The Wolves Read Online Free PDF Page B

she was stuck. And his absence from the public eye would be less notable if she went out.
    Meanwhile, Duberman spent most of his time in the mansion. He left only to visit his casinos in Macao, a fifteen-minute helicopter ride. He always flew at night and made sure he was never the only passenger by asking big Hong Kong gamblers to ride with him. They viewed the chance to ride with him as an honor. No doubt they would have felt differently if they’d known he was using them as human shields,insurance against the risk that the United States would blow his helicopter out of the sky above the South China Sea.
    He watched CNN International and the BBC religiously, wondering when his role in the plot would leak. But the White House seemed concerned mostly with damage control. In interviews, the President and his advisors blamed the CIA, saying it had misinterpreted Iran’s intentions. A month after his failed deadline, the President fired Scott Hebley, the DCI that he himself had put in place. On the cable news shows, talking heads joked that the President might not have pulled off an invasion of Iran, but he had sure ravaged Langley.
    Congressional leaders demanded the President and his aides fully explain what had happened. The White House refused, on the grounds of national security and executive privilege. Some members of Congress threatened to impeach him, but the idea didn’t gain traction. After all, the United States
hadn’t
gone to war. Polls showed most Americans believed the President had been bluffing all along, hoping an invasion threat would force Iran to end its nuclear program. They were upset the move had failed. But a majority of them also thought that second-guessing it would weaken the United States. As far as Duberman could tell, the political stalemate worked to his advantage.
    Duberman received more good news with the return of his top bodyguard, Gideon Etra. During his confrontation with Duberman in Tel Aviv, Wells had cut Gideon’s left Achilles tendon, literally hobbling him. Surgeons in Israel had stitched the fibers in the heel back together, and Gideon had spent months in rehabilitation. He was almost healed, though he still couldn’t run. Duberman trusted Gideon more than anyone else in the world, even more than Orli. A decade before, Duberman had spent millions of dollars on an experimental bone-marrow treatment that saved the life of Gideon’s son Tal.
Kill for you,
Gideonhad told him, when the oncologists pronounced Tal free of leukemia.
Or die for you.
    —
    D UBERMAN STARTED to let himself believe the President might leave him alone. He asked Geoffrey Crandall, his local lawyer, to look into whether he and his family could become permanent residents of Hong Kong. A
yes
came back quickly. The territory had strict immigration laws, but it was as eager for billionaires as everywhere else. Once again, Duberman had cheated the odds. Yet along with Duberman’s elation came fresh anger.
    At John Wells.
    Wells had ruined his plans. If Wells hadn’t gotten involved, the United States would already have attacked Iran. Instead, the country was a bigger threat than ever. Tehran knew the United States would never invade. It could build a bomb at its leisure. Sooner or later, the world would have to let it join the nuclear club.
    Wells was to blame.
    Plus Duberman would never be safe while Wells was alive. Wells had killed a dozen of Duberman’s operatives. He was surely furious that Duberman had escaped what he would call justice. Duberman guessed the President had promised Wells he would act and asked Wells to stay away. But with each passing week, Wells would trust that promise less, move closer to coming after Duberman on his own.
    On a humid Wednesday, thunderclouds swirling over Hong Kong’s magnificent harbor, Duberman brought Gideon into his office. “How’s your ankle?”
    “Better every day.”
    “As long as you don’t tear it again.”
    “I didn’t tear it the first time.”
    The