Chapter 50

Andie refused to leave Jupiter Island.

The Miami ASAC had walled her off from any official role in the negotiations with Jack, but the fact remained that it was

her husband in that cottage. Andie and her partner stayed in the car, still parked in the lot at the nature preserve. They

were less than a minute away if Jack called for help. Or even if he didn’t call.

Grace was in the passenger seat, singing the old punk rock classic under her breath: “ Should I stay or should I go? ”

“Grace, knock it off.”

Their stint on the sidelines didn’t last long. Andie’s tablet lit up on the dashboard with an invitation to join another videoconference.

She accepted with the push of a button. On the screen was ASAC Tidwell, but he wasn’t in the office. He was on the move, inside

the FBI’s mobile command center, heading toward Jupiter Island. An FBI hostage negotiator and tech agent were with him in

the electronics compartment behind the driver’s cab.

“There’s been a shift in strategy,” said Tidwell.

“I’m at your service,” said Andie.

“Hold on. I need to patch someone in.”

Andie’s screen flickered as another virtual box appeared for a third participant. There was nothing to identify him as an

agent for the CIA—except for the fact that Andie recognized him as Agent Hartfield, the CIA agent she had met in Bayfront

Park.

“I understand the two of you know each other,” said Tidwell, dispensing with an introduction.

“Yes,” said Andie. “We took a walk in the park and then met another time for coffee. Neither one was pleasant.”

“Pardon my stating the obvious, but the CIA has no law enforcement power,” said Hartfield. “Nonetheless, we do have a keen

interest in the man holed up in the cottage with your husband and Zahra Bazzi. His name is Nouri Asmoun. He was the man wearing

the body camera in the video you sent us.”

It was a lot for Andie to comprehend, but she quickly understood the ramifications.

“The man holding my husband knows that Ava Bazzi left Evin Prison alive,” she said.

“Yes,” said Hartfield. “And much more.”

“What?”

“The rest I can share with you only on a need-to-know basis.”

Andie immediately understood the implication. “You’ll tell me if I agree to do what you want me to do. Do I have that right?”

“Precisely,” said Hartfield.

“All right,” said Andie. “What’s the ask?”

“Asmoun is expecting a callback in just a few minutes. We want you to make that phone call.”

The ASAC interjected. “Whoa, whoa, whoa,” said Tidwell. “We didn’t discuss that. Putting Agent Henning on the phone breaks

the most basic rules of hostage negotiation. Andie has a personal stake here. She can’t be on the phone and create a situation

where Nouri could put a gun to her husband’s head and threaten to blow his brains out unless Andie gives him what he wants.”

“Thank you, Todd,” said Andie. “That’s exactly what I would have said, though I probably would have spared myself the image

of splattered gray matter.”

“Right, sorry,” said Tidwell. “I was just making a point.”

“Both of you are missing the point ,” said Hartfield. “I’m not suggesting that Agent Henning get on the phone to negotiate. She simply needs to buy time until

SWAT can breach.”

Andie knew the lead hostage negotiator in Miami—knew how good he was. “Your first option is a breach?” she asked, incredulous. “That’s insane. There’s a seven-year-old girl in that cottage.”

“I agree,” said the ASAC.

“With all due respect to the FBI,” said Hartfield, “you don’t know a thing about Nouri Asmoun.”

Andie was a step ahead of him, and the CIA’s agenda was crystal clear. “Your priority isn’t to get Yasmin out safely, much

less Jack and Zahra.”

“Theorize all you like, but FBI headquarters has already authorized the breach,” said Hartfield—which only confirmed Andie’s

belief.

“Your priority is to take out Nouri. To silence him—permanently.”

There was silence, then the ASAC spoke. “Who authorized the breach?”

“Isaac Underwood in Washington.”

Andie didn’t believe him, though Isaac would have that authority as assistant director of the counterterrorism division. If

the order was communicated through Isaac, it was really from someone above even him—someone who actually had secrets to hide.

“Putting Agent Henning on the phone is a key component of the breach,” said Hartfield. “Nouri would never expect SWAT to breach

while she’s on the line. Not with her husband in the cottage.”

“I’m not doing it,” said Andie.

“The breach already has the green light,” said Hartfield. “It’s happening, with or without you on the phone. The only question

is whether you are willing to increase the likelihood of success by adding the element of surprise that comes with you being

on the phone when SWAT crashes through the door.”

“I stand behind Agent Henning,” said Tidwell.

It was the clearest display of leadership Andie had ever seen from the new ASAC, and she was grateful.

“Thank you,” said Andie.

Hartfield was clearly losing patience. “Of course no one is going to put a gun to Henning’s head and make her do it. But let

me add one element to the mix.”

“Nothing is going to change my mind,” said Andie.

“This might,” said Hartfield. “At the end of the video Nouri sent you, there was a car waiting in the parking lot. Nouri was

under contract with the CIA to buy Ava Bazzi out of prison and get her into the car. The driver of that car was a CIA agent

by the name of Brian Guthrie.”

Andie felt chills at the mention of the hostage’s name.

“Obviously, things did not go well for Agent Guthrie in this exercise,” said Hartfield. “It has taken all this time, but we

are on the brink of negotiating his release from the Iranians. The last thing we need at this pivotal moment is for Nouri

Asmoun to make good on his threat, release that video on the internet, and say God-knows-what about it.”

Andie understood most of what he was saying, but it still left her confused. “But the video shows that Ava Bazzi escaped from

the prison unharmed,” said Andie. “That should help the negotiations for Agent Guthrie’s release. It supports the Iranian

position that the morality police didn’t murder her—that she escaped and fled.”

“As I mentioned,” said Hartfield, “things did not go well. Nouri knows what happened after the video ended.”

Andie could read between the lines: Ava Bazzi was most definitely dead.

Her ASAC spoke next, gently. “Andie, maybe you will want to reconsider.”

Andie’s mind was awhirl. The question wasn’t just what was best for the negotiations in Jupiter Island. The next move also

had to be in the best interest of a high-value hostage in Iran.

“It’s a delicate balance,” she said, thinking aloud.

“It bears repeating,” said Agent Hartfield. “The SWAT breach is happening with or without your help.”

Andie’s thoughts were all over the map, literally. Thousands of Iranians had been jailed during the protests. Hundreds were

killed.

“Why was the CIA so focused on getting Ava Bazzi out of jail and out of Iran?” Andie asked. “Of all the women jailed during

the protests, why did the CIA put Nouri Asmoun and Agent Guthrie at so much risk over Ava Bazzi?”

“Perhaps I could answer that question someday,” said Hartfield. “Assuming you were to do your part to bring Agent Guthrie home safely.”

Andie recalled her conversation with Farid—the thumb drive of text messages he’d discovered in Ava’s locked drawer.

“Does this have to do with the network of Iranian women that Ava was part of?”

Hartfield didn’t offer a direct answer. “All I will tell you is that Ava Bazzi was a brave woman. How brave are you, Agent

Henning?”

There was silence. For Andie, the balance finally tipped, inspired in part by Ava’s courage to stand up against her own government.

“Brave enough to tell the CIA to go fuck itself,” said Andie.

“Excuse me?” said Hartfield.

“I’m not going to let myself be used as a distraction while SWAT breaks down the door and gets my husband killed. That’s my

final decision.”

Andie exited the videoconference, and her screen went black.

Her partner looked over from the passenger seat with clear shock on her face. “What now?” asked Grace.

Andie reached for her phone. “I need to get through to Isaac,” she said. “Gotta get the green light on SWAT back to red.”