‘I’m sorry, sir, I don’t see what—’
Thurman’s hand flew out, his fingers thudding shut as he pinched the air. Darkov thought for a moment that he meant for him to keep quiet, but then the Senator leaned forward and held the pinched pads of his fingers for Darkov to see, as if he had snatched a mosquito.
‘Look,’ he said.
Darkov leaned closer, but he still couldn’t make anything out. He shook his head. ‘I don’t see, sir . . . ’
‘That’s right. And you wouldn’t see it coming, either. That’s what they’ve been working on, those snakes. ’
Senator Thurman released the invisible pinch and studied the pad of his thumb for a moment. He blew a puff of air across it. ‘Anything these puppies can stitch, they can unstitch. ’
He peered across the pod at Darkov. ‘You know why we went into Iran the fi
