WASHINGTON DC: The Sadir Affair (The Puppets of Washington Book 1)

by Lavina Giamusso

  “Wouldn’t it be better then to have Samuel taken out?” Fred didn’t like the idea, but if that were the only solution to protect Talya and Mark, and now the doctor, he wouldn’t hesitate to order Mark to assassinate Samuel Meshullam.

  “And have Agent Gilford arrested for first-degree murder?” Namlah shook his head. “No, Chief. That would be a huge mistake. The Australians would not view this as a case of self-defence. Believe me. They would even call on Prince Khalid to testify at Agent Gilford’s trial to demonstrate that the Saudis were involved in this as well. You don’t want to open that can of worms, Chief.”

  “Okay then, but what do we do? I can’t just sit back and let the chips fall where they may, now can I?”

  “Why not? We’ve done what needed to be done a long time ago. You’ve applied for Samuel’s extradition, which will see him come back to Canada—and not the States—and stand trial for attempted murder, as he should.”

  “I guess you’re right. So, you suggest we put Ms Kartz and the doctor under protective custody?” Again, that was an idea Fred was reluctant to contemplate.

  Another shake of Namlah’s head riveted Fred’s gaze on him. “No, Chief. She and the doctor need protection, yes, but not put them in protective custody. It will take weeks for us to bring this to trial and you can’t expect to keep these two cloistered for months at a time. I suggest you have a qualified agent, someone with a nurse’s background perhaps, who would stay with Ms Kartz and keep an eye on the doctor meanwhile.”

  “That’s a tall order, Counsellor. I don’t think we have an agent like that on the payroll. Even if we did, she wouldn’t be able to protect two people at the same time. Besides, I don’t think Ms Kartz, in particular, would be too pleased to have someone with her 24/7.”

  Namlah crossed his arms over his chest. He seemed lost in thought for a moment. “What about Slimane’s murder in Flint?”

  “What about it?” The aggression in Fred’s voice was unambiguous; he didn’t want another problem added to the list. He sat up and brought his ample frame closer to the desk, and extended his forearms across it. He looked as if he were ready to pounce on the lawyer.

  “Are we sure Samuel is the perpetrator of that crime?”

  “Fairly sure,” Fred said, reclining in the seat once again. “According to Mark, Samuel told them that’s where he was going when they were driving through Georgia...”

  “But we haven’t gotten any evidence that Samuel was in fact the one who pulled the trigger, do we?”

  “No, we don’t, but Sadir has proofs, or so he said at the time.”

  “Ha-ha, there you have it, Chief, that’s why Sadir was taken out so quickly. Mossad didn’t want him to divulge that information to anyone.”

  “I can see that, yes, but Samuel is not to be tried in the States, is he?”

  “No, but the CIA is not a bunch of ignoramuses either. Since we’ve made a move on Samuel, they’ve kept an eye on Sadir—if they hadn’t already—and decided he was an abetting party to this crime. I’d say they’re looking for evidence inculpating Samuel at this very minute.”

  “And what are they going to do with this evidence when they find it?” Fred was getting irritated.

  “They are probably going to use it to get Samuel across the border to stand trial for murder.”

  “You mean we’ll have to fight for ‘who’s on first’? I don’t like it, Counsellor, not at all!”

  Fred got up, went around his desk, and hands in his trousers’ pockets, walked to the window. He didn’t want to look at the lawyer. He knew the man was right, but this whole thing was quickly turning into a morass of conjectures and possibilities from which he couldn’t see an issue. He turned around, rested his back against the windowsill and crossed his big arms over his chest.

  Namlah had remained silent, watching the Chief, but now he spoke. “You may not like it, but the murder in Flint occurring before Ms Kartz being shot; they may want to exercise their right of priority at prosecution of the accused.”

  “And if they do, and succeed in putting the guy behind bars for life, we’ll never see him here, is that it?”

  “Pretty much, yes.”

  “I hate to repeat myself, Counsellor, but what do we do about it?” Fred glared at the attorney. This was getting the two men nowhere near a decision.

  Chapter 28

  When Samuel sat down, opened his laptop and read the latest of Mossad’s coded message, he couldn’t stop staring at it. He was well versed in decoding these emails but this one was not only unexpected, but also startling in itself. It read:

  Son,

  Your uncle’s gone and your aunt needs some looking after. The family is waiting for your arrival. Dad.

  Uncle’s gone meant Sadir was out of the picture, maybe dead. Your aunt needs looking after meant Samuel was to go to Vancouver to look after Talya. The family is waiting for your arrival meant that there was a warrant out for his arrest. Samuel got up and began pacing the length of his room. He was glad he hadn’t rented the flat overlooking the Yarra yet. This message meant he needed to go back to Vancouver. That’s what he couldn’t understand. Why would they want him to go to Talya? It didn’t make sense. He wasn’t surprised that Sadir had been removed. He was a fat blabbermouth anyway, Samuel told himself. The warrant for his arrest was no surprise either, but to ask him to return to Vancouver was the one part of the message he couldn’t accept as a wise move.

  He sat down again and wrote a reply.

  Dad, I will be on English Bay soon. What does aunt need? Your son.

  The answer was only five words’ long.

  Come back to the fold.

  Samuel shook his head. What would they want from her? He was at a loss for an answer. Talya was never going to accept to return to Israel, let alone become a Mossad informant or agent. That was ludicrous. To ask him to get her back to the fold was unthinkable. Yet, now was not the time to ask for an explanation. The Aussies and the Canadians were probably on his tail right now. He had to move and the quicker the better.

  He packed his bags, got down to the lobby and checked out. His first stop was at a motel near the Melbourne airport. The flight was not leaving for a few hours. He had time to change his appearance again. Once ready, he drove his car in the long-term parking lot and left it there. He got on the shuttle to the Japan Airlines’ departure level and bought a ticket to New Zealand. He used his Canadian identity—passport, driver’s license, and another credit card—to book his flight and pay for it.

  When he passed through the security gates, he was dressed in jeans, blouson jacket over an open-neck shirt and his baldhead together with his clean-shaven face made him unrecognizable to anyone who had met him in the past months. He passed through customs, and went to sit in the first-class lounge.

  All the while, he kept thinking about the strange message. He could not find an answer to the question as to what Mossad wanted with Talya. The only plausible reason was if Talya were to accept to join his ranks—which was highly improbable—she wouldn’t be able to testify at his trial if he were ever arrested. He shook his head. “Unbelievable” was the word that came back to mind repeatedly.

  Chapter 29

  Mark was standing by the window of a room at the NSW police station. He didn’t like what was going on. He had taken the two Australian officers the day before to the firing range and his instincts told him these guys were far too smug and comfortable in their own skins, not to say full of it, to be effective. Their brains were somewhere between Mars and Pluto, navigating through a brilliant image of their own worth or capabilities. They were probably very good at what they were doing at some level, but in this particular instance, Mark couldn’t see their value in chasing and apprehending a cat the likes of Samuel. All they talked about was having a beer and shrimps on the barby after they would have captured the Mossad agent. He had not heard one word about a plan. They seemed to rely entirely on Mark’s guidance, which was something he could not, or wanted to offer under t
he circumstances.

  The door burst open suddenly; Sorenson came in, and sat at the table. “Agent Gilford, please sit down,” he ordered when he saw that Mark was not moving from his spot.

  Reluctantly, Mark walked to the table and sat down, facing Sorenson. “What’s up?”

  “I’ve just received a message from the CIA in Washington.”

  “What did it say?” Mark couldn’t be more disinterested, and it showed.

  “I know, you’re a bit at odds with us, Agent Gilford, but I think this little bit of information will get us back on track.”

  Mark put an arm over the back of the seat. “All right. What is it?”

  “In short, Agent Sadir has been removed...”

  “Say what?” Mark yelled, bringing his arm back and onto the tabletop. “Do we know why?”

  “Apparently—and that’s only my deduction—the fact that we are tracking Samuel and intending to extradite him back to Canada, ignited suspicions on the part of the CIA.”

  Mark shook his head vigorously. “No, Chief, that’s not the reason.” He brought his upper body closer to Sorenson across the table. “You’ve been wallowing into believing that you could just go to Samuel’s place, hand him a warrant and get him to follow you…”

  “We’re not…”

  “Let me finish,” Mark blurted in the Chief’s face. He was fuming. “I’ve been with you people for two days now, and we’ve done nothing but talk about the problem and not the solution. Your two officers have no idea what or who they’re up against. Neither of them has had any training in sniper attacks. They’re probably very good at their policing work, but I have my doubts as to their ability in the field.” He leaned against the back of the chair again.

  Sorenson was staring at him. His face was flushed; he didn’t like being told his men were not making the cut. He had picked them out of the bunch specifically for this mission.

  “This message is nothing but a notification for us to look for Samuel somewhere else.”

  Mark’s eyebrows went up. The man is really a jerk, Mark thought. “Yes, Chief, he’s gone. No doubt whatsoever. As I told you, he’d probably gone to Melbourne before we even arrived on the scene, and now, I’m sure of it, he’s already out of the country.”

  “How can you be sure of it?”

  “Come on, Chief! Look…, when Sadir was around, he’s the one who sent Prince Khalid to chase after Samuel, right?”

  The Chief nodded.

  “Then it’s fair to conclude that he alerted Samuel of our intentions. After that, your government agrees to issue a warrant for Samuel’s arrest and for us to extradite him, right?”

  Sorenson nodded again.

  “Well, since Sadir was still around at the time, he probably sent another message to Samuel saying that things were getting too hot Downunder and to get his ass out of here. And if it wasn’t Sadir who sent the message, Mossad did.”

  “But Sadir was on leave as of last night; I mean yesterday afternoon in Washington, he couldn’t have sent anything…”

  “Don’t you see…? Good God, man... I’m sorry... Sadir was a double agent, we agreed on that, and he didn’t have to say anything. Mossad kept a tab on him and when he initiated this whole thing by sending the Prince on a wild goose chase, they got the wind up and had the CIA remove him as soon as they could.”

  “Fine, but how can you be sure he is not in Australia still?”

  “Because he couldn’t sit anywhere here and wait for you to arrest him, now could he?”

  “All right, but where does that leave us then?”

  “I’m out of here, Chief. Book me on the first available flight to Vancouver. Ms Kartz is next. Please, Sorenson, get a move on. I’m telling you, if I don’t get to Vancouver before Samuel does, Ms Kartz is dead.”

  Mark was at the door before the chief could say another word.

  Chapter 30

  The sunlight shimmered over the wavelets clapping against the boats of the marina. Talya was waiting for Aziz to return with their hamburgers. She was ravenous, and the prospect of eating what she considered the best hamburgers she had ever tasted was making her hungrier. Yet her impatience was soon allayed when a young man in jeans and T-shirt approached her. He sat on the bench near her. His dark hair, bronze complexion and gorgeous blue eyes aroused Talya’s senses.

  “It’s a nice spot, isn’t it?” the young man said to her, jovial.

  Talya was not surprised with the man’s forwardness. People on Bowen Island felt at ease talking to strangers. They often did away with formalities. “Yes, it is. Have you been here before?”

  “No, this is my first time....I’m sorry, I haven’t introduced myself. The name is Jay, Jay Kravitz.”

  “Talya Kartz.” She extended her hand.

  He took it and brought it close to his lips, which gesture made Talya burst into laughter.

  “Oh, I see you’re not used to gentlemanly manners.” He let go of her hand, smiling.

  His remark had her melt into a stammer. “It’s not that… it’s just that… well… no, you’re right. I haven’t had my hand kissed before… I mean not in a long time.” Talya blushed.

  Coming back, his hands full with hamburgers and pops, Aziz noticed that Talya was chatting with the man he had met already. He grinned. He was pleased to see her enjoy someone else’s company.

  “Hey, you two… I see you’ve met Talya,” Aziz said to Jay. “Here’s your soda, and lunch.” He handed Talya a hamburger and a can of Coke.

  Talya put the Coke in her lap and unwrapped the hamburger avidly. “Thanks. So you two know each other?” She looked at each man in turn.

  “Yes,” Jay said, “we’ve met on the stairs this morning. I’m staying at Mrs. Allison’s B&B, same as you guys.”

  “Oh, you’re the other guest then,” Talya said, biting into her hamburger with visible delight.

  Aziz took a seat beside Jay and opened his can of pop. “What brought you to the island?”

  “I just needed a break. I’ve been working six, seven days a week this winter and I had to take a breather.”

  Talya looked at him appreciatively. He must be an athlete of some sort, she thought, with these muscular arms and legs. “What do you do?” She was full of curiosity.

  “I’m a physiotherapist. I work in Whistler at the skiing clinic.”

  Aziz’s ears perked up. “Wow! No wonder you’re busy. Skiing is not a sport that comes without injuries.”

  “You’re right, but it’s not the sprained ankles or dislocated shoulders that give me the most work, it’s the training before these guys go down the slopes.”

  “Are you telling me that you get people in shape before they tackle the mountains?” Aziz asked.

  “Sure. That’s the bulk of my clientele. I’ve got dozens of people in training before the season starts, and dozens more throughout the winter months.”

  “That must be tiring,” Talya put in, munching on her hamburger.

  “More demanding than tiring really. When I get guys who exercise year-in and year-out, that’s okay, but when I get the old-fogy wanting to get on his skis after lazing around the pool all summer, I’ve got my work cut out for me.”

  “Yeah… I... hear what you’re saying,” Aziz said, biting another mouthful.

  Both arms on the back of the bench, Jay watched Aziz eat away for a moment, a smirk on his face. “You know, Doc, these hamburgers are not really good for you?”

  Aziz tried to laugh, but could only mumble, “Yeah... You can blame our lady for that. She insisted on coming here especially for this particular luncheon delight.”

  “Oh no, I didn’t!” Talya giggled. “You wanted it as much as I did. You know how good they are.”

  Putting his elbows on his knees while they were bantering, Jay focused discreetly on Talya’s legs. “Can I ask you something?”

  His attitude immediately reminded Talya of Hassan taking the same position when he was embarrassed to put a question to her. “Sure, what?”
<
br />   “What brought you down to a wheelchair?” Talya’s face froze. Aziz saw her flinch. “I’m sorry… I shouldn’t have asked... It’s just... Well, I’m curious because… because it’s my profession.”

  Talya lowered her gaze to her legs and then lifted her eyes to Jay with a timid smile on her lips. “How I got in the chair is not important anymore…”

  Jay raised a hand to stop her. “Okay… no problem…”

  “No, what I mean is that what happened cannot be undone, but I want to walk again and maybe there is a chance I will... I’m not sure.” She looked at Aziz for an explanation of some sort or a way to get out from under Jay’s gentle but questioning stare.

  “Yes... You see, Jay, Talya’s spine was slightly damaged but when the inflammation receded, her x-rays showed that there was perhaps a chance to replace a vertebrae and she would regain the use of her legs, much like removing a vertebrae that has been damaged by an invasive tumour.” Jay nodded and waited for the rest of the explanation. “But the operation is risky. The surgeons have not agreed yet on what should be the best course of action.”

  The lines of Talya’s face receded into outward sternness. “And you didn’t tell me about this…?”

  Jay saw annoyance turn into sheer anger in her eyes.

  Aziz shook his head. “I didn’t tell you, because nothing has been decided yet.”

  “You people are all the same,” Talya flared. “You’ve got my life, my very existence into your hands, and you don’t even tell me what the score is! I can’t believe you’ve kept that from me.” She put her chair in motion and turned it in the direction of the path along the water at full speed.

  Jay tapped Aziz on the knee, saying, “Stay here, I’ll get her back.” He ran after her and halted in front of her chair, grabbing the handles and switching off the motor.

  “Get out of my way,” Talya yelled, wanting to reach for the switch.