“Why would I? What could I possibly do with him? ‘Supreme Leader, here is a Mossad agent who was in Doha to meet with the Saudis. Should we try him as a spy?’ He would throw me out of his office. And General Qaani! I can’t imagine what he would do. He would probably demote me to Iraq to train all the illiterate, donkey-riding militias. No, I don’t want him. I say we give the doctor one more shot at him, then we dump him in the ocean.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do.” Saad put his tumbler against his forehead, and the ice tinkled inside. “Ali is giving me such a headache. I just want him gone for good.”

The general leaned toward him and pointed with the hand that held his own glass. “I will tell you this. If he gives us any more trouble, I will personally put an end to him. Maybe I’ll make a friend of the Saudi crown prince in the process.”

The men laughed.

“Please, just promise me that if you feel you need to end him, do not do it on my boat. I don’t want to have to—”

The room went dark.

“What is going on?” asked the general.

“Give it just a moment for the backup generators to come on,” Saad said as his eyes adapted to the glow of the night sky coming in through the windows.

But nothing happened. And it was eerily silent. Normally, by now some motor would be humming or air would be blowing. But there was absolutely nothing.

“How long does this usually take?” the general asked.

“Not this long.” Pulling his phone out of his pocket, Saad turned on its flashlight. As he did, he noticed at the top of the screen it said No Service.

He rose and walked to the bar. “Check your phone to see if you have service.”

“I don’t. That’s strange. I haven’t had any trouble before.”

In a cabinet to the right of the bar, Saad pulled out two battery-powered lanterns. He pulled them open, and light flooded the room. As he passed one to Mousavi, a realization hit him. Power, backup generator, and cell service all out at once. One is unfortunate, two is bad luck, but three is…

“The Israelis.”

Chapter 61

CHAPTER 61

22:28 / 10:28 P.M. IST

Nir awoke with the opening of the door. Panic filled him, and his breathing accelerated. He pulled himself back protectively against the wall. But maybe his Filipino friend had returned.

A shadow crossed the floor, then knelt next to him. The glow from outside the door went out, plunging the room in total darkness.

“Nir, it’s time to go.”

It was Dima’s voice. Tears of relief flooded Nir’s eyes.

“Coms are down. Secondary protocols.”

Nir was momentarily confused until he heard another voice say, “Root.”

“Come on, achi, we’ve got to get you on your feet.”