The Ghost said, “Good luck.”
They said their goodbyes to Ramzi and Omar, and after they’d left, the Ghost said, “Omar and Ramzi, let’s talk.”
They gathered around the Ghost expectantly, now completely subservient to his commands. He said, “Omar, you know the route, correct? You can get us to the airport after?”
“Yes. I helped Fatima with her route, and then practiced my own. I know all the one-way roads and can get us to the airport even with some interruptions.”
“Good. And the car you rented is large enough for all of us and the equipment?”
“It is, but I had to take what I could get. It’s a small SUV. Not something I expect a news crew would actually use.”
“That’s okay. Nobody expects us to have brought a news van from Lebanon. One thing: I want you to remain until we’re through security, if possible. If the equipment doesn’t make it through, I’m coming back out fast.”
The Ghost saw fear run up Omar’s face and knew that no matter what he said, if there was trouble, he was running. Omar said, “If possible, I will.”
The Ghost leaned forward and said, “If you leave us in the kill box because you got scared, I will make it my mission to find you anywhere on this earth. Do you understand me?”
Omar nodded his head like he was trying to shake water out of his hair, saying, “Of course, of course. You can count on me.”
The Ghost studied him for a second, then turned to Ramzi, saying, “You practiced with the battery pack harness?”
“Yes. I can get it on and arm it.”
“That is our one weak link. You’ll be acting as the anchorman, so someone might question you on the battery pack. If they do, just tell them we’re a small team and you help me, the cameraman, as a team member.”
Ramzi nodded and said, “We have to be there for security checks at nine thirty. What will we do while we’re waiting for the ceremony?”
The Ghost smiled and said, “Not look like you do right now, that’s for sure. You need to express confidence.”
Ramzi gave a ghoulish smile, looking like he’d swallowed sour milk, and the Ghost laughed and said, “Something to work on. Look, we’ll get the camera set up and you’ll pretend to get an opening shot, allowing me to get an aimpoint on the stage. Come up with a lead-in speech that looks like we’re taping for a later newscast.”
Taken aback, Ramzi said, “What will I say?”
“Do some research on the bombing and just give a thirty-second spot on the anniversary. Be sure and disparage Hezbollah when you do it. It’ll give us credibility.”
Ramzi nodded and the Ghost said, “You’ll be responsible for contacting Omar. Text him when I signal. I’ll be taking the shot shortly thereafter. We’ll both reveal our vests, shouting in English what they are. We need to get that out fast, before they fire.”
Ramzi said, “They’ll be shooting immediately. We won’t get a chance to warn them.”
“If things go as planned we will. The crossbow is silent. When the bolt hits home everyone will be focused on the prime minister, then searching for the threat. They will be looking at everyone, not just us. We’ll show our vests then, raising our hands as if we aren’t a threat. They won’t shoot immediately. By the time they realize we’re the assassins, they’ll also recognize the explosives.”
He turned to Omar, saying, “You need to come as soon as you’re alerted. We’ll be exiting rapidly, and I’m sure there will be guns on us. They won’tshoot when we’re inside, but most definitely will if they think they can without the vests killing anyone. That will most likely be as we’re driving away. That will be when we’re at our most vulnerable.”
The Ghost looked out the window, seeing the sun had started to crest the horizon. He said, “We have about an hour and a half. Do what you want, but as for me, I’m going to watch the sun rise.”
He stood up and smiled, attempting to give them confidence. They seemed to absorb his calmness, ready to face the upcoming trials, right up until Ramzi asked why.
The Ghost said, “Because it might be my last.”
Chapter 62
Shoshana and I returned to the TOC after breakfast, finding Jennifer behind the computer with a headset on and Aaron watching the news on TV. Jennifer saw me enter and said, “Roger all. Stand by, Pike just came in.”
She handed me the headset and said, “Veep’s got one of the cell phones.”
Which was a welcome surprise, to say the least. He’d been burning holes in the sky for about an hour and a half with no luck whatsoever, which is why I’d decided to forgo my next loop around the city and go get breakfast.
Because we had nothing else we could do, but we weren’t content to simply sit and wait, we’d split up into the same teams, me with Shoshana and Jennifer with Aaron, and had conducted rotations driving around the city looking for bad guys and the mysterious rental car that had disappeared days ago. The one that might be a VBIED.
