“No. I’m heading to Tajikistan right away. The rescue team is already on the way there. As soon as Majid’s men bring her over, we’ll come for her—and for Esguerra.”
“You know they might not bring her to him. A video of her getting tortured would be just as effective as the real thing.”
“I know.”
Of course he does. Like me, he’s used to life-and-death gambles. I could point out the risks from now ’til eternity, and it wouldn’t change anything. The plan will either work or it won’t, and there’s nothing I can do about it.#p#分页标题#e#
“Did you figure out what happened?” I ask, changing the topic. “Sharipov said it may have been some kind of error on their part.”
“An error?” I can hear Peter’s derisive snort over the phone. “More like lax security. One of their officers has been in the Ukrainians’ pocket for years, and the idiots had no clue until he fired a missile at your plane.”
“Ukraine?” It makes sense; now that Esguerra’s sided with the Russians, the Ukrainians would want to eliminate him. Except... how could they have found out about our conversation so quickly? Was the restaurant in Moscow bugged? Did Buschekov play for both sides? Or did—
“It was the interpreter,” Peter says, voicing my next guess. “I had her detained in Moscow as soon as I learned what happened.”
A loud beep sounds in my ear, and I realize I squeezed the phone so hard I nearly crushed one of the volume buttons.
“What the fuck—”
“Sorry. Pressed the wrong button.” My voice is cold and steady, even as burning lava moves through my veins. “The interpreter is a Ukrainian spy?”
“It appears that way. We’re still digging into her background, but so far at least half of her story appears to have been fabricated.”
“I see.” I force myself to unclench my fingers before I crush the phone completely. “That’s how they were able to act so quickly.”
“Yes. They somehow figured out exactly when you’d be passing through the Uzbekistani airspace and activated their agent there.”
The phone emits another angry beep as my hand tightens involuntarily. I know exactly how they figured out the timing: I all but told the spying bitch our departure time.
“Lucas?”
“Yeah, I’m here.” I can’t remember the last time I’ve been so furious. Yulia Tzakova—if that’s even her real name—had played me for a fool. Her initial reluctance, her peculiar air of innocence—it had all been an act. She had probably been hoping to get close to Esguerra, and when she couldn’t get him, she settled for me.
“I have to go now,” Peter says. “I’ll contact you again when we land. Get some rest and heal up; there’s nothing else for you to do right now. I’ll keep you apprised of any new developments.”
He disconnects, and I force myself to lie down, my headache worsened by my burning rage.
If Yulia Tzakova ever crosses my path again, she will pay.
She will pay for everything.
I’m still livid with fury when Sharipov returns to reclaim his phone. As he approaches my bed, I sit up and glare at him. “A fucking error, huh?”
Raising his hand, the colonel rubs the bridge of his nose. “We’re questioning the officer responsible right now. It’s not yet clear whether—”
“Take me to him.”
Looking taken aback, Sharipov lowers his hand. “I can’t do that,” he says. “This is a matter for our military.”
“Your military fucked up big time. You had a traitor in charge of your missile defense system.”
The colonel opens his mouth, but I forestall his objections. “Take me to him,” I demand again. “I need to question him myself. Otherwise, we’ll have no choice but to assume that others in your military or your government were involved in the missile strike.” I pause. “And maybe even in this terrorist attack on the hospital.”
Sharipov’s eyes widen at my implied threat. If the Uzbekistani government is found to have ties to a terrorist organization like Al-Quadar, that could be disastrous for the country. I wouldn’t be surprised if the colonel is aware of our connections in the US and Israel. By denying me a chance to interrogate one treasonous officer, the Uzbekistani government might be making an enemy of the powerful Esguerra organization and getting a worldwide reputation for associating with terrorists.#p#分页标题#e#
“I have to discuss this with my superiors,” Sharipov says after a second. “Please, let me have my phone.”