Page 39 of Stand Fast

While she did that, it was nice to know she had two men she trusted watching her back outside the hotel dining room.

So resolved, she strode into the posh restaurant with her head held high and the need for vindication burning inside her. With the special police chief’s murder in Kabul last night her team’s list of possible suspects involved with The Jackal had led her next to this man, a local politician.

In the interest of time efficiency, David was meeting with another suspect, a wealthy businessman whose office was only a few blocks from here. They were going to meet up and discuss their findings after they finished their individual appointments.

While Jaliya didn’t dare to hope that the man she was about to meet might actually be her elusive quarry, she had enough evidence to at least link him to The Jackal. He absolutely knew something important about their target. Whether or not she could pry it out of him was another matter.

She spotted him seated at a table over in the corner, a tall, slim man dressed in a dark suit. She headed straight over. “Thank you for seeing me,” she told him in English, pasting on a smile as she approached his table.

He rose from his chair, his dark brown gaze raking over her long-sleeve sweater and cargo pants in stark disapproval before he also put on a smile. “It is my pleasure. Please, sit.” He gestured to the chair opposite him.

Her research had shown Mr. Yasin to be a proud, calculating man who surrounded himself with sycophants to constantly stroke his ego, as so many politicians did. He was dirty for sure. Just how dirty, she intended to find out.

Yasin sat back down and regarded her with a slightly patronizing expression, his thin lips all but disappearing into the neatly-trimmed beard he wore. “So. To what do I owe the pleasure of this meeting?” He folded his hands on top of his menu and waited for her response.

She’d set up the meeting with his assistant just that morning, so he wouldn’t have had much time to investigate who she was.Commence phase one of ego stroking.“I’ve heard a lot about you since I arrived in Kabul months ago. Because of that, I wanted to meet you in person.”

He leaned back slightly in his chair and draped an elbow over the back of it in a pose redolent with self-assurance. “Then I’m glad we had this opportunity.” He signaled a waiter over and addressed him by name before looking at her. “Shall I order for both of us?”

He probably thought he was being intriguing and sophisticated, when all it did was make him look even more like a controlling asshole. “Thank you, yes.”Commence phase two.

She continued to make small talk with him while they waited for their meals, putting him at ease and making him drop his guard. The whole time they ate, he talked about himself and what he’d done for the city, going on about how everyone else was corrupt and not to be trusted, while he was the shining example and the only man who could bring peace and security back to the city.

It damn near turned her stomach, but she kept taking bite after bite, nodding when appropriate and making sure to appear she was hanging on his every word.

As soon as the waiter cleared their plates and brought Yasin a cup of tea, she put her Ms. Nicey-Nice persona away.

“That was delicious, thank you,” she said, placing her napkin on the tablecloth.

“You’re most welcome. I can’t tell you how much I’ve enjoyed our time together.”

Phase three.Flatter his ego before dropping the hammer. “I know you’re a busy and important man, so I won’t take up any more of your time than necessary.”

“Not at all. It’s not often I get to enjoy lunch with such charming company.” An indulgent smile crossed his face and she mentally rolled her eyes at his overinflated sense of self-importance before continuing.

“I’ll be blunt about my reason for asking you to meet. I wanted to find out what you know about The Jackal.”

His smile faded, a trace of anger flashing in his dark eyes before he masked it with amusement. “I know the same as what everyone else in Kabul does. Terrible, the things he’s done.”

“Yes, terrible.” She didn’t trust this man’s word one bit, but she wanted to feel him out before she showed her cards. “I understand your office has made attempts to locate him over the past forty-eight hours.”

“Of course. It’s my job to ensure the security of my constituents and foreigners such as you who stay in our beautiful city. Any means I have at my disposal to bring someone like him to justice, I will use.”

Uh huh.She kept her expression impassive and dropped the hammer. “Does that include refusing the donations he has contributed to your office?”

The amusement bled away, leaving a cold expression that even eight months ago would have put her stomach in knots. But she had a lot more confidence in her abilities now than she had back then. “We received anonymous donations,” he said in a clipped tone. “There is no evidence to support any of it coming from him.”

Now she gave him an indulgent smile. “Mr. Yasin, please. We both know exactly who it came from, because your office and mine have both traced the funds back to companies linked to The Jackal’s reputed network. I’ve seen the wire transfer records myself.”

His eyes hardened and his jaw flexed before he answered. “I see you are no ordinary reporter. What agency are you working for?”

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that you understand both your government and mine have been watching you closely. Your office received a donation from that same shell corporation as before after the hotel bombing the other day, and again this morning. Curious, that you should have received another deposit into your business account the day after an important public servant was assassinated.” She cocked her head and eyed him. “Don’t you think?”

“Ithinkthat you have no idea what you’re talking about,” he snapped, his cheeks reddening above the line of his beard.

“No?” She quirked an eyebrow.You’re such acockwomble.

“No.”

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