Read Online Freefall by Traci Hunter Abramson - Free Book Online Page A

he hasn’t been for long.” Brent stared down at the face for a moment. Surprise crossed his face, followed by disbelief. “I think this is Rashidi Re. He’s Namir Dagan’s chief military advisor.”
    â€œWhat would he be doing here?”
    Brent shrugged. “He probably tried to escape the battle and got shot in the process.” He checked the man’s pockets, tossing various items onto the ground: a handful of coins, a torn photograph, a cigarette lighter. The last item he fished out was a Palm Pilot. Brent studied it for a minute, punching various buttons. He let out a sigh when his first attempt to bypass the security failed.
    Amy averted her gaze from the man sprawled on the ground, instead looking at Brent. “What are you doing?”
    â€œTrying to bypass the security codes,” he said. “My Arabic is a little rusty. This may take a few minutes.”
    â€œYou speak Arabic?”
    â€œEnough to get by.” Brent glanced up long enough to see her confusion. “All SEALs have to learn at least one foreign language, but the more we know the easier it is to do our job.”
    With a shrug, Brent turned his attention back to the computer. He continued to punch buttons as the sun rose higher in the sky. Finally, he hacked his way through the computer’s security systems. His eyes widened as he scanned through emails and notes.
    Amy felt Brent’s tension level rise. “What’s wrong?”
    â€œI’m not sure.” Brent continued reading. “There are schematics and photos in this email. It looks like an assassination attempt, but I can’t tell who or where.” He glanced down at his watch to check the date and then scrolled through to where a date was listed along with the photo of a building. “Whatever is going on is supposed to happen two days from now.”
    â€œCan I see?” Amy let him come to her rather than moving closer to the body. She looked at the building photograph and recognized it immediately. “That’s a picture of the hotel in Cairo I stayed at on my way here.”
    â€œAre you sure?”
    Amy nodded. “It was only a few weeks ago. In fact, that’s probably where the U.S. embassy staff was evacuated to until it’s safe to return to this country again.” She turned to look at him. “Do you think the ambassador could be the target?”
    â€œNot the ambassador. The DCI.”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œThe Director of Central Intelligence was supposed to be coming here for a meeting with the ambassador. The hostage situation might have been part of a bigger plan to get the ambassador out of the country. Here in Abolstan the DCI would have been invisible, arriving by helicopter at the embassy and leaving the same way.” He shook his head, turning back to retrieve the rope he had started to get a few minutes earlier. “I don’t know why the DCI was coming, but it must have been pretty important for him to decide to come here instead of just having the ambassador come to Washington.”
    â€œOh my gosh.” Amy dropped onto the ground, tears swimming in her eyes.
    Brent leaned down beside her, tentatively laying a hand on her shoulder. “What?”
    â€œWhen I told my dad I was taking the assignment here, he just about came unglued. One of the things he said was that Abolstan has been trying to develop biological weapons. The day we were taken hostage, the intelligence officers and the ambassador were in meetings all day. Something big was going on, but no one knew what. When I was dropping some papers off for the ambassador at his office, I heard one of the intelligence officers tell him that there was no way to get the proof to Washington safely.”
    â€œYou think they had proof that Abolstan was developing biological weapons?” Brent’s eyes widened.
    Amy nodded and took a deep breath. “That’s not all. The ambassador had a map on his