CHAPTER 62

Yazidi Strike Force Compound

Kurdistan

September

“HER NAME WAS AMY, Amy Bertrand! ”

When the water stopped, Landry began speaking to the empty room, confident that it was wired for sound and that they could hear him. The thick Louisiana accent that he’d worked for years to suppress had returned.

“She had long beautiful black hair and green eyes. Stunning. She always wore dresses. She never paid me no mind; rich girls like that don’t even notice white trash like me. ‘Rich Bitch’ is what we called her type. Everybody in school was gettin’ into college. Kept hearin’ her talk about Tulane and how she was gonna join her momma’s sorority. Tulane. . . I had a better chance of endin’ up in Angola like my dad. He was doin’ hard time. Girl like Amy Bertrand don’t know nothin’ about no hard times. ”

Landry paused; his eyes fell to the floor and his voice dropped to a whisper. “She was workin’ in the nursery at the church, holdin’ babies and changin’ diapers. It was after Mass on Holy Thursday, the day before Good Friday. Everybody’s Catholic where I come from ’cept for the black folks. I snuck in the room behind her where she was in there cleanin’ up after all the parents had picked up their young’uns. I locked the door real quiet and she looked up and seen me when she heard the door click. She smiled and called me by my name, I didn’t even know she knew my name. Soon as she saw me walk toward her, she stopped smilin’. I was a pretty good linebacker. ’Fore she knew it I tore that pretty little dress right up the back. Had my hands over her mouth so she couldn’t scream. I told her I’d kill her and her baby sister if she told anybody, especially the cops. She was down on her knees cryin’ when I left. Guess I shoulda felt bad for what I done to her but I didn’t, I just ain’t that way. Never did see her again after that night. ”

The room was bathed in light as the white LEDs were switched back on, once again shocking Landry’s darkness-adapted vision. The muscular and tattooed man who was ordinarily physically intimidating now looked like a shell of his former self. He sat with his shoulders hanging forward, his chin resting on his ink-covered chest.

The steel door opened, and Mo closed it behind him as he entered, taking a seat across from Landry in silence. Landry kept his eyes on the floor.

“What happened then, Landry? ” Mo asked calmly.

“My uncle worked for the sheriff’s office and Amy’s parents had reported it. Her ‘Miss Perfect’ reputation would have been shattered in a small southern town like that. No more sorority, no more rich boys linin’ up to marry her. My uncle and the sheriff made a deal with her old man; I join the Marines and never come back to town and they don’t press charges. I signed the delayed-entry papers the next day and two months later, the Monday after graduation, I’m on my way to Parris Island.

“Who do you work for now? ”

“Now hold on, Mo. You know I need some assurance that I’m not goin’ to prison if I sing. ”

“Want me to turn the water back on? ”

“Just listen, Mo, just listen. I’m low-hangin’ fruit. If you want the main enchilada you know I need somethin’. ”

Mo took a breath and produced a paper from his coat pocket. Landry’s eyes lit up like it was the golden ticket. A way out.

“Verbal acknowledgment is enough. This is the best deal you are going to get. It’s not immunity, Landry, but it puts you in a minimum-security U. S. prison and gives you the possibility of parole in twenty years. It’s a country club. But it’s got to be everything. If you leave out one detail you are going to the deepest, darkest prison we can find. It won’t be a U. S. prison. It’ll be an Iraqi one. You might even know a few of the prisoners. They’ll treat you like you treated Amy Bertrand for the rest of your miserable life. When you’re not getting gang raped, you’ll be in solitary confinement until your ass heals enough for another round. ”

Landry’s eyes scanned the document. It looked official, and he wasn’t in a position to push his luck.

“I accept, ” he said, nodding at the corners of the room, where he assumed there were cameras. “I accept. ”

“Talk. ”

“I was workin’ embassy duty after a couple of Afghanistan deployments, down in Buenos Aires. I got to know one of the Agency guys there; he wasn’t a field spook, just an analyst. I ran into some trouble with a local girl. We was on a date, and she come back to my hotel room knowin’ what was gonna happen. Anyway, this little CIA guy offered to fix it, to make that problem go away. After that he helped get me the CIA job. He smoothed over my trouble back home and in Argentina where nobody could see the paperwork, and he taught me how to beat the poly. I was makin’ good money workin’ as an Agency contractor and he was getting me cash on the side in a Swiss account. He had me start recruitin’ you once Reece left the unit. ”

“Who was the Agency man, Landry? What was his name. ”

“He had me just call him Bond. Ha! Pudgy paper-pusher fancies he’s 007. ”

“So he never told you his name? ”

“He didn’t, but I figured it out. I’m not as dumb as people think. We both worked for the CIA after all. ”

“Name, Jules. What’s his name? ”

“Grey. Oliver Grey. ”

Mo looked up at the camera and nodded.

“Does Grey still work for the Agency? ”

“Sure does, he’s workin’ at Langley. ”

“Was he running this entire operation or was he working for another intelligence service? ”

“Not for another country, Mo. He worked for a person. Some Russian, but he don’t live in Russia. He’s Swiss now. They call him the Colonel. ”

“Do you have a name? ”

“No, Grey just called him the Colonel. ”

Mo didn’t pursue it, moving from topic to topic to keep Landry on his toes. “Who is your contact in the Interior Ministry now? ”

“Major Saeed, from your old unit. I just pass along the messages from Grey. We set it all up before I left Iraq. ”

“Who gave you the target in XXXXXX? ”

“Grey did. He gave photos with the layout of the compound and arranged the transport. All I was supposed to do was get Saeed to put his crew in motion and make sure they knew to kill everybody on target. Whoever was at that place musta known they was coming ’cause them boys never came back. ”

“Where is your other team? The ones you used in London? ”

“I only dealt with one guy: a Syrian. There’s cells all over the West now; their handlers put ’em to work cheap. They get to get their jihad on, so they’re all happy. ”

“What Syrian? We were both there after Iraq. Do I know him? ”

“General Yedid. General Qusim Yedid. ”

Mo’s face betrayed no recognition, but he knew the man, if only by reputation. Formerly one of Assad’s inner circle. It was rumored he had left Syria to act as a private broker of mercenaries to places and causes that benefited Assad’s regime.

“Where does General Yedid live now? ”

“I don’t know, I swear I don’t know, ” Landry groaned as he thrashed against his restraints. He was a broken man and he was beginning to lose it.

“How many teams do you have left out there? ”

“None, I got nobody out there but you, Mo. I swear it. Yedid, he’s got teams all over Europe, maybe even some in the U. S. All I was supposed to do was those attacks to scare the shit outta everyone. Grey had some other stuff goin’ for sure but I wasn’t part of it. He told me to lay low and just keep runnin’ you like I was doin’. ”

“Who set up the Christmas market attack in London? ”

“I told you, the Syrian. I was just the go-between. ”

“Landry, I am going to be very clear here, ” Mo stated. “And I’m going to speak slowly so that even you will understand. Your deal depends on your telling us everything you know. If we find out later that you left anything out, the deal is off and you become a bitch for life. Imagine how they’ll treat an American CIA officer in an Iraqi prison. I almost feel sorry for you. So, scan your brain; is there anything else you want us to know? ”

“No, I’ve told you everything. Wait! A few months ago Grey decided he wanted to go direct to Yedid and take me out as the go-between. I’m not sure why; it just exposed him to more risk. ”

“Why do you think that is, Landry? ”

“I dunno, I got the impression that he needed a lot of guys for whatever he was planning. Something major, maybe even 9/11 major. ”

“Tell me more. ”

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