Hard Case VII - Red Waves (John Harding Series Book 7) by Bernard Lee DeLeo Page B

close to her next informational toy. “Hello. How may I assist you in remembering all of your insidious maneuverings and plots? Please remember the screams you have heard from your cohort and the fact she has explained a goodly number of details for us. One in particular involves you knowing more about the planned assault on the Starlight of the Seas. We want to know more about everything, but in particular, we’re interested in this plot to take over the Starlight in the Gulf of Oman.”
    “I received word from overseas I needed to cause so much chaos on the West Coast, my actions would draw law enforcement agencies’ full attention here. My contacts told me our losses in the North Bay, Washington, Ohio, and Boston had lost backing we gained over the last year. These… Unholy Trio movies and Isis compound assault videos by what was thought to be rogue vigilantes hurt our prestige overseas.”
    Gilani hesitated for a moment only to get control of his hand pain which I’m sure was excruciating. His pain filled features concentrated on Crusader Crue finally as she gave him time, sensing he would reveal much more. “We… never suspected a concerted effort. You are all working together in this. We are lost if your forces allow these actions outside the law.”
    Lynn patted his face. “So sweet. Let it go Gordy or I get nasty real quick.”
    “Two names I know only because of men they sent to me who were killed in Washington. One is Joram Mannan and his cohort is Ali Khan. I do not know if these are made up names or not. They work in the port city of Chabahar. Iran allows anything they do there as long as tribute is paid and nothing can be traced to authorities in Iran. I am lost. Please kill me! I know this will all be shown on the accursed YouTube. Everyone I recruited or worked with here is now dead.”
    “We have one more contestant, honey,” Lynn said. “You did so well, I’ll give you a shot for your hand until we can confirm a few details with Emir. Once you get feeling a bit better, I want everything you can tell us about the Port of Chabahar. You have been there I’ll bet.”
    Gilani’s eyes brightened at the thought of ending the pain. “Yes! There is a part of the port facility used significantly by Mannan and Khan. I was only through there once but I remember much. I had to make my way there from Bandar Abbas. I can point out everything I learned. There were two safe houses in Bandar Abbas for Isil and Muslim Brotherhood recruits. This assault on the cruise ship involves the Boko Haram gangsters too. They want better access to backing for their pirating enterprises. They are a combination of Somali and Nigerian warlords entering into an agreement with Isis and the Muslim Brotherhood. The Iranians brought a contingent of Boko Haram recruits to join with their imported Somali pirates. They believe these groups will give them cover. There are secret alliances involving Isil with strong threads in Syria and Iran.”
    “You impressed Crusader Crue, Gordy, but one more mention of Isil and I get my friend ‘The Dark Lord’ to join us for a hand massage. You don’t want that.”
    Gilani began sobbing. “No…no… please… I will call them anything you like. I am a dead man. I only want an end to the pain. I… I can help you much more with what I remember on a map.”
    Lynn sighed with her arms folded across her chest. “Okay, Gordy. You’ve convinced me we only had a slight misunderstanding. Please take our good little helper Gordy over to the waiting area, Payaso. My assistant, the Nowhere Man, has a shot of bliss for Gordy so he can continue to help without the pain from his Dark Lord mangled hand.”
    We did the exchange much as before, except I rolled Gilani over to our ‘waiting area’ myself. I didn’t want him getting any illusions about what his cooperation was buying. Clint gave me a syringe of Novacaine for localized pain. Payaso took the strapped down Emir Bitar into movie scene