The Toymaker Read Online Free Page B

“That’s a load of crap, George. We’re ready for this op. We can get in and out, capture Yasir and Khan. Then we’ll let Gregg do that interrogation shit you guys taught him.” He glanced at Kaplan.
    “Jake’s right, sir.” Kaplan said to Bentley. “We have all the data we need. It’s time to make our move. Whatever Khan is planning, I’ll get it out of him.”
    There was a faint click on the speakerphone.
    Thirty seconds later another click, Bentley’s voice. “Gentlemen, perhaps you’re right. Now might be the time to move. Jake, my concern is you. There is no room for compromise here. It is imperative they both be captured and interrogated. If Kaplan can’t break them, then I’ll send someone down who can.”
    “I can break him, sir.” Kaplan said. “Just give us the green light.”
    Jake smiled. He knew Bentley had decided to let them go ahead with the mission. He would control himself with Khan and Yasir. He had no choice. After the last mission, Bentley had talked to him about his trigger-happy tendencies and put him on notice.
    Two weeks ago, Bentley looked him in the eyes, “Jake, the definition of clandestine is ‘executed with secrecy.’ That’s why we’re called the Clandestine Service—secrecy is our mission. You can’t leave a trail of dead bodies everywhere you go. It raises too many eyebrows. I have a member of the Senate breathing down my back about your last operation. Says I need to learn to control my people.”
    “I’m sorry sir.” Jake said. “But in my defense, the mission you’re talking about, I stopped the bombing of the market. Those two men I shot were about to kill a lot of innocent people. You know how dangerous Afghanistan can be.”
    “Again, Jake. Clandestine. I don’t give a damn that you killed those two goons. They deserved to die. I do care that you got caught on camera. It was hard to justify our presence over there. Just promise me you’ll be more discreet.”
    “Yes sir.”
    The radio cracked then Bentley's voice, “The mission with the Australians is on for tonight.” He said. “I’ll let Fontaine give you a briefing but before you sign off, I want to talk you about another matter.”
    Jake noticed something out of the ordinary in Bentley’s usual calm voice.
    Humming sounds filled the room as the data encrypted computers came to life. The monitor displayed a diagram of the al Qaeda camp. Jake recognized it immediately. The encrypted fax machine hummed the arrival of a new fax.
    “Jake, you and Gregg take a look at this.” Fontaine said.
    The next forty minutes were spent planning and discussing the exact timing of the raid on the training camp. The execution had to be flawless or else Australian SAS soldiers could die. Jake and Kaplan could die.
    Kaplan would brief the SAS soldiers on the raid. Each soldier would know his assignment. Each soldier would know his target. Each man in the unit was a trained professional and Jake was certain the mission would succeed. He lived for these moments.
    Fontaine finished the briefing and Bentley’s voice crackled in the speaker. “Jake? Gregg? You still there?”
    “Yes sir. We’re right here.” Jake looked at Kaplan who returned the stare. “What do you have for us?”
    “Isabella Hunt has gone missing.”
     
     

 
    CHAPTER 5
     
     
     
     
    “ W HAT?” JAKE SAID.
    “Gone missing?” Kaplan asked. “How so, sir?”
    “Just that.” Bentley’s voice in the speaker. “She was working an op in Aden, Yemen when we lost contact with her. We believe her cover was compromised and she’s been taken captive. We’ve tracked her as far as Sana’a, Yemen where we had our last confirmed ID. After that visual, they went underground, perhaps literally. We don’t know if she’s still in Sana’a, whether they’ve moved her to another location, or if she’s even in Yemen. The trail has gone cold. We have assets combing the streets and countryside, asking questions from every source in the field.