Lars shook his head. ‘We’re not welcome. Ever since 1995 when all U.S. troops were withdrawn from Somalia, we’re only allowed in through this scattershot approach, accompanying AMISOM peacekeepers as security detail. In fact, we’re probably not supposed to be there in the first place. A blind eye gets turned when it only concerns a handful of our troops. Hence the controversy over Reed’s actions. You get it?’
‘So this plane has no official ties to the military.’
‘Exactly.’
‘And neither do I.’
‘You’re learning fast,’ Lars said, half-sarcastic.
‘So I’m a nobody,’ King said. ‘For all intents and purposes. Down on the ground.’
‘Precisely.’
‘And what is it you want me to do exactly?’
‘I want you to interrogate Bryson Reed,’ Lars said.
‘What?’
‘You heard me.’
‘I thought you were his biggest fan.’
‘I approve of what he did. He took initiative. He didn’t wait around for his superiors to hand down orders. That’s integral to Black Force’s process.’
‘Am I on a recruiting mission?’ King said. ‘Be honest.’
‘Somewhat. He’s been quarantined to a section of the AMISOM compound, because of the tempers he’s flared. Outside of the peacekeepers, every soul in Somalia involved in the illegal weapons trade is out searching for Reed’s head. He upset a wide range of powerful people. You can relate, given what you did in Tijuana.’
King nodded. ‘I’m still unclear as to my purpose.’
‘None of the Force Recon Marines have discretion,’ Lars said. ‘They can’t go off and eliminate certain members of the opposition at random. They’re restricted to rules, and customs, and protocol. You’re not restricted to anything.’
‘Ah.’
‘You get it now?’
‘Yeah.’
‘You’re the madman,’ Lars said. ‘You’re the one who storms in and subdues the threats, throwing yourself at the enemy until they step down and accept defeat. Right now Bryson Reed is public enemy number one.’
‘You want me to take his role.’
‘Yes, if only to divert attention onto yourself. Someone who can disappear as they please. Someone who can do as they wish. You’re not bound to the government in the way the others are. You can do whatever you damn well please. And I hope it’s effective. Because we’re still riding the high of Tijuana. I need you to succeed here, King. The organisation counts on it.’
‘I thought the organisation counted on it in Mexico. I thought that was my real test.’
‘You did great things in Mexico,’ Lars admitted. ‘Tremendous things. Feats I honestly didn’t think you were capable of. You achieved objectives that a SEAL team would struggle with, let alone a single man. But at the moment our scope is limited. It’s what I’ve been trying to sort out with Washington all this time. I want to show that you can take initiative — grab a situation by the balls and sort things out. I know there’s an immense amount of pressure on you, but I need you to be exceptional here, King. I need you to win.’
‘Win against who?’ King snarled. ‘Sounds like there’s four or five separate things you want me to do all at once. You want me to recruit Reed, squash the rebel militants, destroy the illegal pipeline, successfully interrogate our man into revealing his intentions. Anything else you care to add?’
‘You do this,’ Lars said, ‘and you’ll secure your future for years to come.’
King furrowed a brow. ‘You want to repeat that?’
‘Why?’
‘You realise how ridiculous you sound?’
Lars didn’t respond.
‘You’re sending me into a situation like this to secure my future?’ King said. ‘Sounds like you’re trying to get me killed.’
‘It’s not as bad as you think. Somalia can be brutal, but the areas that AMISOM’s got hold of are safer than most. Venture outside the boundaries and you’ll get yourself killed, but I’m not asking you to do that. All I need is for you to break Reed down, get him to admit why he did what he did, and — if need be — infiltrate the same areas he did to get conclusive proof that he successfully disrupted a supply chain. Got it?’
‘Yeah,’ King said. ‘But I’m not happy about it. I thought my operations would consist of clear orders.’
Lars shook his head again for what felt like the millionth time. ‘That’s not how we’re going to do things going forward. You need to understand that. So much of this organisation relies on improvisation. We’re not an atypical military unit. I give you barebones instructions, and you do whatever the hell you want with them. I know you’re twenty-two, and that poses a whole range of problems in the field of self-discipline. You don’t have the same experience as others do. But you’re the best of the best at taking advantage of situations on the fly, and that’s why I need you here. Go in there, make what you can of it, and improvise. Just like you did in Mexico. Okay?’
King nodded. ‘Okay. Let’s do it.’
‘Don’t get yourself too worked up about it, though,’ Lars said. ‘We’ve got a fifteen hour flight ahead of us, give or take. Settle in for the long haul.’
King set about detaching himself from all physical sensations. In reality he was trying to get comfortable in a rigid metal seat in the fuselage of an unidentified cargo plane screaming toward Somalia, but he tuned everything out in favour of a few hours of optimal rest. He closed his eyes and ignored the churning gut and the sweaty palms and the shaking legs that signified a live operation. Instead he focused on his breathing, taking a harsh inhale followed by a succinct exhale and repeating ad infinitum, until he dozed off into a slumber in the early hours of the morning, Washington time.
He thought of nothing, and considered nothing.
He simply slept.
6
It didn’t last.
King thought he had the willpower and determination to shut out all external surroundings for the entire duration of the flight, but he found himself awake within minutes. He shifted restlessly in the seat, unable to get comfortable.
Then again, it had been quite some time since he’d been comfortable.
He opted to mull over what Lars had told him while the man dozed alongside him, unperturbed by the turbulence that rattled the fuselage every time the pilots guided the cargo plane through a rough patch of sky. At one point, Lars came awake all of a sudden, jolting as if he had been summoned by a horrifying dream. King scrutinised the expression the man’s face and concluded that Lars had certain demons he hadn’t cared to disclose over their time together.
All in due time, he thought.
‘This plane,’ King said, when it became clear that Lars had no intention of going back to sleep. ‘What is it, exactly?’
‘Just one of a hundred thousand other cargo planes,’ Lars said. ‘We live in a capitalist society. These planes fly goods into Mogadishu. It doesn’t matter that the country’s plagued by a civil war — they still need supplies. You’d be surprised what kind of companies would jump at the chance to profit off a war zone. We can work in conjunction with them when we need to. Of course, we’re not on their records, just as we’re not on government records. Another one of the many advantages of not technically existing.’
‘No-one will know I’m in country,’ King said.
‘Precisely.’
‘No safety net.’
‘Do I have to go over this with you again?’ Lars said, incredulous. ‘I thought you would understand what kind of jurisdiction you operate in by now.’
King smirked. ‘I understand. I just need to get used to it.’
‘In retrospect, I think Mexico might have been the steepest learning curve possible. But the fact that you made it through, and learnt what you were capable of … maybe that will end up being a good thing.’