sure, but heâd already decided he had no alternative to bringing Gould in on this. What he was in no mood for, though, was sitting around the seventh floor talking about it. He stood and started for the door.
âIâm going down to see Marcus. If you get anything else from Rickman, you know how to reach me.â
CHAPTER 11
ISI H EADQUARTERS
I SLAMABAD
P AKISTAN
A HMED Taj sat behind his massive desk, staring at the wall. The headphones covering his ears were plugged into a secure laptop and the voice of the late Akhtar Durrani was audible above the hiss of static.
âNow, you have many stories to tell me.â
âNot yet,â Joseph Rickman replied.
âYou made a promise. I have arranged everything. You are safe in my country. I have even gone so far as to arrange a new identity for you. You must follow through on your side of the bargain. I want the names of the American spies.â
âWhen Vazir gets back from Zurich, we will see how things are, and then I will decide when and how I will begin sharing that information.â
âThat was not our deal!â Durrani shouted, and the low growl of Rickmanâs Rottweiler became audible.
âThe deal has changed. You did that when you decided to interfere with Louis Gouldâs assassination of Rapp. Now we will have to wait and see.â
âI could have you killed,â Durrani hissed . âOr better yet, I will nurse you back to health and have you beaten to a pulp again. How would youlike that, you stupid American? You think you are so smart . . . well, you are not so smart. I hold all of the cards here. I am the one who decides if you will live or die.â
Rickmanâs laughter had a distinctive gurgle to it. Undoubtedly the result of his self-inflicted injuries. âYou think you have me by the balls, General?â
âI could have you killed right now.â
âYes, you could, and then in a month or so you would die as well.â
âWhat are you talking about?â
âYou are so naïve, General. Do you think Iâm foolish enough to put my life in your hands and not have an insurance policy?â
âYou are bluffing.â
âNo, thatâs not my style. I plan, I donât bluff. I have taken certain precautions. Iâve hired a law firm and given them very specific instructions that if they donât hear from me at prearranged intervals theyâre to begin emailing files to Director Kennedy and a few other select people.â
âWhat kind of files?â Durrani said, cautiously.
âVery detailed information that, among many other things, implicates you in all this.â
âWhat could you possibly be thinking? That is reckless . . . what if these lawyers take a look at the information?â
âItâs encrypted, and donât worry, they are people I trust. You have nothing to worry about as long as you honor our agreement.â
âYou are the one who needs to honor our agreement. Senator Ferris says he needs the information so he can move against Rapp and Kennedy.â
âLetâs see how things go in Zurich.â
âYou are a fool.â
âReally,â Rickman answered in an amused tone . âI think it is actually very pragmatic of me.â
âIâm talking about giving such valuable information to people I cannot trust. Itâs foolish.â
âItâs actually very smart, although probably not all that smart considering your history.â
âWhatis that supposed to mean?â
âItâs pretty obvious that you have a habit of killing the people you work with.â
âThat is an exaggeration.â
âNot really, so the fact that I took a few precautions is just common sense. Itâs not particularly smart.â
Taj reached for his keyboard and shut down the recording, returning it to its encrypted folder. There were hundreds of hours of audio from the listening
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