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her back and shoulders as she bent over the river. The bruise on
her head from the stock of the gun was still sore to the touch but
healing well. She needed rest, maybe as much as Hannah needed
it, but it would have to wait. She knew she could push herself
when she needed to and now was the time.
The water bladders filled, Rennie washed her arms and face
and neck, shivering at the touch of the cold water. That would
have to do. Hannah was still intently reading as Rennie made
her way back to her. Leaning against the rock, Rennie added
the iodine tablets to the water. Her pack was next to her. In a
padded pocket was the satellite phone, like an accusation, snug
and waiting in its bed. She should have called in long ago. At least
now she could say she had done what they had come to do. And
had rescued an American hostage. It wouldn t mitigate the horror
of the awful report she had to make, but it was something.
Rennie felt Hannah s eyes on her.
Do you have any idea what s in this? Hannah asked, holding
the document.
No.
It s a list of names. Of men, and a few women, and their
affiliations with various terrorist organizations, along with
detailed information of completed crimes. Most of the network
leads back to a mosque in London.
Rennie frowned. Is there any data regarding future
events?
No. Whoever compiled the list appears to have had only
rudimentary intelligence. But there is a map.
Yes. It s of the village.
Rennie had noticed the hand-drawn map on the last page of
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the document.
What does this say? Rennie asked, pointing to a mark on
the page.
Hannah squinted at the map. The writing was a little
smudged. I think it s some kind of boarding house.
Their meeting place. Any notation about the time?
No. Hannah turned to Rennie and smiled. But there is a
room number.
Rennie thought. This had to have come from Armin. The
thugs I took this off of well one was just a boy they couldn t
have had this kind of information. This implies connections. It
must be from Armin. But why would Armin be passing this to
someone?
Someone must have something Armin wanted.
Yes, but this looks like the type of information that would
be turned over to the intelligence agency of a state, a state that
fights terrorism.
There s one more thing. Hannah paused. One name on
the list seems to be highlighted, to have more details than the
rest.
And?
He s an American.
Rennie closed her eyes. She could never understand how
anyone could turn against their country. She could see that
her country, her government rather, had made mistakes, many
mistakes over the years. But a country is not its government. A
country is its people. Who could turn against their own flesh and
blood? And then she thought of Armin and his brother.
What s the name?
Someone called Jon Harrison.
Rennie couldn t think. The name sounded familiar, but she
couldn t put her finger on it.
I m not sure how this relates to anything, but I need to call
in and make a report.
Hannah looked like she was about to say more. Rennie knew
she shouldn t be having this conversation with her, but Hannah
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was in it as much as she was.
Is that all?
I think so, but I only scanned it.
Rennie took a deep breath and retrieved the sat-com from
her pack. The signal was strong here by the river away from the
forest s canopy. She punched in the numbers from memory. She
only heard a partial ring before a male voice on the other end
said, Yes. A pause and then, We re secure. She thought it was
Brian Ryder, who ran night communications at CT3 s central
command, but couldn t be sure from the gaps in the connection.
This is Agent Rennie Vogel. She could hear a shaky panic
in her voice and tried to tamp it down.
Yes. Go ahead, Agent Vogel.
Armin is dead.
Why isn t Agent Smythe making the call?
This wasn t going to be easy.
He s dead. She paused. They re all dead. We were
ambushed the first night as we slept.
She knew he wouldn t ask why she hadn t called in then, that
wasn t his role. He said, You made the kill?
Yes.
Where are the bodies?
I can t say precisely. GPS was destroyed during the jump.
We ll have to facilitate withdrawal after you are out then.
Where are you now?
I m at the river.
Are you safe?
I don t know. We saw action several hours ago from a group
of soldiers who came after us. There were six enemy casualties.
We think the rest are focusing on the road as the likely route the
shooter took to escape.
We? You re not alone, Agent Vogel?
I m with Hannah Marcus.
She s with you now?
They knew. She could hear it in his voice and he hadn t missed
a beat. They had known all along that Hannah was alive.
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She continued, Also, I recovered a document, written in
Farsi, from the pack one of the men was carrying. It looks like it
was being delivered to the village.
There was a long pause on the other end of the line.
Any sign of who it was going to or when or where the
meeting was to take place?
Yes. There s no indication of when but there is a map
pointing to a boarding house on the corner of two cross streets
in the village Boktar and Lutfi, the northwest corner.
Do you know what s in the document?
I do now. Hannah Marcus reads Farsi and was able to
translate.
You know she doesn t have clearance.
Something wasn t right.
I thought the potential importance of the document
outweighed such considerations.
You know the protocol and should have called for go-
ahead.
Rennie didn t respond. She wondered if this was just
bureaucratic bullshit administered at the worst possible time or
if something else was going on.
What s in the document?
A list of names. Of terrorists, most are connected to a
London mosque, the Masjid Ibrahim.
Anything notable?
Rennie paused.
One of the terrorists named is an American. A Jon
Harrison.
There was a long moment before he responded.
Okay.
Okay?
Do you have the document in your possession now?
Hannah was sitting uncomfortably against the rock, still
intently reading the document. Feeling Rennie s attention on
her, she glanced over at her, eyebrows raised. Rennie s intention
of holding out her hand, stopping her from continuing, died
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before she lifted her arm. Something wasn t right.
Yes.
Good. Keep it safe. How long will it take you to reach the
village?
Rennie thought if everything went right, if they both stayed
strong and pushed on with little to no rest, they could reach the
village the following night. Two days.
Three days. The woman is very weak.
Fine. We ll send someone in to check out this boarding
house. Maybe whoever is waiting on the document is still
around. Regardless, the agent will stay in the village to accept the
document from you when you arrive. Understood?
Yes.
And check in every twelve hours.
Understood.
Then there was nothing but silence. Rennie looked at the
phone. Her supposed lifeline. Just a hunk of useless plastic.
She wanted nothing more than to hurl it into the river. Her
conversation with Ryder had frustrated her and left her with
countless questions. Why wouldn t her team have been told that
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