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Chapters (88)
  1. Titles by Mark Greaney
  2. Title Page
  3. Copyright
  4. Dedication
  5. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  6. CONTENTS
  7. Epigraph
  8. CHARACTERS
  9. PROLOGUE
  10. 1
  11. 2
  12. 3
  13. 4
  14. 5
  15. 6
  16. 7
  17. 8
  18. 9
  19. 10
  20. 11
  21. 12
  22. 13
  23. 14
  24. 15
  25. 16
  26. 17
  27. 18
  28. 19
  29. 20
  30. 21
  31. 22
  32. 23
  33. 24
  34. 25
  35. 26
  36. 27
  37. 28
  38. 29
  39. 30
  40. 31
  41. 32
  42. 33
  43. 34
  44. 35
  45. 36
  46. 37
  47. 38
  48. 39
  49. 40
  50. 41
  51. 42
  52. 43
  53. 44
  54. 45
  55. 46
  56. 47
  57. 48
  58. 49
  59. 50
  60. 51
  61. 52
  62. 53
  63. 54
  64. 55
  65. 56
  66. 57
  67. 58
  68. 59
  69. 60
  70. 61
  71. 62
  72. 63
  73. 64
  74. 65
  75. 66
  76. 67
  77. 68
  78. 69
  79. 70
  80. 71
  81. 72
  82. 73
  83. 74
  84. 75
  85. 76
  86. 77
  87. 78
  88. EPILOGUE

She nodded. “I hope the way I can resolve this crisis is by keeping those men outside from coming in here shooting. Maybe with me here, they will be afraid of the bad press it would cause if anything went wrong.”

Court shook his head. “They don’t care. Maybe you bought me ten minutes while they talk about how to account for you, but no more.”

“Look, Six, I know what you are planning on doing. I’ve been following all your actions for the last eight days. You are here to go out in a blaze of glory. You plan on punishing Carmichael for all he did to you, but you are also planning on punishing yourself for what you did to Hawthorn.”

Court did not reply.

“But I know the truth. I have a new source, deep in the CIA. She has filled in some important pieces in the puzzle. Things the Israelis didn’t know. What I told you the other day wasn’t the whole truth.”

With faint hope in his voice he said, “I didn’t kill Hawthorn?”

“You did kill him, I’m afraid. Neither you nor I can ever take that back.”

“Then nothing else really matters, does it?”

“Not true. You shot Hawthorn, the Israeli penetration agent, not because you made a mistake. You shot him because Denny Carmichael ordered you to.”

“What?”

Carmichael instantly shook his head. Al-Kazaz remained silent.

“Denny gave you the image of the man you rescued. Denny wasn’t trying to save Hawthorn. He didn’t even know about Hawthorn. He had no idea an Israeli asset was in that villa.

“He was trying to save the other man. And you did just what he asked you to do. You rescued the man you were ordered to.”

Carmichael protested, but Court just lifted his weapon off the table and pointed it at him till he shut up. Looking at Catherine he asked, “How do you know this?”

“Denny assassinated Jordan Mayes yesterday. He framed you for it, but someone in the car with Mayes at the time he was killed confirmed it was not you. Before he died, Mayes told this source of mine that Denny had revealed the truth of Operation BACK BLAST. It was an attempt to rescue the other Arab, because he was the spy for the United States. Carmichael didn’t know Hawthorn was an Israeli asset. He thought he was just an AQ hit man out to kill his agent.”

Court leaned back heavily in his chair, his MP7 lowered into his lap, though it remained pointed in the general direction of the two hostages.

“Who was Denny’s agent?”

Catherine King looked to Murquin al-Kazaz. “He’s sitting right here, Six.”

Court turned to the man slowly. Looked at his face. He tried to add a beard, and to take off six years. He wasn’t sure.