Retribution by Anderson Harp

it did, Parker could see over Scott’s shoulder the pilot going through the final takeoff checklist, reaching up and flipping switches. The gigantic wings, full of fuel, passed above them as the aircraft moved by.
    â€œMr. Scott.”
    Scott turned around to see Parker standing in front of him.
    â€œIt’s good to see you.”
    â€œLet’s step outside.” Parker pointed to the door to the flight line.
    As the two stepped outside, the roar of the Air France jet engines was deafening. The engines threw up a hot wind that blew past them.
    â€œSo, are you in?” Scott couldn’t disguise his impatience.
    Parker could read the tension in his voice. No doubt Scott was already imagining trying to talk the British into the backup plan, one they wouldn’t like. A UAV would try to follow the real Zabara to the meeting in the mountains of Pakistan, and then, at just the right moment, a Hellfire missile would be dropped from a high-altitude jet out of sight to those on the ground. MI5 would lose a valuable asset, and all who knew Zabara would become suspect to the jihadists. Still, it would probably be a fair trade-off, but they’d vastly prefer the Parker plan.
    â€œYes,” Parker said at last.
    â€œGood. We’re a bit struck for time.”
    Parker nodded. “But we are going to do it the different way I suggested before.”
    Another jet, this time a much smaller, triple-engine jet, colored in plain white, taxied by and, with it, another roar of the engines. Again, the engines kicked up a blast of hot wind and the smell of kerosene followed. The roar of the engines, however annoying, would also make it impossible for anyone to overhear the conversation.
    â€œI need to meet with Dr. Stewart as soon as possible.”
    â€œThe meeting with the CDC has been set up for now. They’re already waiting for you.”
    â€œGood. Are you getting an idea of what this involves?”
    â€œGiven your interest in the CDC, I would surmise that you will carry a very bad bug into the camp and release it, and as a consequence Mr. Yousef will become sick and quickly die.”
    â€œRight. Or, failing that, it should flush your target out into the open. If Yousef gets sick and has a doctor near him, he’ll likely be told that the only thing that can save him will be very special antibiotics at a high-end hospital. That should limit the number of places he could run to. Meanwhile, if the bug works quickly enough, or if the doctor misdiagnoses him, he dies in his camp.” Parker paused. “Along with hundreds or thousands of others, if you don’t mobilize shipments of vaccine and antibiotics into the region quickly enough.”
    â€œWe’ll take care of that,” Scott said. “But what about you? Being that close to a germ like that?”
    â€œYou’re right. I’ll need the right antibiotics available. Having them there will be your job, Mr. Scott. I will need the right team there, very nearby, so that I can reach them quickly.”
    â€œWe can do that. Like I said, our resources are unlimited.”
    â€œAbout my team . . .”
    â€œYes?”
    â€œI want my gunny on it.”
    â€œYou mean Moncrief?”
    Parker nodded.
    â€œDone. Now we need to get you to London and have you become Zabara as soon as possible. As soon as we have you in place, we will figure how to get you together with your team.”
    â€œWhat about your team, Mr. Scott?”
    Quickly, Scott explained that he’d spent the last twenty-four hours putting the various pieces in place. First, he’d established a command center in London, near where Parker would be living. An ops center would be created at a nearby British air base, where the support team would assemble and be trained. And they’d already started planning for a command center in the eastern mountains of Afghanistan. This one would have to be mobile, able to move at the last moment, as they