Tripoli's Target (Justin Hall # 2) (20 page)

“Yes, yes, I get it.”

“Good. They shouldn’t be allowed to discover anything. I can’t stress enough the importance that they have no doubts about the target of the Alliance.”

“I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that doesn’t happen.”

“Good. Anything else?”

“No, that’s it.”

“Keep me informed,” Zakir hung up.

* * *

“What the hell was that?” Nour shouted at Justin as soon as he slammed shut the GMC’s door. They were alone in the privacy of the SUV’s cabin. “What part of ‘keep you big mouth shut’ was unclear?”

“The colonel asked me what I was thinking, and I simply told him,” Justin replied calmly, buckling his seat belt.

“No, you didn’t simply tell him. You accused his men of being sloppy because of a missing report. And you told the colonel we are better than them, and that we can prove it.”

“I made no such claims.”

“Really? Well, what did you mean when you asked to ‘have a look at the truck,’ huh?” Nour turned toward Justin, his brow furrowing and his eyes squinting.

“I got us permission to go over the evidence collected so far, and a chance to find new evidence. Something the mukhabarat may have missed, overlooked, or outright buried. Isn’t this what we’re supposed to do?”

“Yes, but we’re also supposed to be discreet about it. You almost blew your cover in there. And now, we have a babysitter monitoring our every move.”

Justin shrugged. He wished he could tell Nour that Abdul was, in fact, working for the CIS. Instead, he said, “Libyans were going to follow us no matter what. You really think we can get into the evidence lab and interrogate witnesses without the mukhabarat knowing about it?”

Nour heaved an expletive.

“Let’s get the hell out of here.” He shifted the SUV into gear. “And when were you going to tell me you can read Arabic?”

“When were you going to tell me you have a bad temper?”

Before Nour could utter a reply, Abdul knocked on the driver’s window. He was wearing his aviator shades.

“Don’t say
a single
word,” Nour warned Justin and rolled down the glass.

“The colonel wants to see you.” Abdul pointed his thin finger at Justin. “Alone,” he added, when he saw Nour unfasten his seatbelt.

Nour shook his head. “He can’t see anyone without me.”

“You want me to tell that to the colonel?” Abdul asked.

Nour ground his teeth. “Go,” he ordered Justin. “Just listen this time, OK?”

“OK,” Justin replied.

He followed Abdul inside the Agency’s main hall. Abdul pointed to the right, on the main floor, instead of upstairs. Justin realized that Abdul, not the colonel, wanted a word in private with him.

“You want us both dead?” Abdul said in a hushed voice after they entered a secured interrogation room at the end of the hall. “The colonel told me about you insulting him with your doubts. What’s wrong with you?”

“You really have iron balls pulling this stunt.” Justin leaned against the dark wall of the small room. “What if Nour marches back into the colonel’s office?”

“He won’t. And you’re
the one
with the iron balls defying the colonel. Did you already forget what I told you last night? Let me repeat it: The colonel is after your sorry ass, and now the two of you are crossing not only paths, but also swords.”

“What can I do? He challenged me to a duel.”

Abdul leaned so close Justin could feel the man’s tobacco breath on his face.

“It’s not funny. The colonel will not think twice about hanging us for treason.”

“Then we need to be really careful.”

“How can we do that when we’re in plain sight of him and his men?”

Justin shrugged. “We’ll figure it out. In due time.”

Abdul let out a loud groan and stepped back. “Ah, in due time, yes, everything, in due time.”

“Did you find out why the colonel is so interested in me?”

“Yes. And it’s not good.”

“It never is.”

“The colonel’s cause is personal. He happened to be in the same Unit 78 of the prison.”

“Unit 78? The same unit you and I decimated during our prison break.”

“We killed his brothers in arms…”

“And he’s out for revenge,” Abdul finished Justin’s thought.

Justin sighed. “He acts so gentle, so polite. What great self-control.” After a moment, he added, “That explains Tarek last night. The colonel sent him to settle the account.”

“Yes, about that,” Abdul said, “I spent two hours at the crime scene last night.”

“You found him?”

“No, I didn’t.”

“What?”

“There was no Tarek there.”

“Impossible. His body fell right in front of my feet. I saw him stop breathing with my own eyes. Did you find the pool of blood?”

“Yes. And we also found the body of a dead policeman. But it wasn’t Tarek.”

“Who was it?”

“A new guy.”

“Somebody took Tarek’s body away before you got there.”

“Why would someone do that and leave the other body behind?” Abdul asked.

“Or maybe, just maybe he made it. Maybe my wound wasn’t deadly. Did you check hospitals? Medical clinics?”

“Or maybe Tarek wasn’t there,” Abdul said quietly.

“What are you saying, Abdul, that I’m making things up? That I’m crazy?”

“I’m saying that people who used to be dead are now suddenly alive, and you are killing them again. But, we can’t find the body.”

Justin realized he had no time to argue about this with Abdul.
I’ll have to figure this out later. On my own.
“We have to go now, otherwise Nour will become wary.”

“When he asks, tell him the colonel wants you not to be too nosey and not to cause any scandals.”

“Why would the colonel say something like that to me?”

“Because you’re a pain in the ass. He told me so, after you left his office. He also warned me to keep you two on a tight leash. Nour will believe this. He knows you’re a loose cannon.”

“Huh?”

“I saw him shouting at you earlier in the car. Tell me it had nothing to do with your meeting with the colonel.”

Justin grinned and turned around. “That would be lying.”

“I thought so.”

They walked back to the GMC. Nour was fidgeting with the steering wheel.

“OK,” Abdul said, “I’ll lead the way to the lab, which is half an hour away, down south. Stay close, so you can follow me.”

“Can you give us the address, in case we lose you in traffic?” Nour asked.

Abdul shook his head. “There is no address. And you won’t be able to find it on your own. Just keep up with me.”

“OK,” Nour agreed.

As soon as Justin climbed in his seat, Nour asked, “Tell me you didn’t screw things up even worse with the colonel.”

“Thanks for your confidence.”

“Don’t be a smart-ass. What did he want?”

“Making sure I don’t cause trouble.”

“Kind of late for that. Did he threaten you?”

“No, no, he didn’t.”

Nour nodded and turned the steering wheel, after Abdul passed them in a white Nissan Patrol. They drove in silence for a few minutes, until Justin’s BlackBerry chirped.

“I have to take this,” he said after glancing at the caller ID.

“Sure, but I ain’t pulling over.”

“Hi, what’s up?” Justin said in a low voice, and with certain uneasiness, since Nour could hear every word.

Nour kept his eyes on the road, seemingly uninterested in Justin’s conversation.

“Hello, Justin,” Anna said. “How are you?”

“Good, good. How ‘bout you?”

“OK, I guess. Sorry I missed your calls. We’re in meetings all the time. The merger, you know. The client’s so secretive, and they don’t allow us to bring our BlackBerries into the conference room.”

“No problem. How’s everything?”

“Oh, crazy. I miss you so much. When are you coming home?”

Justin hesitated for a moment.

“You’re not coming home any time soon, are you?”

“No, I’m afraid not.”

“Will you call me tomorrow?”

“Yes, I will. For sure. I’m not going to forget your birthday.”

“And our anniversary. But nothing we plan seems to work out any more.” Her voice shook with a tinge of despair

“Once this is over, it won’t be this crazy. Then, we can make plans.”

“Plans to sail the Caribbean? Again?”

“Hey, that’s not fair,” Justin replied to her sarcasm.

“It’s not? We cancelled our Caribbean trip because of your tour of duty. I’m not up for another rejection, so why bother to pick a place?”

“You know I’m not the one making decisions.”

“Yes, Justin, I know. That’s the nature of your business and you’re just following orders. I’ve heard this all before.”

“So, why are we even having this conversation?”

“Because I don’t want to be alone, without you. And that’s why I get mad when you’re away.”

Justin looked over at Nour. He was focused on the congested traffic in all four lanes of the road.

“Move it you jerk, c’mon, move it.” Nour slammed his left fist on the horn.

“What’s going on?” Anna asked.

“Oh, nothing. We’re stuck in traffic.”

“Where are you? Some place warm?”

“Bloody hot and sweaty, but we’ve got air conditioning.” Justin adjusted the dashboard’s air vents, so the cold air would blow toward his damp face.

“Tell me you’re gonna take good care of yourself,” Anna said.

Justin shifted in his seat and felt a needle-like pain on his left knee. The shrapnel wound was healing fast, but it still gave him sharp jolts of pain.

“I’ll try,” he replied warily.

“Is Carrie there?”

“No, she’s not here.”

Justin did not tell her Carrie was going to land in Tripoli in a few minutes.

“When will you call me?”

“No idea. Later, perhaps in the evening. If not, tomorrow for sure.”

Anna sighed and fell silent. Justin waited, his eyes following Abdul’s car changing lanes, in order to escape the crawling traffic.

“OK. Hopefully, we’ll talk then.”

“I hope so. I love you.”

“Ditto.”

Justin saw Nour’s grin forming at the corner of his lips. “Women,” was all he said.

How much did he hear?
Before Justin could put away his BlackBerry, it vibrated in his hand.

“More women.” Justin glanced at the screen, displaying the word ‘Carrie.’ “Hey, you’re early.”

“Yeah, we made good time.”

“What’s rattling in the background?”

“Oh, I’m in a taxi, we’re on our way to the city. How far till we’re there?” she asked. “The driver tells me about thirty minutes,” she added after a couple of seconds.

“Was the flight good?”

“Excellent. Where are you?”

“Good question. Let me see.” Justin peered through the window and began searching for a landmark or a road sign. “Hmmm… I think we’re on Tariq Zanatah Road, right?” he said, as he looked at Nour, who nodded. “Yes, we’re on TZ Road and we’re going south, toward a large traffic circle, and now, now we’re stuck in traffic.”

A few seconds of silence followed.

“Carrie?”

“Yes, I just told my driver to take us to this TZ Road. He seems to know where that circle is. Where are you going?”

“Some kind of a warehouse where the police took the unexploded car bomb. Believe it or not, there was nothing in their report about the explosives, their type, amount, the way in which they were packed and wired, nothing.”

“Really?”

“Yes, do you find that strange too?”

“Oh, yeah, that’s strange. Did they do forensics?”

“They say they did, but there’s not a single word about it in the report. At least, on the one the colonel gave us. Anyway, I’ll tell you more when we meet.”

“All right. Give me a shout when you get to the place.”

“OK. See you later.”

“Be safe.”

“You too.”

The traffic light changed. The GMC rounded the corner and entered the traffic circle.

“That was your partner, I imagine?” Nour asked.

Justin nodded. “She just landed at the airport, and she’s going to meet us at the warehouse, this evidence lab of sorts.”

“Is your partner an expert on explosives forensics?”

“She knows more than I do. She studied it for a year or so, before deciding it wasn’t for her.”

“What exactly do you expect to find?”

“Anything there’s to be found. Right now, I’m very suspicious why the police left out any information about the car bomb and its explosives. We don’t even know their type, composition, blast range, nothing.”

Nour shrugged. “Maybe you’re overanalyzing it.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Well, look at it from the Libyans’ point of view. The bomb didn’t go off. The police detained the wannabe suicide bomber and deactivated the bomb. OK, so they didn’t include a few details.”

“These may be important, which can lead us somewhere else.”

“Yeah, maybe,” he said without conviction. “You don’t trust the colonel at all?”

“Do you?”

“It depends.”

“Depends on what?”

“His interests. Here, he wants to close this case. It’s clear who sent the suicide bombers. The Alliance claimed responsibility for it. Their targets and their motives are also clear. The colonel thinks it’s time to move forward. They’ll start moving against the Alliance and increase security for my President. Everyone’s happy. Other than the terrorists, but the colonel wasn’t trying to please them.”

Justin shifted in this seat. “What do you think about that?”

“Pretty good plan. Personally, I’d like to know the details of their operations against the Alliance and how many troops they’re planning to commit to our convoy. Hopefully, we’ll get some of those details later. But, I do agree, the ultimate goal is to protect my President and the G-20 Summit, which is only three days away.”

Justin nodded. “Well, let’s dig up some facts and see what we can piece together.”

“What leads does your partner have?”

“Huh?”

“You said earlier your partner had some leads you were planning to examine. Care to share?”

Justin hesitated. “Yeah, sure, after I receive a complete briefing.”

Nour squinted. A slight frown appeared on his face. “I have a feeling you’re not leveling with me.”