Faruk muttered in pain. That, at least, I understood. I’d been in his position several times before while training in the dojo. It hurt like hell. But he was immobilized. There was no way he was getting up out of that one. The soldiers moved in with their assault rifles, pointing them straight at me. They screamed in Turkish as I considered my options. I could take Faruk’s pistol, but it would probably get me shot. Besides, now wasn’t the time for heroics. I needed to know what these guys wanted.
So I released Faruk from the hold. He took a step back and smiled a big open-mouth smile. His teeth weren’t bad, but I saw his dental work. Shiny metal fillings. They gave him a hard look, a look of a life spent in the military.
“You like to fight?” he asked.
“I don’t like to fight.”
“I do not think so. I think you believe you are strong. I think you believe that you are good at fighting. You believe that you can win. So I ask myself, who is this man-boy who thinks he can win against me? Why would he think this? Is it because they do not teach the young in America? Did he spend too many hours playing video games? Is this the legacy of the West?”
“Drop the gun and we’ll find out.”
Faruk jammed his pistol under my chin.
“Who do you work for?” he said.
I laughed.
“You will answer.”
“Yeah. I’ll get right on that.”
Something about having a gun thrust under your chin focuses you. It’s got to do with pressure. Some people hate pressure, but I find it liberating. A liberation from all the noise of day-to-day life. I knew he wasn’t going to shoot me. It was simple logic. He couldn’t because then he’d never know who I was. Of course, I wasn’t counting on Meryem telling him.
“Enough, Faruk!” Meryem said. “He is the mole.”
I had to recalculate. I didn’t know why Meryem was volunteering this information, but I was starting to suspect that she knew this Colonel Faruk better than she’d let on.
“Fine,” I said. “I’m the mole. Now why don’t you point that thing somewhere else so we can get down to doing whatever it is you brought me here for?”
Faruk may have been mean, but he was also cautious. He smiled again, his deep-set eyes probing me.
“Mole for who?” he said.
“He is a CIA employee,” Meryem said. “Mole for the Green Dragon organization, code name, Raptor. Does military intelligence not brief you, Colonel?”
“Yes, they brief me. They tell me you are not to be trusted. That you no longer hold our nation’s best interests at heart.”
Meryem spat at him, right in the face.
“I am loyal to my country, Faruk. I am loyal above all.”
Faruk ignored her. He wiped the spittle off his cheek, nudging the barrel of the gun farther into my chin.
“How do I know you work for them?” he said.
“What do you mean?”
“How do I know you are this Raptor? This Green Dragon mole? None of us have seen him. This MIT agent, she is not to be trusted. Firstly, we must confirm that you are who she says you are.”
“How do you want to do that?” I said. “Ask your Magic Eight Ball?”
“No. We ask someone better.”
“Who?”
“The Green Dragons.”
My heart nearly skipped a beat, but outwardly I was calm. My expression was neutral. I could tell because I could see myself in the shiny veneer of the burled-walnut wall paneling. My eyes remained focused, my look stoic.
“So ask them,” I said.
I stared at Faruk. He stared at me. A pissing match if ever there was one.
“Miss Shaw,” Faruk called out.
Then I truly did feel my heart skip a beat. Because I knew what was coming. The worst possible thing that could come. I heard a door close, followed by a series of sharp footfalls on the mahogany floor of the corridor. And in that same burled-walnut veneer, I saw Kate Shaw. My enemy. My nemesis. My would-be executioner. I knew then, beyond a reasonable doubt, that my cover was blown. Kate stood directly behind me, in a long black dress, her hair up in a French twist, her tanned skin flawless in the reflection. She smiled at me, her strong white teeth dazzling, even in the reflected light. And I felt a small part of the hope that I had been holding onto ever since we had been captured, drain out of me.
Chapter 29
Kate looked good. There was no denying it. She was radiant, in a sleek black dress and pumps, her long legs fluid and tanned, her almond eyes meeting my own brightly. But she was the last person I wanted to see. There was no denying that either. She was the last person I wanted to see in the entire world. And she was standing there, in front of me, two armed guards at either door and a gun under my chin, my fate in her hands.
I hadn’t seen Kate since the China Op, where I had turned her over to the Agency for questioning. Kate had once worked with my father on a joint CIA — MI6 mission, but had since gone rogue. In less than a week together, she had lied to me, had tried to kill me, and in no uncertain terms, been the worst ally a man could ever have. She should have been in custody, but I didn’t bother trying to fathom how she had escaped. It wasn’t the time for that. What I tried to determine was what she would do next.
“Michael Chase,” Kate said softly.
“Kate Shaw,” I said equally matter-of-factly, doing my best to hold onto what was left of my composure.
“Happy to see me?” she asked.
“Very,” I lied.
“It’s been what, a few days since we saw each other last?” she asked.
“Something like that,” I replied.
“Enough,” Faruk said. “He says he is the mole providing information to your organization. Is this true, or can I kill him?”
Kate took a moment to assess. She glanced at Meryem before looking back at me. Things were looking bleak. Any notion I had of the encounter ending well had left the boat with Faruk’s nasal words. I considered my options. Faruk’s gun was still under my chin. I needed a material change in the situation, an entry point. At the very least, I thought they’d move me before shooting me, if only to avoid blowing my brains all over their fancy leather sofas. Of course, the boat could have been a rental. If so, I found myself hoping that they had been charged a large security deposit.
“I’m sorry, what did you say, Colonel?” Kate asked Faruk.
“I said, is this man who he says he is or can I kill him?”
Kate looked me over again. The guards at each door stepped forward. This was my moment. I was about to open my mouth, but Kate beat me to it.
“Don’t be a fool, Faruk,” she said. “Of course he’s one of us.”
I wasn’t sure I’d heard her correctly, but in case I had, I didn’t want to blow it. Maybe my cover wasn’t entirely blown. Maybe, for whatever reason, Kate was protecting me. So I did the one thing I could do. I smiled. Kate returned the grin.
“Now do me a favor and get these guns out of here,” Kate said. “Michael and I have business to discuss.”
Less than five minutes later, I found myself reclining on the bow of the yacht, a mojito in hand. My sunglasses had been returned to me and it might have been the lenses, but suddenly life was looking a lot rosier than it had only minutes earlier. But it was also infinitely more complicated. For one thing, Meryem was still being held at gunpoint, which didn’t sit well with me. For another, I was lounging on the polished teak deck with quite possibly my worst enemy.