CHAPTER 30
I STILL HADNTheard the chopper coming back but knew it could return at any second.
I nudged Justin to keep him talking.
Three hundred million in cash and gold.
I couldnt believe what I was hearing.
Treasure hunting in Basra?
There it was in a locked room under a tarp.
There were two pallets.
There were 105 of them in all.
Each one twenty-seven pounds of pure gold, with the wordEngelhardstamped into them.
Ive seen a few things, but when Toporski pulled that tarp, that took the cake.
I mean, it was just…
Right then and there, we decide to take it.
Dont tell the hotshots.
All six of usincluding Haber and Eardley, our pilotgrab it all, load it into the Humvee.
We had to take out the seats.
The truck was scraping the ground.
Then we hauled ass back to the plane.
And did what with it?
How would you get it out of the country?
Eardley comes up with a plan.
Mark its location, and were going to come back and get it.
Then hes gonna crash the plane, fake his death, and get out of the country.
He was on a desert landing strip.
Not like he had to ask the tower for permission.
What did you say when the others got back?
Didnt they ask where Eardley and the plane went?
What do you think we said?
Acted like he just went nuts or something.
And they bought it?
Didnt find a body, but with the plane downthey shut the case.
So how did he get out of Iraq?
He bought a fake passport.
He was a smart guy.
He learned some Arabic.
He would joke around with the Iraqis.
He was a likable guy, with giant balls.
Bullshit, I said.
That was that asshole Therkelson.
He said it was an accident.
So whats all this here?
The camp and everything.
Youre going back for the rest of the money!
We were training to go back into Iraq to snatch it.
Its in ISIS-held territory now.
He wasnt the same after.
He and Haber used to be buddies, you know.
And we looked up to those two.
Would have followed wherever they led.
But Haber took over the training operation and brought in some…investors.
The stakes got higher.
And Eardley had regrets?
The money wasnt worth living the rest of his days underground, a war criminal instead of a hero.
Which we knew meant he was gonna blow the whistle on us all.
Except the boss man tracked him down.
Got to him before he could betray us.
