The Panther

CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE


Brenner said the guest house in the embassy was full, but we could get a few hours’ sleep in the chancery building before going to the Sheraton, and he showed us to a bedroom on the second floor where our luggage had been delivered.

He informed us, “We had to convert a few offices here in the chancery into sleeping quarters.” He explained, “If the threat level goes up, embassy personnel who live outside the compound are required to move into the compound, so it gets crowded inside the fort until it blows over.”

I asked him, “Is that why the guest house is full?”

“It is.”

Well, I was glad we were getting out of Sana’a. Unfortunately, we were going to Aden.

Anyway, the room looked comfortable enough for an embassy staffer on the lam from psychotic jihadists. Two stars.

Brenner informed us, “The bathroom is down the hall.”

One star.

Brenner told us, “You’ll check in at the Sana’a Sheraton this afternoon.” He assured us, “It’s heavily guarded, and more comfortable than here.”

“Also,” I added, “you’d like us out there to see if we come to the attention of the person we’re looking for.”

“That is correct.” He also told us, “I’ll have satellite phones for you later, but meanwhile feel free to use the room phone, though as I remind everyone, we record everything for security purposes, and the PSO records for their own purposes. And in answer to your next question, there are no electronic bugs in your room—only real bugs.” He smiled.

I believed him, because if Kate and I found a listening device in our bedroom, we all knew that would be the end of our Yemen visit.

Kate asked him, “Do you live in the embassy?”

“No. I have an apartment not far from here.”

“And are you staying there even though the alert level is elevated?”

He smiled. “I’d rather take my chances with terrorists than living with State Department people.”

Me, too.

Kate also asked him, “Are you alone here?”

He looked at her and replied, “I am.”

“Sorry… I didn’t mean to ask a personal question.”

He assured her, “Over the next few weeks or months we’ll learn a lot about each other.” He let us know, “There’s someone back in the States.”

He changed the subject and said, “I’d like us to meet in the lobby at, let’s say, eleven A.M. Is that good?”

Kate and I said it was.

He informed us, “There is a non-denominational church service at eleven in the parlor if you’d like to attend.”

Kate thought that would be nice, and I was trying to think of a reason why it wasn’t.

Brenner said, “You can decide when you come down.” He advised us, “Bring your luggage down and we’ll go over to the Sheraton, then if you’d like we’ll take a walk around town.” He smiled. “Hopefully someone will try to kill or kidnap us.”

Especially if Mohammed dropped a dime on us. Maybe we should go to church instead.

He reminded us, “Sana’a is relatively safe. But bring your guns.”

Goes without saying.

He also advised us, “If you hear a siren, move immediately to the basement.”

“Wine tasting?” I asked.

He thought that was funny. I think I was one up on him.

He said, “There is a safe room down there. Blastproof. Use the stairs, not the elevator, and come as you are.” He reminded us, “Take your guns with you.”

He gave us instructions on how to find the safe room—follow everyone else—and he wished us a good sleep and left.

Kate said, “I didn’t know what to expect here, but I wasn’t expecting this.”

“Meaning?”

“I don’t know… I guess I didn’t understand the security situation.”

“Sure you did.”

“I guess… also, I thought we’d have an apartment, then I’d spend some time in my office…”

I reminded her, “You’re not really the legal attaché.”

She nodded and said, “I was surprised to see Buck here and surprised to discover that we were bait for The Panther.”

“Were you?”

“Maybe not.” She asked me, “How did you know about that?”

I was almost certain the room wasn’t bugged, but I didn’t want to say “Al Rasul,” so I said, “I figured it out,” which was partly true. I told her, “So did you.”

She nodded again, then asked me, “What do you think of Paul?”

“I feel the beginning of a beautiful friendship.”

She said, “I like him and I trust him.”

“Let’s see how he and Buck handle the CIA guy. That could be the game changer.”

She advised me, “Don’t let your past experiences with the Agency prejudice you.”

“Of course not. My mind is open to a miracle.”

I took both Colt .45s out of the bag and asked Kate, “Which one would you like?”

“They’re the same, John.”

“The serial numbers are different.”

She didn’t reply so I threw both guns on the bed.

Kate looked around the room, then out the window. The sky was getting light, and she said, “I can see the city from here. We’re on a hill.”

“Right.” And in the surrounding hills were guys with mortars and rocket launchers who could target this big compound with their eyes closed.

As though reading my mind, Kate asked me, “If I hear the siren, would you like me to wake you, or let you sleep?”

Do we need a third wiseass? I said, “The explosions will wake me.”

I went to the phone on the nightstand and picked up the receiver.

Kate asked, “Who are you calling?”

“Tom.”

“It’s”—she looked at her watch—“past eleven P.M. there.”

“The FBI never sleeps.” I dialed zero and got the embassy operator. I gave him Walsh’s cell phone number and he said to me, “This is not a secure—”

“Right.”

He put the call through, and I got Tom Walsh’s voice mail. I said, “Tom, John here. I thought you’d be waiting up for my call. Well, as you may have already heard, we’re here. And guess what we just found out? I can’t say because it’s not a secure phone, but you know what I’m talking about. Cat food, Tom. This is exciting and I wanted to thank you for this opportunity.” To mess with his head, I added, “We may take the next flight out and thank you in person. Don’t give away our desks.” I hung up.

Kate asked rhetorically, “Was that necessary?”

“Tom wanted to hear from us.”

She reminded me, “We have no business with Tom anymore and vice versa.”

“That was a personal call.”

She had no further thoughts on that subject, and she began to undress, so I did, too. There didn’t seem to be a closet in the room, so we threw our clothes on a chair, and I put a gun on each nightstand.

Kate collapsed on the bed, naked, and said, “We need to burn those clothes. And I need a shower.”

“Down the hall.” I reminded her, “If we hear the siren, it’s come as you are to the safe room.”

She smiled and said, “That could be fun.”

I asked, “Is the bed hard?”

“No.”

“Well, I am.”

“Oh… my goodness. How can you think about sex now?”

“That’s a silly question from a naked lady.”

She smiled again, then motioned me to hop aboard.