it did, Parker could see over Scottâs 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.
âMr. Scott.â
Scott turned around to see Parker standing in front of him.
âItâs good to see you.â
âLetâs step outside.â 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.
âSo, are you in?â Scott couldnât 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 wouldnât 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 theyâd vastly prefer the Parker plan.
âYes,â Parker said at last.
âGood. Weâre a bit struck for time.â
Parker nodded. âBut we are going to do it the different way I suggested before.â
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.
âI need to meet with Dr. Stewart as soon as possible.â
âThe meeting with the CDC has been set up for now. Theyâre already waiting for you.â
âGood. Are you getting an idea of what this involves?â
âGiven 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
âRight. Or, failing that, it should flush your target out into the open. If Yousef gets sick and has a doctor near him, heâll 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.â Parker paused. âAlong with hundreds or thousands of others, if you donât mobilize shipments of vaccine and antibiotics into the region quickly enough.â
âWeâll take care of that,â Scott said. âBut what about you? Being that close to a germ like that?â
âYouâre right. Iâll 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
âWe can do that. Like I said, our resources are unlimited.â
âAbout my team . . .â
âYes?â
âI want my gunny on it.â
âYou mean Moncrief?â
Parker nodded.
âDone. 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
âWhat about your team, Mr. Scott?â
Quickly, Scott explained that heâd spent the last twenty-four hours putting the various pieces in place. First, heâd 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 theyâd 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
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