Mahoud ignored him, pushing the American aside
His resistance was futile as the group rushed to meet him, beating him to his knees with rifle butts and barrels, the brutal blows driving him down, blood streaking his face.
Bolan had his own weapon snatched from his hands. He was searched for any other weapons, but all that was found was the GPS unit and Bolan’s cell phone. He watched as they were thrown to the cave floor and crushed under heavy boots.
“They will not be of use to you any longer, American. You are in the hands of the Taliban now. We will give the orders.”
Bolan looked him in the eye. “I’ll try to remember that.”
The Taliban leader laughed. “Be certain, American. You will remember. I promise you.”
Betrayed
Don Pendleton
Mack Bolan ®
Have the courage to say no. Have the courage to face the truth. Do the right thing because it is right. These are the magic keys to living your life with integrity.
—W. Clement Stone,
1902–2002
A person who steps forward to do the right thing must be protected. I’ll stand my ground and offer whatever support I can give, no matter what the consequences.
—Mack Bolan
For the peacemakers
CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
PROLOGUE
They tracked Jamal Mehet to Paris, caught up with him when he emerged from a Métro station, followed him until he was alone on a quiet side street, grabbed him and bundled him into the rear of a Citroën delivery truck. Even as the vehicle was pulling away from the curb, a hypo needle was jabbed into Mehet’s neck. It held a liberal dose of a powerful drug that rendered him unconscious. By the time he woke up he was far away from the city, locked in a room that had a mattress on the bare floor and nothing else. When he regained consciousness he was violently ill, emptying what little food his stomach held on to the floorboards. The aftereffects of the drug weren’t pleasant, and he spent most of the day curled up on the mattress, drifting in and out of sleep. When his senses allowed him to focus he tried to work out how long he had been in the room.
A day?
Two?
He couldn’t be sure. His watch was missing, so he had to judge the time of day by the passage of light he could see through the grubby window set in the roof over his head. It had already started to grow dark when he heard a key rattle in the lock and the door was flung open wide, banging against the inner wall with hard force.
Mehet rolled over so he could see the doorway. He had to blink his eyes to sharpen the image, and that was when he made out two figures stepping into the room. Beyond them he saw a third. Someone stood watch. The three figures separated and he could see them in detail now. The man just outside the door was holding a weapon. The two inside the room he didn’t recognize. They were unknown to him. Both wore expensive, well-cut suits, complete with shirts and ties. He even found himself looking down at their polished shoes.
When he looked into their faces his first impression was they were business executives. Everything about them spoke of wealth. And they were Westerners with their light-colored, clean-shaved skin and benign expressions.
One of the pair moved farther into the room, his actions controlled and precise. He stopped at the foot of the bed, his hands crossed in front of him. Mehet noticed the man’s fingernails. Neat and well manicured. Odd details that seemed very important to Mehet at that moment.
“We know who you are, Jamal Mehet,” the man said. “We know all about your connections to Sharif Mahoud. We know he trusts you more than any man alive. That he trusts you with his life. I’m sure you will realize by now why you are here and what we want.”
Mehet did realize what this was all about even as the man mouthed the words. He had been taken because of his intimate knowledge of Sharif Mahoud. These men, whoever they were, wanted the knowledge he carried inside his head. He also realized they were Mahoud’s enemies. They wanted to locate Mahoud and not for any good reason.
If they found his friend, they would most likely kill him.
A small realization pushed into Mehet’s mind at that moment.
The man speaking to him had an American accent. Quiet, refined almost, but most definitely American.
“You have had enough time to think over what I’ve just said, so I’ll tell you what happens next. I’m going to ask you a simple question. I will ask it once, and you will have the opportunity to answer. Give me what I want or I walk out of here and place you in the hands of my associates who are waiting in the cellar below. In the end you will deliver your friend Sharif Mahoud to us. Choose the second option, and you will live longer but the experience will not be pleasant. I believe I have explained everything clearly.” The man paused for a short time. “You know the current whereabouts of Mahoud. I need that location. Will you tell me where he is?”
Mehet felt his stomach churn. He understood the threat the man had posed, and he knew his refusal to answer would condemn him to pain and suffering. Two things he did not even want to imagine. He would give the man an answer, the only one he could.
“No,” Mehet said, “I will not.”
True to his word the man accepted Mehet’s reply. He simply turned away, followed by his companion. They walked out of the room. The guard at the door leaned in and pulled it shut.
Mehet lay back, staring at the patch of light beyond the skylight. He saw the clouds drifting by, watched the gloom deepen, and