Free Enemy Among Us-A Jordan Wright Thriller by Randy Reardon

to model the behavior his uncle wished him to have. He never showed his struggles when he was with his cousins.

Chapter Thirteen

     
    FBI SAFE HOUSE
     
    Akmed opened the door. Standing in front of him was the woman and one of the men he’d seen getting out of the car over an hour earlier. The man was carrying a tray of food.
    “May we come in? My name is Maxine. You can call me Max.”
    Akmed was somewhat taken aback. He hadn’t been expecting to be asked if they could come in. He’d anticipated they would just barge in and start asking him a series of questions.
    He nodded and moved away from the door, so they could enter. They were differential to Akmed, acting like this was his house or, at least, his room, so different from how the other agents he’d met had been treating him since he first entered the FBI building.
    They walked in and headed toward the middle of the room where there was a table. The man put down the tray and stuck his hand out.
    “I’m Jordan,” he said as he grabbed Akmed’s hand in a friendly shake. “I know they are never as good as in Philly, but a place down the road here doesn’t do too bad a job on a cheese steak. Hope you’ll like it. It’s not Geno’s or Pat’s, but it’s as close as I’ve ever gotten outside of Philly.” Geno’s and Pat’s were two well known rivals in the on-going Philly cheese steak wars. Located almost across the street from each other in South Philly, nothing could cause bigger arguments than a debate of who made the better Philly cheese steak.
    “You are from Philly?” Akmed found himself asking.
    “Born and raised. Try to get back to the neighborhood whenever I can. Still have aunts, uncles and cousins there.”
    Real ones, no doubt, thought Akmed, versus those I have in the city. As he took a seat at the table he grabbed a plate, just beginning to realize how famished he was. He’d refused earlier food and drink, fearing he might be poisoned; he didn’t know whom to trust. This woman and man seemed different and he found himself not as suspicious and, besides, the sandwich did smell good. He unwrapped his as the other two did the same. He’d grabbed the plate that wasn’t closest to him, so he would foil any attempt to poison him. He waited until the woman and man both took bites before he took his first, quickly followed by a second. The sandwich was good and the melted cheese and juice from the meat dribbled down his chin. He grabbed his napkin.
    “Pretty good, huh?” Jordan chuckled as he noticed Akmed grabbing the nearby napkin,
    Akmed smiled. He knew how he must look to them. “Yes, good. I’m partial to Tony Luke’s but, this is quite good.”
    “Well here’s a Coke to wash it down with,” Akmed took the bottle Max handed to him and took a quick swig. It was ice cold and tasted great.
    “Ah. Tony Luke’s! You are a connoisseur. I’m more partial to his roasted pork, but my assumption would be you haven’t had the pleasure.” Tony Luke’s was the new upstart in the sandwich scene and had gained a strong following and reputation.
    Akmed didn’t respond, but gave Jordan a rather sheepish look.
    “We’ve all broken the rules at some point. Your secret is safe with us,” Jordan stated with a big smile on his face, showing acknowledgement but not dissatisfaction.
    “It was great,” Akmed admitted with a smile.
    “Well, we need to talk. Maxine and I work for the US Government. We aren’t FBI or CIA. We’re with a group you’ve never heard of and our job is to help other governments fight terrorism in the hope we prevent it from coming into our country. We know you’ve told the FBI your story and why you are here. But Akmed, we need you to tell us. Can you?”
    Akmed nodded, “I’ll start from the beginning.”
    Over the next ninety minutes, Akmed went through his story. Being taken from his family and how his death was faked and the extensive training that had started immediately, which later resulted in Mahasin and