The Last Good Man

Rumors

Khalid Naim is in Ramadi. It’s 9 PM local time. He is leaning against his taxi cab, waiting with other drivers outside a crowded lecture hall where a political meeting is nearing its end, when his phone chimes in a tone that announces the arrival of a fading text.

Speaking in Arabic, he demands, “Meen?” Who?

The synthesized voice of his digital assistant answers through his TINSL. It’s a private voice only he can hear, and it speaks in American-accented English: “Chris Kobeck, Director of Military Operations and Training, Requisite Operations.”

Khalid’s excitement spikes. “Iqra,” he orders—Read it.

He is one of the few taxi drivers in the TEZ willing to transport passengers beyond Ramadi, through the ungoverned territories of the Tigris-Euphrates Zone. He is also a US Army veteran, working now as an independent intelligence contractor.

He listens eagerly as his digital assistant reads the content of the message: “I’ve got a short-term contract I want you to fill. Starts immediately. Stealth manhunt. We’re looking for a bad guy. Call me when you can.”

“Shit,” Khalid whispers, disappointed and a little angry to learn this is just another small job. He’s been talking with Chris about a permanent position, so he was hoping for more.

Still, it’s an opportunity.

He looks at the lecture hall. The door is still closed. It’ll probably be a few more minutes before the meeting ends. Time enough to talk to Chris, get more details on the assignment. He gets inside the cab, windows up for privacy, and puts a call through.

Chris picks up right away.

“Hey,” Khalid says, “you know I want to come home.”

“I know it, but we’ve got a task that we need to jump on right away. You ready to hear it?”

“Yeah, go ahead.”

“We want to hire you on a contract basis for a minimum of five days. You run your fares between towns and villages in the ungoverned territories just like normal, but on the way I want you to listen for rumors and gossip about the movements of warlords: who they are, where they are, how long they’ve been in residence. I’ll get you some stealthed data collection equipment. If you locate a potential target, you deploy it. No worries about picking it up again. It’s just gone.”

“Data goes direct to you?” Khalid asks.

“Correct. It’ll verify identities, let us know if we’ve found our target.”

Khalid will be one of three contractors searching the region. Chris will oversee their movements and do what he can to keep their paths from crossing.

He considers this and ponders the assignment’s potential danger. “You don’t want to tell me who you’re after?” he asks, bothered that Chris hasn’t entrusted him with a name.

“I can’t tell you. Not yet. But if we find him, I’m going to need your organizational skills for phase two.”

“Three of us are going to be out there looking. What if I’m not the one who finds him?”

“Doesn’t matter. You’ve got the skills and the contacts we need.”

Still, Khalid hesitates. Something feels off. He reviews in his mind the bounties presently on offer. He is sure none are large enough to tempt a thriving company like Requisite Operations to risk a mission in the volatile TEZ. There is more to this.

“You’re not just going after a bounty, are you?” he asks. “Have you been hired to do a hostage rescue?”

Chris grunts. Not exactly a confirmation. “You in?” he asks.

Khalid is sure his performance on this assignment will have a direct impact on his employment prospects. He looks out at his fellow taxi drivers standing about, faces lit by phone screens or the embers of cigarettes. He’s spent two years in their company and he’s learned a hell of a lot, but it’s time to move on.

He tells Chris: “I’m in.”