She paused for a moment, as if gathering her thoughts. She had barely spoken during the meeting. She was the youngest person in the room, and the only woman. Don had prodded her a bit, but still hadn’t gotten much from her. Big Daddy and Montgomery didn’t seem interested in her opinion.

“Well, yes and no,” she said. “Let’s suppose that camp existed during Saddam’s reign. It was well built, with an extensive tunnel system, air conditioning to protect the computer equipment, and lodging for the trainees. No one built all that on the fly since the war started.”

True enough. Luke nodded. “Seems fair.”

“Okay, then that suggests it was Saddam’s government that organized the camp, and that they were training spies, or maybe sleeper cells to carry out terrorist attacks or assassinations in Europe or the United States. It looks like they recruited young people—from the clothes, mostly young men. Maybe they chose them for their intelligence level, or their proficiency with language, or their athletic ability, or maybe even just their looks or their fashion sense. So they bring them to a camp well away from the rest of the society, in the far-flung, inhospitable desert. Why?”

Luke shrugged and smiled. “You tell me.”

“Cross training, for one. They can spend most of their time learning to look, speak, and act like Westerners or rich kids from upper-class Arab families. But they can also train with heavy weapons in the desert, far from any prying eyes. They can do survival and extreme climate training. The Western party kid is a cover story, anyway. When push comes to shove, they’re probably going to be called upon to kill people, and be killed, or continue to function while uncomfortable, or wounded and in terrible pain. What better place to be uncomfortable or in pain?”

Luke raised a finger. “Good. I like it. You said cross training for one. What else?”

She shrugged and smiled. “Easy. That camp is pretty far from civilization. Far enough away for the trainees to maintain their focus. But it’s a four-and-a-half-hour drive from here—close enough that the trainees can go home and see mom and dad during breaks.”

Luke returned the smile. “I can see what Don sees in you.”

A blush crept up Trudy’s face. She shook her head. Then she looked up and stared right at Luke.

“You want to see if there’s any place still open to get a drink around here?”

“Are you old enough to drink?” he said.

Now her blush deepened. “You bet I am, buster.”

For a split second, Luke entertained the idea. A drink with a beautiful young woman in a far-flung and dangerous place. In another life, he wouldn’t mind seeing where such a drink might lead. But it was after midnight here in Iraq, which meant it was mid-afternoon on the Eastern Shore of Maryland.