His old mentor Stan Hurley had purchased a top-floor unit shortly after completion and it had become one of many similar dwellings that he and Rapp shared around the world. Only the two of them knew these safe houses existed and now Hurley was gone. He’d undoubtedly appreciate the operational compartmentalization his demise had created. One of his favorite quotes had been from Ben Franklin: Three can keep a secret if two of them are dead.

Rapp pointed through the windshield at one of the anonymous buildings and Isa eased the massive SUV into the parking garage beneath it. There were a few people inside, but none paid any attention to the unusually opulent vehicle. People in this strata of Saudi society tended to mind their own business. The government wasn’t particularly bashful about how it treated foreign workers, and the local criminal gangs were even less so.

“So, this is it?” Isa said, pulling into an empty parking space. He sounded as resigned as he had when he’d been tied to the chair.

“Fourth floor,” Rapp said, stepping out and pointing to a metal door about twenty feet away. He stayed behind the Saudi as they crossed the garage and entered a dimly lit stairwell. Isa’s labored breathing echoed around them as they climbed and finally exited into a narrow hallway. The numbering system on the individual apartments wasn’t terribly straightforward, forcing Rapp to abandon his normally purposeful stride.

“Is something wrong?” Isa said quietly.

“Never been here.”

Rapp finally found the door he was looking for and used the key Hurley had given him so many years ago. The lock was predictably stiff, but finally surrendered with a sickly click and the loud creak of hinges. Once they were inside, Rapp closed the door and felt along the wall for a light switch. Miraculously, it worked. Hurley didn’t like utility bills, so he relied on electrical modifications that siphoned power from the neighbors. A little risky, but not excessively so. This was probably only the second time the lights had been on in the tiny flat, and it would definitely be the last.

“Nice,” Isa said, looking around at the space.

The main room had a minuscule kitchenette with a few drawers, a toaster oven, and an empty space where the refrigerator should have been. The indoor-outdoor carpeting would have been a bit gaudy if it hadn’t been covered in a thick layer of dust. Walls were bare concrete and there was no furniture. Rapp peeked through an open door into the only bedroom—about the size of a modest walk-in closet. The bathroom was similarly utilitarian and tight.