ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 295To Ceca for your thirty years of professionalism and friendship. I’m
pretty sure you’ll recognize yourself in the book, jebiga.
To “Homebeebti” for your humor, your scary brilliance, and your
insights into Iraqi culture and the Arabic language.
To “Señor Doug,” principal pilot, mechanic, and procurement officer
tasked with the acquisition of frosty beverages and crispy fried snack treats
for DougAir (aka AeroDoug when in Mexican airspace), thank you for
helping me find my long-lost box of Balkan war photos for inclusion in
this book. We need to go to Mexico ASAP; it does not suck there. In fact,
according to the forecast, today it will not suck even more than it did not
suck yesterday.
To family friend, neighbor, and dentist “Dr. Lou” for introducing me
and my family to Mexico when I was eight years old. Your enthusiasm for
life and for Mexico was contagious and led to my own lifetime of adventure.
A la bonita Porteña: Gracias por creer en mi y por las ricas enchiladas de pollo. Un
día tendrás que aprender a decir más en inglés que “Pancho, you fat fuck.” Y no me
llames “Pancho.”
To Joan for decades of friendship, for help with the DC bar exam, and
for encouraging me to write. I can’t wait to read your first novel.
To “NSM” for your friendship, your broccoli recipe, and your patient
work editing and improving my Russian intel reports. I also can’t wait to
read your first novel.
To “La Bellina” for your heart, humor, Amaretti, and your enthusiasm
for my writing. I’ll finish the novel, I promise!
To “Tarek” for your friendship and years of devotion to Babylon Inc.
and our Iraqi colleagues. Without you, there would be no Babylon and no
Babylon stories. My trips to Beirut are always perfect since you clearly own
that town.
To “Bueno” Dave for your decades of friendship. I’m just sorry the
publisher rejected your proposed cover art for American Spy. I personally
thought that a dreamlike photo of Fabio on a white horse—with both
Fabio’s and the horse’s eyes obscured for the sake of anonymity—perfectly
captured the spirit and essence of the book.
To Ms. Ortega for your support and advice and for believing in this
book. Your Spookstock selfie with your favorite actor is still on my phone.
To my patient literary agent Claire Gerus for believing in American Spy