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“Okay.”
She heard the dinger go off so pushed the plunger down and poured two coffees with cream Harper brought out from the refrigerator. They sat side by side at the dining room table. Lydia was nervous as hell as Harper opened his laptop, placed his arrow at the small box in the lower right-hand side of his desktop, and watched her as the interview began.
They were in a holding cell of some sort, very dark. There was one light in the corner, which shone on Lipori’s face. She had grown to hate and dislike him after she came home, but at the time, living in Italy, she had never felt she couldn’t trust him. She was aware he had saved her life, right from the very start of their relationship. But she never remembered the ambush or the fact he’d tried to murder her. It was always incredible that this happened. How could it have come to be? She had so many questions.
She could see the back of Harper’s head. He was sitting erect in a metal chair right across the table from her kidnapper. Lipori was handcuffed, secured at the metal table, and probably also in ankle restraints since she heard more chains rattling in the background.
“This is the interview with Jakob Lipori, convicted terrorist.” Harper named off the date, the numerals of the case number, arresting jurisdictions, things which labeled the interview properly. Then he started.
“This is Special Agent Harper Cunningham. I am conducting this interview at the request of Silver Team and U.S. Department of Justice.”
Harper paused, adjusted his seat, and continued.
“Mr. Lipori, please state your name for the record.”
In a very respectful manner, he answered. “Yes, sir, I am Jakob Lipori.”
Jakob’s face was relatively unlined, his curly brown hair framing his large brown eyes and high cheekbones. He could have been an actor trying out for a film audition, a billionaire being interviewed for his lifestyle. In any other setting, he would’ve been considered a handsome, attractive young man. But she knew behind those eyes, now appearing as warm as just-out-of-the-oven brownies, he was a killer. And she had escaped death only because he had the whim to save her. It had nothing to do with what she or anybody else around them had done to make it so. In his evilness, he had been merciful.
“Mr. Lipori, you wanted to see me for a particular reason, and let’s just verify you and I have not really discussed the action that was taken to bring you to the United States. I was the team leader that brought you back, but you and I have not had any discussions since then, correct?”
“Not unless you believe in telepathy. I’ve sent you a lot of hate mail.”
The smile that followed was pure evil. Lydia shuddered.
“Well, I can see how you might be a little upset with me for having caught you, but under the law, what you did was not only wrong but you caused a lot of death and destruction. You’re now in the process of paying the price for that. It’s not my fault. You chose to do this. So you asked for this interview, and I’m here. I’m ready to listen to whatever it is you have to say.”
“Well, first of all, make sure you give my warm greetings to your wife.”
He stared into the camera lens. He didn’t smile; he didn’t even have a sparkle in his eyes. His eyes were dead. Lydia saw the deep black pools of evil residing there. He was using the fact that Harper stared down at the man who had both shot and also saved his wife, the most important person in his life. And there wasn’t a thing Harper could do about it. It was a simple fact.
“Mr. Lipori, why don’t we just stop playing cat and mouse and you just get out with whatever it is you have to say.”
“Alright,” he said calmly. “Wish I could have a cigarette. May I?”
“Sorry, not allowed in this building.”
“Very well. First of all, I want to tell you I was not there to kill Lydia. As a matter of fact, she and I worked together at the mission for several weeks before the attack. I knew there was going to be an attack, and I could’ve left earlier or could’ve left and returned during the attack, as I was committed to participate in it, but I was hoping I could protect her. I had designs to do that and take her back to Italy with me. I didn’t want to be her killer. I wanted to be her rescuer, and that’s what I did, in the end.”
“That’s a stretch.”
“Hear me out. As it turned out, the mission was successful, but unfortunately, she was shot in the process. I was aiming at another schoolteacher, and at the last minute, Lydia dashed out in front of my gun. It could’ve been that she realized what I was going to do, because up until this time, we had been good friends. I can almost say intimate friends.”
Lydia saw the muscles in the back of Harper’s neck constrict. She knew it took every ounce of strength he had to not reach across the table and break Lipori’s neck.
“I doubt you were intimate, but perhaps that means something different to you. She’s a warm, loving person. I’m sure she was good for the mission and trying to do good for those people in Africa. Probably trying to protect her colleague. You, on the other hand, were there under false pretenses. Gaining their trust and then coming in to destroy everything they did and their lives as well. I wouldn’t be so proud of that if I were you, Mr. Lipori.”
“Well, you have more resources. I’m a bit constrained, but I make up for it with the element of surprise, Mr. Cunningham. Those of us who are fighting for freedom sometimes do it in a different way.”
“So you were fighting for freedom, then?”
“You already have your freedom, or at least you have it for now. I think the United States is entering in a new phase where all of the freedom-loving elements from all over the world are ganging up. They’re all coming here, and you’re letting them in with arms wide open. You are going to witness such beautiful havoc and such confusion against this country the likes of which you’ve never seen. It’s not just in the Middle East or Africa or Europe. It’s all over—people are coming from all over the globe, anybody who has some axe to grind. South America, China, Middle East, Africa, Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Baltic countries, everybody has terrorist cells that hate the United States. You are the great Satan. It’s a global movement driven by people who have nothing more to lose.”
“Just to be clear here, Lipori, I’m not the great Satan. You’re saying the United States is the great Satan. I might be a little bit flattered how important you think I am, but I’m sorry, I am not the great Satan of the world. And I’m sure you didn’t mean that.”
“No, but you can be the messenger for me.”
“I’m afraid I will not be your messenger or one for any of your ridiculous friends either. That’s just not gonna happen.”
