Apostle by Brad Thor Read Free Book Online

might be.”
    Gallo looked at the president and rolled her eyes.
    Harvath was growing increasingly displeased with what he sensed was going on here. Friend and major donor or not, it was completely out of bounds for the president to have read a civilian in on his background.
    Alden recognized what was happening and tried to clear the air. “Mrs. Gallo was part of my transition team. She has top-secret clearance. To the degree I felt was necessary, she has been filled in on your background.”
    “Mr. Harvath,” continued Gallo. “I’m not looking to hire a clown to make balloon animals at a child’s birthday party. I need an experienced operator who can and will do everything necessary to bring my daughter back alive.”
    Harvath marveled at the irony of it all. Gallo had rallied the media behind Alden’s candidacy. She and others like her in the “news” industry were anti–U.S. military, anti–extreme interrogation tactics, anti-Gitmo, and pro–terrorist rights on a daily basis. Now she not only needed, but wanted the help of exactly the kind of person she vilified in her papers and on her television stations. Even more ironic was that she had sought out the help of a president who had run on scaling back his nation’s “overaggressive” military and who didn’t know the first thing about the military, intelligence, or foreign policy.
    But the icing on the cake was that they both appeared to want Harvath to reprise his previous job, the one Alden had just eliminated. It was everything Harvath could do not to laugh out loud. None of the sheep ever wanted a sheepdog around until one of them spotted a wolf. By then, it was often too late.
    Even though he had never met Julia Gallo, he felt sorry for her. From what he could tell of her file, she was a good person, dedicated to serving others, who had gone to Afghanistan to make a difference. Harvath knew the Taliban all too well and what they did to their prisoners. For her sake, he hoped that she actually could be rescued.
    Harvath looked at the president. He already knew what the answer to his next question would be, but he had to ask it anyway. “If I do accept this assignment, what kind of support can I expect from the White House?”
    Alden paused before replying. “Unfortunately, none.”
    Harvath had figured as much.
    “The United States government,” continued the president, “cannot be tied to this, or to you, in any way. At this point, you’re a private contractor who has been employed by a private American citizen, Mrs. Gallo. That would be the extent of it.”
    Harvath was quiet. He had spent the better part of his adult life hunting down and killing terrorists, not breaking them out of prisons. It flew in the face of almost everything he stood for. Even so, he knew that Julia Gallo shouldn’t be made to suffer just because he disliked the terms of her release.
    Gallo sensed hesitancy and tried to pinpoint where it was coming from. “According to what I’ve been told, you’ve operated in Afghanistan before, correct?”
    “I have,” answered Harvath.
    “And you’ve got contacts there.”
    “A few.”
    “Enough to get my daughter back?”
    “Nothing’s ever a slam dunk,” replied Harvath. “A lot will depend on the situation on the ground.”
    Stephanie Gallo placed her cup and saucer on the table. “Let’s talk money.”
    Harvath was uncomfortable with the idea of haggling over the value of saving an American citizen’s life. That said, he did know he was being asked to do a very dangerous job that few were as qualified as he to carry out.
    He also knew that putting together the kind of team he’d need in Afghanistan wouldn’t be cheap.
    “It’s going to be expensive,” he stated as he tried to come up with a rough number in his head.
    “What are we talking about?” the media maven asked.
    “The right people, weapons, vehicles, intel? It’ll run into the six figures very quickly.”
    Without blinking an eye, Gallo replied.