Page 26 of Eight Years (The Trident Trilogy 1)

“Who funds them?” Mason asks.

“At first, it was believed to be bankrolled by Hadzic’s father, Haroun. He was a very successful doctor before the war. He was last seen in Peshawar around 2000. He would be up in his eighties if he’s still living. His family—daughters, grandkids—all still live in Sarajevo. His wife died about ten years ago in Bosnia of natural causes.”

“So, how does Amar Petrovic figure into this?” Mason asks.

“Petrovic is a childhood friend of Custovic and Hadzic. He disappeared around the same time they did. The agency always thought he was in the mountains with them. It turns out he was living in Spain. He just moved his family back to Sarajevo earlier this year. That’s where we picked up his trail again.”

“So, you think Petrovic has been working with them from Spain?” JJ asks.

“We did think so, but we’ve tracked his last two decades in Spain, and seemingly, he led a pretty normal life. He’s a dentist. Has a wife, three kids. Nothing suspicious.”

“So why are we targeting him?” Hawk asks.

I start flipping through a few surveillance photos I have on the front screen. “This is Petrovic. We’ve been tracking him since he arrived back in Sarajevo. Every couple weeks, someone—never the same person—delivers a burner cell to him. It’s always a discreet drop. After the hand off, the phone rings almost immediately. He talks for a few minutes then throws the cell away. We’ve picked up most of the phones he’s discarded. All the calls are from different numbers, but the numbers all ping from around the Hindu Kush region around the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.”

“Yeah, so that’s all real suspicious, but how do you know he’s talking to Hadzic?” Mouse asks.

“We don’t. The agency has green-lighted this because of his past association with Custovic and Hadzic. We just want to pick him up to question him.”

“How long has Petrovic been back in Sarajevo? Why do you want to pick him up now?” JJ asks.

“As I said, our agents have been tailing him. We think one of them spooked Petrovic a couple of days ago. We have Petrovic under surveillance. He hasn’t moved yet, but just in case he’s getting suspicious, I want to go sooner than later.”

“Well, let’s go get him then,” Mason says, matter-of-factly.

“Just like that?” I seriously thought I’d be here most of the day briefing and convincing them.

“That’s why you’re here, right? Let’s get it done,” Mason says.

“Wheels up in an hour, gentlemen,” Culver says as the room springs to life. “Agent Marsh will brief you further on the plane.”

Raine sees the confusion on my face. “That’s how it happens here. They’re not much for talking a problem to death. When they have good intel, they’re ready to go.”

“I see that. I’m used to a little more bureaucracy and red tape,” I say.

“Not much of that here. Well, in this room anyway. When it’s up to the team, they’re all about action,” Raine says. “Hey. Are you sure you’re going to be okay without me?”

“I’ll be fine. Just point me in the right direction.”

“The right direction to where? The transport plane? God, you’re seriously going to get lost just trying to find the plane that’s taking you to Bosnia.”

“Raine, I’ve never been here. How would I know where the planes are?”

“Maybe, just maybe, you might have noticed them when you drove up to the building. They’re pretty big.”

“Will you please turn down the snark and just show me where it is?” I say, laughing.

She grabs me by the arm, and starts pulling me toward the door when Mason looks over. He sees that we’re laughing, but his face is deadly serious.

Raine straightens up quickly. “Hey, Mason. I was just going to show her where the plane is.”

“I’m walking over there now. I’ll show her. You ready?” He looks at me and then back at Raine, like he’s about to give us after-school detention.

“Yes. Ready,” I say as seriously as I can. It seems Work-Mason and Play-Mason are two entirely different people. “I’ll see you later, Raine. Thanks for the help.”

Raine walks away oddly quickly. I’m getting the feeling people don’t like to be in Work-Mason’s presence any longer than necessary. Mason motions me to follow him. At least, I think that’s what he’s doing. I look around for help and see Hawk.

“Am I supposed to follow him?” I ask.

“I probably wouldn’t. The last person who did is dead,” Hawk says, passing me.

Someone grabs me by the arm and starts pushing me forward. I turn around to see Bryce. “I was the new guy a few months ago. You’ll get the hang of it,” he says.

Bryce doesn’t stop pushing me until he’s shown me where to sit on the plane, and told me to strap in. I’m getting the feeling these guys are a controlling bunch. It’s weird because my dad wasn’t like that at all, at least not to me. Maybe he was different at work.

After the plane takes off, everyone starts putting on their headphones and closing their eyes. I’m not tired at all, so I unbuckle and go over to what looks like the command center. I set up my computer and do some work until my eyes start blurring from the dim lights. I take a seat away from the others, shut my eyes, and try to sleep a little, but to no avail. When I open my eyes, I see Mason standing over me, handing me a cup of tea.

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