“Who the hell do you think you are?” Lakewood bit out. “You must have been reading your own press clippings, Korgan. You call me and tell me that you’re taking down Masenak and Reardon and I’m just supposed to sit quietly on the sidelines until you give me permission to make a move? The CIA does not ask permission. Why did you ever believe I’d let you run a show like this? Give me the location where I can grab Masenak and I’ll snatch him so fast his head will spin.”

“You’re not mentioning Reardon,” Korgan pointed out. “I want both of them, Lakewood. I was afraid you’d back off dealing with Reardon if you had Masenak in your sights.”

“Because Reardon will be a political nightmare to prosecute if we gather him up with Masenak. He’s a respected businessman as far as anyone knows. He has contacts all over Africa. And he’s smart enough not to leave any evidence. We pick him up and he’ll walk anyway.”

“Then the answer is for you not to pick him up. I understand that your organization is under intense scrutiny these days and it might be awkward. I’ll do it for you, and I guarantee you’ll have a confession from him that will please everyone. I even promise that there won’t be any sign of abuse.” He paused. “The only thing I won’t guarantee is that I’ll turn him over to you afterward. I won’t have you sticking him in a cell and letting him lawyer up so that he might end up getting a medal instead of a death sentence.”

“I might consider it, after I get Masenak. Now tell me where I can find him. You wouldn’t have called me if you hadn’t thought you might need us. You pulled off the rescue of those students, but you’re not as golden as you think you are. No one cares about Reardon. Masenak is the monster knocking on the front door. Murderer, terrorist, kidnapper. He’s the one everyone wants dead.”

He was definitely the one Lakewood wanted dead, Korgan thought, and he was proving intractable. “I care about Reardon,” he said quietly. “And I told you about my friend Karim Raschid, who would have cared very much. Besides, the job of freeing those students isn’t finished yet. He still has Sasha Nalano captive in that castle. She’s the ward of one of your operatives, and that should count for something.”

“Of course it does. But I shouldn’t let Company business influence my decisions. That’s why I’ll assign one my most effective operatives to head the assault. I’ve used Walt Edwards many times before. He has a sterling record, and he’ll wrap up the operation in no time.”