Full Black - Brad Thor [135]
Harvath was beginning to believe that it would take a major mistake by the terrorists before they could be completely taken down. He hoped that mistake, though, had already been made and that it was Robert Ashford.
No sooner had Harvath gotten Yaroslav Yatsko out of the trunk and prepped for his interrogation than one of the Marines informed him that the crew, who, per orders, had remained in the cockpit for the duration of the flight, was ready to make their approach into Dulles.
Harvath and the SEALs quickly outfitted the two prisoners with black goggles, sensory deprivation headsets, surgical masks to prevent them from picking up olfactory cues, and blackout hoods, then shackled their wrists and ankles and covered their hands with heavy canvas mittens.
They were then laid back in the trunk of Harvath’s car on their stomachs and had their ankle shackles connected to their wrist shackles via a short chain.
When the L-100 landed it taxied to the cargo services area of the airport, where Reed Carlton had two teams waiting.
When the cargo ramp was lowered, one of the teams boarded the plane and traded keys with Harvath. The car with the two trunked prisoners was backed down the ramp and was met on the tarmac by a heavily armored black Suburban. The Carlton Group kept a fortified safe house in Maryland. As the two vehicles disappeared from the airport, Harvath figured that was where they were most likely headed.
After thanking the SEALs, he walked down the ramp and disappeared himself. He found the car that had been left for him and climbed in. He wanted to get Yatsko’s hard drive to the office as quickly as possible so the IT team could get to work on it. He also wanted to go over his plans with the Old Man in person. Carlton had been friends with Robert Ashford for many years, but Harvath had to know if Ashford had been the one who had compromised the Yemen operation. He needed to look the Old Man in the face and see for himself that he was all in and willing to do whatever needed to be done.
Starting the car, he rolled down the windows and shifted into drive. America was reeling from yet another attack. People across the nation were mad as hell, but they were also terrified. They had no idea where or when the next attack would come. All they knew was that they wanted it stopped.
After it was stopped, they would want revenge. Harvath was already one step ahead.
CHAPTER 59
Across the country, families, friends, and neighbors huddled around television sets. They watched over and over the repeated horrors of the last two days. Many asked Why? Many more asked Could it have been prevented? Even more asked Would it happen again? For all its strength, for all its greatness, much of America was paralyzed. Much, but not all.
As Harvath passed through security and into the Carlton Group offices, they were alive with an activity he had never seen before. Shifts and hours had been tossed out the window. All hands were on deck. The entire twenty-fifth floor was teeming with activity.
Harvath made his way to Digital Ops, punched his code into the door that guarded Nicholas’s domain, and when the lock released, slid the door open and stepped in.
His tiny friend looked like hell, but before Harvath could even comment, he was preempted. “There’s some body spray around here somewhere,” he said. “If I need it, let me know. Other than that, I don’t want to hear about how I look, okay? I haven’t been out of the SCIF much in the last seventy-two hours. Carlton has had someone walking the dogs for me.”
There were times when Harvath was stunned by the man’s ability to practically read his mind. Bending over to quickly scratch both of the dogs behind the ears, he replied, “Everyone’s stretched to the max.”
“True,” said Nicholas, who snapped his fingers and held out his hand. “Drive.”
Harvath removed the device from his pocket and handed it to him.