“We can run it through an existing Black Management training contract,” Director Doherty said. “Seems you’ve got secret contracts channeled throughout several government agencies. I think Department of Education would be a fitting cover for this one.”
Iggy scribbled figures on a legal pad, then looked up at the Director. “So what do you guys pay Rubicon to run the al-Zahrani organization? My back-of-the-napkin math says al-Zahrani’s whole global operation probably has an annual operating budget of $70-80 million.”
“Half that. Al Qaeda is a shoestring operation run out of caves and websites. And keep in mind thirty to forty percent of its operating budget is subsided through Sunni Islamic charities. The Rubicon budget is only $10-15 million.”
“Sweet,” Iggy said. “Forty million dollars of influence for a $10 mil investment. I bet that keeps your budget guys happy. Though I have one question: would we be responsible for fundraising and what happens if we raise surplus funds? Do we get to keep them?”
“A percentage. We can make it worth your while to divert anything you can from the real bad guys. Islamic charities throw around $200 million every year at terrorist groups. You won’t have to run any telethons, that’s for sure.”
Camille turned her head and stifled a yawn before she spoke. “We’ll need additional start-up costs budgeted for the first year. And those numbers seem too low. I’m not sure you’re factoring in the risk of not having a presidential finding. She felt the addictive rush of success waking her up. “I also want that prison contract-BALI HAI.”
“That’s a little more complicated.”
“I’ll develop the expertise. We’ll buy up a corrections company stateside and cherry-pick their executives to run it.”
“I’ll look into it.”
“Good, I’ll get with my fiscal people to cost everything out and we can meet again tomorrow.” Camille nodded, secretly hoping she hadn’t overreached. She hated prisons, but she loved taking business away from Rubicon.
Hunter made eye contact with Camille. “Ms. Black, I need a word with you-in private.” His voice was forceful, but not enough so to embarrass her in front of the Director. “Now.”
“Gentlemen, I’ll be back in a moment. In the meantime, you two can sketch out an understanding so we can get something worked out as fast as we can before anyone realizes al-Zahrani’s AWOL. Contract transitions can be rough and I don’t expect any assistance from your previous contractor.” Camille followed Hunter outside the conference room and shut the door.
“Have you lost your mind? You can’t run an al Qaeda terrorist camp,” Hunter said, his voice tense, controlling anger she sensed underneath.
“It’s all about hiring the right staff to pull it off. I have some old East German Stasi contacts who’ve run tango camps in Yemen. I’ll bring them in for technical assist.”
“That’s not what I was talking about. We’re becoming the terrorists in order to save ourselves from terrorism. That’s not right. It wasn’t right when Rubicon did it, it’s not right if you do it.”
“Maybe not, but so far it’s effective. I love my country and I want to keep it safe.”
“So do I. But not by becoming like them.”
“Give me a break. We already torture, kidnap and kill in the name of national security and you know as well as I do, a lot of innocent civilians have been caught up in that system-because it is a system, it has to be fed and sometimes there aren’t enough really bad guys to keep it going. And you know, I think it’s worth it. It’s kept the Homeland safe.” She watched the tension in his face grow and his gaze become more distant. That scared her.
“You know, it’s all starting to sound like one big, sick scam.”
She slipped her arm around his waist. “Why don’t you come help me? I need someone I can trust who’s fluent in Arabic and who can keep an eye on things on the ground. We’ve got the Agency by the balls right now. I’ll broker a deal that forces them to straighten things out for you with Force Zulu. They wouldn’t like it, but they could do it. We could throw in an honorable discharge or maybe even another staged death. You could become Mr. White to my Ms. Black and we could-”
“I love you, but I can’t. I live to track down and kill the bad guys, not train them.”
“Are you sure you can still do that with the same gusto? From now on, every time you’ve got a tango in your sights, you’ll be wondering if he’s one of ours, if he’s the guy who’s going to take out the next set of hijackers because he’s convinced they’re al Qaeda dissidents.” She could see the trouble in his face. She pulled him close and kissed him, taking her time, playing with his lower lip. “Join me.”
Hunter pushed her away. “For god’s sake, al-Zahrani raped you. How can you suddenly forget everything and become his puppet-master?”
“Believe me, I’ll take him out and replace him as soon as we can. Doherty is low-balling me, but even so, with the prison contract thrown in, we’re looking at over $100 million a year by the time I get through with it. That would sure pay for a lot of victim therapy, if that’s what it takes to keep me sane until we can pop him. I can live with that. And I love it that we can skim off the top from Islamic charity terror tithes. That could really expand the margins.”
“I love you. I really do.”
“Honey, understand I have to start positioning the company for post-Iraq. We’ve been trying to break into serious Agency contracting, but so far we’ve only gotten scraps. Cofer is pulling in everything to Blackwater. Finally, I’m getting a plum.”
“You’re selling your soul. I can’t,” Hunter said as he turned and walked away.
“Wait! We’ve still got Rubicon’s Gulfstream. What do you say we fly to the Ozarks for a few days together while you think about it?”
“There’s nothing to think about,” Hunter said and kept walking.
“That Gulfstream’s got the range to take us to Hawaii. I did promise you. We could go swimming with sharks.”
“You already are,” he said without stopping.
“Stop! Please.” She ran up to him and blocked him from getting on the elevator. “I love you. More than anyone or anything. I can’t lose you now after all we’ve been through.”
“Well, maybe you ought to get your priorities straight.” His voice was cold and it hurt.
They looked each other in the eyes for several seconds without speaking. The worst part was that she knew he was right about the immorality of the contract. And deep down she also knew she couldn’t lose him. Not again.
Camille blinked.
“I’ve boxed myself into a corner,” Camille said, reaching out to his hand. “I guess I could sell my part of the company to Iggy.”
“You can’t do that. Just walk away from the deal.”
“I can’t screw Iggy over. Without some kind of an understanding with the Agency, Black Management is finished.”
The elevator arrived with three men inside. They stared at them in silence as they waited for it to leave. It gave Camille a chance to try to figure out a solution. Several seconds later the elevator doors closed.
“You know, I just thought of something,” Camille said as she let go of Hunter’s hand and started to move back toward the conference room to see if he would follow. “There might be a problem with that contract.”
“There are a lot of problems.”
“Yeah, but this one could be a deal-breaker, one that could let me save face if I back out.” She flashed him a conspiratorial smile. “I know you were one of the guys who caught bin Laden. I need you to tell me what you know about the joint CIA-Pentagon operation running him.”
He took a deep breath and pursed his lips. “Stella.”
“I’m pretty sure you’re not read into the project, so you wouldn’t be divulging any secrets you were officially entrusted with. Just tell me rumors.”