BooksBarbecue
Back The Asset Save as PDF
Chapters (86)
  1. Foreword
  2. 1
  3. 2
  4. 3
  5. 4
  6. 5
  7. 6
  8. 7
  9. 8
  10. 9
  11. 10
  12. 11
  13. 12
  14. 13
  15. 14
  16. 15
  17. 16
  18. 17
  19. 18
  20. 19
  21. 20
  22. 21
  23. 22
  24. 23
  25. 24
  26. 25
  27. 26
  28. 27
  29. 28
  30. 29
  31. 30
  32. 31
  33. 32
  34. 33
  35. 34
  36. 35
  37. 36
  38. 37
  39. 38
  40. 39
  41. 40
  42. 41
  43. 42
  44. 43
  45. 44
  46. 45
  47. 46
  48. 47
  49. 48
  50. 49
  51. 50
  52. 51
  53. 52
  54. 53
  55. 54
  56. 55
  57. 56
  58. 57
  59. 58
  60. 59
  61. 60
  62. 61
  63. 62
  64. 63
  65. 64
  66. 65
  67. 66
  68. 67
  69. 68
  70. 69
  71. 70
  72. 71
  73. 72
  74. 73
  75. 74
  76. 75
  77. 76
  78. 77
  79. 78
  80. 79
  81. 80
  82. 81
  83. 82
  84. 83
  85. 84
  86. Afterword

Tatyana shook her head. “Sofia, if you didn’t accept this post, someone else would have.”

“I know,” Sofia said quietly.

“It had to be you. If it was anyone else, this never would have gotten out.”

“I know,” Sofia said again.

The two women looked at each other. Then Sofia placed one of the vials in a secure titanium case, snapped the clasps, and handed it to Tatyana.

“This isn’t an anthrax bacillus,” she said. “This is something else.”

“Something else?”

“Something the president requested personally.”

“What did he request?”

“Something that would spread from person to person. Something that would never stop.”

“A virus?” Tatyana said.

“A virus more deadly than anything we’ve ever seen.”

6

The US consulate in Istanbul was a fortress on a hill. Attacks in 2008 and 2015 led to the implementation of some of the most stringent security measures of any diplomatic building on earth. The compound’s outer perimeter extended seamlessly from the rocky cliffs overlooking the Bosphorus in a sheer wall of stone a hundred feet high. Multispectral cameras and motion sensors scanned the approaching slopes for intruders. Four companies of marines were stationed inside the compound and round-the-clock satellite surveillance was fed to the control room in the basement.

There was absolutely no way of getting in undetected.

The closest anyone could hope to get was the massive security post on Kaplicalar Street, a structure that looked more like the fortified entrance of a medieval castle than anything built in modern times. The main gate was guarded by a fifty-foot high tower, beyond which was a steep, rocky slope leading to the main consulate building.

The entire compound looked like it had been designed to withstand a military assault.

And it had.

Directly across the street from the entrance was the Café Americano, an upscale establishment serving cappuccinos and lattes that tasted more like traditional Turkish coffee than the prices suggested. Not that it stopped the consulate employees from frequenting the place. A brief glance around their offices revealed dozens of the café’s distinctive white and yellow take-out cups.

On a drizzly afternoon in December, a taxicab pulled up in front of the café and Tatyana stepped out in a pair of over-sized sunglasses. She wore an Audrey Hepburn-style silk scarf in her hair and a knee-length black coat.

She entered the café and ordered an espresso in English. She spoke with a slight accent. She waited at the counter, paid in cash, and took a seat by the window. She searched her purse for her phone before remembering she hadn’t brought it.

She tapped her spoon against her cup and kept looking at her watch. She had a manila envelope in front of her that she flipped incessantly on the table. She read and reread the name on the front.

Lance Spector

US Army SFOD-D

Syria

Hand Deliver