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.For the second time that day Jake was a victim of Kyli’s heavy foot, this time in her Mini Cooper.They arrived at the hotel in ten minutes.She pulled the car to the front door of the hotel and shut off the engine.“Grab your bag.” She unlocked the hatch.“I thought we were having lunch?”“We are.” She said.“Let’s get you checked in first.I made our lunch reservations here as well.You’ll like it and the food in the restaurant is splendid.”When they walked into the lobby, Kyli went to the registration desk and spoke to the man in Dutch.The wallpaper behind the man had gold and white vertical stripes, the colors complimented the rest of the lobby’s furnishings.Kyli signed the hotel registry and the man handed her a key.She signaled for Jake to follow her.“You’re in room seven.Lucky number seven.”“Superstitious? Not what I would have expected from a scientist.”“Why would you say I’m superstitious? Seven happens to be my lucky number.It might end up being yours too.” She laughed and motioned toward a hallway.“Let’s check it out.”There was that glisten in her eyes again.Jake didn’t know what to think.Was she flirting? Kyli was friendly and certainly attractive but he’d just met her.He hadn’t even thought about another woman since Beth’s death and wasn’t sure if he was ready for anything other than business.He followed her to his room.She opened the door with the key and entered, holding the door open for Jake.“Your room, Mr.Pendleton.” She imitated a bellboy.Kyli took the bag from his hand and tossed it on the bed.She turned and moved toward him.She stopped close, in his personal space.Jake felt uneasy.She arched her back pushing herself closer to him.Her amber eyes full of mischief.Her perfume invaded his nostrils, Chanel Chance.Beth’s favorite perfume.Why hadn’t he noticed it before?His body stirred, head spun, and he felt flush again.He tried to say something, anything, but nothing came out.She raised her chin and said in a sultry whisper.“Jake? Do you know what I really want? Right now?”He couldn’t speak.He just shook his head like a schoolboy trying to be cool but failing miserably.“I really want to get something to eat.I’m starving.” She turned and walked out of his room.He lowered his head and followed her out of the room.I’m such an idiot.CHAPTER 17THE FIRST NAME on the list was a waste of time.The man knew nothing, so Kaplan and Chase went in search of the next lead.The pair located the second source but he denied any knowledge of the terrorist cell in Hajjah or the abduction of Hunt.Kaplan's instinct told him the man was lying.The more Kaplan questioned him, the more the man contradicted himself until finally the man backed himself into a corner.Beads of sweat collected on the man’s forehead and then Kaplan turned up the heat.Kaplan threatened to kill the man’s family and expose him as a traitor.The man seemed reluctant at first until Kaplan threatened to turn him over to al Qaeda.Then the man talked.Not only did the Yemeni know about Hunt’s abduction, it also turned out his brother was a member of the terrorist cell.He was only trying to protect his brother by lying to Kaplan.Kaplan needed more information.He needed names and places.Needed facts.He pressured the man but at the first mention of Hashim Khan, the man shut down.Kaplan was close, but was running out of time.The terrorist cell wouldn’t keep Hunt alive for long.He needed to confirm that Khan was involved with the Yemen cell…and with Hunt.The interrogator went to work.Chase drove back to the safe house while Kaplan held the unconscious man in the back seat.The quick blow to the back of the man’s head had dropped him.The back room in the safe house was empty and dark—no windows—the coldest room in the house.With a temperature around fifty-five, it was ideal for what Kaplan had in mind.He needed the man to talk, to tell him everything.Anything short of that would prove very painful to his captive.He understood the man’s reluctance, once he gave Kaplan the information, there would be a warrant for his death, his brother’s death, and the deaths of his entire family.A warrant not from Kaplan, but from Khan.Kaplan found all the materials necessary for the makeshift interrogation room.He stripped the man then secured his feet to a metal hook anchored in the floor.He bound the man’s hands with flex cuffs, doused him with cold water, and forced the naked man to stand in the cold room.Every time the man would start to fall, Kaplan would slap him then douse him again in cold water.The shivering started in less than an hour when the man’s body temperature started to fall.He questioned the man repeatedly but the man’s fear of Khan outweighed Kaplan’s efforts.Several of the Delta brick’s team assisted Kaplan with his interrogation.But nothing seemed to weaken the man’s resolve.After six hours, Kaplan grew impatient.He knew eventually the man would succumb to this technique but some prisoners had lasted over forty hours before they talked.The luxury of time was not something he could afford.The clock was ticking and he knew the longer it took to find Hunt, the greater the odds she would not be alive.Kaplan cleared the room except for Chase and ordered Chase to guard the prisoner while he left the room.Ten minutes later Kaplan returned with an eight-foot board and a backpack.He and Chase tied the man to the board, feet first then hands.Chase wedged something under one end of the board elevating the man’s feet slightly above his head.When the prisoner was secure, Kaplan reached into his backpack and pulled out a roll of cellophane.“Sir.You can’t do—“ Chase started to object.“I can and I will Captain.” Kaplan interrupted.“There are too many lives at stake here.This man knows something.Without that information people will die.What this man knows can save those lives.”Chase said nothing.Kaplan wrapped the man’s head in cellophane and grabbed the water bucket.“Last chance asshole.”The man laid stoic.He began to chant.Kaplan started pouring water over the man.Water quickly worked its way under the cellophane and licked at the man’s head.The man’s gag reflex kicked in.He bucked against the board, bulging eyes revealed his fear of drowning.After thirty-three seconds the man begged for mercy.Kaplan was impressed; the average was fourteen, even though on rare occasions a few al Qaeda terrorists had been known to last nearly two and a half minutes.Kaplan cut the cellophane away from the man’s head.“Ready to talk now?”CHAPTER 18“MR [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]