Disguised Enemies

The novel State of Terror describes the way enemies, like Stenhauser, Akbar, and Shah, can masquerade as everyday people. Stenhauser turns out to be one of the government officials working with Beecham in the HLI though there is little evidence she is a traitor. Meanwhile, Gil contacts Akbar to help him get to the Pathan camp because he believes Akbar is his friend. Akbar later tries to kill Gil. Shah is an enemy who does not look like the typical enemy. Ellen does not even recognize him when he serves her salad at the dinner in Pakistan.

In one of the final scenes of the novel, Stenhauser admits to being part of the HLI when she accepts the gun that Beecham holds out to her. Before this point, Stenhauser was suspected of being a traitor, Ellen believed she was the one who took Ellen’s...