Jass sat up a little straighter. A detonator or timing device of some sort?
Good point. Its possible. We dont know for sure. General Wainwright folded his hands on the desk and stared down at them. Whatever it is, its big. All we know are the identities of some of the bidders and the approximate location and date. We need to know the rest.
Jasss eyes rounded and dilated. Bless her fiendish little heart. Tarik could see she was almost drooling over the potential of being given such a plum assignment. When she learned the truth, that this was going to be his stingnot hershe had a feeling her expressive face would be speaking a different language.
Do we have a way to firm up the location? Jass asked the general.
She was starting to believe this would be more of a golden opportunity rather than the end of her career. She snuck a look at Ed, her handler, and was puzzled by his narrowed expression. He apparently knew something she did not.
The auction will definitely be taking place in Brazil, the general answered with authority. The Russians partner, also one of the Russian mob but not as clever as Petrov, has developed a network headquartered in Rio. That much we know for sure. The Kadir familys intel unit has put feelers out and we expect to have better information as we get closer to the date.
The Kadir family intel unit? What the heck was that? And what the devil was wrong with their own CIA intelligence? No wonder Ed was not looking too happy.
Jass pinned her lips together to keep from making a remark she might regret later. She was still convinced she was only a hairsbreadth away from being kicked out of the Task Force over last nights screwup. The way this new mission turned out would make all the difference to her career.
She had to keep her job. It was her only chance to live up to the high standard her father set years ago. Thank God it appeared she was being given the opportunity.
Special Officer OReilly, your background file says you can speak both Russian and Farsi. Is that correct? The general had his gaze trained on her face.
Yes, sir. My mothers family was originally from Iran and I spoke Farsi before English. I learned the Russian language for a covert op a few years back.
Well, Farsi is not perfectly suited for this mission but we can make it work. The Russian is pivotal.
He was going to make her the operative in charge of the mission after all! Relief nearly brought her to tears. Jass was thrilled to get the badly needed superior position to make up for the one shed messed up. Taking a deep breath, she turned to study Kadir. What was his role here? Informant? Adviser?
Whatever it was, she hoped they wouldnt have to work together too closely or for terribly long. The man rode her nerves whenever his gaze raked over her body. Which was pretty much every time shed ever run into him.
Weve devised a sting to take advantage of a couple of lucky breaks. The general turned to Ed for an affirmative nod, then continued. First, about a month ago, ICE agents apprehended a woman whos been on Homelands watch list for years. Shes an international illegal arms dealer with no allegiance to any country and who seems devoid of any scruples about the deals she makes.
The Messenger? Jass knew of only one woman who might fit that criteria.
The general nodded grimly. As a favor to us, Homeland has kept the lid on her capture. Were sure nothing has leaked out to any of the intelligence community.
Jass was positive he was correct. Shed been following the exploits of the mysterious woman known
as the Messenger for years and knew nothing of her capture.
Turning to Tarik, the general explained further. This shadowy female dealers real name is Celile Kocak. Originally Uzbekistani from Russian and Turkish decent, as I understand. Her exploits in the field of buying and selling arms have been embellished over time, yet no one had ever seen a picture of the woman.
Now that we have her in custody, he went on. It turns out she has a few years on Special Officer OReilly. But other than that, the two could easily pass as sisters.
Wow. Think of that. The mysterious woman who had captured her imagination for forever looked enough like her to be a sister. Jass was enthralled by the idea of passing for such a deadly and merciless criminal on a sting.
From his position next to her, Tarik cleared his throat. You said thered been two lucky breaks?
Indeed. Under intense interrogation weve learned that this Kocak woman has been scouring the market for the last few months, looking for special arms to buy for another mysterious character. A shady Middle Eastern sheik who goes by the name of Abu Zohdi. Weve been trying to track him down, and hes recently turned up in an English jail in the Bahamasalthough they didnt know who they had in custody.
This middle-easterner is one extremely dangerous and rich terrorist, the general went on to explain. With close ties to al-Qaeda. And the Bahamians were about to release him due to lack of evidence. It was only by pure luck that we obtained his whereabouts from the Kocak woman before he was long gone.