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"And?"
"They have agreed that it would be foolish to pay for something that I am willing to give them for free."
Shvets was dubious. "Are you sure you can trust them?
The plane stopped in front of an old, rusty hangar. The doors were open and light streamed into the interior from the holes in the roof. Sayyed stepped from the shadows and waved at the plane. Ivanov laughed at the sight of him. "There are two things you need to know to understand the Middle East. The first is that they all hate the Jews. The second is that they have nothing but contempt for the Palestinians."
CHAPTER 62
IT couldn't have been more than five minutes. The trunk opened and they were on him. Rapp couldn't tell how many, but it was more than two and fewer than five. The punched, grabbed, and pulled, finally yanking him from the space and throwing him to the floor. Rapp tried to block the blows as best he could, but they were coming from too many directions, and besides, the goal was not to show them how skilled he was at fighting, it was to play possum. To that end, Rapp started screaming and begging them to stop. The ass-kicking did stop, but only because they began stripping him.
When they were done, Rapp lay on the hard, dusty floor, whimpering. As best he could tell, they were in some type of bombed-out building. All of his clothes and possessions were thrown into the trunk of the car that he had just been yanked from. The vehicle started up again, and then the driver floored the gas and sprayed Rapp with loose gravel. The four men who were standing around him all started laughing.
A fifth man walked into the circle. Rapp recognized him as the one who had been leaning against the building. He was a senior member of Fatah. "Why are you doing this? I have been authorized by my government to negotiate with you."
Radih squatted on his haunches. He held out Rapp's Beretta. "Why do you need this to negotiate?"
Rapp shrugged. "This is a dangerous town ... I don't know."
Radih slapped him hard across the face. "I think you are a liar."
"Sorry."
"Shut up!"
"But the money..."
Radih slapped him again and Rapp started to whimper.
"I'm just a messenger."
"And what do you have to offer?"
"Money. Lots of it."
"How much?"
"A million dollars."
Radih roared with laughter. "I think it will cost you a lot more than that."
"Maybe I can get more money?" Rapp said hopefully.
"And maybe we will sell you to the Russians with the others."
"I can get you the money."
"I don't care about the money. And besides, you do not seem like you would fetch a very good price." The other men nodded and laughed. Radih was suddenly curious about this man. He had to be very low-level. "Why were you chosen to negotiate their release?"
Rapp shrugged and didn't answer.
Radih slapped him and one of the other men kicked his legs and screamed, "Answer him."
"I volunteered. Please don't hit me."
"And why would anyone volunteer for something like this?"
Rapp spoke softly into the floor.
