“Why are they stopping?” Jake asked.
“Your own intelligence reports indicate we have five more days.” Heuse said. “We have the luxury of time. The GIGN has arranged hotel rooms for you in Versailles, just a few blocks from here. I will send a car for you in the morning and we will resume around ten.”
“Ten?” Jake couldn’t believe the lieutenant was so flippant about a potential terrorist attack. An attack that could kill or injure dozens, maybe hundreds of French men and women as well as many tourists. Including Kyli and her friend. “Shouldn’t we get started earlier?”
“No, monsieur. The GIGN needs its rest too.” Heuse stood and spread his arms. “Now come, Philippe will take you to your hotel. Get some rest, tomorrow might be another long day.”
† † †
Hotel de Ville
Versailles, France
6:30 A.M.
Jake got up early thinking about Lieutenant Heuse’s perspective. If Isabella Hunt was right, they did have time on their side. The only problem with waiting was that sometimes plans change. Waiting could cause him to miss the opportunity. His instincts told him they needed to strike fast and strike early. If Heuse and the GIGN weren’t willing to move, then he would convince Kaplan to help him storm the Mosque.
Jake rapped on Kaplan’s door until he heard Kaplan cussing. “Gregg. Open up.”
“What the hell, Jake?” Kaplan snatched the door open. His thick black hair was tousled. Eyes bloodshot. “Go back to bed.”
“I called Philippe.” Jake said. “He’ll be here in twenty minutes. Get dressed. We’ve got work to do—with or without Huese.”
“Jake, this is France. The last thing we need to do is piss off the head of the Gendarmerie.” Kaplan rubbed his eyes. “We should wait.”
“For once, Gregg, trust me.” Jake said. “If you’ll start getting ready, I’ll explain what I have in mind.”
While Kaplan dressed, Jake explained the plan he’d been hatching during the night. Kaplan interrupted several times but Jake insisted he be allowed to finish. Jake had covered every angle and was convinced his plan would work. He just needed Kaplan to concur with it.
“Okay, Jake. Give one good reason why I should go along with your plan.”
“It’s Wiley’s granddaughter out there. We owe it to him.”
“Is this just about Wiley? Or is this about you?”
“Gregg.” He looked Kaplan in the eyes. “If it were Isabella in Paris, we wouldn’t be having this conversation, would we?”
CHAPTER 42
PHILIPPE PICKED UP Jake and Kaplan in a GIGN vehicle, a black Mercedes, standard issue. Fortunately, Jake figured, it was early enough in the morning not to draw unwanted attention. As they made their first circle of the block, the mosque appeared tranquil, as did the surrounding neighborhood.
Jake and Kaplan were outfitted with the equipment left in Wiley’s jet. Duffle bags for each man filled with articles of clothing and accessories to give them the appearance of tourists wandering the streets of France. Wiley was a resourceful man and had already arranged clearance for Jake and Kaplan to carry weapons without French authority intervention, something Wiley said required him to call in some favors from high-ranking French officials. Heuse had given them both warning about the use of their weapons. “Strictly self-defense” were the words he used.
As the Mercedes started its second pass by the front of the Mosque, Jake saw a white van pull out of the mosque onto the roadway. When the Mercedes and the van passed each other, Jake noticed the driver and several passengers in the rear of the van. Something about the driver troubled Jake.
“Did you see that?” Jake asked.
“Is nothing.” Philippe said. “Probably on their way to jobs.”
“No. Something was wrong.” Jake looked at Kaplan. They’d both been trained to be observant. Drilled over and over to unconsciously note minute details that clue them of impending danger. Details so minuscule the average person would never perceive them as a source of trouble or out of place.
“Gregg, did you notice it?”
“It didn’t feel right.” Kaplan said. “But I can’t put my finger on it. What is it Jake? What’d you see?”
“First thing was the driver. He was dressed the part of the faithful Muslim.” Jake said. “But his features…behind the beard he was—”
“Caucasian.” Kaplan added.
“That’s right.” Jake signaled for Philippe to pull the car over. “And Hashim Khan is an American traitor. What else, though? Either of you notice the men in the back?”
“No.” Philippe said. “They were nothing but shadows.”
“Yeah.” Kaplan blurted out. “Their faces.”
“That’s right.” Jake pulled out his Glock and screwed on the sound suppressor. “They were clearly Middle Eastern and, more importantly, had shaved their faces. The attacks are going down today.” Jake pulled back the slide chambering a round. “Philippe, turn around and catch up to that van.”
† † †
Khan noticed the Mercedes as it passed by his van. The same type that drove by the mosque several times during the night. GIGN. And if the Gendarmerie were onto him then something had gone wrong in Yemen. Hilal had talked. Maybe the woman really was a spy for the West. Either way, they both would die. Khan would ensure it.
In the rearview mirror he saw the GIGN vehicle pull over then make a u-turn. Khan floored the accelerator.
The arrival of the GIGN was unexpected but Khan had planned for the possibility of evading the Gendarmerie. He knew the mosque was under surveillance. Even in France, all of the Islamic communities were scrutinized. Since the possibility of detection existed, Khan had devised a deception for the authorities.
He grabbed his cell phone and placed a call while weaving the van through traffic, making turn after turn, trying to outrun and outsmart the GIGN men in the Mercedes. After five minutes of evasive driving, a pre-planned route Khan had already driven several times before, his radio blared indicating his shell game was ready to begin.
Khan maneuvered the van to the prearranged switch over, keeping the Mercedes at least a block behind him. When he reached the switch over spot, he glanced in his mirror; the GIGN car was far enough behind to make the switch.
He drove past an identical van that had accelerated into traffic as he turned into a maintenance garage. The bay in front of him had its door open. As Khan screeched the van to a stop inside the garage bay, the door slammed shut behind them.
Khan readied an AK-47 as he waited to see if the GIGN took the bait. The decoy van disappeared down the street and the Mercedes whizzed by the garage with lights flashing and siren wailing.
Khan smiled, the ruse worked. The decoy van had a prearranged pattern to drive, luring the GIGN car farther away from the garage. By the time the GIGN caught up to the decoy and realized what had happened, Khan and his men would be close to their first target.
The garage door in front of Khan’s van opened and he pulled out.
† † †
The GIGN Mercedes handled the tight turns with ease but Jake thought that Philippe was holding back on the accelerator. “Can you drive any faster? He’s getting away.”
“Lieutenant Heuse will not like it if I mess up his car.” Philippe said. “I will not lose the van. I know these streets, there is no where to hide.”
“You better catch up to him fast or you won’t need to worry about Heuse. The lieutenant isn’t here but I am.” Jake held up his gun. “Do I make myself clear?”
Jake watched the van turn left around a corner nearly a block ahead of them. “You’re going to lose them, hurry.”
Philippe slammed the accelerator to the floorboard as they rounded the left hand turn causing the Mercedes to lean hard to the right.
“There.” Jake pointed. The van was much closer than Jake had guessed but it didn’t matter, they were gaining. “Hit your lights and siren. Let’s announce our intention. Tell him we want him to stop.”
> Philippe toggled the switch and the GIGN Mercedes lit up with flashing lights in the windows and the front grill of the car. The van accelerated down the straight road.
“Go. Go.” Kaplan shouted. “We can outrun him.”
“Let’s get this over with.” Jake yelled.
The whooping Euro siren disrupted the calm morning as the two vehicles weaved through the small number of cars on the road, the Mercedes gaining precious distance on each straightaway. The chase lasted exactly four minutes, then the unexpected happened.
The van slowed and pulled over. By the time the Mercedes came to a full stop in front of the van, Jake and Kaplan were scrambling from the back seat, weapons drawn and running back toward the van. “Call Heuse, get reinforcements.” Jake yelled back to Philippe.
Jake darted forward in the middle of the street. “Hands on the wheel.”
Kaplan yelled something in French. “Mettez vos mains sur le volant.”
The man put his hands on the steering wheel.
Jake looked at Kaplan, “You speak French, too?”
“Enough to get by. You don’t?”
“No. Tell them to get out of the car with their hands in the air.”
“Sortez de la fourgonnette. Mains sur la tete. Chacun d’entre vous.” Kaplan said.
The doors to the van opened. Five bearded men got out, one from the front, and four from the back.
“Sur le terrain. Face vers le bas.” Kaplan waved his gun at them.
“What’d you say?” Jake asked.
The five men lay face down on the grass next to the road.
“Enough to get by, huh?” Jake said.
Kaplan smiled.
“These aren’t the men we saw earlier.” Jake couldn’t believe it. The terrorists had outsmarted them. “Grab the driver. They did a switch somewhere.”
Kaplan grabbed the driver from the ground, picked him to his feet and pinned him against the side of the van. “What happened to the other van?” Kaplan asked in French.
Jake kept his gun aimed at the four men on the ground. How did they pull off the switch? Khan was smarter than he gave him credit. Khan had already planned for this, was on his way to Paris, and Jake still didn’t know the locations of the attacks.
Jake watched Kaplan give the driver a jab to the kidney. The man’s knees buckled but Kaplan pulled him upright and slammed the man’s head into the side of the van. He didn’t understand anything Kaplan was saying but he could tell the man was pleading. After two minutes, Kaplan grabbed the man by the collar and threw him on the ground. Jake heard sirens in the distance. Growing louder.
“They don’t know anything.” Kaplan said. “They were paid to drive for three to four minutes then pull over. They’re a decoy and we fell for it. Khan is gone.”
“How do you know they don’t know anything?” Jake asked.
“Trust me. If he’d known anything.” Kaplan said. “He’d have spilled his guts.”
Philippe walked up to Jake. “Lieutenant Heuse wants to talk to you when he gets here.”
“Forget Heuse.” Jake said. “Take us to the mosque. Now.”
“But, monsieur.”
Jake moved toward Philippe, putting his face just inches away from the Frenchman. “Take us to the mosque now or a lot innocent people will die. Do you want their blood on your hands?”
Philippe motioned to the men lying on the ground. “But these men, monsieur—”
Kaplan yelled something at the men lying on the ground.
“Monsieur!” Philippe looked at Jake. “You would not dare.”
The eyes of the men on the ground grew larger.
Kaplan looked at Philippe. “Yes. He would. And he’d take great pleasure in it I’m sure.” Kaplan turned to Jake. “They won’t move.”
CHAPTER 43
KYLI WOKE UP and looked for Kates. She should have been in the other bed but it was empty. Her head was a little groggy from the drinking she and Kates did at the bar last night, their final stop after an afternoon and evening on Champs Elysees.
“Kates?”
“I’m in here.” Kates replied from the bathroom.
Kyli noticed the bathroom light was still off. “What are you doing?”
“I’m going to take a shower, my head hurts.”
“I know what you mean.” Kyli said. “I don’t usually drink so much. We need coffee. Lots of coffee.”
Kyli’s friend had wanted a ‘Parisian experience,’ exploring off the beaten path places around town. After they arrived in Paris, they checked into the Marriot Champs Elysees then walked to an outside café where they spent the better part of an hour eating, drinking, and people watching. Kyli had been to Paris several times, but it was the first time for Kates. They started at the Arc de Triomphe, climbed to the top to get a view of Paris. Afterwards, they window shopped, making their way down Avenue Montaigne to look at all the top fashion designer shops.
They ended the day at Place de la Concorde where they found a hole-in-the-wall restaurant and grabbed a bite to eat. Then Kyli took Kates to a nearby bar that played live music. They stayed too long and drank too much. But the night was fun and Kyli was certain Kates would never forget her trip to Paris.
“I was thinking.” Kates said from the bathroom. “I’d rather spend more time at the Louvre and maybe we could go to the Eiffel Tower tonight after dark.”
“That’s a good idea.” Kyli heard the shower turn off. “If we get moving, we can eat and catch the bus or Metro. We can be at the Louvre by nine or a little after. Hell, we can probably walk and make it by nine-thirty. It’s only about a mile and a half—down at the end of Champs Elysees.”
“Bus.” Kates stuck her head out of the bathroom. “Or Metro. Maybe we can walk back this afternoon.”
“Perhaps. Or we could go straight from the Louvre to the Eiffel Tower.” Kyli crawled out of bed. “My turn in the shower.”
It wasn’t until high school when Kyli met Kates. It was during those years they became good friends. And had been close ever since.
Kyli’s thoughts turned to Jake. She wished she could talk to him again but she’d been forgetful and left her cell phone at the office in Leuven. Wiley had whisked Jake off on another one of his secret adventures before she had a chance to really get to know him.
For reasons she couldn’t explain, she felt an attraction to him. It transcended a physical attraction, although that was certainly there too. No other way to say it; he was hot. Five-ten, slim. And cut. She’d always loved men with blond hair too, and in Jake’s case, it accented his sapphire-blue eyes. But no, it was more than his looks. He was also intelligent, but naïve about women. Maybe his fiancée’s death had made him vulnerable, unsure how to act.
Maybe it was that side of Jake that drew her to him.
“Earth to Kyli.” Kates threw a towel at her. “Hey. It’s your turn in the shower.”
Kyli looked up. “Okay. Yeah, thanks.”
“I’ve seen that look before.” Kates teased. “You were thinking of him, weren’t you?”
“Who? No. I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t you lie to me, Kyli Wullenweber.” Kates said. “You might be fooling yourself, but you can’t fool me. You’ve been preoccupied with Jake ever since I arrived. He must be something special to grab you like this. You, of all people.”
“What is that supposed to mean?” Kyli said.
Kates laughed. “You know damn well what I mean.”
CHAPTER 44
JAKE INSTRUCTED PHILIPPE to park the GIGN Mercedes next to the front entrance of the mosque. “Let’s go.” Jake instructed Kaplan and Philippe.
Weapons drawn, the three men rushed through the front door. The first man Jake saw was the imam. At the sight of the guns, the man turned to flee but Jake grabbed him and placed his barrel an inch from the man’s face. “Where are they going to attack?”
The imam’s eyes grew large—fear—exactly what Jake intended. Jake had dealt with radical Muslims b
efore, they were all the same, and to get anything out of them they needed to be afraid. Not afraid of dying, dying was the easy way out. They needed to be afraid of living after Jake finished with them. And Jake would make sure every man in that mosque was afraid of living if they didn’t cooperate.
The imam raised his hands. “Attacks? I know nothing of any attacks.”
Jake slammed his fist against the side of the man’s nose. The man fell to his knees, blood poured from his nose. The man wiped his nose with his garment. Blood smeared across the side of his face.
“Monsieur.”
“Shut up, Philippe.”
“Take him to the men’s prayer room. There will be others there also.” Kaplan said. “Someone will talk.”
Jake pointed his gun at the imam. “Get up. Let’s go.”
Kaplan grabbed the man by the arm, pulled him to his feet, and led him toward the rear of the mosque.
A door opened into a semi-circular room, the men’s prayer room. Prayer mats lay on the floor, all facing the same direction. A man stepped from behind a curtain in the rear with a rifle. As the man raised the rifle, Jake fired three shots in rapid succession. The man fell to the mosque floor.
Jake motioned for Philippe to move left. Jake moved to the right side of the room. Kaplan held the imam in front of him. Jake and Philippe held their pistols ready as they moved slowly toward the back of the room.
Kaplan jammed his barrel into the man’s neck. “How many more?”
The imam said nothing.
Kaplan grabbed the man’s throat and squeezed. The man’s face turned red and he gasped for air. “How many more?”
“Three.”
Kaplan relaxed his grip. “Where are they?”
Nothing.
Kaplan pushed against the man with his barrel. “Your choice. Answer or I’ll put a bullet in your brain.”
“Two in the back.” He pointed with a head movement. “And one in the cellar guarding the prisoner.”
The Toymaker Page 17
