by JC Ryan
“Rehka,” he started, making his voice gentle. Digger picked up on his emotion and laid his head across Rex’s knee, his snout just touching the side of Rehka’s leg. “I know your parents,” Rex continued. And he began to tell her the story of how they came to be here, waiting to fly home to India. He showed her the photos he took of her mother and their house.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
THE FLIGHT TO Mumbai was an emotional one for Rehka. After she’d heard that he went to Saudi Arabia specifically for her, she couldn’t stop thanking him between bouts of weeping. At first, he’d tried to comfort her. She’d explained that her tears were for joy. She would stop crying and sleep for a while, and then he’d become aware that she was silently weeping again. He wasn’t good with crying women and decided the best was to just give her the space to grieve for her innocence, sob out her anger, and shed the tears she claimed were of joy.
By the time they landed, Rehka seemed to have found some peace, except for the shame she felt at what she would have to tell her parents when they were finally reunited. Rex had some thoughts about how to handle that, but he reckoned the drive from Mumbai to Bilaspur would offer a chance to do that in the privacy of the car.
They went straight from the airport to her former apartment, only to find she’d been gone so long that it had been re-rented, her possessions sold for back rent. Rex thought she seemed more relieved than upset about it, but her secondary concern was having to go home with nothing to help her start over.
“Don’t worry about that,” Rex told her. “You saw that Digger and I helped the others, and we’ll help you as well. In fact, I have an offer to make. But let’s get something to eat, and I have an errand to do. After that, we can get on the road to your parents’ house and we will have enough time to talk about my proposal.”
Rex went to the tobacconist’s shop in the building where he’d questioned Kabir Patel. There was a For Lease sign in the window. Rex assumed it meant Patel’s money laundering business was no longer in operation, at least not on that premises and that he was no longer in residence above the shop, also.
He called his policeman friend, Aarav Patel. He didn’t give his name or any introduction. “You know the gentleman who had that accident, the last time we talked?”
“Let me call you back.”
Twenty minutes later, Aarav called again. The caller ID said “Anonymous”. Patel had the instincts of a survivor, not surprising for an undercover cop.
“Okay, it’s safe now. I’m at a pay phone. What about him?”
“Do you know where I can find him?”
“That accident laid him up severely. He’s still in the hospital, and he has company. A few of my colleagues are guarding him day and night. Have you got more business with him?”
“Well kind of… unfinished business. As you know, last time when I went to see him he was... how shall I put it… I found him to be somewhat incapacitated. If he is in better shape now I would to just pay him a brief visit and give him a message. Do you think you could arrange that?”
“Of course. No problem. I’ll relieve one of my brothers-in-arms for a few minutes. Shall I meet you there in say half an hour?”
Rex made sure he knew which hospital and drove there immediately. He asked Rehka to stay in the car with Digger, so he could leave it running. Digger wouldn’t be allowed into the hospital, and Rex didn’t want Rehka to know what was about to happen to her former creditor until he was ready to tell her she’d have no problems from him ever again.
Rex parked the car in a spot of shade and went to meet Aarav in the lobby.
The two men clasped hands and slapped each other on the shoulders. When Rex saw Patel’s face light up at the sight of him, he knew he’d made a friend. Until that moment, he didn’t know how much he’d missed the periodic camaraderie he’d enjoyed with the CRC team between missions. He’d lost Trevor, Frank, and the other Phoenix members in a more permanent and personal way, and he still missed them. But the feeling of knowing he had made a new friend, a backup when he needed it, came back in that glance at Aarav.
Letting go of Aarav’s hand, he said, “I won’t need much time with him, but I will need some time to leave afterward, well before anyone else goes into the room. Are you okay with that?”
“I’m okay with anything you think appropriate, my friend. You must remember, I owe you my life. And I owe that pig nothing at all. You made my life easier by taking that scumbag and his cronies off the streets.”
Rex grinned. “I’ve got no idea what you’re talking about. I didn’t do anything of the sort.”
Aarav just laughed, turned, and led the way.
They rode up the elevator together, but Rex turned aside to wait for Aarav’s signal that he’d relieved the other cop on duty. When his phone buzzed with a thumbs-up emoticon in a text message, he strolled in the direction Aarav had gone until he saw his friend. With a nod of acknowledgement, he opened the door to Kabir’s room and stepped in.
Kabir was asleep, but he woke up quickly when Rex put a big hand over his mouth and nose. Rex had moved the call button far out of Kabir’s reach before doing so. As soon as Kabir sputtered awake, Rex put a finger to his mouth to shush the man’s weak cries. Kabir went pale and stilled.
Rex took his hand away to let Kabir breathe but showed him a scalpel he’d found on a rolling cart while waiting for Aarav to give him the all-clear. Kabir nodded slightly to show he understood.
“I have one more message for you, you piece of shit. Get out of the indentured service business, or I’ll be back. I have a man who will be watching you.”
Rex looked at the sharp scalpel, decided Patel wouldn’t have the guts to repress a scream if he felt its blade slice all the way through his finger as Rex had planned when he picked it up. Instead, he grabbed a pillow and slammed it over Patel’s face.
“This won’t kill you. If I have to come back and teach you a lesson, I’ll do it the right way and watch you die.” He slashed Patel’s wrists across the veins, knowing Kabir would receive help before he even lost much blood. The right way would have been deep slashes lengthways down the forearms to open the vein, but Aarav might have to explain how a man under his guard had gotten dead. This way, it would look like a pathetic attempt at suicide.
He took the pillow away, wiped the scalpel on a piece of tissue, and stuck the tissue in his pocket. Then he pressed Patel’s fingers around the scalpel, one hand at a time.
“This was a suicide attempt. If my friend doesn’t call and let me know that’s exactly what you said, the next attempt will succeed. Your death will be slow, and I’ll make sure it’s excruciatingly painful. Do we have an understanding?”
When Rex let go of Kabir’s fingers, he dropped the scalpel somewhere in the sheets and nodded his head frantically, tears streaming down his fat, ugly cheeks. “I will tell them. Please, call for help.”
“You’ll get help in time.”
Rex left the room and spoke to Aarav. “Give me fifteen minutes, and then go and give him the call button. He’s going to need some medical attention. Now, just remember, whatever you find in there must have happened before you took this post. You didn’t look into the room and no one else was in there while you were on guard.”
Aarav smiled and nodded, “Of course, that’s exactly how it is.”
The whole operation had taken no more than a couple of minutes. Aarav would be fine, and so would his colleague. After meeting with Rehka and seeing the emotional turmoil the young woman was going through, Rex would have preferred to end Kabir right then, but his hospital stay complicated things too much. Leaving him in terror would have to be enough, unless he screwed up. Then he’d better believe the threat would come to pass.
***
“YOU’RE SURE THEY won’t turn me away? I have brought shame on the family,” Rehka said, not for the first time.
In answer, Rex put a comforting arm around her shoulder. “Rehka, your father is a noble and fair man, and he’s very proud o
f you. Your mother has an idea of what may have befallen you, but she has kept her worries from your father. All you need to tell them is you were taken against your will to another country and treated like a slave. I promise you, they will welcome your return with open arms. Can we agree you won’t worry anymore?”
He’d told her this several times before, and each time she seemed to accept it a bit more, but she’d never committed to not worrying. This time she did.
“Okay,” she said, pronouncing the Americanism with an adorable accent and then reverting to Hindi. “I will not worry. What is the offer you have?”
“Eat first. I’ll tell you on the way.”
Rehka was so happy to be back in her country of birth where she could keep her face uncovered that she insisted on having a picnic in a park before they got on the highway. Digger approved. He was happy to be off-leash, and Rex watched for people who might be frightened of him, so he could cavort all he wanted to. The necessities dealt with, they finally set out for Bilaspur late in the evening. With two drivers, they’d make the journey without stopping, but it wouldn’t be as hard on Rex as the days-ago trip in the opposite direction had been.
On the way to Bilaspur, Rex told Rehka what he had in mind for her employment.
“I have several hard drives with encrypted files that I haven’t had time to decrypt and explore,” he began. Glancing to his side where Digger had given up his prized front seat to Rehka, Rex observed her reaction to what he’d said.
She’d turned her head sharply to look at him when he said hard drives, and her eyes had widened in surprise when he said encrypted. But she said nothing.
Rex went on. “I have reason to believe they contain information about a great deal of money hidden in tax havens in numbered secret bank accounts all over the world. I’m wondering where I could find someone to help me sort it all out.”
Another sideways glance showed him she’d begun to smile, enjoying his roundabout way of offering her a job.
“I may be able to refer someone,” she said, barely suppressing the glee in her voice.
“That would be great. I’m also going to need someone to oversee and manage investment and distribution of a rather large sum of money I expect to come into. There are some beneficiaries I’d like to help out from time to time.”
Rehka gasped. “That’s why you gave us the phones.”
“Yes. But I have things to do, and places to be. I’ll need my associate to monitor the requests at times. Also, if this person were able to develop administrative and computer systems to manage all that, it would help me a lot.”
Rehka didn’t do anything overly demonstrative. She just said, quietly, “Thank you. The person I refer will have all those skills and do everything you ask. But you might have to teach the person where to invest the money. That is not an expertise the person has. And you must give the candidate a few days to think about it.”
“We can talk about that and the terms of employment later,” he said.
***
IN DUE TIME, he and Digger were gratified to have the privilege of watching the joyful reunion. Gyan wrung his hand over and over again, and Akshara pulled him down for a fierce hug, whispering her undying gratitude. Rex patted her on the back and said it had been no trouble. Her wise old eyes conveyed the information that she knew it was a lie, but she said nothing.
Then she walked over bent down and hugged Digger, who looked as if she had just given him a piece of steak.
Rex was about to take his leave after telling Rehka he’d call her the next day when Gyan stepped forward at his wife’s nudging.
“We would be most honored if you will attend a feast of celebration tomorrow evening,” he said.
Rex paused. “Will we play a game of Chaturanga?”
“If you wish,” Gyan said. With a twinkle in his eye, he added, “You think you have improved any since our last time?”
Rex winked at him. “You’ll find out tomorrow night.”
Gyan giggled. “We shall see. This time, my whole family will be there to observe your humiliation.”
“I accept your gracious invitation,” Rex said, laughing so hard he could barely make the words intelligible.
The following day, Rex and Digger presented themselves at Gyan’s door, and Rehka answered. They were both invited in. The intervening hours had worked a miracle. Her eyes were clear and without doubt, her lips smiling. She was lovelier than ever, Rex noted. And then he chastised himself. His life had no room for a romance. He wondered if she expected one and hoped he wouldn’t have to break her heart. But then it struck him that she would not be remotely ready for a relationship with any man. She had practically been raped on a continuous basis by various men for months. How could she even trust any man ever again? Let alone allow a man to touch her.
The ensuing feast topped the first one by a country mile. He’d never seen so many tasty dishes in one place before, not even at this very house when he’d been invited before. This time tables were set up outside, the family being too large to fit inside the house at one time. The women scurried about, helping Akshara or herding children, as the men ate.
Afterward, the men gathered around to watch the Chaturanga game. Always a quick study, Rex came close to winning, but Gyan rallied at the last minute and won. His cackle was the signal for Rehka to come over and chide her father for inhospitality. He should have let their guest win.
Rex was smiling broadly.
In English, he said quietly, “Don’t. Let him have his fun. But Rehka, I know this celebration will have taxed their pocket. May I give you something to help them? I know it would insult them if I tried to give it to them directly.”
“Do not worry about them. I have just come into some money a few days ago and I also had an excellent job offer, which I’ve decided to accept. I will send money for their keep. I will take good care of them.”
Rex had a wide smile on his face as he shook her hand to seal the deal.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
MARISSA AND JOSH eventually caught up with the Phoenix team member who’d stayed in Afghanistan. After following lead after lead, they’d finally come back to Kabul and discovered him hiding in plain sight – at the former Phoenix headquarters. There was a new name on the discreet sign at the gate. They gave their cover story and the man at the gate called for permission to let them enter.
Inside, they found their target, a youngish, maybe mid-thirties, American man, former Army Rangers according to his file, surrounded by half a dozen cell phones, a fat cigar gripped in his teeth, his feet on the desk.
“Help you?” he asked, grinning around the cigar.
Marissa deferred to Josh, who asked if they could talk to him about his former employment with Phoenix Unlimited. The grin faded, and he took his feet off the desk, sitting up abruptly.
“Who sent you?” he asked. “And cut this journalist bullshit. If you’re journalists, then I’m the Easter Bunny.”
Josh looked at Marissa, who nodded.
“We’re here to get more information about your former team and a man who used your outfit for logistics support.”
“Rex Dalton,” the former Phoenix operative stated.
“Exactly.”
“What do you want to know?”
“Obviously, you were not part of the team who went out on the ill-fated mission. By the way, are you taking over the Phoenix contract?”
“Nah,” he said. “Too dangerous. Import export.” He took the cigar out of his mouth and waved it around. “Can I offer you a fine Cuban?”
Marissa wrinkled her nose, but Josh accepted. He put the unlit cigar in his shirt pocket ‘to smoke later’ and leaned forward.
“We’re interested in ascertaining that everyone on that mission, including Dalton was killed in the explosion. Have you heard anything that leads you to doubt it?”
The guy leaned forward and offered his hand to Josh to shake. “Jerry Blake, by the way. And as for doubt, that depends. I’ll tell you a
story, and you can decide if it answers your question.”
Josh shook the proffered hand, and then Jerry offered it to Marissa, who also shook it. He pointed to the empty chairs in front of the desk and invited them to take a seat. Then he leaned back in his chair and heaved his feet back onto the desk.
“It seems that explosion wasn’t the only thing that destroyed a house around those parts that week,” he said. “Rumor had it that the top dog drug dealer in the whole country was attacked and killed in his own house, along with several guards and three other high-level dealers. That happened a day or two after the explosion.”
“Is that so?” Josh interjected. Marissa frowned at him. They already knew that. But she remained quiet.
Jerry continued. “Yep. Whoever did it used an antique sword to make their heads part company with their necks. Then set the place on fire. When cops and fire trucks arrived, there wasn’t much left. Funny thing, though. Safe was open but empty.”
He paused, waiting for another expression of interest. This time, it was Marissa who spoke.
“Go on. Did they ever find who did it?”
“Nope, not that they’ve said. All I hear every now and then is that it’s an ongoing investigation,” Jerry answered. “But I hear tell that the cops think there was a fortune in cut diamonds in that safe, along with quite a bit of cash, and the backup drives for the top guy’s computers.”
“Interesting,” she murmured.
“I’d say so. They’re still running around like headless chickens, squawking about some mysterious ninja type assassination team. Don’t know what they know for sure, but they think the culprits lit out for a neighboring country.”
“Which direction?” Marissa asked.
“Police ain’t saying. But in my mind, quickest way across the border is to Pakistan. Relations aren’t too friendly between here and there.”
“I don’t know. That’s unfriendly territory, like you pointed out. Not a clever move I’d say,” Josh objected.
“Maybe, but depending on which route you take, it isn’t far into India. And with a handful of diamonds and cash, they could disappear there, no problemo. Those Indians are giving the Chinese a run for their money when it comes to population numbers. With one point three billion of them you could disappear like the proverbial needle in the haystack. Don’t you think?”
