TAPP sat on the edge of the metal table, looked down at the bound terrorist, and asked, "Is it seventy-two or seventy-seven?"
Idris Thungani lifted his head cautiously and stared at Tapp, confusion in his eyes.
"Virgins," Tapp said. "Seventy-two or seventy-seven. How many do you guys get when you go to paradise?"
Husseini muttered something under his breath and looked away.
"I'm not giving you crap," Tapp persisted. "I've read the Koran several times and that's one of those facts I can never keep straight.
Not that it matters much. I mean what's the difference… seventy-two versus seventy-seven? It seems a little like overkill, don't you think?"
Tapp paused to see if Husseini would respond. He didn't, so Tapp pressed on. "Have you ever read the Koran, Abu?"
Husseini fixed Tapp with a hard stare and in Dari said, "I know what you are trying to do."
"What's that?"
"You are trying to provoke me. We know about your methods. We have undergone training to defeat your tricks."
Tapp knew it was true. Most of their once-secret interrogation programs had been blown wide open. Many of their methods had been dissected by politicians and the press alike. Terrorists had been released and had run back to Afghanistan and other parts, where they were thoroughly debriefed by the very organizations they denied belonging to. The whole mess drove Tapp insane, but there was only so much he could control.
Tapp clenched his left fist and then flexed his fingers. "Abu, I am not trying to provoke you… at least not yet. I'm not one of the talkers. I don't have the patience they do… like my friend who was in here earlier. He's next door talking to Mohammad, and we both know how that is going to play out. Mohammad is going to sell you and the rest of your friends down the river. You will eventually, as well, but it will take more time, and of course it will be significantly more uncomfortable."
"You will never break me," Husseini said with pride.
Tapp let out a long sigh. He'd seen this kind of bravado before. Once things got physical, it wouldn't last long. "Abu, torturing guys and breaking them down is not something I look forward to, although your case is a little different. I think you're such a despicable fuck that I might actually enjoy our little session."
"You do not scare me."
"Well, I should." Tapp laughed. "I scare myself sometimes. You see… I'm not like the guys you've been talking to this week. I have a real conviction about this little war we're fighting and I'm pretty intolerant of people who don't have the stomach to do what it takes to win this thing. Add to that the fact that I pretty much don't give a shit what people in Washington think of me and it makes me your biggest nightmare."
Husseini shook his head and snorted. "Empty threats."
Tapp reached out and put a hand on a galvanized metal box sitting on the other side of the table. Something inside stirred. The box shook and there was a scraping noise. "I've only used what's in this box one other time, and let's just say the guy I used it on was a hell of a lot tougher than you. He lasted less than thirty seconds." Tapp was lying. He'd never used this particular method, but there was no sense in telling Husseini.
The terrorist looked anxiously at the box and, with a false bravado, said, "I have rights. You are not allowed to treat me like this."
Tapp saw an opening. Maybe Husseini wasn't as tough as they thought. Tapp thought of Henry, the way he would draw prisoners into a debate. How he would press them with logic, use the words of the Koran to undermine their weak arguments. Henry's strategy was straightforward: get them talking. It didn't matter what they talked about, it just mattered that you established a pattern. Gave yourself a chance to watch the subject, study his habits, and learn as much about him as possible. The tough questions would come later. Tapp had none of Henry's patience, however. But still there was a part of him that was intrigued by Husseini's request for proper treatment. He thought of one of Henry's favorite questions, looked at the terrorist and asked, "Abu, do you think I should show you compassion? That I should respect your rights as a human?"
"Yes," he answered with absolute sincerity.
"And how would you treat me if I had been captured on the battlefield and brought to one of your caves?"
Husseini ignored the question. "Your senators who I met with promised me that I would be treated with dignity. They gave me their word."
"They are politicians. They say what makes them feel good and then they move on."
Husseini shook his head in firm disagreement. "We have access to the Internet. To satellites. We have followed the debate in your country over the treatment of prisoners. Those senators meant what they said to me."
"You go ahead and believe that Abu, but I have no intention of treating you with dignity. You think of yourself as a holy warrior, but you are nothing more than a butcher. A mass murderer."
"You know nothing of my ways."
"is that so? Let's talk about the schools."
"What schools?"
"The ones you blew up. The ones filled with little children." Tapp expected one of several reactions from Husseini, but not the one he got.
Husseini smiled proudly. "We know how to sacrifice. We are not afraid to martyr ourselves for Allah."
The anger came quickly. It started to rise up and Tapp stuffed it back down. Said, "You haven't martyred yourself, tough guy, and I doubt you gave those kids a choice in the matter."
He held his chin high and said, "I am not afraid."
"You're not afraid to send little kids to their death. That makes you a coward and a butcher, and if you had read the Koran you would know that."
"What do you know of the Koran?" Husseini roared back.
Tapp grinned. "Apparently more than you… since I've actually read it."
"I have it memorized."
"Bullshit. You know as well as I do that you were taught the suras by some twisted Wahhabi cleric who told you only what he wanted you to know. Kill all the Jews.
Kill the infidels. Cover your wives and daughters. Beat them if they disrespect you. The West is evil. We are just and good, blah… blah… fucking blah. I am so sick of the hate you pieces of shit teach each other and your children."
"You know nothing."
"I know Allah," Tapp screamed, "is going to send your ass to hell for killing His children!"
"You have no right being in my country. You are infidels and Allah will punish you and your nation for this war."
"You ever think maybe it's the other way around?" Tapp brought his face within inches of Husseini's. "That God is punishing your nation for how you have twisted and misused the words of the prophet? America hasn't been at war. We've suffered the one attack. Your nation has been at war for almost forty years. Over a million people have died. Allah is mad as hell with you sick fucks. He's been punishing you and he's going to keep punishing you."
Husseini unleashed a gob of spit, hitting Tapp square in the face.
Tapp didn't bother to wipe away the spit. He didn't bother to grab the stun gun. His head reared back and then snapped forward; the hardest part of his forehead striking Husseini on the soft bridge of the nose. It was like a hammer hitting a banana. Husseini's nose flattened and blood began oozing from his nostrils.
Tapp stood and circled the prisoner. He looked at the blood and the misshapen nose. He knew Henry would flip, but he didn't care. He was sick of all the bullshit. "You're not getting any virgins," Tapp barked at Husseini. He thought of Henry's words; how he used their religion to dismantle their twisted ways. "Djinn," Tapp uttered, the one word that seemed to drive the ones like Husseini nuts. "You are a Djinn, and you don't even know it. You know the Koran forbids suicide and yet you have convinced dozens and dozens of Allah's children to throw their lives away. You have killed thousands of Allah's followers. The seventh sura, Abu, do you remember?" Tapp switched to Arabic and began reciting the verse from the Koran, "Many, moreover, of the Djinn and men we have created for hell. Hearts have they with which they understand not, and eyes with which they see not, and ears have they with which they hearken not. They are like brutes: Yea, they go more astray: these are the heedless."
Tapp switched back to Dari. "That is you, Abu. You believed those twisted Wahhabi clerics, and now you will have to answer to Allah. Before the sun rises I am going to kill you." Tapp paused, grabbed Husseini by the chin, and forced him to look him in the eye. "That's right, I am going to kill you, and unless you repent you're getting on an express elevator to hell."