Protect And Defend

chapter 48
Rapp stood behind Marcus Dumond and watched the younger man's fingers fly over the computer keyboard with the skill of a concert pianist. Dumond was by far the most accomplished hacker at Langley, and perhaps in all the U.S. government. The MIT graduate had scanned the photos Rapp had taken and was now running a search through multiple databases to see if he could come up with a match.

"How long will it take?" Rapp asked as he zipped up the khaki flight suit Stilwell had given him.

"It could take five minutes. It could take five hours. That's even if we have them in one of the databases."

"You talked to NSA?"

"Yep. They came up with nothing."

Rapp had asked Dumond to contact the National Security Agency and see if they could locate Kennedy's secure mobile phone. Even if it was turned off they should have been able to locate it. The fact that they couldn't meant her captors must have destroyed it.

"Any other ideas?" Rapp asked.

"Not really." Dumond kept working the keyboard. "I'll keep pounding away on this while you start pounding on them." Dumond nodded at the stack of photos.

"I want you listening to the interrogations. I'll try to do as much as I can in English, but if I switch to Arabic or Farsi, Stan will be with you to translate. Once we find out where these guys are from, I'll need you to work your magic and try to confirm what they're saying."

"No problem."

"All right. Let me know the second you find anything."

"Will do."

Rapp walked down the short hallway and poked his head in Stilwell's office. It reeked of cigarette smoke. The chief of base was working his contacts, trying to find out where the local police commander had run off to. Stilwell interrupted the person he was talking to and told him to hold on for a moment. He covered the phone and said, "What's up?"

"I need a video camera and some rubber gloves. Some drugs too."

Stilwell held up a finger and put the phone back to his mouth, "Faris, I'm going to have to call you back." Stilwell tried to hang up, but it was obvious the man had more to say. "Yes, there will be money. Lots of it." Stilwell looked at Rapp and asked, "How much?"

"For the police chief or Irene?"

"Irene."

Without flinching, Rapp said, "A million dollars cash and a U.S. citizenship...no questions asked."

Stilwell repeated the information.

"Tell him the offer's only good until midnight," Rapp added. "And it has to lead to us getting her back."

Stilwell listened and said, "Yeah, tax free, Faris. Sure...whatever you want. Just find out who took her and where she is...Yes, your wife and kids can come with you. If you help get her back, Faris, I will personally find you a house and help you move in. Now get going." Stilwell stuffed the phone back in the cradle before the person could ask any more questions.

"Who was that?" Rapp asked as he examined some clothes hanging on a hook.

"One of my sources. He's pretty good. He loves money and his wife wants to move to the states so he's highly motivated."

"Send him the photos of the three guys we have in lockup."

"Good idea." Stilwell looked up Faris's e-mail address, typed a quick note and attached the photos.

"What are these?" Rapp pointed to the clothes.

Stilwell glanced up and smiled. "Those are my clerical robes. No better way to pick up women."

"You can't be serious."

"Not about picking up women, but you'd be amazed the doors those things open."

"What'd you find out about the police chief?"

"F*cking rat bastard is nowhere to be found. I hope someone put a bullet in his head."

"I'd like to talk to him first."

"You know what I mean."

"Yeah...What kind of drugs do you have?"

Concern on his face, Stilwell asked, "Are you hurt?"

"No. I want to soften these guys up before I start in on them."

Stilwell opened his desk drawer and grabbed a set of keys. He stood and said, "Follow me."

The two men left the trailer and stepped out into the bright afternoon sun. They were cutting across the courtyard, dodging satellite dishes and antennas, when they ran into Ridley, who was talking on a mobile phone. Ridley held up his hand to stop the other two men and said to the person he was talking to, "Of course I'm going to pay you. Just send me the damn photos."

Ridley stuffed the phone into his pocket and said, "Mitch, I know the president gave you a blank check, but I want you to at least consider something."

Rapp stepped around him and kept walking.

Ridley fell in line and followed the two men. "I think it's great that the president gave you the green light, but we both know if this thing ends badly, all of us are going to get thrown to the wolves. The damage to the Agency could be catastrophic."

"Rob, if we don't get Irene back alive, I really don't give a shit who's thrown to the wolves."

"You don't care if this mess sets the CIA back another twenty years?"

As Stilwell punched a code into a cipher lock on the door to the storage trailer, Rapp said, "How are we going to suffer any more under these idiots than we already have?"

"By you mutilating prisoners. Do you have any idea how that will play with the average citizen? They're going to think we're a bunch of monsters."

"Right now I am a monster. Just like the guys who took Irene. That's how you fight this damn war. Not with politicians, reporters, and lawyers."

Stilwell opened a small refrigerator and started reading off labels. "Sodium pentothal, phenobarbital, lysergic acid diethylamide, heroin, speed...you name it, we've got it."

"Give the fake cop the sodium pentothal, and the other two the speed."

"Got it." Stilwell grabbed a bottle of each and a handful of syringes.

Ridley was still hovering. "Mitch, please, just don't do anything permanent. I mean, come on-you can't cut the guy's dick off. If that ever gets out, it's going to look so bad."

Stilwell was poking around the storage shelves. Without bothering to turn around, he said, "He's got a point, Mitch. I mean, you're just threatening to cut these guys, right? You're not actually going to do it, are you?" Stilwell found a box of latex gloves and handed a pair to Rapp.

Rapp took the gloves and thought about the question for a moment. He had absolutely no problem doing whatever it took to get these guys to talk, but he saw a possible middle ground that might work to heighten the anxiety of his prisoners. Looking at Stilwell he asked, "Did your Kurds get those dead bodies stripped and dumped in a cell?"

"Last I checked they were working on it."

"All right," Rapp said to Ridley. "For now, I won't cut their peckers off, but I'm not going to make any promises." Pointing to Stilwell, Rapp said, "Give each of them a healthy dose, and I'll be in there in five minutes."