Juba accelerated through his block, took the right on two wheels, and pulled up at the corner, waiting for the SUV to pass him and for the chase to begin again. But it didn’t come, and he got out, ran to the corner, and saw the SUV parked in the road half a block down. A sudden shear of light signified the opening of the stash house door as the driver was admitted.

“Okay, that’s it,” he said as he got back. “Now we check it out.”

Slowly, they drove by the house. It was dilapidated, like all the others, but three lights burned in various windows. Otherwise, it was quiet.

They pulled around the corner, parked, and, catty-cornered, observed, sheltering in the lee of an abandoned place across the street.

In time, the dealer came out. He had a large paper bag with him.

“Okay, he’s loaded up, headed back with your eight dime bags,” said Juba. “We’ll give it a few minutes and then we’ll hit them.”

“Hit them? With what?” said the boy.

19

Interrogation room A, task force MARJORIE DAW headquarters

The interrogation of the Imam Imir el-Tariq didn’t take place until nearly 5 a.m., after various administrative tasks had been completed. The imam’s lawyer had to arrive and meet with his client, the relevant federal attorney had to be roused from bed and brought on scene, the FBI evidence retrieval had to work the room found in the basement in which a single man had lived for a week, Mrs. McDowell had to be medically attended to, cleared, debriefed, and her testimony integrated into the strategy Nick would take, the evidence collated and mastered—all of these activities backed by paperwork and cyberwork.

Finally, Nick, SAIC Houston of the Detroit Field Office, and the sleepy federal prosecutor, who was instructed to keep his mouth shut since he knew nothing, sat across from the imam and his lawyer, a well-known firebrand named Kasim. Swagger, Gold, and Chandler observed via closed-circuit TV.

Nick began by speaking into the recording device, identifying each participant and his allegiances, the date, the circumstances. Then he began in earnest.

“Imam el-Tariq, as your lawyer has undoubtedly told you, the government will indict you on the following counts: detaining a federal agent against her will, use of force against a federal agent, conspiracy to assault a federal agent, and, if necessary, kidnapping a federal agent or conspiracy to kidnap a federal agent. This could amount to a federal prison sentence of more than fifteen years. And please note that we do not anticipate filing state charges, so that the cases will not be tried in the somewhat dubious Dearborn judicial system. Hard time is a distinct possibility.”

Kasim was fast on the reply.