glanced at Hussein and said, “They made us study the Catholic faith. Remember when we used to talk about jamming broomsticks up the asses of those preachers? The same way the guards did to us? It looks like I might get that chance.”
Hussein said, “Our school wasn’t Catholic.”
“Fucking close enough.”
Hussein thought about telling Jacob his terrible secret. Fantasized about recruiting Jacob, then turning himself in at the Jordanian border, explaining how he had to ditch all of the communication methods he’d been given for survival—instead of the truth that he’d simply crumbled under outright fear.
They’d be pleased he’d survived, and would want to know what was being planned, and he could tell them. About Jordan, anyway. He had no idea what the rest of the Lost Boys were up to. But he could tell them he had a much stronger man on the inside. Jacob.
The thoughts flitted through his head, and he realized he could not. He was trapped between the loyalty Jacob required and the insanity of the Islamic State.
If he broached the
how
s and
why
s of his trip to Syria, laying bare his recruitment as a snitch, he would feel the wrath of Jacob. And he’d seen how his friend treated traitors.
He said, “Maybe we should both flee. Maybe you could meet me in Jordan.”
Jacob said, “Maybe so.”
But Hussein knew it wouldn’t happen. Saw the divide growing ever larger between them. Hussein was still clinging to his self-preservation. Still trying to find a way out of the maze of death he’d created.
Jacob was embracing it.
21
F or the first time in his career as commander of the Taskforce, Kurt Hale sat to the side as Kerry Bostwick, the director of the CIA, took a pounding. While he would have enjoyed the respite, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for the man, along with a hefty dose of skepticism as to why he was even in the room. Ali Jaafar Hussein, aka LEOPARD, was turning into a disaster, but it wasn’t a Taskforce problem. This was a mess for the congressional intelligence oversight committees, not for the principals of the Oversight Council.
President Warren shook his head in disgust. “How in the hell did he get from Syria to Jordan?”
Kerry said, “He flew. Some podunk airline from Oguzeli Airport in southern Turkey.”
The secretary of defense said, “How did that happen? I thought you were going to spread his name all over the place.”
Kerry said, “I did, I did. The point was to keep him from coming home. The no-fly list is for people traveling to or from the United States. I can’t help it if a two-bit commuter airline still using paper tickets let him go.”
Billings, the secretary of state, asked, “How did he get through immigration? If you told our allies his name?”
Kerry rubbed his eyes and said, “Once again, that was to prevent him from attempting to come home. To conduct an attack here. Getting out of Turkey from that airport required only a stamp because he has an American passport. I doubt his name was even run. Getting into Jordan required a visa, which he bought at the airport. He was let into the country, but our liaison alerted me, just as I asked. If he’d have tried to board an aircraft to the United States, he would have been stopped.”
President Warren said, “Why didn’t they detain him in Jordan?”
“Because I was afraid of the repercussions. They alerted me, and I thanked them. I couldn’t tell them he was a rogue agent, and I certainly didn’t want them interrogating him. After what happened in Afghanistan with the Jordanian triple agent, if Hussein had said one word about being a US asset, then about beheading someone in Syria, it would be on the world stage. The Jordanians would leak it sure as shit, and we don’t need those complications.”
President Warren said, “So what now?”
Cynically, Kurt wondered if the conversation had been scripted between the president and Kerry. Then realized why he was in the room, even if everyone else
Hussein said, “Our school wasn’t Catholic.”
“Fucking close enough.”
Hussein thought about telling Jacob his terrible secret. Fantasized about recruiting Jacob, then turning himself in at the Jordanian border, explaining how he had to ditch all of the communication methods he’d been given for survival—instead of the truth that he’d simply crumbled under outright fear.
They’d be pleased he’d survived, and would want to know what was being planned, and he could tell them. About Jordan, anyway. He had no idea what the rest of the Lost Boys were up to. But he could tell them he had a much stronger man on the inside. Jacob.
The thoughts flitted through his head, and he realized he could not. He was trapped between the loyalty Jacob required and the insanity of the Islamic State.
If he broached the
how
s and
why
s of his trip to Syria, laying bare his recruitment as a snitch, he would feel the wrath of Jacob. And he’d seen how his friend treated traitors.
He said, “Maybe we should both flee. Maybe you could meet me in Jordan.”
Jacob said, “Maybe so.”
But Hussein knew it wouldn’t happen. Saw the divide growing ever larger between them. Hussein was still clinging to his self-preservation. Still trying to find a way out of the maze of death he’d created.
Jacob was embracing it.
21
F or the first time in his career as commander of the Taskforce, Kurt Hale sat to the side as Kerry Bostwick, the director of the CIA, took a pounding. While he would have enjoyed the respite, he couldn’t help but feel sorry for the man, along with a hefty dose of skepticism as to why he was even in the room. Ali Jaafar Hussein, aka LEOPARD, was turning into a disaster, but it wasn’t a Taskforce problem. This was a mess for the congressional intelligence oversight committees, not for the principals of the Oversight Council.
President Warren shook his head in disgust. “How in the hell did he get from Syria to Jordan?”
Kerry said, “He flew. Some podunk airline from Oguzeli Airport in southern Turkey.”
The secretary of defense said, “How did that happen? I thought you were going to spread his name all over the place.”
Kerry said, “I did, I did. The point was to keep him from coming home. The no-fly list is for people traveling to or from the United States. I can’t help it if a two-bit commuter airline still using paper tickets let him go.”
Billings, the secretary of state, asked, “How did he get through immigration? If you told our allies his name?”
Kerry rubbed his eyes and said, “Once again, that was to prevent him from attempting to come home. To conduct an attack here. Getting out of Turkey from that airport required only a stamp because he has an American passport. I doubt his name was even run. Getting into Jordan required a visa, which he bought at the airport. He was let into the country, but our liaison alerted me, just as I asked. If he’d have tried to board an aircraft to the United States, he would have been stopped.”
President Warren said, “Why didn’t they detain him in Jordan?”
“Because I was afraid of the repercussions. They alerted me, and I thanked them. I couldn’t tell them he was a rogue agent, and I certainly didn’t want them interrogating him. After what happened in Afghanistan with the Jordanian triple agent, if Hussein had said one word about being a US asset, then about beheading someone in Syria, it would be on the world stage. The Jordanians would leak it sure as shit, and we don’t need those complications.”
President Warren said, “So what now?”
Cynically, Kurt wondered if the conversation had been scripted between the president and Kerry. Then realized why he was in the room, even if everyone else
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