The Red Cell André Gallo (essential reading .txt) 📖

of his country would include the stories of how he and his wife, Aisha, given the code name Nightingale by the Supreme Leader himself, had fooled the Americans, the Great Satan. Not only was Aisha a source of invaluable information, she was also an agent of influence. Her efforts would certainly give the scientists another six months, at least. That is all that would be needed, he thought. Delay the Americans long enough, and Iran will have a nuclear weapon.

Meanwhile, he would need to see his son. The next day.

19. Kristen’s Apartment

Kristen’s apartment was now Steve’s operational headquarters. He had moved out of his hotel, where Kella’s kidnappers must have picked her up. If they knew where Kella could be found, they could obviously find him as well. He had also moved his two team members there. “Don’t worry,” Steve told Kristen. “We’ll be out of your hair in forty-eight hours at the most.” Kristen didn’t know whether to be angry or pleased to be suddenly surrounded by all that testosterone.

“Today’s the day,” Steve told her, and his two men. Hunter and McCabe had similar backgrounds but could not have been more different in temperament. Both had combat experience, Hunter with Special Forces in Afghanistan, and McCabe with the agency, also in Afghanistan. He had participated in the horseback assault on the Taliban-held town of Mazar Al Sharif at the start of the war. Where Hunter was chatty and extroverted, however, McCabe did not say much, unless it was relevant to the situation at hand.

“I’ve got a car,” McCabe said, “but I haven’t had time to fix the doors to lock them from the driver’s position. And I have to admit it doesn’t look much like a limousine.”

“Kristen, you’ll just have to say you rented the car and driver for the occasion and that’s the best you could do on short notice,” Steve said. “On the positive side, Colonel Vanness has a house in Waterloo he will lend to us for the duration. We can hold Karim there if we can’t make the exchange quickly. Apparently it’s a house he inherited, and he plans to rent it. But in the meantime, it’s available.” He placed an unlit cigarette between his lips. “Ideally, we’d need another week to put all the pieces in place. But God knows what Kella’s situation is, and we have to move quickly to get her back. Alive.”

He turned toward Kristen and tapped the cigarette on the back of his hand. “The key lies in your hands, Kristen.”

“Let me get this straight,” Kristen said. “I have a date to go running with Svetlana later today. But you want me to call her about an hour before and confirm Karim will not be coming with us in order to elicit anything from her about Karim’s schedule today. Assuming he is still free, I will call her back fifteen minutes later to tell her something has come up, and I cannot go running because I have just been invited to screen a movie for an important magazine. And I would like Karim to come with me because it is an Iranian movie. I go pick him up with Hunter playing the role of a chauffeur. Once Karim gets in the car, Hunter locks the doors and we hold him in exchange for Kella.”

She looked at her audience for a second and asked, “What if Svetlana also wants to come to the movie?”

“Is Svetlana a fitness freak or not?” Hunter asked, showing a gap between his front teeth as he smiled.

“Remember, KISS,” McCabe said. “Keep It Simple, Stupid. What if you showed up after Svetlana took off on her run?”

“What if Karim is not interested. What if he prefers to sleep?” she asked.

“Tell him the movie is an attempt to explain Sharia Law to the West,” Steve said. “How can he resist? Also, don’t give Karim the time to research this nonexistent movie online. And don’t mention it to Svetlana on the phone. Make the offer to Karim only after you get there. Don’t give him time to think about it.

“Meanwhile, Hunter, go fix the locks on the doors. McCabe, go meet Colonel Vanness at the house in Waterloo. And Kristen,” he said looking at his watch, “It’s time to make your call.”

He stepped out of the room, as Kristen took her phone out of her pocketbook. He was pouring himself a beer when his own cell sounded. It was Marshall.

Steve felt guilty for not having called his father earlier. Kate had alerted him his father’s situation was not getting better, on the contrary. And he could imagine—or maybe he could not imagine, he thought—how frustrating it must be to lose strength and mobility. His father had always been physically active: tennis and jogging and, more recently, golf and the gym without giving up the tennis. He also wondered how long he could run Red Cell.

“Hey Dad,” Steve said, “how are you feeling?”

“I’m feeling fine. You know we’re not in good standing since the White House canceled your mission. Everybody’s waiting for you to report in and explain exactly what happened.”

“Dad, I can’t leave without finishing what I started, if you know what I mean. I’ve got things in motion, and I’m optimistic.”

“I do understand, and I’m not telling you to come home. I would do the same thing. And let me know what I can do to help you. Meanwhile, I’ve got another topic for you. I know you have your hands full right now, but I received a phone call from an old friend, Nigel Barnes. I knew him back when, and we’ve sort of kept in touch. He said he has something to tell me that’s very important. He can’t travel to the States at the moment, and obviously I’m in no position to visit him. He’s in Southern France on holiday. You know those Brits. They’ve