Chapters (109)
- Part One
- ONE
- One day earlier
- TWO
- THREE
- FOUR
- FIVE
- SIX
- SEVEN
- EIGHT
- NINE
- TEN
- ELEVEN
- TWELVE
- THIRTEEN
- FOURTEEN
- FIFTEEN
- SIXTEEN
- SEVENTEEN
- EIGHTEEN
- NINETEEN
- TWENTY
- TWENTY-ONE
- TWENTY-TWO
- PART 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
- EIGHTY-FOUR
- EIGHTY-FIVE
- EIGHTY-SIX
- EIGHTY-SEVEN
- EIGHTY-EIGHT
- EIGHTY-NINE
- NINETY
- NINETY-ONE
- NINETY-TWO
- NINETY-THREE
- NINETY-FOUR
- NINETY-FIVE
- NINETY-SIX
- NINETY-SEVEN
- NINETY-EIGHT
- NINETY-NINE
- GLOSSARY
- Acknowledgments
- Continue reading
- Part One
- ONE
- TWO
- THREE
The assassin had climbed the tree before dawn. He wore a cap that he would pull down low over his face as soon as the mission was completed. The intelligence was that, by arrangement with the organizers of the conference, Sana would use the rear, secret entrance of the pavilion, bypassing all the reporters who fully anticipated his arrival at the front, where everyone else was.
The wait was long, and the assassin’s quadriceps were aching from locking himself firmly into the tree’s anatomy. He had a secure Y-shaped junction of two branches on which to rest the rifle, but when he fired, there must not be a millimeter’s accidental shift in his stance. This was a far less certain target than Evans-Aidoo had been.
The assassin came to attention as the black Escalade Sana often used appeared on the access road to the Africa Pavilion and sped toward the rear entrance. The vehicle’s windows were blacked out with the deepest tint possible. It came to a sharp halt in the no-parking zone in front of the entrance. The assassin readied himself. Sana would spend very little time moving between the SUV and the pavilion. One of his bodyguards hopped out, looked around, and then opened the rear door of the vehicle. For a moment, nothing happened, but then Sana, wearing a black Fedora with a curtain of dark beads hanging from the brim, stepped out and walked toward the building with a bodyguard following him. The assassin was a little surprised there weren’t two. He had Sana’s left temple isolated in the scope’s field.
It was Sana’s decoy who had alighted first from the SUV. The real Sana stayed inside the vehicle with the second of his two bodyguards. The driver kept the engine running.
A couple of seconds later, there was a sharp crack and the decoy collapsed instantly.
“Drive! Go!” the bodyguard shouted, pulling Sana down to the seat to shield him. The driver gunned the Escalade, which took off with a roar, tires squealing. The bodyguard waited until they’d completely cleared the fair site before letting Sana up. “Are you okay, my boss?”
“I’m fine, fine,” Sana said shakily.
He had survived yet another attempt on his life. It wouldn’t be the first time. Nor the last.
SEVENTY-SIX
SEVENTY-SIX
July 6
News of Sana’s escape from death was all over the media within half an hour. The UNESCO Conference was immediately adjourned until the following day. In Sowah’s office, no one was getting any work done. Emma and her colleagues were glued to their phones and the lounge TV. Radio discussions were exploding with theories about who might have been responsible for the assassination attempt. Sana’s decoy had been struck not in the head as had probably been intended, but in the back. Fortunately, he had been wearing a bulletproof vest and would survive just fine.