Garrett waved his hand, saying, “I know, but it’s frustrating. How are we looking in Bahrain? Did we transfer the funds to Qassim?”
“Not yet. He hasn’t passed the new account information. I think he’s laying low after the Ramsad hit.”
“I thought they had to have that money for the target in Bahrain?”
“That’s what he said.”
“That hit is supposed to be in two days. Either they need the money or they don’t.”
Leonardo said, “I’ll contact him again. Ask what the situation is, but honestly, without the money I don’t think that target will be hit in two days.”
Garrett thought for a moment, then said, “I agree. We’re not sending him any more money. We’ll take it to Bahrain ourselves.” He turned to Donatello and said, “You’ll go. I want our eyes on this to make sure that hit happens like we want. This has to make the news.”
Taken aback, Donatello said, “How am I going to do that? I’m a Croatian Catholic.”
“You speak Bosnian, right? Spent some time in Tuzla?”
“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean anything.”
“Sure it does. Tell them you’re a Bosniak. A Muslim wanting to help with the cause. They won’t know the difference.”
“Except I don’t know the religion.”
“You know it well enough, and Iran has been funding the Bosniaks for years. It fits. They’ll believe you if you tell them the Qods Force trained you. Any discrepancies between ‘your’ version of Islam and theirs, just blame on how it works in Bosnia. They won’t know any better. Hell, when I was there with the Special Forces they all drank alcohol.”
Donatello slowly nodded, then said, “How on earth will I meet them? I have nothing.”
Garrett turned to Leonardo and said, “Contact Qassim and tell him we’re taking the money directly to the team in Bahrain. Get the contact information from him and have him set up the meeting.”
Leonardo said, “I don’t think he has any operational knowledge of the plan. He’s just the money conduit.”
“Well, he had to pass the money to them somehow, so they have contact. Just have him establish the linkup.”
He nodded and Garrett continued, turning back to Donatello: “That hit has to make the news with an Iran link. Take a look at their plan and help them where you can. Don’t let them do anything stupid. Use your skill.”
Nodding, liking the fact that he had been chosen and now getting into the mission, Donatello said, “No issues. I can do that.”
Garrett tapped his finger on the desk, then said, “Michelangelo, I want you to go to Zurich immediately. Wait until Qassim has given us the linkup information, then take him out.”
Michelangelo said, “Kill him?”
Garrett laughed and said, “No. I meant take him out to dinner. Yes, kill him. They’re going to find those Keta’ib Hezbollah cells eventually, and that will lead them to him. He’s the only link between the militia and us.”
“He’s been good to us. Are you sure?”
“Yes, I’m sure. That bastard caused me to get captured in Syria. He’s been good on this mission, but he deserves some retribution. Once Bahrain is in motion we no longer need him.”
All of the Turtles knew the torture Garrett had suffered in Syria, and the rage that had come out of it. In truth, they felt a little survivor’s guilt that they hadn’t been captured as well.
Michelangelo said, “Can I get a visa that quickly? I’m from Croatia.”
“Use the Knights of Malta passport. It’s valid for travel to Switzerland without a visa. In fact, use one of the diplomatic passports. It’ll allow you to take a weapon without going through customs. Just make sure you only contact us through Zello. No cell calls whatsoever. If you can, put the phone on airplane mode and only use Wi-Fi. And be sure your geolocation feature is on. I want to be able to keep track.”
Scribbling furiously in a notebook, Michelangelo finally looked up and nodded, but said nothing, like the rest of the Turtles.
With a rubber band around both index fingers, Garrett rotated his hands around each other, his eyes looking at the ceiling, lost in thought. Finally, he said, “I’m not sure the Bahrain hit will be enough. We need more press reporting. More splash. The hit in Israel is in five days, and that has to trigger the war.”
Michelangelo said, “What are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking we need another killing.”
“We haven’t contracted for that. We don’t have a Keta’ib team anywhere that we can leverage, and if we kill the contact we most certainly won’t.”
“That’s fine, I’m talking about one we can execute. One we can make sure makes the news with a link to Keta’ib Hezbollah.”
“Who are you thinking of?”
“I don’t know. You guys figure it out. Do some research. Who can we kill that will make a splash? Maybe someone that we can link to the dead ambassador, get them talking about both killings.”
He stood, letting them know the meeting was over. He said, “You two find a target while Michelangelo is in Zurich, but whatever you do, make it spectacular. Something the press can’t ignore.”
Chapter 13
We began our final approach to a business airport called Payerne, a little under two hours outside of Zurich, and I continued to calm Shoshana about the leaking of the mission to Wolffe.
“I had to at least tell him I was traveling overseas. I mean, really, what was I going to say when he showed up to my house for dinner tonight and I wasn’t there?”
Still miffed, she said, “This aircraft is great, and I appreciate it, but you really shouldn’t have told him about the passports. You should have just come with me. He will be mad that he wasn’t informed by Israeli intelligence of the information I passed to you.”
Which, of course, is exactly what had happened, but I wasn’t going to tell her that. I said, “He was okay with it. Not good, but okay. But I do have to ask why you guys haven’t engaged our intelligence systems.”
“I don’t know, but if I were to guess, it’s because they’re fighting about it right now, and my side of the equation wants evidence before we go off with our knives out.”
“Good. Because that’s exactly what I told him to make him feel better.”
She finally smiled and said, “So you play games like we do.”
“Not a game. I just wanted to defuse the situation, and it seemed logical. Unlike you guys. You have two dead and no mention on the news that some Iraqi militia is claiming credit. One is a tragic paragliding accident, the other is a random mugging. And yet nobody in official circles in Paris and Switzerland seems to know that. Don’t tell me about games.”
She said, “We’re doing that for a reason. It’s the people who hired me. Some in my country are always spoiling for a fight. Trust me, after the death of the Shin Bet head of European Protective Services, they’re building up steam. They want to send a message to Iran, and not like the Wrath of God teams. They want to eliminate Iran completely. The only thing holding them back is the fact that we kept the claims of the killings secret. If that hit the news, there would be overwhelming pressure to respond. And that response would require an escalation, when we don’t know if what’s happening is what it appears.”