Contents ( 84)
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- TWENTY-THREE
- TWENTY-FOUR
- TWENTY-FIVE
- TWENTY-SIX
- TWENTY-SEVEN
- TWENTY-EIGHT
- TWENTY-NINE
- THIRTY
- THIRTY-ONE
- THIRTY-TWO
- THIRTY-THREE
- THIRTY-FOUR
- THIRTY-FIVE
- THIRTY-SIX
- THIRTY-SEVEN
- THIRTY-EIGHT
- THIRTY-NINE
- FORTY
- FORTY-ONE
- FORTY-TWO
- FORTY-THREE
- FORTY-FOUR
- FORTY-FIVE
- FORTY-SIX
- FORTY-SEVEN
- FORTY-EIGHT
- FORTY-NINE
- FIFTY
- FIFTY-ONE
- FIFTY-TWO
- FIFTY-THREE
- FIFTY-FOUR
- FIFTY-FIVE
- FIFTY-SIX
- FIFTY-SEVEN
- FIFTY-EIGHT
- FIFTY-NINE
- SIXTY
- SIXTY-ONE
- SIXTY-TWO
- SIXTY-THREE
- SIXTY-FOUR
- SIXTY-FIVE
- SIXTY-SIX
- SIXTY-SEVEN
- SIXTY-EIGHT
- SIXTY-NINE
- SEVENTY
- SEVENTY-ONE
- SEVENTY-TWO
- SEVENTY-THREE
- SEVENTY-FOUR
- SEVENTY-FIVE
- SEVENTY-SIX
- SEVENTY-SEVEN
- SEVENTY-EIGHT
- SEVENTY-NINE
- EIGHTY
- EIGHTY-ONE
- EIGHTY-TWO
- EIGHTY-THREE
- Acknowledgements
‘You too,’ Dempsey replied. He turned back to Henson. She had taken the lead from the start and was clearly Walker’s superior. ‘Is everything arranged?’
‘It is. Though Jangi Shah Karzai still won’t be here for a few hours yet. He was . . . difficult to control.’
‘What does that mean?’
‘It means that once we told him of Thomas Quilty’s death, he said he needed to deal with a few things. And he refused to come with us until he had done so. But he assured our team that he’ll be here to meet with you as soon as he can.’
‘And what exactly are the “things” he was dealing with?’
‘He wouldn’t tell us any more than that. But I get the impression he’ll have something useful for you once he arrives.’
Dempsey was less than impressed. He had expected Shah to be here, ready to move without delay. From the moment he and Grace had entered the compound, there was no way to keep their presence a secret. UN employees or not, the odds were on someone here being loyal to whoever was pulling Jack Meyer’s strings. Dempsey had to assume that. And so time was now of the essence.
But still, he could do nothing without Jangi Shah.
He turned to what he could control.
‘Do we have the transport set up? To take us into Goshta once we’re ready to move?’
‘We have an MH-X Stealth Black Hawk, fully fuelled and waiting to deploy. Just like you asked.’
‘And weapons?’
‘Anything you need, sir,’ Walker replied, which suggested that the armoury was his department. ‘We’re fully stocked and waiting.’
‘You’re the quartermaster?’
‘Sir.’
‘OK. Agent Grace and I will come over and take a look shortly.’
Dempsey turned back to Henson.
‘And the medical team I asked for? To check out my shoulder?’
‘Primed to go. And as requested, it’s a tight team. Full clearance only. No one else will know you’ve seen them.’
‘Good. We need to keep the procedure locked down. Because I need them to do something a little extra for me while they’re there.’
‘Sir?’
‘I’ll tell them what it is when they’re ready. It won’t cause a problem.’
‘Sir.’
Dempsey turned to Grace.
‘Eden, I’m going to the medics alone. If Jangi Shah is still hours away, that gives you a chance for a few more hours’ rest. I suggest you take it.’
‘You sure you don’t want me with you?’
‘No, I’m fine. It won’t take them long to patch me up properly. After that I’ll be getting some sleep too. It might be a while until we get another chance.’
‘And once Jangi Shah is here? You’ll come for me, right?’
‘There’s no way I’ll do this without you, Agent Grace. I promise.’
‘You’re sure?’
‘I’m sure. Now go get some shut eye while I let these guys sew me up.’
SIXTY-NINE
Knowles tried to focus on what he was being told. With everything else that had been happening, environmental policy wasn’t his priority.