All In by Gabra Zackman Read Free Book Online Page B

look—did Jackson want to take over? Jackson shook his head to indicate that Mahmoud should continue as they had planned. He’d take over later . . . later, when it was helpful, necessary, and when he wasn’t thrown off his game like he was now.
    “Okay,” Mahmoud said, buttoning his suit jacket and commanding attention, “here’s what Jackson and I came up with. John, you may step in at any point. I also put a call in to Fritz earlier—Jackson put us in touch—and she’s good to help with anything we may need on her end. She said to keep her in the loop.”
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    THE BOSS NODDED his assent. He was trying to be on his best behavior after finding out that he’d mistaken Fritz’s secretary, a man, as his FBI contact, for the past few years. Apparently, it was something that Fritz had made the most of by humiliating the Boss, and he, properly chastened for his mistake, looked forward to meeting her face-to-face. That being said, he was a bit uncomfortable with anyone else talking to her—it made him feel like he wasn’t in control of the operation. Frankly, he wasn’t in charge; Mahmoud was. And he was beginning to wonder if there was any point in being here at all.
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    MAHMOUD PAUSED, LOOKING around the table, trying to assess if they were all on the same page. Then he continued, “So here are our two main goals: Find Buzz Carter and make sure he’s safe. And two, track down the head of this ring and put it out of business once and for all. It’s a global empire involving many different operations, so we’ll need all of us to track down several leads. The hope is that by following these leads, we may root out this evil at the core.” At everyone’s nod, Mahmoud went on. “Please refer to the first set of papers, marked ‘South Africa.’ Chas and Susannah, if it’s all right with you, I think you should fly to Johannesburg and go to your father’s last known location. We have reason to believe he’s been based there. In those documents you’ll find more specific details about Buzz’s patterns, as well as local contacts we know in the area, and a safe house where you’ll be staying courtesy of an old friend of mine. You can go whenever you are ready; we have a jet waiting at Ibn Battouta Airport.”
    Mahmoud looked at Susannah, who was trying to eat but failing miserably. Clearly, the chicken, apricot, and almond tagine was lost on her, as she was entirely distracted by the situation at hand. He could understand her reaction, based on his experience with his own family. It was the reason Jackson had allowed him to take point: so he could have some control over a situation in which he felt powerless. In addition, it helped Jackson hang on to the looser persona he adopted when working for FTP.
    Susannah was looking through pictures of her father, which were out of focus but clear enough. “I’m sorry,” she said, “I wasn’t prepared to get so emotional. He looks just the way I remembered.” She paused and looked at Chas. Then, with resolve, she said, “We’ll leave right after breakfast.”
    “Great,” Mahmoud replied. “John, you and Ms. Fingers will stay here, set up mission control, and connect to each of us. Ms. Fingers, I have a very good speaker system ready and waiting.”
    AJ smiled at him. “And here I thought you didn’t notice my copious charms,” she said.
    Mahmoud flashed her a rare mischievous grin. “As my father was fond of saying, when the wine is a fine vintage, be careful how you open it, and drink slowly when you do.”
    “I do hope you’ve got a decanter big enough, sweetheart,” AJ said with a husky chortle.
    “I assure you, it is quite big enough,” he said with a wink, and everyone groaned. The Boss shifted in his seat and said, “Oh, Mahmoud, now we know you belong with us. Nicely done.”
    “Everything I’ve learned has come from Jackson,” Mahmoud said, fully extending the olive branch to his friend. “Even though he can be a bit of a