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Back Enemy at the Gates Save as PDF
Chapters (57)
  1. Cover
  2. Title Page
  3. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  4. PROLOGUE
  5. 1
  6. 2
  7. 3
  8. 4
  9. 5
  10. 6
  11. 7
  12. 8
  13. 9
  14. 10
  15. 11
  16. 12
  17. 13
  18. 14
  19. 15
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  21. 17
  22. 18
  23. 19
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  27. 23
  28. 24
  29. 25
  30. 26
  31. 27
  32. 28
  33. 29
  34. 30
  35. 31
  36. 32
  37. 33
  38. 34
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  40. 36
  41. 37
  42. 38
  43. 39
  44. 40
  45. 41
  46. 42
  47. 43
  48. 44
  49. 45
  50. 46
  51. 47
  52. 48
  53. 49
  54. EPILOGUE
  55. More from the Authors
  56. ABOUT THE AUTHORS
  57. Novels by Vince Flynn

“Maybe we can spin this in your favor. The Saudis have a lot of money and are about as morally flexible as anyone on the planet. If there’s anything the Cooks love, it’s someone powerful they can control. If we can prove the Saudis went after an American citizen who also happens to be the richest man in history, then they’d have something to hold over the royalty. It might be a shiny enough gift to make them overlook the rest.”

“But the Cooks wouldn’t use that to push back against the Saudis,” Kennedy said. “They’d just want to blackmail them in an effort to further consolidate their power.”

“You really can’t stand them, can you, Irene?”

“My feelings about them are irrelevant.”

“Okay. Maybe I’m getting ahead of myself. What I think we can both agree on is that it’d be helpful to find out what Mitch knows. Until then we have no idea where we stand, let alone where we’re going.”

“Agreed.”

“If you’re worried about comms, then why don’t I get on a plane and go see Claudia. No phones, no email, and it’s thousands of miles away from Langley. We can have a quiet conversation and I’ll see if I can get a face-to-face with Mitch.”

She considered the idea for a few seconds before nodding. “When can you leave?”

45

SOUTHWESTERN UGANDA

RAPP unlocked the communications shed door and went inside. He sat on a five-gallon bucket, turned on the computer, and used his fingerprint to gain access. The laptop screen offered to connect him to a satellite, but he hesitated. Claudia had pinged him last night to set up a chat, but the only truly secure comm was one you didn’t use. The problem was that she knew that better than anyone. She wouldn’t have contacted him if it wasn’t important.

With ten seconds to go, he logged into the encrypted chat room that she’d given him the link for.

SORRY I MISSED YOU LAST NIGHT.

He waited for a response, feeling increasingly nervous. Could the signal be traced to this dish? Could a name and location be attached to it? One way or another, they’d soon have to move off that mountaintop. This was dragging out a lot longer than he’d expected.

NO PROBLEM.

Claudia’s response made him feel a little better. It was code for “everything’s all right.” If she’d responded with “it’s okay,” that would mean someone was looking over her shoulder.

He wanted off this connection as soon as possible, but for some reason couldn’t help typing IS THE KID FEELING BETTER?

Claudia, however, was having none of it. YOUR MARINE FRIEND IS COMING FOR A VISIT. WANTS TO TALK ABOUT THE PROBLEMS YOU HAD ON YOUR RECENT TRIP.