The Istanbul Conspiracy Read online

  Yunus’ team shared a few unusual characteristics. The group was made up entirely of women under the age of thirty. They were top of their class in physical stamina and worked out regularly to stay that way. And they scored highly in intelligence. What they hadn’t learned in higher education as most were in the military at 18 to 20 years of age, they were taught by online tutors. The educators, hired by Yunus, had no idea of the career choices nor the real identities of their students. And the most crucial qualification: he’d recruited them from various rooms in the Dark Web.

  The team worked out together, learned new martial art skills, studied cyber-crimes world-wide, and connected with a network of like-minded techies who knew how to cover their tracks. They had little time for a social life. And even if they did, the level of secrecy in their lives made them poor mates. Date-nights for this team were spent in the dark—surfing their preferred destination, the Dark Web—and most often, they hung out with each other. They were the epitome of a twenty-first-century dysfunctional anti-social yet highly tuned family.

  “There has to be something.”

  Yunus rubbed his non-existent beard. He’d grow it out again now that the wedding... The Turk turned away from the team and went to sit in his corner. He opened his computer to an encrypted account with his most personal photos. There she stood. Magnificent, poised to take on the world, and yet, she fell in love with him. Both of them will never forget the first night they met. She wore a short white lace dress, like a modern Muslim girl waiting to be conquered by a man like the Turk.

  “Interrupt me when you find anything.” No one looked up.

  An hour later, Cruz walked over to Yunus’ couch. He stopped what he was doing. The senior member of his team showed off her latest ink on her wrist, a bleeding Greek Orthodox cross. She was a Christian in a country that was ninety-six percent Muslim.

  “Speak.”

  “I know you have a personal connection to the Minister of Defense but, maybe we are looking at this the wrong way.”

  “Tell me.”

  “There’s something amiss. We aren’t getting anywhere out there. There’s no chatter, no group laying claim to the event. And nothing that points us to the opposition party. I need your permission to break laws and dig deeper into the personal lives of the Cabinet members, including the President.”

  “Do whatever you need to do. That’s why we’re here. But don’t leave a trace. There are no rules in this war. Be careful, don’t expose yourselves, and get me answers.”

  He inserted his headphones, found some old heavy metal cover by Five Finger Death Punch and Metallica, and went back to work. He did his most creative thinking stoned on hashish with his head filled with trash rock. But he needed to be focused today, so he skipped the hash.

  His frustration level was mounting. There had to be something.

  He shot off a text message to a café in Paris. And another note to a cyber account that was so obscure that even Yunus had no idea where it landed. He stopped abruptly and pulled his headphones out of the computer.

  He looked from one member of the team to another. He waited. No one looked up.

  “Fuck!!

  Everyone in the room cringed but continued what they were doing. The Turk pulled his headphones out of his laptop. The music blasted from remote speakers in the room.

  “I can feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord

  And I’ve been waiting for this moment for all my life, oh Lord

  Can you feel it coming in the air tonight, oh Lord, oh Lord?

  Well if you told me you were drowning, I would not lend a hand

  I’ve seen your face before my friend, but I don’t know if you know who I am

  Well I was there, and I saw what you did, I saw it with my own two eyes

  So, you can wipe off that grin, I know where you’ve been

  It’s all been a pack of lies.”

  He abruptly closed his laptop, jammed it into his knapsack, and stared at his team.

  He slammed the door on his way out.

  6

  He put his earbuds in again and tried to clear his mind. If he didn’t get a grip on his emotions, he’d be useless to the team. Yunus took off at a jog. There had to be something. His lean body, wired and intense, ran at a steady pace. He ignored the boats and the bustle of the fish market under the Galata bridge. This was a day the Turk resented the tourists who browsed without a care in the world. He ran past another Mosque on the corner and took off at a faster jog. Anything to distract himself.

  His phone rang. He didn’t recognize the number.

  “Sir, first I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “Who is this?”

  He mentioned a name that meant nothing to Yunus.

  “I’m calling from the security service of the Republic of Turkey. We would like to meet with you as soon as possible. We have identified the victims but could use your help in understanding what the motive might be behind the attack.”

  “Yes, I understand. I’m afraid I can’t help you at the moment. I’m grieving. And we have bodies to bury. I have no idea why any of this happened. I suggest you look inside your house rather than out here at my friends and me.” With that, Yunus disconnected the call.

  His cell phone vibrated. He was about to let it go to voice mail when he saw the coded international message on the screen. An image would be coming through. The thought of another photo of last night’s tragedy made him nauseous. He leaned over, gagged on the lingering smell of fish, and gasped for air. Chivas reeked from his pores.

  He guzzled a bottle of water, and after a series of passcodes, he pulled up his account on his phone.

  “It can’t be.”

  He responded to the call by voice. Cruz picked up immediately.

  “Is this who I think it is?”

  “Yes. We put it through facial recognition. And studied all aspects of the shot to make sure this wasn’t photoshopped.”

  “Where did you get it?”

  “It took all night and most of today, but we finally got into all the cellphones you found on the ship after the incident.”

  Yunus waited.

  “We decided to keep them charged and open just in case.”

  “Do you know who owns this cell phone?”

  “Yes.”

  “Tell me.”

  “The Minister of Defense. Sude’s father.” Yunus stared at a photo of a man dressed in Arab robes sitting around a bonfire in the desert. There was no mistaking the face. It was the Minister of Defense. The faces of the other two men in the photo were mostly obscured.

  “Yuni, it looks like it was the last thing he received before the attack.”

  “Can you trace the origin?”

  “Yes, and no. The number is unregistered, a burner. It was encrypted, but we got through. The number leads nowhere, so far, it’s a maze. That simply means we need more time to trace the origin of the phone. But.”

  “But what?”

  “The time stamp on the photo means it was forwarded to the Minister of Defense just before the wedding. We will go over all his communications and dig up any recently deleted files. We’ll go through his personal life very carefully. What do you think it means, Yuni?”

  “It’s a warning of some kind. A reminder, or a threat. Start digging. Take the Minister’s life apart. Find the connection!”

  Yunus closed his cell more confused than ever.

  7

  Somewhere over the Indian Ocean

  Samaar sat, calm and serene, beside Raven.

  “Not exactly how I expected to spend my wedding night, Luke.” He reached over and gave her a brief kiss. His hand brushed against the weapon he’d concealed on his person. Samaar understood.

  “Anything you want to share?”

  “Not yet. There’s been no overt threat. We’ll talk once the helicopter lands, and we get on our jet. I want to get off the island and out of this country first.”

  By the time the Sikorsky hit Mali, the main island
in the Maldives, the sky had turned inky blue, and the fireball had sunk deep into the sea. David did a quick pre-check. But they had so many security devices, he and Luke would have been alerted on their cells if there was any kind of unauthorized incursion while they were on their private atoll. Within fifteen minutes, they were air born and out of Mali’s airspace.

  Alice and Maggs were chatting in the next cabin so Luke and Samaar could have their privacy.

  “Here.” He handed his cell phone to Samaar.

  “Oh, no! Instagram?”

  “Yes. I spoke to RB while we were preparing for take-off.”

  “Rapunzel?? Is this how she sees her life?”

  “You’re worried about her Instagram name, and she’s got pictures of our ‘not-to-be wedding’ with the location, time, and place? Did we not have this discussion with Alice??”

  “Luke. I will speak to her.”

  “No, Samaar. I will speak with Alice. She’s old enough to understand. It’s time for me to explain the facts of life.”

  “What happened, Luke? Why did we leave the wedding?” A young lady with her mother’s exotic jade eyes and long black hair, centuries of Semitic and Arab beauty flowing through her veins, sat down beside Luke. It was only a year ago that she would have jumped into his lap and covered his face with kisses. What was he going to do with Alice? She was growing up too quickly. She never knew her father, nor did she know that both her parents were once spies. This was not going to be an easy conversation. Luke looked into the wise eyes of a face covered with light touches of make-up. When did she start using cosmetics?

  “Alice. Do you have any idea what I do?”

  “Yes. Mommy says you keep us safe. I don’t know why we need so much protection. The other kids at school just have their nannies. I have bodyguards.” Alice flipped her long hair like any other teenager and sighed.

  “Let’s try it this way. What’s the furthest memory you have from your early life?”

  A look of fear flashed across her eyes. She quickly pulled back from whatever she had witnessed.

  Luke took both of her hands.

  “I don’t mean to upset you, Alice, but we need to have this conversation. I think you’re old enough to understand. Can you keep secrets?”

  Alice looked up at Luke, her eyes filled with tears. “Yes.” She looked down, embarrassed. She was a smart girl, and she had a feeling that she knew what this was all about.

  “When I met your mother, she was pregnant with you. She was also part of Israeli intelligence.” Alice looked up, suddenly very alert, and far wiser than her years. Samaar would not be in favor of this conversation, but Luke knew this was the only way to get through to Alice.

  “Sometimes, you hear us call your mom Luci. That was the code name given to her by her teammates. I think from the old Beatle song.”

  “Yes, mommy told me it was a nick-name and played the song for me.” She knew Luke was trying to make her smile and lighten things up, but she was in big trouble.

  “Your mother told you that your father was a journalist, right? That was his cover. But he was a spy also.”

  Alice sat very still.

  “You were so young, but do you remember fleeing South America with your mother? Men shooting at you, chasing after you, and riding in a boat to get away from the explosions? And then Lorena, who took care of you while Mommy traveled?” Alice’s nod was hesitant.

  “Do you know why your mother had to run?”

  A tiny child’s voice responded. “No.”

  “She was keeping both of you safe from harm.”

  Tears were rolling down Alice’s face. Luke continued.

  “My wife and seven-year-old daughter were murdered by a very evil woman. Can you imagine how much I have cried for them, for their loss, always wondering if I could have saved them.”

  Luke held back his own tears.

  “Just like I would give my life to keep you and your mother safe. That’s how much I love you.”

  All of a sudden, Alice was in his lap, holding him tight.

  “I’m so sorry, Luke. I know I shouldn’t have done it. But he’s so cute. And I really like him. And I thought Mom would never let me have a boyfriend. So, I had to sneak out.”

  Luke’s mind went into crazy mode. What the hell?

  “You have a boyfriend and got out of the house without surveillance knowing?”

  “Well, not exactly.”

  “What do you mean?” Luke had his cell phone in his hand, ready to fire everyone on Samaar’s Parisian security team.

  “Don’t be mad, Luke. Jean-Paul came with me.”

  “What?”

  “Yes. Jean-Paul found out about Amir. He said the only way I could go is to give him all the details I had about Amir. He needed to know where Amir lived, his parents’ names, everything! Then JP had him checked out. As long as I let JP come along, it would be okay.” Tear-filled green eyes stared at him, begging him to understand.

  “Amir?” Luke was dangerously quiet. Violent images of a Middle East in turmoil crowded his thinking.

  Alice nodded.

  “Tell me about Amir, Alice.”

  “I met him at the Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu classes that I take after school. His family came from Iran during the revolution and settled in Paris. His grandfather has a restaurant. Sometimes Amir helps him in the kitchen. That’s where we went with Jean-Paul. Now grandpa is teaching me to make Iranian dishes!” She rolled her eyes at the idea of a chaperone, but then she quickly remembered that her parents were unaware of her boyfriend.

  Luke remained quiet, processing, weighing his response.

  “His Mother is in the fashion business and has a shop in the 17th.” She added.

  “And his father?”

  “He doesn’t have a father.” Alice looked away. Luke understood. These were two wounded young people who found each other. Damn. Samaar was going to go crazy.

  “How did he lose his father?”

  “His mother doesn’t talk about it, and his grandfather respects his mother’s wishes. But Amir thinks it has something to do with nuclear weapons. His dad was a scientist. Amir says when he’s old enough, he will find out by himself.”

  This is not good at all. How deep did Jean-Paul go, and what does he know? At the very least, he should have run it by me. He would deal with this after he talked with Samaar.

  “Alice. This is not about Amir.”

  “No?”

  “No.”

  “Do you know why we called off the wedding? Now that you understand your mother’s past, do you see why we have to lead a very secure and private life? Think about it, Alice.”

  Alice was silent. Her mind was churning. Suddenly, she blurted.

  “Instagram?”

  “Yes. You realize that your settings on the phone have a location attached when you post? We can’t take that risk. Our enemies could be watching you, or your mom, or me.”

  “Oh, Luke. Everyone in school has Instagram. I wasn’t thinking.” She paused, then added shyly, “I only opened the account so Amir could see the wedding.”

  “Alice, we aren’t going back to Paris at the moment. We will not return to the Maldives either.”

  Alice’s face showed fear and mostly disappointment. “Does this mean we can’t ever return to Paris, Luke?” Tears started all over again.

  He remained silent. You never forget your first love.

  “I’m not sure.”

  The child who was becoming a woman far too fast looked out the window of the private jet owned by the Raven Group.

  “Has Mom seen my account?”

  Luke didn’t respond.

  “Mom must be so angry at me. I’m so sorry, Luke.”

  She threw her arms around his neck and held him tight. He loved both his girls. A life without them was unimaginable. Luke held her tighter.

  “I think you should go speak with your mother now.”

  8

  Luke sat for a few moments. He didn’t know what to do or say.
One minute he was getting married, the next, on a flight fleeing a country where Luke thought everyone would be safe. Sometimes he hated this part of his life. After he lost his wife and daughter, he realized that any revenge he got would have to be outside the law, outside the boundaries of ordinary living as most people know it. It took years to hunt down Sying. Her repulsive obsession with him perpetrated the death of his family. He exacted his revenge. It didn’t bring back his family, but it helped ensure that his Raven family, including Samaar and Alice, would be free from her insanity.

  Luke Raven had committed his life to keep the world safe. Someone had to be the guardian, and he had the financial means to dedicate his life to his ideals. But the more he added to his family and team, the more precious life became. Family and the Raven Group, who were his family, would always come first.

  No one was perfect, least of all him. He could be emotionally aloof, reclusive, and fearful of emotional ties. He also thought he was smarter than anyone else. Well, that at least had been proven to be true. Samaar was the first woman who had broken through the barrier he erected after the loss of his family. And now he had a daughter, Alice. He understood her sadness.

  He thought about the life he’d chosen to live. Rules were made for society at large. When it came to the protection of the United States of America and his family, he recognized no law but his own.

  Luke Raven was a patriot.

  Luke reached for the intercom.

  “David.”

  “Yes, Luke.”

  “I think we need to cool off for a bit, Canada?”

  “Hilarious, Luke. So, boss, everything’s okay with Alice?”

  “What?” Luke could hear the laughter behind his words.

  “Why am I the last person to know?”

  “When it comes to love, guys are the last people to figure it out.”

  “Yeah, you’re right about that.” Luke glanced toward the cabin.