Jack Coughlin - An Act of Treason

“Who is the real contact?” Swanson asked.

“You don’t need to know that yet,” Hall snapped.

“Oh, stow the bullshit, Jim. You specifically brought me in for this job, and I want to know who I am working with. You think I’ll put his name on Twitter or blog it or something?”

“Of course not. It’s just that his father is a top-level asset, one of my own recruits that I have groomed over the years.”

“The name?” asked Kyle. “No use continuing this conversation if you won’t tell me.”

Selim arched an eyebrow and looked from him to Lauren and then to Jim. “That is not a real problem.” He was sure of himself, confident of his work and his ability. “My father is Muhammed Waleed.”

“The top dog of the Taliban? We’re working with the Taliban?”

“The very one,” said Hall. “He will trust only me, and he is a real rainmaker.”

Kyle forced himself to keep a neutral look. Friend or not, he would not risk his life just because Jim Hall was engineering a deal with people that Swanson considered the enemy. “I’m more used to killing the Taliban than being nice to them.”

“We are quite aware of your reputation, Gunnery Sergeant Swanson. You may return to the battlefield again someday against our fighters and perhaps not be so lucky. But the world is changing, and in Pakistan, the Taliban is a legitimate political party, and my father runs it. Unfortunately, he does not speak for all of the renegade tribal chiefs. Yet.”

Hall laughed softly. “It’s a new world, Kyle, but it is still the old world in many ways. We are going to kill us a couple of Taliban terrorists while we are in Islamabad, and Selim is going to help us do it. If you don’t have the stomach for it, leave now.”

“Why don’t they just kill these guys themselves and be done with it?” Swanson asked, still irritated.

“Washington wants the word to spread that whoever messes with us is going to get squashed. This is a good target, Kyle; these boys are not a couple of suicide bombers but a highly trained team, and we need to take them out.”

Selim was standing with his hands folded in front of him. “We already have them in the city, Gunny Swanson. They will be ready when you are.”

Lauren finally spoke. “How will it happen, Selim? You will pick out a spot for our two snipers?”

He laughed, and a smile creased his firm jawline. “No. I pick out the spot for the targets. Jim Hall and the reluctant Gunny Swanson will find their own positions, although I have some recommendations.”

“You can guarantee that?”

“Of course. You can depend on good Muslims to always be on time to pray. The people are in a private apartment with a balcony. They have been given beautiful prayer rugs and will come out and prostrate themselves to offer their maghrib prayers as the sun goes down. If you don’t mind shooting someone in the back while he is talking to God, it should be easy.”

Lauren said, “That’s pretty cold-blooded.”

“Please do not be shocked, Ms. Carson. In this part of the world, we have been doing this sort of thing for a thousand years. Even a prince at prayer in a mosque is not truly safe. You must remember from your studies that we coined the word hashshashin … assassin.”

“Works for me,” said Swanson.

“I know,” said Selim with coldness, then broke into his relaxed smile. “Now, Jim Hall, you mentioned a price in our last conversation.”

Hall pointed to Lauren’s bag, and she pulled out the laptop, took it to a round table, opened the top, and went online through a secure satellite frequency. “A million dollars for each of them.”

“Hell of a campaign contribution.”

“Shut up and sit down, Kyle. Say the word, Selim, and Lauren will move the money.”

Swanson plopped hard into an overstuffed chair, looking sullen, and exhaled loudly. The others quickly ignored him. He was not involved in the talks. Kyle made a show of crossing his legs and adjusting his coat, carefully pulling the.45 ACP out of his belt and placing it beneath his thigh, with the butt facing out. Then he put an arm on each side of the chair, looking like he was resting. The fingers of his right hand were less than eleven inches from the pistol.

Selim leaned against the back of a long sofa. “My father appreciates that, but I believe these people are of more value. It has not been easy to separate them from their friends.”

Hall grunted a laugh. “The other part of the payment was getting those missiles to hit that village when he needed them. Took some doing on our part. Missiles cost money, too.”

“Still.”

“Oh, fine. Okay. Courtesy of the American taxpayer. A million and a half each, for three million dollars total. Will that make the old man happy?”

“Oh yes,” Selim said. “Excellent. Exchanging favors of equality leaves neither party indebted to the other.”

“An old Arab saying?” asked Lauren.

“No. I just made it up.”

“Fine.” She looked over at Jim Hall. “That’s it, then? Want me to punch the buttons on a three-million dollar transfer of funds to the assigned account?”

“Do it,” said Jim Hall. “Let’s wrap this baby up.”

Lauren’s fingers deftly worked the keyboard for about thirty seconds; then she stood back. “Transfer under way. Confirmation of receipt… right… now. Done.”

Selim coughed in his fist. “Excellent. Now, Jim Hall, before we part for the day, my father wishes for me to present you with a very special gift. Please wait for one moment.” He went to a door and said something.

They could hear some stirring on the other side; then the portal swung open and a pair of lean, hard-looking men in civilian clothes brought in Sergeant Javon Anthony and Corporal Jake Henderson. As the blindfolds were stripped away and the handcuffs removed, Selim said, “Please take these young men safely back to America.”

Kyle was already on his feet and locked in a two-fisted combat stance.

ISLAMABAD

“K YLE ! P UT DOWN THATweapon!” yelled Hall, his voice filling the room.

“Not a chance,” Swanson snapped back, training the weapon on the two men who had brought in the American soldiers, then ordering Anthony and Henderson, “You guys move behind me!”

“Selim just gave these prisoners back to us!”

“And we are damn straight going to keep them.” Ignoring the others, Kyle moved quickly to the guards, spun them roughly and pushed them to the wall. Holding the pistol against each man’s kidneys in turn, he gave them a quick pat-down-shoulders, hips, crotch, ankles. No weapons. He backed away. “Come on, Jim. This meeting is over and we’re out of here.”

“You’re overreacting, Kyle.” Hall sat down and looked at Selim. “Tell your father that this came as a big surprise.”

Selim had hardly blinked at Kyle’s protective outburst. He shrugged his shoulders. “Gunny Swanson, you really don’t need the weapon. I want those men to leave safely. We have gone through a lot to make this happen.”

“Your men captured them in the first place, and coldly murdered one of their friends, also an American soldier, in the process. I should believe you now?” Anthony and Henderson stood rooted behind him.

Hall put his palms out toward Kyle. “Okay, okay. Settle down. Give me a second. Keep them all covered if it makes you feel better. Lauren, while you still have that laptop online, transfer another two million to that same account, on my authority. More than worth the price.”

She quickly ran the numbers and confirmed the transfer.

“Now, Lauren, you are going to be the hero in all of this. Radio the driver to get our vehicle ready for a fast trip to the U.S. Embassy.”