Luke, we just got a piece of intel, she said. The body you and Don found in the hospital.

Tell me.

Thirty-one-year-old Ibrahim Abdulraman. Libyan national, born in Tripoli to a very poor family. Little if any formal education. Joined the army at eighteen. Within a short time, he was transferred to Abu Salim prison, where he worked for several years. He has been implicated in human rights violations at the prison, including torture and murder of government political opponents. In March 2011, as the regime began to collapse, he fled the country. He must have seen the writing on the wall. A year later, he turned up in London, working as a bodyguard for a young Saudi prince.

Lukes shoulders slumped. Hmmm. A Libyan torturer working for a Saudi prince? Who then ends up dead while stealing radioactive materials in New York? Who was this guy, really?

He had no history of extremist ties, and doesnt seem to have had strong political beliefs. He was never an elite soldier for any military, and appears not to have undergone any advanced training. It looks to me like he was an opportunist, hired muscle. He disappeared from London ten months ago.

Okay, give me that name again.

Ibrahim Abdulraman. And Luke? You need to know something else.

Tell me.

I didnt find out this information. Its on the big board in the main room. This guy Myerson at NYPD didnt give me the identifiers when he had them, and they did their own search. They released the information to everybody without even telling us. Theyre boxing us out.

Luke looked at Ed and rolled his eyes. The last thing he wanted was to get involved in an interagency pissing contest. All right, well…

Listen, Luke. Im a little worried about you. Youre running out of friends here, and I doubt an international incident is going to help. Why dont we pass the bank transfer details up the line, and let Homeland make this call? We can apologize for the hack, say we got overzealous. If you go see that diplomat now, youre putting yourself way out on a limb.

Trudy, Im already there.

Luke

Trudy, Im hanging up now.

Im trying to help you, she said.

After he hung up, he looked at Ed.

You ready?

Ed barely moved. He gestured at the building.

I was born to do this.

*

Can I help you gentlemen? the man said as they walked in.

A glittering chandelier hung from the ceiling in the front lobby. To the right, there was a sofa and a couple of designer chairs. There was a long counter along the left wall, with another doorman standing behind it. He had a telephone, a computer, and a bank of video screens. He also had a small TV set showing the news.