Page 61 of Relentless
Kara laughed. “Shockingly, I think it was the surprise that caught her off guard. And we all know how much she likes being caught off guard.”
“Are you coming?” Chad bellowed from somewhere downstairs.
Ethan let out an annoyed huff then stole another kiss before taking her hand and leading her out of the room. “We’re on our way,” he called back.
When they filed into the library, they found not only Chad and Sabina, but also Cody and Tia. She started to ask Tia how her head was, but Gina’s face suddenly filled a large screen set up in the room, cutting her off.
“Before we start,” Gina said, after greeting everyone, “any updates on the coach?”
Ethan shook his head. “There wasn’t time for the mechanic to get started today. He’ll start first thing in the morning.” It had taken several hours to find a truck capable of towing the out-of-commission bus. By the time it had reached the garage, it was close to four, and the shop closed at five.
Gina nodded. Instead of pursuing the topic any further, she held up the picture the sketch artist had sent. “Kara, both you and Evelyn confirmed this is the person who mugged Peter, is that correct?”
Kara nodded. Gina looked straight at her with an expression Kara recognized. “We have a problem, don’t we?” Kara asked.
Gina nodded. “I ran this by a few contacts today, and it didn’t take long for someone to recognize him. His name is Asim. He’s seventeen, though looks much younger. And if you’re wondering why he’s recognizable to several intelligence agents, it’s because his father is Abu Hanifa. His full name is a little more complicated than that, but that’s how he’s known.”
“And what is he known for?” Kara asked.
“Weapons trafficking. One of the biggest in the region,” Gina replied.
Kara heard the words, but it took a moment for her to process them. “Are you saying that Peter, a man who has dedicated his life to the aid agency, is working with a weapons dealer?” She didn’t bother to hide the disbelief in her voice. The two notions were too incongruous to consider. She may not particularly care for Peter as a person, but she’d never questioned his loyalty to the aid work. Even if that loyalty was driven by his own ego.
“Maybe it really was a mugging,” Sabina offered, gently.
Kara was shaking her head before Sabina even finished. “I understand why you’re humoring me, but don’t.” Chad stepped closer to his wife and put a hand on her shoulder. Kara noticed his look of disapproval at her sharp tone, but at the moment, she didn’t care.
“Tell me about Abu Hanifa,” she said to Gina.
“He deals in small weapons only. Mostly hand and military-grade guns. Anything small enough to transport easily,” she replied. “Trafficking of large weapons gets more attention because of the damage a bomb or missile can do. But that hyper-focus has allowed dealers like Abu Hanifa to flourish and arm just about every civil conflict on the continent.”
“What’s his supply chain?” Kara asked. Had any of the gunshot wounds she’d seen over the years, in both civilians and military, been the result of Peter’s actions? The thought made her ill.
“His supply comes mostly from the US, and he’s indiscriminate as to who he distributes to. Any skirmish, war, or rebel group is a potential business opportunity or customer,” Gina answered.
“And he hasn’t been stopped?” It was a naive question. She knew that. There were a hundred and one reasons why Abu Hanifa would still be running around. It could be anything from there being bigger fish to fry to the possibility that no one really cared enough to stop him. Or perhaps he had a politician or two in his pocket.
Gina hesitated. “It’s a complicated situation. I’m not going to sugarcoat it and make it sound noble, because it’s not. But sometimes it’s better to let the smaller dealers get their wares into places governments can’t directly sell into.”
Kara had seen enough war to know the truth of Gina’s statement. The US had secretly—and not so secretly—armed more countries than she could recall. It always seemed a shortsighted approach to her. Very rarely did it not come back and bite the US on the ass. Then again, she saw conflict from a different perspective than diplomats and intelligence agents. They weren’t the ones elbow-deep in blood at the end of the day when a human disaster, or slaughter, took place.
Ethan rested a comforting hand on her shoulder as he stood at her back. “Okay,” she said on an exhale. “I suppose having us witness an interaction between Peter and Asim would be cause for concern for both Peter and Abu Hanifa. Do we know if that’s what is really behind this?” She knew in her gut it was. No way would the son of an arms dealer be randomly mugging Americans. In the span of the conversation, she’d come to accept that what they’d witnessed was likely an exchange of information. An interaction that Peter, upon seeing her and the group, had made appear as if it were a mugging.
“Never mind,” she said. “Forget I asked. Putting aside the assumption that any of us would recognize Asim, Peter must have panicked when he realized that the entire team saw him interacting with the son of an arms dealer. Then either he, or Abu Hanifa, decided he needed to tie up the loose ends. Meaning kill those of us who witnessed the exchange. Is that what we’re thinking?”
Silence fell over the room, then Gina spoke. “I don’t know about the rest of you, but that’s whatI’mthinking.” There was a chorus of agreements.
“Then how do we stop it?” Kara asked. “How do we stop him?”
“We’re investigating his life and movements,” Ava said, stepping into the conversation. “Situations like this are usually about money, and that’s where we’re starting. If we can follow the money, we can likely find the evidence needed to stop him.”
“Is he still in DC?” Ethan asked.
Chad shifted behind them, drawing everyone’s attention. He flashed them a chagrined look before answering. “My colleagues in DC haven’t been able to get eyes on him.”
“But his phone is there, right? You’re tracking that?” Kara asked.
“We are, and it was moving around. But it’s not anymore,” Sabina said.
