by Cherry Laska
“Bismillah,” he said as he washed his hands and wrists three times.
He rinsed his mouth with water three times using his right hand. Reza continued by drawing water into his nose with his right hand and blowing it out with his left hand. He repeated this three times. He then washed his face from the hairline to his chin three times. He washed his hands, forearms, and elbows each three times. He washed his head with a wet cloth three times. He washed his ears with a wet cloth three times. He washed his right foot starting with the ankle three times and repeated the process with his left foot.
“I testify that no one is God but Allah, alone, without a partner, and I testify that Muhammad is His slave and messenger. O Allah, make me among the frequent repenters and make me among the purified. Praise and thanks be to You, O Allah. I testify that no one is God but You. I ask You for forgiveness and I repent to You,” Reza said in supplication.
He positioned his rug facing Makkah, honoring Qiblah, and began his ritual. Reza raised his hands to his ears and said, “Allahu akbar.”
He stood with his left wrist in his right hand and recited the Fatihah, the first chapter of the Koran. When he finished, Reza bent at the waist and put his palms on his knees. He stayed in this position until he finished saying subhanallah.
He put his hands to his ears and stood, saying, “Allah hears who praises Him. Allahu liman hamidah. Allah hears who praises Him. Rabbana lakal-hamd.”
Being morning prayer, Reza said, “O Allah, guide me among those whom You guided, relieve me from sickness among those whom You relieved, support me among those whom You supported, bless for me what You gave me. Protect me against the evil of what You created, for You are the One Who orders and not the One Who is ordered. Whomever You support is not weakened and ignored, and whomever You oppose is not dignified. O our Lord, may Your givings increase.You are the Supreme One Whose status is high and great and You are clear of any imperfection. Praise is due for what You ordained. I ask You for forgiveness and I repent to You. May Allah raise the rank of Muhammad and his Al and Companions. May Allah protect the Prophet’s Nation from what he feared for it.”
Reza went down to the floor for Ru ku and prostrated by pressing his bare forehead and his palms, knees, and pads of his toes on the floor, keeping both feet vertical with the heels up. He stayed still in this position for the time it takes to say subhanallah once more. Next came the sitting. His left foot was under his buttocks. His hands on his thighs with his fingers extended toward Qiblah.
Reza said just loud enough to hear himself, “O my Lord, forgive me, have mercy on me, fulfill my needs, raise me, provide for me, guide me, and protect me from sickness.”
He stood. “Allahu akbar.”
He repeated the whole standing-bowing-sitting ritual. Upon standing for the last time, he said, “Rabbana atina fid-dunya hasanah, wa fil- ‘akhirati hasanah, wa qina adhaban-nar.” (O, our Lord, grant us in this life and in the Hereafter good things, and protect us from the torture of the Hellfire.)
Ending the prayer, Reza said, “Assalamu alaykum.”
Feeling at peace, he calmly set his alarm to wake him in three hours. That is all he would allow himself to sleep at this time. He walked to the bed, removed the comforter, and fell sleep as soon as he lay down.
65
MIAMI, FLORIDA
JESSICA WOKE UP FEELING HAPPY and rested. She rolled over and saw Joe propped up on his pillows reading something on his iPad. She smiled and stretched. “Good morning.”He put down his iPad and faced her. She sat up and ran her fingers through her hair. “You must think I’m ridiculous.”
He put his arm around her and pulled her to him. “Not at all. I’m glad you asked me to stay. I slept great.”
“Want me to order some breakfast or coffee at least?”
“I’d love that, but I’ve got to get going. I told the team I’d meet them at the airfield. We’re flying back to D.C. to get to work. What time are you going flying with Adam?”
“Ten.”
“Tell him thanks for the assist. If he or Sam ever needs a favor, they can call me.”
“Thanks. I’ll let them know.” Joe started to get up. Jessica moved to follow him. He stopped her. “It’s only seven thirty. Why don’t you stay in bed a little while longer?”
“Sounds like a good idea to me,” she slid back down and smiled up at him. “Sorry you have to go.”
“Oh me too.” He pulled the covers tight around her and kissed her softly. It made her heart leap.
66
SARASOTA, FLORIDA
JESSICA WAS PSYCHED WHEN ADAM asked her if she wanted to fly with him on a helicopter charter flight. He’d picked up a corporate side job, and one of the execs needed to be flown to Sarasota. Apparently, the company never minded if Adam brought a friend along. Once they dropped the passenger off, she could get some refresher stick time on the way back.
The Bell 206 Jet Ranger was a nice little twin turbo that Jessica had flown many times before, although it had been a long time ago. On the flight to Sarasota, she rode in the left seat of the cockpit, not touching the controls, observing Adam and practicing the maneuvers in her head. Helicopter controls are extremely sensitive. Continuous minuscule movements and counter movements were the key to making them fly smooth and steady.
By the time they dropped off their passenger, Jessica was eager to take the controls. Adam let her lift the eighteen hundred pound chopper off the ground into a hover and taxi to the designated helipad area. They were swaying and dipping slightly. Definitely not her best work, but her skills quickly improved. By the time Sarasota Tower cleared them for departure, she had them rock steady.
“Just like riding a bike,” Adam smiled at her. “Good job.”
The weather was perfect. Jessica wanted to practice the basics: hovering and flying close to the treetops as well as other maneuvers, so Adam had filed a Visual Flight Rules (VFR) flight plan that allowed them to go wherever they wanted and not have to follow the highways in the sky required by Instrument Flight Rules (IFR). When they got over the swamp area, things got really fun.
She keyed her mic. “This is great. For last night and today, I owe you.”
Adam paused, then looked at her seriously. “Okay then. I’m collecting. Tell me the truth about your military assignment and the truth about what you’re doing now.”
She looked at him apologetically and bit her lip.
“Listen, something just doesn’t add up. You were the distinguished grad, número uno. You were wearing the only set of sterling silver wings coming out of flight school. Then the Army sent you to tons of hard-core schools only to stick you flying the brass around. I never bought it. Now out of the blue, you’re with an unnamed government agency chasing a very bad guy with a chemical weapon. This is just me you’re talking to. No one will know.”
Jessica wasn’t sure what to say. She couldn’t tell him the whole truth. She trusted Adam completely, but she still couldn’t betray her oath and everyone who’d been sworn to secrecy.
“I did fly VIPs, and yes, there was a bit more to my assignment, but I didn’t do all that you’re implying I did. I was tasked to help out on some Special Forces missions. Really it wasn’t very exciting.”
Jessica felt bad about not coming clean, but she couldn’t. Adam knew she was not telling him the whole truth. He could tell she was at least trying to give him something. He decided not to push her any further on the past.
“Uh-huh and your status now? What about that?”
“I haven’t formally worked since I got married. You know I’ve kept busy with charity work and fundraisers, volunteering for the kid’s school and, on a bigger scale, their sports organizations, which got pretty involved running major events and running tournaments. Plus Anderson had me hosting events for WGI over the years. But things are changing. The kids are older.
“I just recently started working with Joe. Our paths crossed when I was on active duty, and we became friends. I hadn’t talk to him in almo
st twenty years. He asked me to help out with this case, but my scope is limited. I don’t know everything, nor do I know what my future involvement will be after this case. He is really grateful for your help last night and said to give you his info. You can call him if you ever need a favor.”
She focused on delivering that message without making it seem like she had any other classified information. She knew that Adam was aware that was exactly what she had done and why. She felt his eyes scrutinizing her and fought the urge to look at him.
“Okay, Jessica, or should I call you Smoke? I know you’re completely full of shit, but I understand why you can’t tell me. I’ve had a top-secret clearance for a long time. I’ll just have to draw my own conclusions. Maybe when we’re old and gray, we can sit on a beach somewhere drinking Crown and beers, and swapping war stories. I’ve got some good ones too, you know.”
“I’m sure you do.” Jessica smiled at Adam. He was a loyal, true friend and all around great guy. “Deal.”
Even though she couldn’t share the details about her career, she could tell him about her personal life. She let out a chuckle. What is it about being in a cockpit that makes me spill my guts?
67
ORLANDO, FLORIDA
“MOM, YOU LOOK TERRIBLE.” BRIDGETTE and Trevor were standing in the doorway to her bedroom. When she wasn’t in the kitchen drinking coffee and seeing them off to school, they had come to find her.
“Bridgette.That’s so mean,”Trevor said, defending his mother. As the oldest and true to his personality, he took on so much. He even half-jokingly referred to himself as the second-string dad.
Jessica summoned the energy to prop herself up and said, “It’s okay, honey. I do feel pretty rotten, and I guess I look like I feel.” She frowned. “I’ll be all right though. I’m going to go to the doctor. Hey, you guys better get going or you’ll be late.”
“Okay. See you after morning exams,” he said.
Jessica’s head fell back into her pillow. She had to wait until eight to call for an appointment. She knew she had something that required an antibiotic. It had come on fast and had completely wiped her out. She was burning up, ached all over, and felt like she had a knife in her throat.
68
TEHRAN, IRAN
GENERAL PAHLAVI KNEW HE WAS in trouble, and it was only a matter of time before the Ayatollah summoned him. The only question was how bad the punishment would be. Pahlavi searched for any possible way out of the mess he was in. If Pahlavi could offer up someone who had been stealing or disloyal, maybe he could escape his fate. His despair grew knowing it was not enough. There’d been too much embarrassment with all the green bandana-wearing protesters to escape the Ayatollah’s wrath. Pahlavi momentarily thought of fleeing but dismissed the idea. He could never disgrace his family that way. He would stay. He would serve Iran and the Supreme Leader to the best of his ability and face whatever was coming to him.
69
ORLANDO, FLORIDA
THE SOUND OF THE DOOR chimes pulled Jessica from a deep sleep. She heard the front door open and muffled voices. A few minutes later Chase knocked on her door and came into her room with a paper bag.
“The food you ordered is here.” She was confused. She didn’t remember ordering any food, but much of the past several hours had been a feverish haze. Chase cautiously handed her the bag.
“Thanks.”
“Sure, Mom, but no hugs. I can’t afford to get sick right now.” Before shutting her door, he said, “Feel better.”
Jessica was starting to feel a little bit better after sleeping most of the day and with the first round of antibiotics kicking in. She opened the bag and was excited to see it contained her favorite soup. It was going to feel good on her sore throat. Her self-diagnosis earlier had been correct. She had a nasty case of strep throat.
A few minutes later Trevor came to her door, but didn’t come in. She was contagious, and he was being smart to keep his distance, but she wanted to be taken care of and found herself wanting her own mom. “Chase said you were awake. Just letting you know, we’ve got things covered. By that I mean we called Nadia. She’s here doing some laundry and cooking some chicken breasts and baked potatoes. She said to tell you to feel better, but she isn’t coming anywhere near you. Hey, do you think you’ll be better by Wednesday?”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be fine. Nothing would keep me from going.”
“Good. Get some rest.” He shut the door and Jessica ate a little bit of the soup. She was getting sleepy again. She dosed up with all her prescribed meds, did the unstoppable roll to her side, and was out.
70
SOMEWHERE IN LOUISIANA
OFFICER TATE GUIDRY WAS NOT in a good mood. He knew he shouldn’t bring his personal problems on the job, but this was about his Tilly, the girl he’d been with since the eighth grade. Four months ago, he’d popped the question.She’d said yes and within the week had moved in to his place. Everything had been great until last Sunday night when he got back from the hunting trip. He could tell something was wrong, and ever since then she’d been acting funny.
Tate had finally come right out and questioned her about it this morning. She’d gotten real defensive. Their conversation escalated into a screaming match and ended with him accusing her of cheating while she bawled her eyes out in the bathroom. He’d banged on the door, pleading for her to come out. She hadn’t, and he’d yelled again.
Tilly still refused to come out, and Tate had been late to roll call because of the whole damn thing. He had subsequently received a good ass chewing from his sergeant.
The storm had eased up, but it was still raining and the patrol car he was assigned had squeaky wipers. Tate gripped his steering wheel. His temper was building. He felt his blood boiling and knew he was about to lose control.
He needed to take his anger out on someone. The perfect opportunity presented itself when a car with Florida tags passed him going five over the limit. Tate didn’t like out-of-state assholes coming through his area, and this one was in Tate’s crosshairs on the wrong night.
Knowing what he wanted to do could be used against him, he turned off his cruiser’s dashboard camera. It was late and there were hardly any cars on the interstate.
Reza was getting nervous that the policeman was taking such a long time getting out of his cruiser. He wondered if the policeman was calling for backup. Reza debated making a run for it but was frozen and almost by default decided to give it a few more minutes. He watched in the outside mirror anxiously. He finally saw the cruiser’s door open and began preparing.
The officer approached his door and shined his bright flashlight directly in Reza’s eyes.
“License and registration,” he growled.
Reza took out the documents. He didn’t think his information had been flagged, but he wasn’t sure. He readied himself, rehearsing in his mind the body movements required to pull his weapon as quickly as possible if he needed it.
The officer barely glanced at the forged driver’s license and the rental car registration. He threw the documents back at Reza.
“Turn off the engine and step out of the car.”
“I’m sorry. Did I do something wrong, officer?”
Reza’s decision had been made before his trip had even started. If the police ever forced him out of his vehicle, it would lead to the failure of his mission. He could not let that happen. He moved slowly as if he was going to undo his seatbelt and comply with the officer’s instructions.
Tate watched as the driver unbuckled. He was so ready to kick this out-of-state, Middle-Eastern piece of shit’s ass. He suddenly realized the driver was now moving fast. Tate Guidry’s police training kicked in. As quickly as he could, he backed away at an angle, bending at his knees and waist to make himself a smaller target while drawing his service weapon
A look of terror spread across the young officer’s face when he was staring down a muzzle. The man he’d pulled over had gotten the jump on him, and there was nothing T
ate could do to stop it.
Reza aimed through the window at the moving target and fired. A wave of warm air and the deafening crack of his Sig inside the car caused Reza to reflexively pull his head back. He knew he’d hit the officer, but he needed to finish him off and get out of the area as quickly as possible. He had to ignore the overwhelming ringing noise that filled his head and move.
The .45 caliber bullet had struck and shattered Tate’s clavicle, ricocheted upward and lodged in the back of his neck, severing his spinal cord. He instantly crumpled to the ground losing his Glock 22 service weapon from his useless hand.
Tate desperately tried to get his gun, to move for cover, to call on his radio for help, but his body wouldn’t respond. No part of him moved, and he knew the end was coming.
He thought of Tilly and was overcome with sadness. They would never have the wedding that was planned for the fall or have the babies they dreamed of having together. He would never know the reason she’d been acting strangely all week was because she was already carrying their first child.
Reza stood over the officer who threatened his mission and ended the man’s life with a shot through his head.
The bright blue and white strobe lights of the officer’s cruiser pierced the darkness and bounced off the wet asphalt. Reza calmly climbed back in his rental car and re-buckled his seatbelt.
He felt no remorse. This was his mission. He wiped the moisture from his face with a napkin, then calmly started his car. He turned his wipers on and pulled back onto the road. Reza sped up to the posted speed limit plus five. He was only a few miles from the turn where he could take an alternate route. He’d lose an hour, but it was worth it to get off this road.
