Page 134 of High Treason
“Where does her brother Jafar Turan fit?”
“No mention of him.”
“Youssof Dagher?”
“Malik recruited him.”
“Is Malik the leader of the conservatives?”
“That hasn’t been confirmed. I’m working on names.”
“Malik’s motivation?”
“Unclear. I heard a story about him slitting his mother’s throat when she learned he was meeting secretly with an Iranian. He blamed an intruder who was never found for the attack.”
“That was over two years ago, and he told Prince Omar she’d been attacked in her home, claimed she was murdered. Doesn’t fit with the current scheme unless he had designs to bring down Prince Omar then.” Images darted across his mind of the prince and his family in a pool of blood. “Maybe the mother’s murderis what ties it all together. We’ll work through it here. Anything else?”
“Another of my sources inside Iraq has photos of Malik with Parvin taken about six months ago. I’m sending them to your phone.”
“Which means she sneaked in and out of the US.”
“You need the why, and I’m working on it.”
“Dig more into the Saudi conservatives,” Kord said. “Thanks. Be safe.”
“No worries. I’m a good liar.”
Kord dropped his phone into his pocket and turned to Monica. “ASAP to Prince Omar. You were right. Should have listened. Remember when I said, ‘You know nothing about a brotherhood of loyalty’?”
“Doesn’t mean I like hearing a man is a killer. What can I do?” she said.
“Get better.” He kissed her cheek.
“I’m doing my best.” She yawned.
“Need to get you back inside. While we walk back, I’m contacting SAC Thomas. See how quickly we can confirm Jafar’s whereabouts.”
“I’ll text Jeff. Malik won’t live past the hour unless Saudi authorities think they can extract more information.”
“Either way, he’s a dead man.”
KORD EXPLAINED TO PRINCE OMARwhat he and Monica had learned from Rere and encouraged him to refrain from executing Malik until they had more information. She stood beside him, and he could feel her silent support.
“Until we have confirmation of who’s behind the plot, Malik is worth more to us alive than dead.” Kord was aware Prince Omar would be sending a team to Iran to find out who else might be suspected in working for Malik. But a formal declaration meant chaos in a world already fueled by violence.
Fury lined every visible muscle in Prince Omar’s face and body. Nothing came from his mouth. He picked up his phone and called Riyadh. “Intel points to Malik as our man. We must discover who else is involved before executing all the traitors.”
Kord caught a glimpse of relief from Monica. But without names, Prince Omar and his family still faced danger.
Prince Omar clenched his fists and requested his bodyguards and staff to meet him in the natatorium.
When seated, the prince glared at each man. “Malik is responsible for the death of Zain, a friend and good man. Too many others have been killed by his orders. If any of you suspect another man or woman, now is the time to speak up.”
Nothing.
“Allah has seen fit to show us the truth. We will not relax but keep our eyes open for the next man or woman to carry out orders. Our plans in Houston will remain intact. The Saud family has built an empire on power and courage. We will not run home in the midst of adversity. We will hunt down these men and destroy them.”
Back in his room, Kord sank into a chair, his mind weary. This assignment had tested his skills as an agent, and it wasn’t over yet. But finding faith in God, and the sense of purpose beyond the FBI, made it all worth it. He’d read in Christian literature and the Bible about the power of grace. Until he’d experienced it, the concept seemed like a fairy tale. Then there was Monica—wherever that led.
