Page 36 of The Team

“Gordian,” King said, pointing to the first screen, then to the second screen. “And Askarov.”

“Gordian. Albanian national, thirty-four years old, no known family. Parents died in the First Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Never married. Came to our attention during the Istomin bust in Bosnia, and he’s been a person of interest since. He went off-radar for a while but came out of his hole to meet with Askarov in Baku.”

“Doctor Sadiq Askarov,” King continued. “Forty-two.Born in Grozny, Chechnya, Russia. Eight-year-old sister was killed during the battle of Grozny in 1994.

“His father, a renowned doctor in the field of neural science, Doctor Ahmed Askarov, moved himself and his son to Baku, Azerbaijan. Was the department head of Baku City Hospital, awarded the Federation of Neurology medal for his research, and for outstanding contributions to the international neurology community. Died in a car accident when Sadiq was nineteen.”

Jesus.

“Sadiq studied biochemistry and molecular modelling, completed his master’s in bioengineering at Baku State University. Genius IQ. Known gambler, banned from casinos in Europe.”

“His mother?” Rhett was almost afraid to ask.

“Missing,” King said, “from what we can ascertain. She hasn’t been home in four months, and we suspect Gordian may be behind this, to ensure Askarov does as he’s told. No confirmation to date.”

Then King brought up another screen. This image was a satellite view of a residential address in Tehran, one building in particular marked with a red dot. He looked directly at Rhett. “We believe this is where agents Kowalski and Myles were held.”

Rhett’s adrenaline burst through him, but then King’s word choice hit home. “Were held?”

King made a face that was hard to read. “Taken to, yes. We cannot confirm nor deny they are still there. We lost signal, heat signatures show nothing.”

“So they’re underground,” Rhett deduced. “A basement or cellar.”

“Most likely.”

“When do we leave?”

“You’re not,” King said. “Not for them, anyway.”

“Sir, those are my men?—”

“And we will extract them,” King said firmly. “But your mission and our main priority remains unchanged.” He pointed to the faces of Gordian and Askarov. “Teams Alpha One and Two will be tasked with bringing in these two individuals, by whatever means necessary. Understood?”

This is the part where human-Rhett warred with soldier-Rhett. The human side of him wanted to rescue his teammates, his friends. The soldier in him would do what he was told, what he was ordered to do.

“Yes, sir.”

Rhett was given the latest intel on his two targets. Last known locations, and more importantly, where they were expected to be two hours from now.

They had a plan in place, not without its risks, of course, but Rhett was confident. Then King dismissed him, with a promise to speak to him and his team when Alpha Two arrived, and Rhett went in search of his team.

He walked into what was essentially an empty mess hall of sorts, and he walked into a tense standoff. His team, and a few faces Rhett recognised from the Iranian transport team from their truck escort earlier, were all glaring at each other. The air was static, charged, and Rhett had no clue what had transpired, but given Coyote was standing on the offensive, Rhett assumed he was in the thick of it.

The bigger of the Iranian men sneered and murmured something and Coyote burred up, ready to throw hands. Before Rhett could say anything, Yin was between them.He stared up at the Iranian, who was easily a head taller and maybe twenty kilos heavier, with a calm expression.

Yin murmured something, and the Iranian stared bitterly, nostrils flared, jaw clenched.

Yin took a small step closer, staring, unblinking, cool as fucking ice. And he stared until the Iranian took a step back.

“My money’s on Yin,” Jay said, putting his hand up with a five-pound note. “Any takers?”

Jesus Christ.

Rhett sighed. “Enough,” he barked, walking in to give the tall Iranian soldier a glare of his own. “We got a problem here?”

The soldier grumbled and sneered again, but he turned and walked away, his men following.

Rhett turned to Yin, who was still staring at the door the Iranian soldiers had disappeared through with a quiet, seething glare. Then he noticed Coyote; he had one hand on the EF88 strapped at his chest, the other on the hunting knife in his thigh holster.

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