Shoshana scoffed, saying, “There’s a big difference. Aaron doesn’t control me.” She gazed out the windshield, then sat upright. “That fucking Pike. I lost the target while talking to him. Where is he?”

Jennifer leaned forward, as if getting closer to the windshield would help. They’d entered a street lined with vendors selling fruits, vegetables, and other things, the going slow. She caught a glimpse of the laptop bag and said, “He’s no longer running. He’s just up ahead. See the rainbow awning? Look left. He’s pretending to shop.”

Shoshana did and said, “He’s close to the hive. He’s thinking of the operation. He’s making a plan before he meets the team.”

She pulled into an alley and put the vehicle in park. “Time to go. Keep your head covered. Walk steadily and don’t make eye contact.”

“No. We go nowhere. We’ve necked down the location enough for the Jordanians. They’ll handle it.”

Her radio came alive with an exasperated Pike. “Koko, Koko, status?”

She said, “I’m here. We think we’re within a block radius of the terrorist team. The Brit is still on the move, but he’s no longer running.”

Pike said, “I’ve got your location on my phone. Sit tight. No action. Keep eyes on, and we’ll relay location to the Jords.”

Jennifer looked at Shoshana and said, “Roger all. Sounds good to me.”

“Jennifer, don’t let that nutcase Shoshana do something. She wants a scalp, but we’ve gone beyond that. Our mission is done. She gets caught, and it might unravel us. She won’t listen to Aaron. She might to you.”

Trying to talk without giving anything away to Shoshana, Jennifer said, “Okay. But if they attempt to execute, and I’m still here, what do you want me to do?”

“Take her down.”

Shoshana opened the vehicle door and said, “Come on. We’re going to lose him.”

In one fluid motion, Jennifer dropped the phone and withdrew her Glock 30, the long tube of the suppressor making it unwieldy in the close confines of the van. She pointed it in a two-handed grip and said, “We wait. As Aaron ordered.”

Shoshana’s face grew dark. She slammed the door closed and said, “You fucking Americans. It’s all about the orders. Never about the true mission.”

Jennifer said, “Shoshana, just sit back. Trust me, it makes me sick to do this to you. We have equities in play.”

Shoshana said, “That terrorist you’re letting go cut the head off a man. Of many men. You’re happy with him in a Jordanian prison? Do you know who else was in a Jordanian prison? Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The fucking spawn of the Islamic State. The man who cut the head off of Daniel Pearl and murdered more American soldiers than anyone else.”

Jennifer said nothing, watching the dark angel appear. For the first time, she felt real fear, knowing that Shoshana was going to push. Force her to shoot. And she knew she couldn’t. She wasn’t so sure about Shoshana.

Without warning, Shoshana lashed out, slapping one hand on the weapon and whipping an elbow at Jennifer’s head. Instead of fighting for control of the pistol, as Shoshana expected, Jennifer dropped the Glock, ducked her head forward, and wrapped up Shoshana’s arms.

The fight was short but brutal. Shoshana landed two well-placed elbows against Jennifer’s head, wanting to strike, to maim, something that was the anchor of Krav Maga. Jennifer was all about control, and this she did.

She launched her legs against the footwell and drove Shoshana into the back of the van. They hit together, and Jennifer wrapped up her thighs with her legs, then scrambled for an arm bar that would rip out Shoshana’s shoulder socket. Shoshana went berserk, raining down blows on Jennifer’s head with her free arm until Jennifer saw stars and started to black out. She fought through the pain, ignoring the punches and methodically working her position just as Pike had taught her.

She saw the opening, felt an elbow tear into her scalp, slamming her head into the floor of the van . . . and then she had the bar. She twisted her body, hunching her hips and bringing Shoshana forward, into her deadly embrace, and she felt the joint lock set deep. Perfectly positioned.

Shoshana slammed a fist into Jennifer’s skull one more time, and she stretched out, dragging the arm with her, stressing the socket to the point of irreversible damage. Shoshana screamed, slapping the back of Jennifer’s thigh.

Jennifer let up slightly, breathing heavily. She blew bloody snot from her nose and said, “We go nowhere.”

37

Knowing she was trapped, Shoshana went rigid and let out a keening wail, sounding like a wounded animal, then went limp, sagging into the floor of the van and giving Jennifer complete control.

She closed her eyes and said, “You’re letting him get away. You’re going to allow that murderer to go free. Why did you care about catching the American so much, but not al-Britani? Why do you fight me?”

Maintaining her position, not relaxing at all, Jennifer saw an actual tear in Shoshana’s eye. She said, “Why do you strive so hard to butcher like them?”

Shoshana wiped her eye with her free arm, no longer fighting. She said, “Because they’re evil. They aren’t human. They tossed aside all humanity when they embraced the ideology, then set about killing. I’m no more like them than a hog farmer is. Yes, I butcher, but like the farmer, it’s for a greater good. We’re both killing a beast, but the hog is a much greater sacrifice.”

Jennifer felt her hands slipping in Shoshana’s sweat. She regained her hold and said, “You can’t kill them all.”

Shoshana scoffed. “You are so naïve. I hate that philosophy. Of course I can’t kill them all. When a policeman arrests a rapist, do you say, You can’t arrest them all? I can only kill the ones I can reach, and I’ll gladly do so, just like the policeman.”

Jennifer let that settle, then said, “Tell me the truth: Would you have killed me? To get to him?”

Shoshana looked at the ceiling of the van for a moment. She said, “No. No, I wouldn’t. I couldn’t.” She gave a bitter laugh and said, “It’s a weakness, I suppose.”

“Weakness how?”

Shoshana waited a beat, then said, “You call me a butcher, but some in the Mossad would say differently. I was ‘discarded’ to the Samson team because I refused to take out a Palestinian. He wasn’t a terrorist, and our information was wrong.”

Now genuinely interested, having had moments of doubt while working with the Taskforce, Jennifer said, “If I let you up, are you going to fight?”

Shoshana turned her head in surprise. She said, “No.”

Jennifer released her. Shoshana sat up, rubbing her shoulder.

Staring intently at her, Jennifer asked, “How did you know? How were you so positive the intelligence was wrong?”

“I’m honestly not sure. I just feel it. I can tell. On that mission I . . . I slept with him.” She looked to see a reaction from Jennifer. When none appeared, she said, “It was a honeypot operation. He was designated a target, and I allowed him to go free.”

“How, though? How did you know?”

Jennifer felt her weird, penetrating gaze for a moment, then Shoshana said, “You’re afraid. Afraid of harming someone innocent.”

Jennifer hesitantly nodded and Shoshana said, “I just do. I saw that Hussein had blackness in him, but it wasn’t of his choosing. I saw he was telling the truth. I see you for what you are. You and Pike. I know he thinks I’m some crazy assassin, but I don’t kill what doesn’t need to be destroyed.” She faced Jennifer. “And al-Britani needs to be destroyed. Don’t listen to your boss a thousand miles away. Listen to your heart.”

Jennifer said, “It’s not that simple. There are rules. Complications with the operation.”

“It is that simple. You make it complicated. This man beheaded at least four people. Cut off their heads with a knife. It doesn’t get any simpler than that. Our world is gray, but this is black and white.”