Akmal was relieved. He’d just received a reply from his superiors in Syria and they hadn’t pulled the plug on the mission, which he’d half expected. Instead, they’d ordered him to ensure that Yaqiz did not compromise the rest of the mission. He knew what that meant and at the first opportunity he drew the other bomb-maker, Kabar, aside. “Do we still need Yaqiz to proceed as planned?” he asked the startled man.
“I-I guess not,” Kabar stammered.
“I didn’t ask you to guess. Can you continue without him? Yes, or no?”
“Yes,” Kabar replied fearfully.
“Good. He will be martyred in order for the rest of us to be victorious. Allah has willed it so. Do you have a problem with that?” Akmal asked the trembling man. Although he and Yaqiz were almost as close as brothers, Kabar shook his head.
“If
