or anything else that could keep them even the tiniest bit safer than their next-door neighbor. The President was getting hammered from both sides of the political aisle. One right-wing commentator even suggested impeachment. A poll had already been taken and sixty-two percent of the American public wanted troops out of Turkey immediately. That number skyrocketed to eighty-seven percent when they polled anyone who lived within twenty miles of a bombed house.
The Associated Press reported that most of the bombs had been planted for some time before they were detonated. In a few cases they were fired from passing cars. A delivery method that was harder to defend, yet easier to track down. Out of the nine KSF members in custody, eight had been involved with the drive-by method of bombing. Nick marveled at the accuracy of the information. It was almost as if AP had a reporter inside the War Room that afternoon.
* * *
Nick arrived home late and hugged Julie so tightly, he felt the breath surge from her diaphragm.
When he finally released her, she delicately swept a tuft of hair from his forehead with the back of her index finger, “Rough day at the office, Sweetie?”
Nick smiled for the first time since he’d left her arms that morning. “I can’t slip anything by you, can I?” They both laughed and released whatever pressure their tense bodies would allow.
“Do you have time for a meal? I’ve got sauce warming on the stove. I could boil some pasta real quick.”
“Sure,” he said, jogging up the stairs to their bedroom.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Julie said. “Tommy’s been calling all day. He said he needs you to call him on his cell, right away.”
Nick grimaced. “Like I needed to hear that.”
* * *
Tommy picked up on the first ring. “Yo.”
“It’s me,” Nick said.
“I think you owe me a favor,” Tommy said.
“Of course. You want the name of the person who kidnapped Phil— right?”
“It’s a little more complicated than that. You see, I know the name you’re gonna give me, and that’s not quite enough.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nicky, I know you’ve been busy today, but did you happen to catch the name of the family that was killed this morning in Baltimore? You know, the terrorist’s pick for the state of Maryland.”
“I saw the list.”
“The name was Capelli. Joseph and Mary Capelli. Ring a bell?”
“Aw, shit, Tommy. I had no idea.”
“Yeah, well . . . now I need a favor from you.”
Nick flinched. “I’m listening.”
“The Capellis have given me the responsibility of finding the monster who killed their family. I’m talking three gorgeous little kids, Nicky. I need your help and I need information. Don’t let me down.”
Nick was about to react by rote. Normally, he would dismiss Tommy with the standard policy and be done with it. But this was different. The President had said as much that afternoon. Technically, Tommy was an informant. Informants exchange information with the government and almost always receive more information than they give. It was the quality of the information that counted, not the quantity.
Tommy waited patiently while Nick sorted things out. He could sense Tommy’s rebuttal about to commence.
Finally, Nick said, “How much do you know about Semtex?”
Chapter 10
Rashid Baser stepped into the pawnshop, flipped over the open sign to read “closed” and locked the door. Behind the counter Fred Wilson offered him a sheepish smile while running a cloth over the barrel of a gun. When he glimpsed the manila envelope in Rashid’s left hand he set the gun on the glass counter in front of him and nodded toward a doorway. Rashid followed him into a dark room where guns and cameras mingled together on the warped wooden shelves that covered all four walls. To one side of the room a large mound was covered conspicuously with a canvas tarp. Fred sidestepped his way to the mound, mumbling apologies about the
The Associated Press reported that most of the bombs had been planted for some time before they were detonated. In a few cases they were fired from passing cars. A delivery method that was harder to defend, yet easier to track down. Out of the nine KSF members in custody, eight had been involved with the drive-by method of bombing. Nick marveled at the accuracy of the information. It was almost as if AP had a reporter inside the War Room that afternoon.
* * *
Nick arrived home late and hugged Julie so tightly, he felt the breath surge from her diaphragm.
When he finally released her, she delicately swept a tuft of hair from his forehead with the back of her index finger, “Rough day at the office, Sweetie?”
Nick smiled for the first time since he’d left her arms that morning. “I can’t slip anything by you, can I?” They both laughed and released whatever pressure their tense bodies would allow.
“Do you have time for a meal? I’ve got sauce warming on the stove. I could boil some pasta real quick.”
“Sure,” he said, jogging up the stairs to their bedroom.
“Oh, I almost forgot,” Julie said. “Tommy’s been calling all day. He said he needs you to call him on his cell, right away.”
Nick grimaced. “Like I needed to hear that.”
* * *
Tommy picked up on the first ring. “Yo.”
“It’s me,” Nick said.
“I think you owe me a favor,” Tommy said.
“Of course. You want the name of the person who kidnapped Phil— right?”
“It’s a little more complicated than that. You see, I know the name you’re gonna give me, and that’s not quite enough.”
“What do you mean?”
“Nicky, I know you’ve been busy today, but did you happen to catch the name of the family that was killed this morning in Baltimore? You know, the terrorist’s pick for the state of Maryland.”
“I saw the list.”
“The name was Capelli. Joseph and Mary Capelli. Ring a bell?”
“Aw, shit, Tommy. I had no idea.”
“Yeah, well . . . now I need a favor from you.”
Nick flinched. “I’m listening.”
“The Capellis have given me the responsibility of finding the monster who killed their family. I’m talking three gorgeous little kids, Nicky. I need your help and I need information. Don’t let me down.”
Nick was about to react by rote. Normally, he would dismiss Tommy with the standard policy and be done with it. But this was different. The President had said as much that afternoon. Technically, Tommy was an informant. Informants exchange information with the government and almost always receive more information than they give. It was the quality of the information that counted, not the quantity.
Tommy waited patiently while Nick sorted things out. He could sense Tommy’s rebuttal about to commence.
Finally, Nick said, “How much do you know about Semtex?”
Chapter 10
Rashid Baser stepped into the pawnshop, flipped over the open sign to read “closed” and locked the door. Behind the counter Fred Wilson offered him a sheepish smile while running a cloth over the barrel of a gun. When he glimpsed the manila envelope in Rashid’s left hand he set the gun on the glass counter in front of him and nodded toward a doorway. Rashid followed him into a dark room where guns and cameras mingled together on the warped wooden shelves that covered all four walls. To one side of the room a large mound was covered conspicuously with a canvas tarp. Fred sidestepped his way to the mound, mumbling apologies about the
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