Mitch looked out across the city. Night had fallen and that scar known as the Green Line now looked like a wide, formidable river, a black swath of darkness that cut the city in half. Only twice in the last hour had he seen a car dare cross no-man's-land. He could not see the east-west streets to the north, and it was likely that more cars had crossed in that sector, but not enough to change what was obvious. This was a literally a city torn asunder.
The problem as Mitch saw it was fundamental geography. He was on this side and they were on the other side - they being Hurley, Richard, Rupert and of course, Aayat.
The only way to save them was to go over there, but Ridley had explained to him that going over there was a very bad idea. Going over there would result in his being captured, tortured, and then killed, in that order.
Mitch's response to Ridley was, "So you're pretty much admitting that Stan, Bob and Rupert are going to be tortured and killed."
"I'm admitting no such thing."
"The hell you're not," Mitch said, his frustration finally boiling over.
Ridley shot back, "I know you're the new wonder boy, so this might be hard for you to understand, but there are things that are going on that you have not been read in on."
"Like what?"
"Things that are way above your pay grade, rookie." Ridley caught his mistake and tried to temper his words by adding, "Listen, I don't make the rules. There are certain protocols that I have to follow. Langley tells me who I can share things with. If you're not on that list my hands are tied."
"Like Petrosian, for instance. I'm sure you cleared that with Langley. You telling a foreign national that I was the man who killed Uzuner." Rapp watched as Ridley looked away.
"Are you kidding me? There's no way in hell you got approval from Irene to give him that information."
Ridley sighed. "We need Petrosian on this one, and the man does not trust strangers, so I gave him a little piece of information that I knew would please him. He hated Adem Uzuner so giving him this big news automatically made him agree to help us."
"Fine ... so you used what I did for your own benefit, which means you owe me. I deserve to know what in hell is going on." Mitch could see Ridley was at least thinking about it, so he pressed him a little harder. "That could have just as easily been me that got picked up. I deserve to know what Langley is doing to try to get them back."
"They're working on different levels. Signal intercepts, applying pressure where they can, calling in favors..."
"What in hell does all that mean?"
"It's complicated, is what it's supposed to mean, and on top of that Stan, Rupert, Bobby and you aren't even supposed to exist. How the hell do you expect them to go to the State Department with that one ... Excuse me," Ridley said in a falsetto, "three of our black ops guys, who don't actually exist, were kidnapped in Beirut. Could you help us get them back?"
"Bullshit." Mitch yelled
"Bullshit ... what in hell is that supposed to mean?"
"It means it's bullshit. If you think the State Department is the answer to our problems, if Langley thinks they're our solution, we're screwed." Mitch exclaimed
"I didn't say they were the only game. I told you it's complicated. And what the hell would you know? You're a damn rookie."
"A rookie who's smart enough to know this is bullshit," Mitch yelled. "You know what the solution is ... you just don't want to say it because you" – Mitch pointed at him - "and all of the other losers back at Langley don't have the guts to follow through on it."
"Please, enlighten me, boy wonder. What's the solution?"
"Our solution is that we have to do something ourselves instead of relying on others. We need to come up with a brilliant plan and go there. Or else we're going to lose them forever." Mitch said the last part in a soft voice as he thought about Aayat.
"You want to suicide is what you are saying." Ridley yelled
"I'd rather die trying to save them than sit here like a coward and rely on someone else to save my team." Mitch yelled back
That had been more than three hours ago. Mitch and Ridley had not exchanged words since then.
Mitch had dumped his anger into studying maps of West Beirut, reading the intelligence reports, and trying to come up with some way to prevent this disaster from following the course of the previous hostage negotiations.
Anyone who didn't understand where this was headed was either deluding himself by ignoring history or just too stupid to connect the dots.
Out of this frustration came the realization of what it would all mean to his own future.
He'd spent years thinking of little more than how he would make the other side hurt, and now after all of his training, right when he was getting started, it would be derailed.
Mitch was very well aware of the fact that Sayyed has a personal grudge against him because Mitch turned his daughter against him.
Aayat even told Sayyed his real name. Not that he blames her, he just wished he wasn't so stupid to figure out Aayat's real identity in Istanbul itself and convinced her to join him then.
Now Hurley, Rupert and Richard would end up telling Sayyed everything else they knew about him. His career would be over.
Ridley joined him on the veranda. He was holding two beers. He set one in front of Mitch and took a swig out of the other.
Mitch eyed the beer and then said, "I'm not in the mood."
"Shut up and drink. And listen for a change. I've been doing some thinking. This thing isn't going to end well. Cummins was bad enough ... Stan ... the shit that guy has in his brain ... the stuff he's seen over the years." Ridley shuddered at the thought of the enemy getting their hands on all that information.
"I can't even begin to calculate the damage." He paused, took a swig of beer, and shook his head.
"You're right. Someone needs to do something and you seem like the kind of crazy idiot who would volunteer for a mission like this, although it's actually not a mission. There's nothing official about it. In fact, I'm going to get so pissed tonight that I pass out. And then when I wake up in the morning, and you're not here, I'll call Langley and tell them you've gone AWOL."
"And where will I be?" Mitch asked.
"Petrosian will be here in one hour. He has arranged to take you over to the other side. The police chief, no less, is taking you."
Mitch was surprised. "The same guy who snatched Stan?"
"One and the same."
"Can I trust him?"
"Absolutely."
"How?"
"Because this time he has given Petrosian his word that nothing will happen to you."
"And I should be impressed by that?"
"Yes, you should. The chief will drop you off at a small hotel a few blocks west of Nijmeh Square, and then you're on your own. My advice is you spread some cash around, telling the hotel manager and the vendors that you would like to meet with Colonel Assef Sayyed. They will claim they've never heard of him, but they all know who he is. They will tell him you are looking for him and he will have someone collect you before the day is out. Then it will go one of two ways." Ridley took another drink and organized his thoughts.
"He will either sit down and negotiate with you, in which case Petrosian has agreed to bankroll you to the tune of one million dollars."
"You're kidding me."
"No, he is a man who likes to show his gratitude, and besides, you just eliminated one of his top competitors. He's bound to pick up a few more contracts."
"Will a million do it?"
"Doubtful, but it will let them know we are serious, and they all know Petrosian is not a man to be messed with."
"So if it's not enough money..."
Ridley waved him off. "I'm going to be working on getting more."
"Langley?"
"Maybe, but we have some other options. I just need to see if I can pull it off."
Mitch thought about the money that Hurley had taken from the Swiss bank accounts. He almost told Ridley but decided to keep it to himself for now. "That's option one. What's option two?"
"They throw you in the dungeon and they torture you and eventually kill you." Ridley said like it's the most normal thing in the world.
"But I'm a rookie, so how much harm can I really do." It was a statement, not a question.
"Something like that. A pawn for a bishop." Ridley shrugged. "Maybe you even get lucky and take a few of them down with you." Ridley drained his beer and looked to the west.
Mitch looked at the Green Line and said to himself, I am coming for you Aayat.