The Last Sentinel (Clayton White) by Simon Gervais

Author:Simon Gervais [Gervais, Simon]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2022-08-08T16:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Miami, Florida

Nader Ashtari replaced his pistol in his shoulder holster. “Have you lost your edge, Reza?”

“What are you doing here?” his brother shot back. “Shouldn’t you be in Tehran? I thought you’d have enough on your plate with Afghanistan.”

“My office can handle it for a couple days. But thanks for your concern.”

The sudden departure of the Americans from Afghanistan had created a fantastic opportunity for the MOIS to embed its spies within the new Taliban government. The supreme leader claimed to whoever cared to listen that he had orchestrated all of it almost singlehandedly, but Nader knew otherwise. The Americans’ precipitous retreat had caught everyone by surprise, except for Nader Ashtari. For the last two years, and with the significant power and autonomy he’d acquired since becoming the deputy director of the MOIS Directorate of Foreign Operations, he’d been quite busy arming and financing the Taliban.

His rise within the MOIS had been nothing if not meteoric. He was the architect behind Iran’s success in building loyal proxy forces. It was Nader’s network that Tehran had activated and used to help defeat the Islamic State. But what had made him a star within the Iranian intelligence community was how effective he had been at using major international crime organizations—including drug cartels—to advance the MOIS’s objectives overseas, including the capture or assassination of dissidents of the regime. The supreme leader himself had taken notice. Thankfully, Nader’s notoriety hadn’t extended beyond the Iranian borders, which allowed him—with the right backstop—to still operate on foreign soil once in a while.

“You’re taking a big risk being here,” Reza said. “You shouldn’t have come.”

“And you’ve taken an even bigger risk going after that pig Hammond,” Nader replied, biting his lip in an effort to control the anger welling up in his gut. “What were you thinking, Reza? Killing Hammond serves no purpose. None whatsoever.”

“You’re wrong,” Reza roared. “It does for me.”

Nader sighed, frustrated by his brother’s inability to see the big picture. With China’s help, Iran was finally getting back on its feet economically. On the Syrian front, the supreme leader’s agenda was also progressing well, and it wasn’t foolish to think that within a decade or two, Syria would become one of Iran’s provinces. All of this was a balancing act, and one tiny misstep could potentially crumble Iran’s recovery.

“Can’t you see that what you’ve—” Nader started but was immediately cut short.

“It is you who can’t see,” his brother hissed. “My honor, our honor, won’t be restored until Alexander Hammond and Clayton White die by my hands, just like Oscar Pérez did.”

Nader was momentarily stunned. “What? How?” he babbled.

“Do you really think you’re the only one capable of collecting and analyzing intelligence reports?” Reza growled. “For years, while you were concentrating on your career and busy climbing the ranks of the MOIS, I was in the field, scrutinizing and investigating every bit of intel I could find on the three people that killed our father.”

Nader wasn’t sure how to respond. If any MOIS agent other than Reza had strayed so far from his assignment, Nader would have had him killed.

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