“I have access to a squad of blokes from the Special Air Service. If your lads and mine were all willing to go back out, I’d say we go and see our tribal elder Muhammad al-Barak at his family compound outside Tikrit. He brought that camp to our attention, which to me means he knows more than he’s been willing to say. My feeling is he will be willing to cooperate, if it means he might save Elizabeth. Naturally, he would expect something in return.”

“Naturally,” Luke said.

Monty went on:

“We need to make a show of arresting him and his people, and then disappear them, so to speak. We get a name from him, someone who knows more, and who we can apply some pressure upon. Then we move up the line and acquire that person. We bring that person back here, not here to the Embassy, mind you, but somewhere nearby, and we have a little chat to them. A rather expedient chat, I imagine. There won’t be much time for talking around in circles, if you see my point. We get a name, or a place, from that person. We keep doing that until we develop a real lead. It’s a bit tedious, but I don’t see any other options.”

“And the elder?” Don said. “Al-Barak? What happens to him?”

“He’s gone,” Montgomery said. “For their own protection, we take him and his entire group and fast track their immigration to Britain or America. Overnight them, if you see my meaning.”

“I do see it,” Don said. “Luke?”

Luke stared at the octopus. He thought of Becca at home. Nine months pregnant. He had already told her he was leaving today.

“Don, Becca is going to give birth any minute.”

“I know that.”

“I need to get out of here. Can we go see the elder today?”

“My men can go as soon as you’re ready,” Montgomery said. “They’ve been awake since four a.m.”

“If we do it, can you put me on a plane today?” Luke said. “Pretend I’m a journalist, give me a hardship pass, anything?”

There was a pause over the line.

“Don?”

“Yes. Go bring in the elder, and I will bring you home.”

There was quiet for another moment.

“Ed?” Don said. “How do you feel about this mission?”

Ed shrugged. “I got a date with the man in that video. Other than that, I got nowhere to be.”

A squeal of static came over Don’s line. “Bill, do you have anything more to say about this?”

Bill nodded. “Yes. I would caution everyone in this room that given the current circumstances, and the danger to the people involved, the mission we’ve discussed here does not exist, and it will never exist.”

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

May 8

12:20 a.m. Eastern Daylight Time (7:20 a.m. Arabian Standard Time)

The Oval Office

The White House

Washington, DC