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.Lucky for him, when he returned to the cabin it was to find the kitchen table covered with pages of notes and the door to Rick’s bedroom firmly closed, Xena planted stolidly in front of it.Mike winked at her.“I get the message.”Lying on the bed in the other bedroom, he tried to blank his mind and fall asleep.Morning would come far too soon for him.* * * * *“Father, please tell me you’ve made the proper arrangements,” Zarife pleaded.“I don’t want this man calling again.”“All is as it should be,” his father said.“I have contacted the right people and set things in motion.”“The man says Latrobe must be killed and evidence delivered to place all the blame on him or we will all be in trouble.”“Nothing is going to happen,” the elder al-Dulami assured him.“All will be taken care of.With Latrobe’s death the case will be closed.Even now we are planting the seeds.”“Can you tell me what?”But Zarife could almost see his father shaking his head.“No, my son.It is not good for you to know.You must be totally clear of anything that happens.”“And the campaign you are waging?”Al-Dulami chuckled.“To counteract the setback we had and not bring either the coalition troops down on our heads or face attacks by other insurgent groups, we have constructed a multi-prong plan.In two weeks we will be ready to strike again and all will be ours again.No one will dare to ask us questions or even chance crossing the borders of our territory.”“And then I may come home?”Al-Dulami hesitated only a moment.“And then you may come home.”* * * * *“God damn it, Dan.”Charlie Grainger had tried to storm his way past security and bully his way into Dan’s office.Building security guards had escorted him up from the lobby after first calling Dan but they weren’t going anywhere without the head honcho’s okay.“We’re fine,” he told them.“If it’s all the same to you, Mr.Romeo,” the older one said.“We’ll just hang around in the corner until you’re through with your meeting.Our replacements are already in the lobby.”Dan swallowed a smile of satisfaction.He and Mike had handpicked the entire security staff for the building, paid them a more than sufficient salary and given extraordinary training.They dressed in dark suits rather than uniforms, could kill with one blow and were intensely loyal to their employers.“That’s fine,” he told them, then turned to Charlie, whose face once again was an unhealthy purple.“If you don’t get hold of yourself you’re going to have a stroke.”“I just might anyway.”The big man dropped an armload of papers on the polished surface of the desk.“Have you seen these?”He stabbed the pile with a thick forefinger.“I’d have to be blind not to.” Dan kept his voice deliberately mild.“Well, do something.” Charlie dropped heavily into one of the armchairs.“My office is crawling with government agents.My lawyer is spending all his time fighting subpoenas.There’s a lock on our government contracts.And every source tells me Rick Latrobe is the guilty party and the DOJ is just minutes away from arresting him.” He banged his fist on the arm of the chair.“I wish I could be calm like Matt.He just rolls with it all and refuses to let anyone rattle him.”“That’s why the two of you make good partners,” Dan pointed out.“You balance each other.”“By the way.” Charlie’s voice softened slightly.“Thanks for sending someone over to Iraq to straighten out the security situation so we aren’t just standing around picking our noses.”Dan shrugged.He’d picked Ken Murphy, his Beta Team leader, to step into the mess.Ken had been one of the first Phoenix employees when the partners decided they needed more manpower.Their client list had grown and they needed more men to handle training and also to teach corporate security.Dan had found Ken through a longtime friend and he’d never regretted it for one minute.“You pay us to do a job.One way or the other we get it done.” He opened the single folder that was sitting on his desk.“The heavy weapons might be gone but you’re got enough small arms and rifles for your immediate needs.We don’t have the Humvees to ride shotgun to each work site but the men we have there have figured out a way around that.”“And who is still there? How many guards do we have?”Dan flipped to another sheet of paper.“All the ones we brought from the States are still good to go.We lost most of the locals but the ones we kept are reliable.Several of the men we sent speak Arabic so they can keep everyone in shape.And there’s no downtime for the guards.When the day shift is sleeping, we’ve got a full complement on watch at night.More than we had before.”“Matt tells me with your help we’re actually moving forward with the projects.” Charlie’s tone was grudging.“That’s good but I want to know what you’re going to do about Latrobe.”Dan sat watching the man for a long moment.Finally he put down the pen he’d been playing with.“Rick Latrobe has yet to be proven guilty of anything.The media is very good at speculating and yes, he was the front man on this project.At your request, I might point out.”Charlie huffed a breath.“We’ve worked with Rick for a long time.I sure would never have figured him for anything like this.”“Then don’t figure him.Wait for proof.Don’t let him be judged and tried in the media.Charlie, whatever this is, we’ll make it right.You know that.”“Damn straight you will.So what do I tell people in the meantime?”“You let your attorneys handle the inquiries, let your public relations department handle the media and you and Matt take care of your projects [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
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