Palmer looked like he’d just upchucked in his mouth and swallowed it back down, but said nothing. President Hannister returned to Wolffe and said, “Okay, tell Pike he’s got Alpha to figure out where this credit card leads.”
I watched Shoshana’s wolf grin split her face and leaned forward, slapping Knuckles on the back and whispering, “It was a good hit.”
He nodded, and Wolffe said, “Yes sir, will do,” not letting on that we were listening.
President Hannister ended by throwing a little bit of cold water on the celebration, saying, “When I say Alpha, I mean Alpha. I don’t want him killing the clerk to get the intel, is that clear?”
Wolffe assured him of our steadfast abilities, but I didn’t even mind the rebuke. Last night had been a near-miss of a colossal failure, and I’d take the lessons learned to heart, but for now we were back in business.
Chapter 42
The Ghost held out a key fob and pressed the button, seeing nothing in the gloom of the garage, the fluorescent lights providing little more than harsh shadows behind the rows of parked cars.
He said, “Yassir did say second floor, right?”
Omar said, “Yes, but the key fob range may be short. Let’s circle around and try again.”
After settling into their respective hotel rooms, Omar had explained to the Ghost the mechanics of the linkup with the smugglers while Yassir had rented the extra vehicle the Ghost had demanded. He’d come back and told them it was two blocks away, in a parking garage. With the rendezvous set up at precisely 0130, they’d waited until after midnight to seek it out.
They walked up a ramp to the next level and he pressed the fob again, seeing a flash of taillights down the left side. They hurried over to the vehicle, finding a Renault Fluence, a nondescript four-door sedan with bland green paint. Omar went to the passenger side and the Ghost popped the trunk.
Omar said, “What are you doing?”
The Ghost said, “Just checking.”
Omar returned to him, seeing the Ghost inspecting what looked like a yellow cylinder from the back of a forklift. Bolted into the bottom of the trunk behind the back seat, it served the same purpose as on a forklift: a fuel cell of compressed natural gas. Satisfied, the Ghost threw in his knapsack and closed the trunk, then moved to the driver’s door.
Omar slid into the passenger seat, saying, “A normal fuel tank wouldn’t work?”
The Ghost started the engine, “Much easier to engender a secondary explosion. A regular fuel tank is good for flame, but harder to ignite explosively.”
He exited the garage and started heading east through the congestion of Buenos Aires, towards the Argentinian coast and the headwaters of the Uruguay River. Along the way, the Ghost asked final questions about the linkup point.
“You’re sure the nature reserve will be easy to get into?”
“Yes. Cyrus and I conducted a reconnaissance earlier. It closes at six, and they don’t maintain guards on it. They just lock up the gate and leave. I’ll show you where to park and lead you to the break in the fence we found.”
The linkup point was at a nature park on the coast. Called the Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve, it was more than eight hundred acres of wild growth on the shores of the Uruguay River. Originally used as a dumping ground for excavation and construction material from the city, it had been abandoned, and nature took its own course until it became a refuge for all manner of creatures, from alligators to birds. Now it was a reserve for people to escape the hustle and bustle of the city.
The Ghost continued threading through the streets, following a route on his phone. He said, “Are these guys Pasdaran? Who are we meeting?”
“No, they’re not Pasdaran. They’re not even Hezbollah. They’re drug runners who Hezbollah uses to transport their product. Middlemen. We just contracted them to infiltrate the weapons for the hit. They have no ideology, and no idea what they’re transporting for us.”
The Ghost said nothing, letting the silence extend out in the car. Omar said, “Don’t worry. We’ve checked them out, and they’ve already been paid. It’ll be fine.”
The Ghost crossed a large canal, seeing restaurants and bars lining the shores on both sides. His phone told him to take a left, and he turned the vehicle onto a tree-lined lane, the left side showing the buildings lining the canal, the right nothing but forest.
Omar said, “That’s the reserve. The main entrance is to the south. We’re going to the north end. Drive until I tell you to stop.”
The Ghost slowed but continued forward. He saw a building next to a twelve-foot metal gate large enough for a vehicle, the area illuminated by a floodlight. He rolled past it, reaching the end of a parking area, the road circling back to the canal.
Omar said, “Pull in over there, under that tree next to the fence.”
The Ghost did, turning off the vehicle and saying, “Did you bring a weapon?”
Omar smiled and said, “You really worry, don’t you.”
The Ghost opened the door and went to the trunk, popping it open. He unzipped the pack he’d placed inside and withdrew an ice pick.
