Page 54 of Renegade
“Abdel Haqazzii,” Addison interjected. “Years ago, I was the one who found him and I knew the SEAL who took him out.”
“Nice work,” Greystone said. “Muhammed is Abdel’s youngest son. He’s their current leader.”
Greystone had spent the flight committing their faces to memory, but the photos from Sherry were old and not the best quality. “The asset was married to this man.” He pointed. “Sajid Haqazzii, Muhammed’s cousin.”
“Sajid looks a lot older,” Caroline continued.” Do we have ages?”
“Muhammad is thirty,” Dakota replied. “Sajid is forty. The spec sheet I’ll forward you has the deets.”
“Team, check me,” Greystone said. “Is that a shadow on the photo or a scar next to Sajid’s left eye?”
Caroline walked over and stood so close her arm brushed up against his, her sweet scent drawing him in. Though heshouldhave moved away, he didn’t. Being this close to her energized him.
She peered at the photo, then pinned her gaze on him. “That’s a scar.”
He couldn’t look away, the intensity in her eyes mesmerized him. A bolt of energy passed between them, and he tossed her a nod. Working with her in person was a million times better than the phone conversations they used to have.
“Scar it is,” he said dragging his attention to the team. “Thanks, Austin.”
She offered a little smile, returned to her seat.
He moved to the bulletin board. “These photos are from the asset. They could have changed up their looks to blend in. Shaved off facial hair or added eyeglasses. Even switching up their hair color makes a diff.”
He paused, his gaze floating over the group. When he got to Caroline, she was waiting. Like earlier, he lingered for an extra beat.
“Are we meeting weekly?” Addison asked.
“I’ll be workin’ here,” Greystone said. “Time is tight, so we’ll sync up on the reg with video calls. I’m available twenty-four-seven. This is my life until we get the job done.”
“Ditto,” Caroline said.
“Based on what happened with the asset,” Sin said, “we’re all targets, so we’ve got to watch our backs.”
“Agreed,” Dakota said. “Addison and Hawk, you have children?—”
“We’ve got a security team from Maverick Hott’s company, ThunderStrike, ensuring their safety,” Hawk said.
“Same,” Dakota replied, before he changed the picture on the screen to a single shot of a man. “This is Jerod De Clerq. Alias, Dante. Former ATF who spearheaded the mission to bring the terrorists into the country.”
Anger burned through him. What happened to some damn allegiance. “Where is he?”
“He was taken out, but the Day of Destruction was already set in motion,” Sin explained. “All the terrorists have to do is blow up the buildings.”
“That’s not so easy,” Greystone pushed back.
“Neither was getting into the country,” Hawk said, “but they did.”
“Good point.” Greystone pulled out his laptop. “I stumbled on some videos on the dark web.”
After Dakota plugged Greystone’s laptop into the network, Greystone logged into the chat room, pulled up the videos and hit play.
A man dressed in black with a black scarf over his head and wearing sunglasses stood in front of a white wall. In his arms, he held an assault rifle.
“The Day of Destruction is coming,” said the man in the video. “No one can stop this from happening, not even law enforcement. We take responsibility for this attack onAmerican soil. We are ghosts in the night. We are amongst you, skilled to take you down.” A terrifying smile split his lips. “You can’t see us, you will never find us. You can’t stop us.” He raised his gun in the air. “Revenge and power are ours!”
The video ended.
Thundering silence filled the room. The energy shifted, all eyes on him.
