Surprise flashed on Evan’s face, and she almost hugged him for noticing she wasn’t indeed one of the guys, but she had zero time to dwell on how she looked or for joking around. She needed to update her team and get a status report.
She quickly filled them in on their trip and noted the Amari brothers’ names on the whiteboard.
“You’re going to freak when you see this.” Cam tapped a few keys on his laptop and turned the screen to face her.
She saw Firuzeh’s name at the top of a Facebook profile with a picture of a group of young people standing outside Firuzeh’s college. A smiling guy had his arm slung around Firuzeh’s shoulders. Kiley leaned closer to get a better look at his face.
Her mouth fell open, and she shot Cam a look.
“What is it?” Evan asked.
“Firuzeh’s looking awfully chummy in a picture with Bilal Amari,” Cam said.
Evan charged over to them and bent over the screen. “When was this taken?”
“A little over a year ago,” Cam said.
“Before he was radicalized.” Kiley stood back, trying to wrap her head around this new development. “It would make sense that they were friends from before he’d joined ISIS, but did the friendship continue after he turned?”
“Nothing to suggest it did or didn’t,” Cam added.
“It can’t be a coincidence that she mentioned a box number connected to a letter with his name on it.” Evan leaned back. “She could’ve gotten her information from him.”
“Why would he tell her?” Mack sounded skeptical. “He’s clearly still involved in terroristic acts.”
Cam pulled his laptop back in front of him. “Maybe he has family who could die if the upcoming plot is carried out. He’s conflicted. He wants it to happen, but wants to stop it too.”
“It would make more sense to warn his family, wouldn’t it?” Evan took a seat. “So they could get out of the hazard area.”
Kiley met Cam’s gaze. “Find out if his family still lives in Virginia Beach and see if there’s been any movement. I’ll follow up with Quinn to see if Waleed is hunkered down or if he’s on the move with his family and brother.”
Cam nodded but pointed his chin at her.
She recognized that look. He was questioning her. “What?”
“I don’t think the Amaris are our container suspects,” he said, then held up a hand before she could comment. “Sure, they no longer live here, but they weren’t on the watch list. As U.S. citizens they wouldn’t draw any attention returning to the country and wouldn’t need to be smuggled in.”
“They could’ve done so to be cautious,” Mack suggested.
“Maybe Cam is right,” Kiley said. “The Amaris are new to the terrorist world. Would you trust a big event to rookies?”
Evan shifted to look her in the eyes. “If they had the skills I needed, I’d consider it. Think about Harrison. Sometimes rookies are overly zealous and use the enthusiasm to accomplish more. And they’re further down the food chain so, if needed, they’re easily expendable.”
Sean leaned forward. “From Pittsburgh we know they like bombs, but it looks like they screwed up on the target, so they might not be proficient yet. Still in training, so to speak.”
Kiley turned to Cam. “Do either of these guys show up on the list you’re compiling on terrorist preferences?”
Cam clicked a few keys on his laptop and shook his head.
“Did you turn up anything else useful on them?” she asked.
“Gathered all kinds of personal info, but they’re really too new on the terrorist scene to have a record.”
“Did Firuzeh know both of the Amaris?” Kiley asked.
“I found nothing to indicate she knew Ibrahim.”
Kiley’s questions were racing wildly through her head, and she didn’t know which one to ask first. She took a breath to organize her thoughts. The image of their tail to the airport pinged to the surface. “What about an association with Waleed? Can we connect the container to him?”
