End of Days (Pike Logan #16)(29)
“Why did she agree to the meeting? What did you tell her?”
“Only that we need some new help with the UN. Just paperwork stuff. She asked if we could come to her office at the U.S. embassy and I told her I wouldn’t be free until after business hours. She agreed to meet in her residence.”
Donatello said, “Good. Makes it easier.”
“Where do we stand with Bahrain?” said Garrett. “Are we in play there or what?”
Leonardo said, “The message has been sent. Just waiting on the response.”
Garrett looked at Donatello and said, “Are you good to go? When they send the linkup, can you fake it? Being Muslim, I mean?”
“Yeah, I can fake it. I read a book on Islam. I can fake the prayers and other things, but not for long.”
“It won’t take long. Just remember, you’re not from Saudi Arabia or Iraq. Any quirks are because you’re from Bosnia.”
Donatello nodded. Garrett looked at his watch and said, “We need to go. It’s a forty-minute drive.”
An hour later, they were winding through the very same EUR neighborhood where Garrett had left the slain bodies, headed to the one skyscraper in all of Rome, the Eurosky Tower.
Completed in 2013, it wasn’t without controversy, as every building in Rome by law must remain lower than the basilica of the Holy See. It didn’t matter that the building in question was almost an hour away from the Vatican. Rome had its prestige to keep in mind, but that didn’t stop the real estate mavens trying to make a buck. Built as a “live-work-play” concept in an area named the “Europark” business park, it was a supposedly green building, with giant solar panels on the roof of the tower and multiple amenities to entice a potential resident to travel south from the city center to live.
Looping through the EUR neighborhood on Via Cristoforo Colombo, they crossed a lake that spread across a park, then by the Airstream trailer, still surrounded by police tape.
Raphael said, “Did you see that? Apparently, there’s some sicko out here killing women because he can.” He paused, then said, “I’d like to meet that man one day. Show him some justice.”
Garrett watched the Airstream trailer disappear behind them, then said, “How is that different from what we’re about to do?”
Taken aback, Raphael said, “We aren’t taking life for the pleasure of it. We’re doing it for a greater purpose. We’re bringing about the second coming and ridding the world of heretics and unbelievers. Those dead women helped no one and the man who did it was not working with God. We’re creating paradise, not murdering unsuspecting innocents.”
Garrett smiled, his lips curling with little joy. He said, “We’re doing both. In order to create paradise, some unsuspecting innocents will be martyred, but don’t think for a minute that He will forgive us for our sins. We’ll surely suffer just as the martyrs we have taken.”
The three Turtles remained silent at his words, the tension growing thick, all of them unsure how to answer. Garrett saw them glancing at each other and realized he might have overstepped his leadership role by explaining the truth to them. Sometimes it was better to keep the troops about to fight in the dark on the odds of survival. Something he’d learned early on in Iraq.
He broke the silence, getting them back into the mission. “The letter is ready to go?”
“Yes. But I’m not sure why we didn’t just use the one we had planned for the ambassador. What’s up with all the homosexual stuff? Is that necessary?”
“Gabrielle is a lesbian. Islam hates that. It will factor in, especially by the means of death. Trust me, it’s necessary.”
Raphael nodded, and Garrett said, “And the Misbaha? We have that ready to drop?”
Donatello said, “The what?”
Exasperated, Garrett said, “The Muslim prayer beads. The ones you were given in Syria as a gift. I want to leave them as well. Leave no doubt about who did this.”
Donatello said, “Oh, yeah. I’ve got them.”
Garrett turned to him and said, “You’re about to fly to the cell in Bahrain. I would expect you to know the Islamic term for them just like you do the rosary. You said you studied.”
Donatello ducked his head, saying, “I did study. I’m ready. If it had come up, I would have done what you said and simply told them we didn’t use them in Bosnia.”
They exited the expansive tree-lined park in the EUR, passing by the PalaLottomatica sports and music arena, the Eurosky Tower stabbing the sky on their right about a mile away. Raphael changed the subject, saying, “Are we going to leave the letter in the apartment?”
“No. I want a statement. We’ll meet her, she’ll offer drinks, and then we’ll go out onto the balcony.”
He continued, telling them his plan and dividing up tasks. They nodded, asking questions about escape and other details. By the time they pulled into the circle drive of the Eurosky, they were ready.
Chapter 19
They parked out front, giving the valet a story of why they were here and that they had permission to leave the vehicle where it was. He didn’t question them, and they left the car where it stood. They went into the lobby of the residential tower, seeing an architecture of a modern bent, all glass, understated wood, and gleaming chrome, but far removed from the Italian historic flair.