Full Black - Brad Thor [110]
“Even so, we should have been read in.”
Carlton shook his head. “You keep forgetting that you’re in the private sector. The FBI doesn’t have to tell us anything.”
It was true. A decade past 9/11, the FBI and the CIA still barely shared any intelligence. To expect either of them to share with a private organization was crazy. “We’ve got two dead Egyptians, then,” said Harvath. “They both originally came into the country on the same flight fifteen years ago and both attempted to carry out terrorist attacks with explosives a few weeks apart. One succeeded and one didn’t. Does that about sum it up?”
“Almost,” said Nicholas. “They both came into the country on what is known as dual intent visas. One came in on an L-1, the other an H1-B. The exact type of visa isn’t important. What is important is that because it was a dual intent visa, they were allowed to apply for a green card while they were working here. Both requests were granted.”
“Tell me they were both sponsored by the same employer,” said Harvath.
Nicholas shook his head. “Unfortunately, no. They were sponsored by two different companies. What’s interesting, though, is that by accessing the Department of State database, we discovered that both men applied for their visas at the U.S. consular office in Cairo within weeks of each other.”
“Okay,” said Harvath, sensing there was something else.
“After accessing the Immigration and Naturalization Service database, we learned that both men, though living in different parts of the country and working for different companies, used the same law firm to process their green card applications.”
“Dual intent visas with an American sponsor would have meant a lot less scrutiny upon arriving in the United States,” said Harvath.
“It also meant that they could come and go back to their country of origin if they wanted, without raising significant attention. Essentially, they had a corporation standing behind them, vouching for their authenticity. And because of their visas, they were recognized as aliens of extraordinary ability.”
“How many dual intent visa holders were on that flight?”
“Including Shafik and Nazif?” replied Nicholas. “Eight.”
“So besides our bombers, there were six others,” said Harvath, hopeful that they might be on to something. “How many of the six ended up applying for and being granted a green card or U.S. citizenship?”
Nicholas held up his left index finger. “Only one.”
“Another Egyptian?”
Nicholas nodded. “Want to venture a guess about when and where his original visa application was made?”
“Same U.S. consular office and within the same time frame as Shafik and Nazif?”
“He also used the same law firm to apply for his green card.”
“That’s it,” said Harvath. “What do we know about the law firm? Did the same lawyer handle all three green card applications?”
“The firm is based in New York,” replied Nicholas. “Though it could be the same attorney farming out the work to associates, a different lawyer was listed on each application. We’re trying to get hold of their billing records to see if there is some similarity in how the legal fees were paid.”
“Where is our third Egyptian now?”
“Los Angeles. His name is Tariq Sarhan.”
“I want everything you can find on him,” said Harvath.
“I’ve already started,” said Nicholas as he selected one of his monitors and brought up a multicolored graph.
“What’s that?”
“A quick snapshot of utility usage at the home registered to a Mr. Tariq Hafiz Sarhan. According to TIP, he’s taken on several houseguests in the last thirty-six hours. Which means either he’s got relatives who just dropped in—”
“Or he’s planning something,” replied Harvath, who then turned to Carlton. “We need to handle this. Just us.”
“Meaning?”
“No Feds. No local law enforcement.”
“That’s not going to sit well. Especially not in the wake of what just happened. We could get our asses handed to us.”
“We already have,” said Harvath. “Two of our operations have already gone sideways.”
Carlton knew he was right. “What do you want to do?”
“Until we know what