Betrayal by Tim Tigner

His voice was mid-thirties Italian with a Brooklyn accent. She decided to play the percentages. “You having a bad day, Nik?”
    There was a long pause.
    Cassi kept her focus on the chessboard, preparing the various countermoves she would use for different reactions.
    “Nice try, lady. There were three Niks on my block growing up, but I ain’t one of ‘em. I do respect a woman who isn’t afraid of taking a chance, though. You can call me Sal.”
    Yes! Cassi felt the juices pumping. She was in her groove. Everything was going to fall into place. She could feel it. “You having a bad day, Sal?”
    “You shouldn’t be concerned with what kind of a day I’m having. I can take care of myself. You should be concerned about the kids locked in here with a bomb.”
    The kids were all that she cared about, but she knew that they were okay for now. She could hear their muffled sobs. Her goal was to keep them that way. She would use all her skill and experience to keep Masha and Zeke out of play for as long as Sal was in play. Her primary means of doing that would be to keep the negotiation focused on Sal until they reached agreement or it was time for HRT to intervene. “But I do worry about you, Sal. Surely, you didn’t want it to come to this. Did you?”
    “You got that right. This was supposed to be a quick in and out job.”
    “So what went wrong?”
    “Humph. You showed up.” He paused.
    Cassi waited.
    Finally he asked, “How’d you know?”
    “Somebody saw you. We got a call. It happens all the time. Too many eyes in this big city. Tell me, Sal, how do you see this working out?”
    “I’ll tell you exactly how this is going to work out. You’re going to land a helicopter in the schoolyard. I’m going to climb onboard—just me, the pilot, and the two kids. We’re going to take off. Once I’m sure I’m in the clear, I’ll have the pilot set me down someplace I can disappear. Then he brings you back the kids and it’s like this never happened. Nobody gets hurt.”
    “Sounds good to me,” Cassi said. She put conviction in her tone, but knew that Sal’s request was a fantasy. In her business someone always got hurt.

Chapter 16

    Orumiyeh, Iran

    “W HO ARE WE in danger from?” Odi asked Ayden.
    “I don’t know.”
    “Then how do you know that we’re in danger?”
    “It’s a long story.”
    Odi did not understand why his rescuer was being so evasive. He was obviously nervous and uncomfortable. Perhaps evasion was his default defense mechanism. Odi decided to try a different tack. “Does anybody know where we are?”
    “I don’t think so, but I’m not sure. I rent this place from an old lady who doesn’t even know my name. Still, I’m readily identified as the tall American. It would be easy to find me by asking around.”
    “And who would be asking?”
    “I don’t know.”
    Odi thought about that for a moment, trying to cut through the circular logic. He did not know what was going on, so he could hardly formulate hypotheses. He decided to calm Ayden down while taking a mental inventory of things he could use as improvised weapons—kitchen knives, a broomstick, a wine bottle filled with sand. “How did I end up in that hospital? The last thing I remember was bleeding to death on a battlefield.”
    “Battlefield, huh?”
    Odi understood he had made a faux pas but the words were out. He just shrugged.
    Ayden said, “Forget it. To answer your question, I took you to the hospital. We’re in Orumiyeh, by the way. It’s twenty kilometers south of Tafriz—the sight of the battle.”
    “So, are you a doctor?” Odi asked, steering the conversation toward a non-controversial subject.
    “Yes. I studied at Berkley.”
    “Really, Berkley. Great school. What’s your connection to Iran?”
    “My father was Iranian.”
    Odi must have shown his surprise on his face because Ayden continued. “I know, I don’t look it. I take after my mother’s father, and my parents gave me her last