26

David was stunned.

He had to admit, he was electrified at the prospect. He hated bin Laden. The man had destroyed Marseille’s life and as a result had come close to destroying David’s. He wanted revenge so badly he could taste it. But as appealing as it was, this whole conversation still made no sense.

“Why me?” David asked. “I’m only sixteen.”

“That will make things a little more complicated.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning usually I recruit college students. But with your behavior in recent months, I was concerned you might not make it to college. And I’ve been following your story too closely to have it end with disappointment for both of us. So like I said, I had to intervene earlier than I’d planned. The good news is that no one really knows who you are. You’re not on the grid. You have no identity. You’ve just been kicked out of school. Your parents love you, but they don’t know what to do with you. They’re about to ship you off to boarding school for the rest of the semester. Your friends don’t expect to see you again. It’s a perfect time to get you on board, to begin building you a cover story, and in a few years, you’ll be ready—”

“Wait a minute,” David interrupted. “I have to ask—how exactly do you know so much about me?”

“I’m friends with your parents.”

“Since when?”

“Since before you were born.”

“Who are you?”

“My name is Jack,” the man said, finally putting his cards on the table.

“Jack?” David said. “As in Jack Zalinsky?”

Zalinsky nodded.

“As in the Jack Zalinsky who rescued my parents from Tehran?”

Zalinsky nodded again.

“So my parents sent you here?”

Zalinsky laughed as the guard electronically unlocked the door. “Not a chance. In fact, they would kill me if they knew I was here. And this will never work if they know, David. You can’t ever tell them we’ve met or what I’m about to take you into. Not if you want us to infiltrate you into the al Qaeda network and bag yourself a high-value target. It would be too risky for you and too risky for them. This has to be hush-hush, or it’s over. Understood?”

The room was quiet again for a moment.

Then David finally said, “I’m in.”

“Good,” Zalinsky said.

“So what do I do next?”

“Let your parents get you out of here tomorrow. Go home with them. Be a good boy. Let them put you in the boys’ school in Alabama. I’ll make sure you get accepted. Then finish the year with straight A’s without getting into any more fights. Get yourself in shape. And when it’s time, I’ll come get you.”

“And then what?”

“Then we’ll see if you’ve got what we need.”

And with that, Jack Zalinsky was gone.