“I thought it was sixty-one,” Uzi said.
DeSantos shook his head. “Classified Pentagon report prepared by the Defense Intelligence Agency. OPSIG was briefed on it two or three years ago. It was never released publicly. Seventy-four.”
“Let me guess,” Vail said. “Samir Mohammed al Razi and Rahmatullah Nasrullah are two of the men we released.”
Knox’s lips tightened. “Nasrullah escaped during transfer to the US. The first and only transfer attempted.”
“And now the president wants to try moving dozens,” DeSantos said.
“What about al Razi?” Vail asked.
“He was among the first wave we set free.”
“There’s government efficiency for you. Capturing them once wasn’t good enough. We have to bring them in twice.”
“No,” Knox said, his face stern. “This is not an arrest situation. This is a capture and/or kill scenario. Emphasis on the latter. I’m sending you photos of both men. As far as I’m concerned, we gave the assholes a chance at a new life by releasing them. They chose to take up the fight again and blow innocent people up. They give you any kind of violent resistance, they get the death penalty.”
And since these guys have no problem dying for the cause, they’re not likely to put their hands over their heads and get down on their knees.
“What do we know about al Razi and Nasrullah?” Vail asked.
“Nasrullah was a fighter who was rounded up in an operation that netted us two al Qaeda leaders. He wasn’t directly implicated so they didn’t have enough to hold him and when they were looking for the least risky to release, he was added to the list. Al Razi’s a different story. He’s a US-trained sniper we used to fight the mujahideen in Afghanistan twenty years ago.”
“That explains why he was the one to take out the MI5 agents as they evacuated the building,” Uzi said.
DeSantos chuckled. “He could be the one who took the shots at you outside the municipal building in New York.”
Uzi tipped his chin back. “Then I need to return the favor.”
Knox faced the camera straight on. “Well, Agent Uziel, I suggest you and your team put yourselves in a position to get that chance. I want these sons of bitches. All of them.”
43
Two hours later, they boarded the C-17. Uzi, Fahad, and DeSantos had used the time to plan, check facts, review maps, and connect with colleagues in the States to confirm intel.
Vail touched base with Robby. He was asleep but she decided to wake him since she did not know when she would have access to a secure connection. Their conversation was a bit one-sided, since there was not much she was permitted to tell him.
“We’re making progress. That’s all I can say.”
“After all that’s happened — not to mention what you asked me to look into — I’ve got a sense of what you’re working on. And I just want you to know that I’m proud of you.” He stared at the screen a moment. “I love you. Be careful, okay?”
Vail blew him a kiss. “Always.”
They boarded the Globemaster via the ramp, along with the crew chief — but this time the tank and other cargo that had been secured to the middle of the fuselage was gone. The interior looked a good deal larger — though much darker, since all the lights were off except for a few strategically placed green fluorescents.
The engines roared loudly as the plane began moving down the runway. Fahad was busy with a piece of equipment on the far side across from them.
“Same deal?” Vail yelled above the din as she flipped the seat down, sank into the canvas, and sorted out her restraint.
“Same deal,” DeSantos said as he sat to her left. “Except we’re going to do things a bit differently.”
“How so?” She found the clasp, but in the dim illumination she had difficulty locating the female junction to snap it home. “Can we turn some lights on?”
“White lights are a no-no at night.”
“To prevent us from being seen?”
“To preserve our night vision,” Uzi said as he tossed a duffle in her lap. “Refresh my memory. Have you ever jumped out of a plane?”
“I went skydiving once. Before—” Vail stopped herself and studied the thick roll straddling her thighs. “I went once.”
“Good,” Uzi said. “Then this will be second nature to you.”
She squinted, not quite hearing him clearly. “What will be second nature?” she shouted.
“What we’re about to do.”
Uh, no. Not me. “It was a long time ago. I was scared out of my mind.”
DeSantos adjusted his belt as the plane continued down the runway. “Did you do it tandem? Attached to someone?”
“It wasn’t solo, I can tell you that much.” She moved her knees to flatten her feet on the floor and shifted the weight of the duffle kit bag on her lap. “This wouldn’t happen to be what I think it is, is it?”
“If you’re thinking parachute, then yes.”
“You guys,” she said with a grin.
Uzi cocked his head at an angle. “We’re not joking.”
She studied DeSantos’s face, then Uzi’s, and realized they were serious. Keep calm. Don’t let them see you lose your bladder.
“You rappelled out of a helicopter,” DeSantos said. “Back in Vegas. You were awesome. If you did that, you can do this.”
“Do you remember anything about the time you jumped?” Uzi asked.
“I was a teenager. I went with a friend and her father for her birthday.”
“I mean about the jump.”
I couldn’t stop shaking. I almost peed in my pants. There’s that.
“We’re not looking to scare you. There’s just no other viable way out of England.”
“I’m not scared.” I’m going to scream. “So how will this work?” she asked, attempting to keep her voice steady, using the need to talk loudly as a means to force the words from her throat.
“You sure?” DeSantos said. “You look a bit, well, clammy.”
“I’m fine.”
“It’s simple,” Uzi said as the plane lifted off the runway. “The C-17 will drop us at relatively high altitude near the French border. We’ll land in an area far enough away from a population center. We’ve got someone there who’ll pick us up in his car and dispose of the parachutes.”
“Simple,” Vail said.
Uzi pursed his lips and nodded. “Yeah. Simple.”
“Are you out of your minds? I jumped out of a plane once, twenty-five years ago. I haven’t strapped a parachute on my back since then. And you want me to jump out of the back of this beast and land in another country — illegally, I might add — without getting caught?”
“It sounds a lot worse when you say it.” Uzi raised a hand, silencing her before she could object. “But here’s the thing: you’ll be attached to one of us the whole time. We’ll deploy the ripcord.”
“That’s putting my life in your hands.”
Uzi nodded slowly. “Pretty much. So all those bad things you said about me over the years? Now would be a good time to apolog—”
“How fast will we be falling?”
Uzi waved a hand. “Not very fast.”
“About 120 miles per hour,” DeSantos said.
Vail gave Uzi a look. “Yeah, not very fast at all.”
He shrugged. “It’ll only be a couple of minutes. Once the wind starts whipping past your face, blowing back your hair, you’re really gonna enjoy it. It’s a huge rush. It won’t really feel like you’re falling. More like someone turned on a big fan and stuck it in front of your face.”