steve pulled the SUV away from the private runway and accelerated through the chain link gates. As they turned onto the paved city street, he glanced back again. “If not, you can hang with us. We’ll keep you safe.”
“Something tells me I just got fired.” Roger closed his eyes and leaned his head against the window. He felt his lids droop as the outside scenes whished by the moving vehicle. He barely registered the swaying of the car as they turned or changed lanes. The time difference was beginning to catch up to him and he drifted off, feeling safe for the first time since he’d left the motel room.
Karachi, Pakistan
BRIDGER AND JAY stood at the map, talking with Ryan Lynch when the call came in that Roger had been safely picked up. Bridger barely nodded, but his relief was evident as the crease between his brows eased.
Ryan pointed to the schematic of al-Abadi’s building pinned to the board. “The parking garage may be the best bet for grabbing the target. I really think that once he hits those streets, the difficulty meter will peg.”
Jay nodded. “Too many variables out there. What about his security? Could you ID any of them?”
Ryan shook his head. “They’re hired muscle but they don’t drive like they’ve had formal training. If I were to bet, I’d say he picked the two largest monkeys he could find and shoved a gun in one hand and a lot of money in the other.”
Bridger scratched at his chin. “Is it always the same two?”
“Since we’ve been tailing him, yes. Oddly enough, they either don’t change clothes or those grey suits and black t-shirt are some kind of uniform.”
Jay nodded. “Probably so that he can pick them out of a crowd if he had to.” He pointed to the third floor level of the parking garage. “And you’re sure this is an assigned space?”
“I don’t read Arabic, but each one has something different painted on the sign. Either they’re assigned parking spaces or the neighbors know better than to steal this guy’s spot. He’s been using the same parking space since day one.”
Bridger pointed to the schematic again. “And it’s directly across from the doorway?”
Ryan nodded. “Fifteen meters. Whatever we plan, it had better be nice and quick.”
Jay looked to Bridger. “Trojan horse?”
Bobby shrugged. “Only if we can disguise the vehicle to look like something else. Maybe a van with Haji Oil and Gas on the side? Removable, of course.”
Jay turned to Gregg. “Track us down some kind of public service vehicle. We’ll steal it if we have to.”
“On it.” Gregg turned back to his computer and began his search.
“If we use the van to block the exit of the parking garage we can move the target to something faster just before we leave.” Bridger highlighted the entrance/exit of the garage. “It doesn’t have to fully block both sides, just enough they can’t get a vehicle in or out.”
Ryan sat back and leaned against the edge of the desk. “He’s probably got run flats on his car. We’ll have to be creative in stopping his vehicle.”
Jay smiled. “We’ve got a disabler installed already thanks to Jim and Deric. We can hit it before he exits the elevator.”
Bridger sighed. “If this guy is as big of a gun runner as we think he is, there’s going to be a lot of people looking for him as soon as we disappear him.”
“We’ll definitely have to be creative in where we store him,” Jay agreed. “But that also plays to our benefit. There’s no honor amongst thieves
