Foreign Influence

A small, nondescript car pulled up to the curb, dropped off Bob Ash-ford, and then took off in the same direction as the van.

“Do we have any idea who he is yet?” asked Harvath as Ashford approached.

“We think he may be a former Yemeni Intelligence Service operative, but we’re not sure.”

“Based on the way he conducted his surveillance detection routes, he’s had formal training. And if that’s true, he won’t be an easy interrogation subject.”

“Suffice it to say that the people he’s just been handed over to will get to the bottom of who he is, sooner rather than later,” said the MI5 man. “Trust me.”

Harvath didn’t doubt it. There were certain things the Brits did very well and were able to keep away from the press. One of those things was the interrogation techniques they used to drain intelligence from suspected terrorists.

He was about to ask if the techniques involved things the American press found so hateful like calling terrorists names and hurting their feelings when Casey emerged from the Internet café and hurriedly walked over to them.

“I think we may have caught a break, but we’re going to need some real muscle in there.”

“Let’s get to it then,” said Harvath.

He took a step forward but Gretchen put her hand against his chest and stopped him. “Not your kind of muscle, Prince Charming,” she said, turning to look at Ashford. “His.”

CHAPTER 53

Once Casey explained what she wanted and why she believed the café manager not only had it, but was lying to her about it, Bob Ashford went straight inside and turned the woman’s world upside down.

Law enforcement in the U.K. had exceptional powers to deal with terrorism. Ashford also had an incredibly powerful personality. He had a way of being polite, yet terrifying all at the same time. He left no room for argument and was very clear about what would happen to the manager if she didn’t cooperate, immediately.

When he asked her for identification and began to question her about any past difficulties she might have caused for police, her tough facade crumbled.

Within minutes, she had not only confessed to the café’s keystroke-logging program, but had explained how it worked and had blamed it all on the café’s owner. Casey had been right. The café not only spied on its customers, it probably trafficked in their personal data as well. Without an Iron Key, very few people were safe anywhere.

Ashford didn’t much care about what the café did with its other customers’ data. What he wanted was what the man they had apprehended outside had typed into his computer.

The manager pulled up the information for the terminal and printed out all of the man’s keystrokes. Unfortunately, there weren’t very many. He had logged on to his Skype account, searched for another Skype user named Jamal, and made one call before leaving the café and being taken down.

Casey sat down and pulled the man’s Skype account back up, but he had deleted everything.

“I just did a search for any accounts with the name Jamal,” she said.

“And?” asked Harvath

“And there’s so many, Skype doesn’t even list them all. Without knowing which drop-down menus he clicked to focus his search, we won’t be able to zero in on him.”

“What about going to Skype directly?” said Ashford. “They have London offices.”

“You can try, but they’re not going to do anything other than talk to you without a judge’s order.”

Harvath removed one of his cell phones and sent a text message to Nicholas. Moments later, a response came back. Yes. The Israelis are rumored to have already cracked it.

Excusing himself, Harvath stepped outside and called the Old Man.

“Did you get him?” Carlton asked when he picked up his phone.

“We did. He ran SDRs for about an hour and then slipped into an Internet café where he made a Skype call.”

“Do we know who he called?”

“No. All we know is that it was another Skype user named Jamal. The Brits can lean on Skype via their offices here, but that could take a while. Word on the street is that the Israelis have cracked Skype.”

“A few months ago, I’m told,” said the Old Man. “But you have to give me more than somebody named Jamal who received a Skype call within the last hour.”

“How about our guy’s username and password?”

“That’s better.”

Harvath rattled off the information and Carlton told him he’d reach out to some friends he had in Tel Aviv and get back to him as soon as possible.

When he stepped back inside, Ashford was bagging the keyboard and headset as evidence. He then asked Rhodes to e-mail the recording she had made so he could see if there was a voiceprint of the man on file somewhere.

Those tasks complete, he looked at Harvath. “It’s your call. What do you want to do now?”

“Where are you doing the interrogations?”

“At a lovely country estate outside the city,” said the MI5 man. “Why? You want to watch them? I thought interrogations made you squeamish.”

“Only if I don’t wait at least a half hour after eating before jumping into one.”

Ashford smiled as his phone vibrated. He removed it from his pocket, unwrapped the earbuds, and read the text message that had just come in. “If we’re done here, I’ve got transport for us outside.”

Harvath looked at Casey. “Are we done?”

The Athena Team leader nodded. “We’re all good.”

Outside there were two passenger vans waiting. Ashford turned to Harvath with a suggestion. “Why don’t you and your team get something to eat? I’ve assigned two of my best men to you. They were both Royal Marines. Whatever you want, they’ll see to it.”

“Where are you going?”

“I’m going to drop the evidence at my office and then pay an una

“I want to come with you to Skype.”

The MI5 man pointed over his shoulder. “This was just a warm-up. If I encounter resistance from Skype, that visit is going to be considerably more unpleasant.”

“I can probably help bring some pressure to bear.”

“I don’t doubt it,” he said, putting his hand on the younger man’s shoulder. “You and Peaches do seem to have a very similar approach. Neither of you ever take no for an answer.”

Harvath was flattered to be compared to the Old Man.

Ashford looked at him. “In my country, the fact that I have to order you to take five very attractive ladies to lunch would be grounds for immediate dismissal.”

“What about Amsterdam?”

“Let’s worry about Skype first. Without that, there is no Amsterdam,” he said as he removed his hand from Harvath’s shoulder. “Relax and eat with your team. I’ll let you know what happens at Skype, and if we somehow get a break in the interrogations, I’ll call you immediately.”

“You’ve got all my numbers, right?”

“Yes,” said Ashford as he walked toward his vehicle. “Don’t worry.”

Harvath watched as Ashford climbed into the number-one van and it pulled away. A tall, well-built man in his early thirties, dressed in a sharp blue suit and perfectly polished shoes, stepped out of the remaining vehicle and walked over to Harvath.

He stuck out his hand and said, “My name is Bloom. Commander Ashford has instructed us to take care of you.”

They had gone from one hundred miles per hour to five, and Harvath hated it. All-ahead-stop was not a maneuver he was fond of. He didn’t know how to cha

He shook the man’s hand and tried to be nice. “You’re aware that the situation we’re in is still active, correct?”

“Yes, sir. The commander briefed us.”

The Brits were so damn professional, and polite. “I guess we need to eat,” he said and then added, “Someplace where we can keep the vehicle close in case we have to move quickly.”