“Correct. The bodyguards always get out first. They look around to make sure they haven’t been followed, then one of them opens the back door.”
“I see,” Crocker said. “Do the bodyguards wear body armor?”
“I don’t know.”
“Will Suleimani and Alizadeh be armed?”
“I don’t know that, either.”
“We’ll assume they will be.” Pointing at the sketch, Crocker asked, “Are there usually other vehicles parked back here?”
“Yes.”
“And people?”
“Sometimes people, too, yes.”
Danush said something to Ramin in Farsi, then turned to Crocker and said, “You don’t need to worry about other people. My brother will clear them. He’ll show you where to hide.”
Crocker had dozens more questions, having to do with disguises, uniforms, other guards and policemen at the arena, and their escape. Ramin and Danush answered some of them. When it was time for them to leave, they led the SEALs a hundred yards past a chain-link fence to an old shipping container. This one had a lock on it, which Ramin opened with a key.
It stunk inside, and old mattresses covered the metal floor. “You can sleep here tonight,” Ramin said.
“I give this place half a star,” Ritchie cracked.
Akil: “Don’t you have something with a view of the swimming pool?”
Ramin frowned.
“What happens next?” Crocker asked.
“We lock you in for the night,” Ramin answered. “Then we come back tomorrow morning and bring some food and beverages.”
“We brought food and water with us.”
“Then Danush will return about 6 p.m. to drive you to the arena. The game doesn’t start until seven.”
Akil turned to Crocker and raised an eyebrow.
“Two things,” Crocker said. “Number one, you’re not going to lock us in this shipping container, so forget about that. Number two: What’s likely to happen at the steel plant tomorrow? Are we going to wake up and find this area overrun with people?”
“Mr. Mansfield,” Ramin answered, “I must say I find some of your questions insulting. We’re intelligent people who are risking our lives to help you. We’ve thought about all of these matters. The plant is closed for the rest of the week as people get ready to celebrate the birthday of the Prophet.”
The breeze threw sand in Crocker’s eyes. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to insult you,” he said. “But I need to know what to expect.”
“You can expect peace and quiet here. Nobody visits the plant when it’s closed.”
“Okay.”
“Any more questions?” Ramin asked.
Crocker shook his head. “Is there any way for us to reach you?”
“No. It’s too dangerous, and I don’t have a secure phone. We’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Until tomorrow morning then.”
“Until tomorrow.”
Ramin turned and walked away with his two associates, leaving Crocker with a bad taste in his mouth.
“There goes the mighty Scimitar,” Ritchie said as he watched them climb into the BMW and drive off.
Akil turned to Crocker. “What do you think?”
“If they do what they say they’re gonna do, we’ll be fine.”
“What do you think are the odds that’s going to happen?” Akil asked.
“Fifty-fifty.”
“I don’t know if they can be trusted,” Ritchie said, picking sand out of his teeth.
“We’ll find out.”
The men chose to sleep on the flat roof of the container, where they could breathe fresh air and keep an eye on their immediate surroundings. To pass the time, Mancini, who had recently seen the movie Lincoln, talked about the strange coincidences between the sixteenth president and the thirty-fifth, John F. Kennedy. Both were shot by a bullet to the head on a Friday. Lincoln was elected to Congress in 1846, Kennedy in 1946. Lincoln’s successor (named Johnson) was born in 1808. Kennedy’s successor, also named Johnson, was born in 1908. Lincoln’s assassin had three names and was born in 1838. Kennedy’s assassin also went by three names and was born in 1939.
“So?” Ritchie asked. “What’s it mean?”
“It’s interesting, that’s all. Did you know that a week before his death, Lincoln dreamt that he heard crying in a room in the White House? He found the room and saw a coffin and someone crying. When he asked who was in the coffin, the person responded, ‘It’s the president.’ Then he looked in the coffin and saw himself.”
“Was that in the movie?” Akil asked.
“No. They left out a whole lot of interesting stuff.”