by Ethan Jones
Claudia appeared next to them. “How is he?” she asked Javin.
“Wounded, but he’ll live.”
Loud shouts came from up ahead. People’s heads began to pop up in windows. A few men, some of them armed, began to turn up in the back alley.
Javin said, “We’ve overstayed our welcome.”
“Get him in the car. I’ll clean up the house.” Claudia gestured toward the agents’ grayish Nissan sedan parked about twenty yards away, close to the intersection.
“All right.”
“Be back right away.”
Javin nodded and dragged Ahmad toward the Nissan.
One of the bystanders—a man in perhaps his sixties dressed in a white thobe, the local robe that came to men’s ankles, and a brown headscarf—came to give Javin a hand. He thanked the man, but mostly avoided his eyes. Once the local authorities arrived on the scene and began to ask questions, Javin wanted the helper, and everyone else of the spectators, to have little recollection of his face.
He placed Ahmad in the backseat, then slid behind the wheel. Javin set the Nissan into gear and waited for Claudia. Come on, come on. He tapped the steering wheel, impatiently, then honked, to indicate his intentions to a small crowd of mostly men and children that was forming in front of the Nissan.
About thirty seconds later, Claudia dashed through the alley. She was carrying their rifles and rucksacks, where she had placed everything of intelligence value from the safehouse and anything that could identify them or the agency. Once the neighborhood was teeming with police and army troops, they would go through the safehouse and the rest of the houses, looking for clues and suspects. By that time, Javin, Claudia, and Ahmad would be long gone.
“Hit it,” she said as she slid into the front passenger seat.
Javin stepped on the gas. He tapped the horn, and the Nissan began to move slowly through the alley. The crowd largely stepped back, with the occasional defiant person gesturing and shouting at Javin. He was especially careful to not hit anyone and risk the wrath of the angry throng.
Once the Nissan made it through the sea of people, Javin turned right and raced through the intersection. He glanced at Ahmad, who was breathing heavily and wheezing, then Javin’s eyes fell on Claudia. “Call Horowitz, ask if they can host us for a day or two. Tell him it will be just a small inconvenience.”
“You’re sure about calling Mossad for help?” She gave him a sideways glance.
Mossad, the Israeli secret intelligence service, had a long ambiguous history with the Canadians. When Mossad needed intelligence or a way to reach someone that was impossible to them, they were agreeable and friendly. But when the tables were turned, every favor Mossad offered came with an incredibly high price. The Israelis always drove a hard bargain. “Yes, what other option do we have?”
Claudia shrugged. “Drive to Aden? Our embassy? Going dark for a while? Any one of those?”
Javin shook his head. “Driving to the coast will take us all day. Ahmad needs medical attention now. And I don’t want the embassy involved. Plausible deniability for the ambassador and the staff. Plus, we may need them at a later time, if things don’t get better.”
“Yes, okay.”
“Going dark will be our next option if Mossad refuses to give us a hand.”
“I’ll make the call.”
“The two Al-Qaeda thugs are one more reason I don’t want to leave Sana.”
“You still think we can go on with that op, even after what happened?” Claudia tipped her head toward the back of the car.
Javin nodded. “Yes. The firefight might alarm the jihadists, but we’re so close to them. If we leave Sana now, we’ll have to start again from scratch.”
Claudia nodded. “Makes sense, Javin.”
She pulled out her phone and placed a call to Horowitz, the Mossad’s Yemen station chief.
Betrayal - Book 2
Chapter Five
Mossad guest apartment
Central Sana, capital of Yemen
Javin held the Mossad’s female operative’s hazel eyes for a long moment, then shrugged, “I don’t see the relevance of discussing the details of my agency’s op. We struck a deal with your boss, Horowitz. He has all he needs.”
Yael nodded slowly, her strawberry blonde hair cut in a textured bob moving along with her head. She walked to Javin, who was sitting on a couch near the living room’s small window, and leaned close to him. “True, but I want to hear it from you. Since we’ll be working together—”
“Wow, wait a second.” Javin sat up straight. “What do you mean ‘work together’?”
Yael arched an eyebrow. “No one explain that to you?”
“No, but I’ll get on the phone with Sol—”
“No need.” Yael gently touched Javin’s hand. “I’ll explain.” She sat next to him on the couch, her leg brushing against his knee. “It’s is clear that you’re hunting the two escaped Al-Qaeda terrorists.”
“How do you know that?”
Yael shrugged. “Knowing things is what we do.”
“Did Ahmad blab to the doctor?”
“You’ll have to ask Ahmad. But regardless of the source, both your agency and my agency want the same thing: those butchers shouldn’t walk free.”
Javin nodded. “We may want the same thing, but we have different ways of achieving it.”
Yael frowned. “Your tone makes it sound like that’s a bad thing. Isn’t there more than one way to skin a cat?”
Javin shook his head. “Oh, I hate that expression. I love cats. Can’t imagine someone wanting to skin them, regardless of which way they do it.”
“But you get what I mean.”
“Yes, there are different ways to achieve the same goal. In this case, the goal being the elimination of the terrorists.” Javin shifted in his seat to face Yael. “But here’s my biggest problem: Mossad’s approach is to neither confirm nor deny that they were behind the elimination. The way Claudia and I work, well, most of the time, is that no one knows what exactly happened. There’s no one bringing pointed questions to our door.”
“That wasn’t the case in Istanbul and Syria.”
Javin frowned. “Those ops went sideways; I admit that. And that’s why I said most of the time. Still, the truth is that we operate differently, sometime in clashing ways.”
“Point well taken. Of course, we can improve on that, both sides.”
“I’m not sure about that.”
“We can at least try, right? Now, what’s the smaller problem?”
“I don’t understand.”
“You said you had a big problem and a smaller problem. What is it?”
“Oh, yeah, about that.” Javin thought a moment on how to phrase his answer in such a way as to not insult Yael or Mossad. “In my past experience—and not just my personal one, but that of my agency—whenever the CIS works with Mossad, we get the short end of the stick.”
“Is that so?”
“Yes, but you sound surprised.”
“I am very surprised. I’ve never seen that happen. But what do I know?” Yael shrugged. “I’ve worked for Mossad for only seven years.”
“You can check the records if you don’t believe me.”
“No, you have no reason to lie to me. I’m not going to apologize for other agents, but neither am I going to take the blame. This could be the beginning of a new, fresh relationship, Javin. Something both we and our agencies can be proud of. Getting rid of two Al-Qaeda masterminds? Why wouldn’t we want to work together?”
“Is that really what Mossad wants?” Javin peered deep into Yael’s eyes.
“Yes, it is.”
“Nothing else?”
“Such as?”
“Intel. Who they work with. What their plans are. What they told the Iranians that kept them alive all these years.”
Yael shrugged. “Those would be good to know, but they’re beyond the scope of this mission.”
“See, that’s another point of divergence.
I don’t just want them dead. That’s the easy part. Knowing that intel is much more important.”
Yael shook her head. “I don’t know, Javin. I was told you were a reasonable man.” She sighed.
Javin shrugged. “They must have been mistaken, I guess.”
“Take some time to reconsider. Talk to your boss, Martin. Perhaps he has a different, better idea.”
“I doubt it. Perhaps Mossad might want to rethink their objective. What if these jihadists are planning to attack Jerusalem?”
Yael frowned. “Do you have anything concrete, or is that just a rumor?”
“It’s a rumor, at this point. But we might know more if we interrogate those men, rather than just kill them.”
Yael gave Javin a dubious look. “There are always rumors about attacks against my country, Javin. Unless there’s something more concrete, this op will not change. It has been approved at all levels, and it’s a go, with or without your agency.”
Javin shrugged. “In that case, we don’t have much to talk about.”
“That’s very unfortunate.” Yael stood up. She walked toward the apartment’s hall, then turned around. “Just a word of caution: I’m being nice to you because I have to. Out there, when we’re hunting for these savages, stay out of my way.”
Javin nodded and grinned. “Understood.”
“I’m not kidding, Javin. If you become an obstacle . . .” Her voice trailed off.
“I’m dead serious, Yael. I understand you fully. I’ll stay out of your way, and I hope you’ll stay out of mine too.”
“Good. Let’s hope we never cross paths again.” Yael stormed out of the apartment.
Javin drew in a deep breath. That’s great. Things are going from bad to worse. Now, what else can go wrong?
If you enjoyed this exclusive preview of Betrayal, click below to enjoy now:
Betrayal - Javin Pierce Book 2
This work would have not been possible without the great support of my wife and son. I would also like to thank CaryLory, Frank Paine, Dixie Peterson, Kristen Lewendon, Tim Birminghan, and Walter Scott for their helpful suggestions.
THE CORRECTOR. Copyright © 2018 by Ethan Jones
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without permission.
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
Cover design: Kim Killion
First edition: March 2018
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About the Author
Ethan Jones is an Amazon bestselling author of the wildly popular Justin Hall spy thriller series which includes Arctic Wargame, Tripoli's Target, Fog of War, Double Agents, The Diplomat, Rogue Agents, Shadow Agents, Homeland, The Saudi Strategy, The Central Connection, The Austrian Asset, The Belgian Bagman, The Cyprus Coverup and the 14th book Covert Assassin was released in June. Carrie Chronicles spy thriller series which features Justin Hall's partner, Carrie O'Connor. Books include Priority Target, Codename: Makarov, and Entry Point. Javin Pierce spy thriller series which is the latest series, includes The Corrector, Betrayal, Closure and now Retrieval.
and Jennifer Morgan suspense thriller series which has three books so far: The Secret Affair, The Secret Blush, and The Secret Cause. Check out Ethan's website https://ethanjonesbooks.com to learn more and to sign up to Ethan's Exclusives which includes updates, deals, and a free starter pack library.
If you like assassinations, conspiracies, military, political, psychological, and spy thrillers, with international action, adventure, terrorism, and intrigue, mixed with secret operatives on clandestine missions, then you will love Ethan's thrillers!
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