Javier looked at the launchers on the table and cursed himself for not putting them away. He looked back at Soh, staying silent.

“I find it strange that you have not mentioned that you had these weapons,” Soh continued.

“Have I not?” Javier asked, as though it could simply have been an oversight.

“No, you have not,” Soh said. He pulled his hand out of his pocket and Javier saw that he was holding a knife.

Javier stood up. He towered over the diminutive Malaysian. He took a step toward him, his fists clenched like sledgehammers. “You come here with a knife as though you can threaten me?” Javier said, the threat clear in his voice.

“I am not threatening you,” Soh said. “I came only to get information. What is it that you are planning? Are you going to sacrifice me and my men?”

“My plans for these weapons is not your concern,” Javier said.

“No?” Soh circled wide, holding his knife casually at his side. “I have also heard about the sale of military boats. The rumor is that those were sold as a package with missiles like these. I suppose that is also not my concern?”

“Idle gossip should never be a concern,” Javier said.

“I will not help you if you do not tell me what you are planning. All of it,” Soh said.

“Then our agreement is off,” Javier said. “And you will not have control over the shipments my people can arrange.”

“And your brother will die in an American prison.”

Javier knew it was true, and the thought enraged him. He screamed in anger and took two steps toward Soh, swinging his fist. His anger made him careless, though, and the smaller man easily ducked the blow. Javier felt the blade slide across his side. Soh moved away, out of range, and Javier put a hand to the wound. He blood ran warm over his fingers, but he could tell it was superficial.

“I do not want to kill you,” Soh said. “I want to help you. But I cannot do that if I do not know what the full plan is.”

Javier weighed his options. There seemed to be few. “How do I know that I can trust you?” he asked.

“How do you know you cannot?”

Javier thought about this for a moment. “You saw the men who were here before you came in?” he asked.

“I did.”

“They have the devil in them. As I do. As my brother does. As do many of us who fought and bled together in my country. They cannot be killed. And if you betray me, they will come for you. Do you understand?”

Soh nodded.

“A frontal attack will not work. There is no way for my brother to escape—nowhere for him to go.” He nodded toward the missiles. “But if the attack is violent enough, it may provide enough of a distraction. Then there might be another way.”

“Tell me.”