Chapter 58
Omar finally arrived, and the Ghost told Ramzi to lock the door. He did so, and the Ghost said, “Keep your voices down. These
walls are paper thin.”
Omar took a seat on one of four bunk beds, the frame comprised of unadorned wood with a slap of green paint. He said, “Is
this the best you could do?”
The Ghost said, “I’m through doing it your way. Every hotel we’ve been to has been compromised because of all the entry requirements.
This place requires none of that. I paid in cash, and they don’t care about a passport.”
“But everyone in here is at least ten years younger than us. Most are half our age. What if they talk about the strange group
of old folks who rented an entire communal room?”
“I’d rather rely on their possible gossip being overheard by someone who matters than giving Mossad the technical means to
track us. Now, what happened?”
Before Omar arrived, all the Ghost knew was that something had happened to Khalil. Omar had called him in a panic, shouting
that Khalil had been captured and to flee the hotel. The Ghost wasted precious minutes trying to ascertain the threat, and
then had given up, calling Yassir, Ramzi, and Fatima and telling them to pack their belongings and meet him in the lobby immediately.
Within five minutes they were dragging their suitcases away from the hotel, having to leave behind the mission equipment they’d
stored in the hotel’s excess luggage area in the basement.
They’d paused at a coffee shop three blocks away, ordering drinks and reassessing their next steps.
The Ghost had tried to contact Omar again, but his phone no longer functioned.
At that point, he’d gone into escape mode, assuming the mission was aborted.
He’d found a youth hostel in the La Boca area of town—a seedy establishment that catered to low-budget travelers and those who wanted to remain off the radar.
They’d traveled to it, finding all the space was communal, with four separate large rooms housing bunk beds and a central area with a television and coffee machine.
He’d paid in cash for one of the entire rooms, and they’d retreated to it to plan their next steps. Yassir had begun calling
contacts from the border to come get them when the Ghost’s phone had rung, displaying an unknown number.
His initial instinct had been to ignore the call and smash the phone, but he answered, surprised to hear Omar’s voice. It
had turned out Omar had switched SIM cards out of an abundance of caution. He was calmer than before, the panic no longer
in his voice. He’d asked, “Did you get my belongings when you left?”
“No. We didn’t have a key to your room, and even if we did, from what you were saying, we didn’t have the time. I even had
to leave the mission equipment.”
“You left the Pelican cases behind?”
“Yes. I assumed the mission was over. Yassir is coordinating to get us back to the Triple Frontier. This is done. You said
so yourself on the first call.”
“Yeah, well, I’m not so sure anymore. There’s nothing on the news about a police raid, and the one at the last hotel was all
over social media. I’ve searched over and over using our hotel name and come up with nothing. You do the same with the last
hotel and you get plenty.”
“Where are you?”
“Still at the airport, but I’m about to get a cab to the hotel and try to get to my room.”
“I wouldn’t recommend that. You don’t know what they might have set up. Just come here and let’s evacuate while we’re still
one step ahead.”
“Let me check it out. The mission might not be blown at all.”
“Are you insane? First you call me and tell me you think Khalil’s dead and to run like the wind, and now you’re saying it
might have been a false alarm?”
Omar said, “Just let me check it out,” and hung up the phone.
Two hours later, the sun beginning to set and the Ghost growing more aggravated the lower it dropped, Omar had finally arrived.
He said, “I went to the hotel. I watched it for a spell and saw nothing suspicious, so I went in. I talked to the desk clerk
and he said nothing untoward had happened the entire day. I mean, I didn’t come right out and ask, but through the conversation
he would have said something if the place had been hit by the police.”
“So we left for no reason?”
Omar said, “Well . . . no. Someone did come because my room was cleaned out. They took everything of mine, but it wasn’t the police. They came in quietly, without
a signature, but they came all the same, so leaving was a good decision.”
“What did you have in the room? Just clothes?”
Omar exhaled, then said, “No. They took my computer.”
That caused everyone in the room to snap their heads to him. The Ghost said, “What was on it?”
“Nothing. It’s layered with the Brazilian oil company cover. All it will show is an oil company businessman on a holiday.”
“I thought you were using it to talk to Sardar?”
“I was, but that is compartmented and encrypted. Trust me, whoever took it will see what we want them to see.”
“But it’s still there, on the computer, so why would you think we should continue?”
“Because they didn’t take the equipment in the basement. The clerk told me it’s still there, so whoever infiltrated the hotel
today knew Khalil had rented the rooms, but not the reason why. They’re still guessing, and your diversion should close the
loop on their decision-making, convincing them they’ve solved the puzzle. We can still get in and accomplish our mission.”
The Ghost took a breath, turning over the sequence of events in his mind. He said, “What happened with Khalil?”
Omar held up his hands and said, “I honestly don’t know. He was at the Ecoparque when I called him for pickup. He was agitated
and babbling about some woman he thought was following him. I tried to get him to explain and he said he saw some police.
The next thing I heard was gunfire. Then he was gone and that’s when I called you.”
Sitting next to Yassir, Fatima let out a burst of air. The Ghost glanced at her and saw her lower lip quivering and her eyes
beginning to water. Then he remembered Khalil had been her cousin. He returned to Omar, saying, “What woman did he see?”
“I have no idea. He said it was someone he recognized from Iguazú, but that would be crazy.”
The Ghost thought a moment, then said, “What about the van? Where is it?”
“I don’t know. He parked it somewhere, and I don’t know where.” He snapped his fingers and said, “Khalil did say he saw something
weird happen with the computer in the van, like he thought it had been manipulated.”
The Ghost leaned back, thinking. Omar said, “But that may have just been him being paranoid. The only confirmed fact in the
entire event is that he had a shoot-out with the police, and he got killed. That’s all over the news, but they’re reporting
it like he had mental issues, not like the police were sent to apprehend him. There’s no mention of counterterrorism actions
or anything like that, and the police would most certainly be crowing had they thought they’d interrupted a terrorist action
with the visitors from Israel and the United States coming tomorrow.”
The Ghost said, “But someone came to your room. Someone took your computer, and it wasn’t the police. Khalil was the link. If they got to his body after
the shoot-out, they might have found his hotel key. It also means they got his cell phone. Everyone here needs to change out
their SIM cards—especially if Khalil has called you.”
Omar said, “That’s exactly why I changed mine, because I was on the phone with him when he died, but we might be good on that. Earlier, when he dropped me off at the airport, he’d told me he’d changed his own SIM card.”
The Ghost said, “I was with him when he did it. It was right before we tested the detonating phone in the diversion. His phone
has that number in its history and there’s no way to change it now.”
The Ghost began pacing the room, thinking, and Omar let him, remaining silent. Eventually, the Ghost said, “I think Khalil
was right. The woman he saw probably was in Iguazú, and more than likely was following him. She was the one asking about the
credit cards at the flea market. The one who defeated your drug connection. She managed to track the van and gleaned Khalil’s
hotel reservations, but also I think you may be correct. She’s following the individual threads she has but can’t see the
clothes they belong to.”
He stopped pacing and said, “I don’t think they have any idea what we have planned. I’m willing to continue if you are.”
Omar said, “Of course I am. I finalized the aircraft today. Khalil wasn’t on the manifest, so his loss doesn’t matter. I’ll
be ready to take off just as we planned.”
The Ghost shook his head, saying, “You don’t understand. Khalil was the driver and he’s no longer with us. You will be the driver now.”
Omar’s eyes went wide and he said, “I’m needed on the plane. What about Ramzi? Can’t he do it? He’s with you on the camera
crew.”
Sitting on one of the bunk beds, wearing one of his ubiquitous ill-fitting suits, Ramzi remained as stoic as he had in the
past, not raising an objection.
The Ghost said, “No. Precisely because Ramzi is coming into the devil’s den with me. He has the press credentials. He can’t
drive and do that.”
Omar stood up and pointed at the remaining Hezbollah contacts, saying, “What about Yassir? Or better yet, Fatima? They would
never suspect a woman.”
The Ghost said, “You did the reconnaissance today. You know the route. I need them for the diversion.” He turned to Yassir
and Fatima, saying, “I’m assuming you are still willing to continue.”
Fatima snarled, “Let me be the instrument of revenge. I will gladly kill for Khalil.”
More measured, Yassir nodded, saying, “We just need to be told where to park and when to initiate. Our mission is easy. Once
we’re done, we’ll make our own way back north.”
The Ghost said, “Omar, you can tell them that, correct? You did do the reconnaissance, right?”
Omar said, “Yes . . . I suppose so, but that was Khalil’s job.”
“Khalil’s dead. You said the mission is still worthy of attempting. Was that only as long as someone else was executing it?”
Indignant, Omar said, “I’m responsible for the exfiltration. I am executing it. We all have our parts to play.”
The Ghost advanced on him. He came within inches of Omar’s face and whispered, “You may very well die tomorrow, but at least
it will be for a cause you deemed worthy a few seconds ago. The alternative is you will die tonight. A coward’s death.”
Omar recoiled, saying, “Okay, okay. I can drive.”
The Ghost smiled and said, “Good. Now that we have that settled, we have a lot of work and only one night to accomplish it.
First, we need a new vehicle, then we need to take it to the hotel and get our equipment.”
Now fully in charge, the team gathered around the Ghost and he began giving out instructions.