chapter 14
ONCE the MPs were gone and the door was closed, Rapp turned and looked at his prisoner. What he saw pissed him off to the point of wanting to drive his fist through Haggani's face - shove the cartilage behind his nose up into his brain and kill the bastard right on the spot. He felt the camera on his back, though, and knew he was already in enough trouble. Choking the man... he might be able to talk his way out of. Killing him... not a chance. He thought of Nash and Dumond. What was going on out there? Had Dumond been quick enough to erase his interrogation of Haggani and smart enough to save Nash's with al-Haq, and just what in the hell was the base commander doing up and about? The guy was supposed to be an anal-retentive freak about his sleep.
"What is wrong?" Haggani asked in a mocking tone. "Are you in trouble?"
Rapp glanced at him for only a second. Just long enough to register the smug look on his face. He clenched his fists and told himself not to do it. He walked to the far side of the room, where one of his men, Joe Maslick, was leaning against the wall. Maslick was an inch taller than Rapp and tipped the scales at 220 pounds. He was too big for most undercover operations, but perfect for something like this, where intimidation and presence were more important. Rapp knew how sensitive the room's recording devices were, and since he had no idea if Dumond had turned them off, he decided to be extra careful. He pointed back at the prisoner and then cupped both hands over Maslick's left ear.
In a voice barely louder than a whisper, Rapp said, "I'm going out first. If I can talk our way out of this, great, but if I can't, and you see me get up in that general's face, I want you to get our people out of here. Grab Dostum, get back to the plane, and get the hell off this base. Mike and I will deal with the fallout."
Maslick cupped his hands over Rapp's ear and whispered, "We can overpower these guys."
Rapp knew this was the approach Maslick would take. The man did not know the meaning of the word retreat. Slugging their way out would be a short-term solution that would only make things worse. "No way," he whispered, "that'll just buy us a little time and then the shit will really come down. Trust me - you get everyone out of here, and I'll take care of it."
"I'm not leaving you behind to take the fall."
"You are," Rapp said firmly, "and don't worry about it. I've got plenty of favors I can call in. Just get everyone out of here. End of discussion."
Rapp and Maslick walked across the room. As they passed Haggani, the terrorist began laughing.
"Leaving so soon."
"Don't worry, I'll be back."
"No, you won't."
Rapp stopped and looked down at the prisoner. There was a definite change in the way Haggani met his stare. Gone was the rage and bravado, the stubborn defiance. It was replaced by something very different; something that embarrassed Rapp on a level he didn't think possible. It was contempt; scorn for an opponent deemed unworthy.
"This is why you will never beat us," Haggani said in a voice that was simple and matter-of-fact; one warrior to another. "You are not tough enough. Your country is too divided... too concerned with the rights of your enemies."
"Don't confuse me with those people back in Washington. I'm not done with you. Not by a long shot."
Rapp led Maslick out of the interrogation room and down the short hall to the observation room. As he reached for the doorknob he reminded himself that these air force guys respected men who took charge. Unlike the civilian world, where leadership was a fluid concept, in the military there was very little gray. Rank ruled the day and there was only one man on the other side of the door who could beat the two black eagles on Rapp's collar. He thought of General Garrison, the base commander. He'd skimmed the man's personnel file on the flight over, and now he was cursing himself for not paying closer attention. He had a few vague recollections of him. He was an Air Force Academy grad and on the young side for a brigadier general, which meant he was either really good at his job, really lucky, or a really good kiss-ass. Whatever the answer, Rapp supposed it didn't matter, since his only chance was to meet this thing head-on. He'd bluff them long enough to get the others out of there and then come clean, or at least partially clean.
Rapp readied himself and then pulled open the door. He stepped into the other room and was surprised to find everyone with their backs to him. Rapp moved forward a few steps and motioned for Maslick to continue to the right, where General Dostum was standing. Everyone's attention seemed to be focused on the hallway that led to the offices and the main exit. Three men were talking. One was Nash, who was the only person facing him. Rapp couldn't see the faces of the other two men, but they appeared to be rather upset by the way they were shouting and pointing.
"So you're denying that man is CIA?" the taller of the two asked in a stern voice.
"Listen," Nash said, "I think you two need to calm down."
Rapp did a quick scan of the room. He found everybody on his team except Dumond. He looked again and still couldn't find him. Unsure of whether this was a good sign or a bad sign, Rapp turned his attention back to the conversation.
"Calm down?" the older man asked more forcefully. "This is my damn base, Mr. Nash. If that man is CIA and he is impersonating an officer, I'm going to throw both of you in lockup."
That had to be General Garrison. Rapp straightened up, cleared his throat to get everyone's attention, and yelled, "What in God's name are all you people doing here? This facility is in lockdown."
One by one, heads turned and feet shuffled as everyone did a 180 to meet the new voice of authority. General Garrison eyed Rapp warily and asked, "And you are?"
"Who I am is not what's important. What is important is that this facility is off-limits until oh seven hundred." Rapp motioned from one side of the room to the other. "None of you are authorized to be here right now."
"By whose authority?" asked the man standing next to the general.
Rapp took note of the two bars on the collar and said, "The secretary of defense, Captain."
"Why weren't we informed?"
"I don't think the secretary of defense feels the need to go around explaining himself to captains," Rapp growled. He directed his attention to the general and said, "Sir, I suggest for your own good that you vacate this facility and let me do my job. Trust me... this is not something you want to get in the middle of. Whoever got you out of bed didn't do you any favors."
General Garrison turned and gave Captain Leland a hard stare.
"Sir," Leland said, "this man is CIA. I will stake my entire reputation on it."
Rapp saw movement to his right, but didn't want to look. He hoped it was Maslick leading Dostum and the others toward the door. "Your reputation is not what's at stake here, Captain. It's the general's career." Rapp turned his glare back to Garrison. "There are some very important people in Washington who are waiting for me to finish what I was sent here to do."
"Does that include impersonating an officer in the United States Air Force?" Garrison asked.
Rapp didn't know what to say, so he said nothing.
"How about beating a bound prisoner to a bloody pulp?" Leland asked.
"That's it," Rapp growled. "Everybody out of here." He turned away from the two officers. "I need to have a word in private with the general and his aide." Rapp began shooing people down the hallway toward the exit. Everybody moved except Nash.
"Slow down there," the captain said, "I don't think you're in any position to be giving orders around here."
Rapp turned on him before he could say anything else, like telling the MPs to stay put. "General, I suggest you tell Dudley Do-Right here to shut his piehole. What I have to tell you is highly classified. The president, the secretary of defense, and only a few others have been briefed. I can't very well tell a roomful of enlisted servicemen." Not bothering to wait for a response, Rapp told the others to get moving and then said to Nash, "You too." Rapp mouthed the words Get on the plane.
Nash shook his head. "No."
"Don't argue with me." Rapp grabbed Nash by the arm and started walking him down the hallway. In a low voice, he added, "Get back to D.C. I can handle the political heat... you can't. Tell them you verified the third cell and get Mohammad transferred to our custody."
"Mitch, this is serious shit."
"I've been in far worse. I'll talk my way out of it."
Nash looked back down the hall at the two officers and said, "Don't count on it. That Leland is a real pick."
"I'm not exactly easy to get along with," Rapp said with a grin. "Just get everyone on that plane and get the hell out of here."