Midnight Sun (103 page)

Mid-
sentence
his words became a loud puff and wheeze
as
Kharzai
’
s
foot
drove
into
the
soft
flesh
of
his
belly.
Bones
instantly
crumpled
to
the
floor.

“
You
might
think
you're
tough
because
you
rape
little
girls,
and
you
might
think
you
are
a
bad
ass
because
you
wear
a
necklace
of
finger
bones,
but
let
me
explain
something
to
you
…
Bones
.
”
Kharzai
put
his
foot
on
the
punk
’
s
throat.
His
arm
stretched
toward
Bones’
face,
a
pistol
pointed
at
the man's
eye.
None
of
the
others
had
seen
him
draw
the weapon or realized he was even carrying one
,
and
none
of
them
dared
make
a
move
to
intervene.
Bones
grabbed
Kharzai
’
s
ankle
,
but
relented
when
he
found
himself
looking
into
the
barrel
of
the
nine-millimeter
Makarov
semi-auto.

“
I
have
shown
you
my
secrets.
You
have
agreed
to
take
my
money.
You
try
to
run,
you
try
to
escape,
you
try
to
cross
me
,
and
you
will
die
a
horrible
death
unlike
anything
even
a
pathetic
child
molester
like
you
can
imagine.
I
have
made
my
living
hurting
and
killing
people
since
before
your
mother
crapped
you
into
this
world.
I
do
not
need
to
wear
my
victim
’
s
bones
as
trophies.
I
do
not
need
to
brag
about
my
kills,
and
I
do
not
need
to
hurt
little
children.
Because
I
am
bad
enough
to
know
that
there
is
no
man
on
this
earth
who
can
defy
me
and
live.
”

Bones
’
face
darkened
to
a
purple
shade
of
blue.
Kharzai
removed
his
foot
and
took
a
step
back,
glancing
around
at
the
others.
They
all
averted
their
eyes
, staring at the floor or the
mortar
tube, anything other than h
is
fiery
stare.

“
Anyone
else
want
a
turn
at
negotiation?
”

Chapter
23

FBI
HQ
Washington
DC

Wednesday, June 22
^nd

9:00
a.m.
Eastern
Time

The
phone
on
Undersecretary
Paul
Hogan
’
s
desk
rang
twice
before
he
was
able
to
get
it
off
the
hook.
He
didn
’
t
move
as
fast
or
as
accurately
as
he
used
to.
Hogan
had
recently
been
promoted
to
the
office
of
FBI
Undersecretary
for
Terrorism
Interdiction,
a
new
and
little
-
known
division
that
actively
sought
and
eradicated
terrorist
threats
on
US
soil.
It
was
a
job
with
which
Paul
was
intimately
familiar.
Eighteen
years
in
the
United
States
Marine
Corps
Special
Operations
detachment
ended
with
him
medically
discharged
just
short
of
retirement
after
a
Taliban
RPG
ripped
up
his
legs
and
shredded
his
baby
-
making
apparatus
near
the
end
of
his
third
tour
in
Afghanistan.
Those injuries had granted him a rating of 70% disabled
,
according to the VA, U.S. Department of Veteran's Affairs, providing a monthly stipend just more than half the amount he would
have
been able to make if he'd survived two more years in the Corps to full retirement.