He rinsed his toothbrush and packed his gear, doing his best to get his head out of his crotch and on the job. He was dressed, ready to go, and no longer erect in time for their morning strategy session, which he considered something of an achievement.
The others shuffled in, everyone making straight for the coffee.
Corbray and Tower joined them from DC and Denver, respectively.
Corbray started the meeting. “We’re pulling you out. The ICC agrees that Bangladesh is just too hot for Ms. Lahiri right now. They want her and the phone back in The Hague as soon as we can make it happen.”
Cruz raised his hand. “Why do they need the phone? They’ve got the videos and the stills. That ought to be enough to pull a warrant on this asshole.”
Shields took this question. “There’s a chance that they can use the IMEI number on the phone to trace it to a specific soldier. If they can prove the phone belonged to someone who serves under Naing, that’s another piece of evidence.”
“Then it’s worth it,” McManus said. “We need to put this whoreson away.”
Tower took them through the plan. “Our helicopter will be waiting at the airport. O’Neal, you and the asset and two others from your team will fly out on the bird to Dhaka. The rest of you will drive there in the vehicles. The jet, which is currently over the Pacific, will meet you in Dhaka and bring you to the Netherlands.”
Corbray took over. “No one is to know she’s leaving—not the hotel staff, not her UN contacts at the camps, not the witnesses, not even her interpreter.”
They were just picking up and leaving.
It made sense.
“There’s not much room on the helo, so our gear will need to go with the vehicles. The vehicles will leave first and drive toward the camps at the same time as yesterday. O’Neal, you, Cruz, and Jones will drive Ms. Lahiri and her bags to the airport when they’re out of sight.”
“What about the phone?” Connor asked. “If the asset keeps it with her and they’re tracking it, they’ll know she’s not in the vehicles. Could we send it with our gear?”
“The ICC wants us to treat the phone like an additional asset.”
Connor didn’t like that. They were risking a living, breathing woman for the phone. Sadly, this wasn’t his decision to make. If it were up to him, they would shred the damned thing. “Copy that.”
Shanti stared at Connor.“We’re leaving right now?”
“We’re not notifying anyone, not even the hotel staff.”
“I sent Pauline an email last night telling her I didn’t think I would be coming to the camp today because of the changing security situation and asking her to cancel today’s appointments. Is that a problem?”
“Did you tell her you’ve been recalled and are leaving the country?”
“No.”
Connor nodded. “I’ll run this by Shields, but I think we’re okay.”
She glanced back at her suitcase. “What’s going with me, and what’s going with the rest of the team?”
“Your bags go on the helicopter.”
“So, we’ll be in The Hague tomorrow?” She hadn’t forgotten the deal they’d made last night.
“Yeah, if we stay on schedule.” His mind was clearly on security, so he didn’t seem to catch her meaning.
“You haven’t forgotten our … arrangement?”
Lips that had kissed her senseless curved in a slow, sexy grin that made her shiver. “I haven’t forgotten anything. Pack. We leave in forty-five minutes—and bring a headscarf.”
“Forty-five minutes?” She stared after him as he left her room, heard him chuckle.
She moved as quickly as she could, folding her saris, gathering her toiletries, choosing what to wear. She packed her laptop in her suitcase and zipped the soldier’s phone carefully in her handbag. She remembered what it had been like to climb into the helicopter the other day and skipped the skirt suit and heels for a pair of jeans, a T-shirt, and her boots. She tucked some bottled water into her handbag, along with her encrypted cell phone and some candied almonds. She managed to gulp down somechaand scrambled eggs, take her malaria pill, and brush her teeth before her time was up.
She stepped out of her room to find that Quinn McManus, Thor Isaksen, and Lev Segal had already gone in the Land Rovers. Elizabeth and two members of the computer team were staying behind to operate the drone that would see Shanti safely to the airport and to break down and pack up the computers.