by Dan Fox
Chapter 22
The Afghanistan Mission - continued
At the Kabul central bus station many old and a few newer buses came and went with monotonous regularity. They all had one thing in common. They all belched horrendous clouds of diesel smoke. It covered the area like a ground hugging fog. And they were noisy, incredibly noisy with the sound of their engines bouncing off the roof of the bus station and echoing around. Steve thought if you worked there for a week full time you’d be deaf at the end of it.
At four forty-five another bus arrived and spilled its load of passengers and goods and chattels onto the pavement. There was no mistaking Jackson even in his disguise. He spotted Steve quite quickly and gathering his carpet bag stuffed with a few phony items, made his way towards Steve whilst going through the motions of staring in wonder at the local architecture, if that’s what it was called. He stood a few feet from Steve looking up at the buildings and was quietly told what had happened so far today and of the possible stroke of luck regarding the café. It was ten past five now so they had, say, forty minutes to get to the café.
‘I’ll start now. I’m going east for about a mile, follow me at a couple of hundred yards’ Steve said quietly into his guide book. Jackson nodded. After a minute or so Jackson picked up his bag and followed. Steve arrived near the café twenty-five minutes later and took refuge in a narrow alley way after being delayed a little by two trucks trying to pass each other in a street that was not even wide enough for one of them. What a place. He positioned himself so he could see back towards where Jackson would be arriving any minute now. When he got there Steve signalled for him to join him for a moment.
‘Right we need to improvise a plan. I think you should enter the café in the next five minutes, order a coffee and perhaps something to eat, but try to sit somewhere for one person, we can’t afford to compromise their ability to sit together if they arrive. We don’t have a photo of the Afghan, but I’m certain you’ll spot Karuna whatever his disguise. One last thing, if the crippled beggar is there don’t look at him or acknowledge him in any way. We can’t afford to compromise him. I’ll keep an eye on things out here. I will come into the café at some point.’ Jackson nodded and headed towards the café.
Jackson knew enough Arabic to get by in Arabia using a forced speech impediment to get round his poor accent. They didn’t speak much Arabic in Kabul. There would be several languages in use with Pashtu being the main one. Jackson guessed that they might know a few words of Arabic, so he used it. He managed to get a coffee by asking for it by name. Steve had just pointed like many foreign tourists would do. Then Jackson asked for some food and after a little confusion he was understood. He took a single seat near to the big window with his back to a wall. The crippled beggar sat on the dirty floor in a corner but Jackson noticed the beggar would be able to see everything from where he sat. Jackson sipped the appalling coffee and waited for his food. What he got was not necessarily what he’d asked for but he ended up with a couple of fat samosas and some rice with strips of meat and vegetables in it. It actually wasn’t bad and it was extraordinarily cheap.
As he started to eat, the door opened and an Afghani national in traditional garb came in. He sat down opposite the counter and between the beggar and Jackson, perhaps ten feet from each. The waiter, or probably owner of this emporium of joy, brought him a very small cup of thick sweet coffee. The Afghani said nothing and stared ahead as if in a trance. Jackson obviously couldn’t be sure but he guessed this would be Taliban Joe. Would Steve come in now, or would he wait to see whether Assim Karuna arrived. They would need a photo so that those far away could try and put a name to the face. As he finished eating, the café door opened and a tallish Afghani again in near traditional garb entered and sat down next to Taliban Joe. Cracked it. Steve would be pleased.
So Karuna had turned up. That really was great news. Steve must have seen him enter the café and Jackson now wondered what the next move would be. A couple of minutes later Steve came into the café waving his guide book and pointing vaguely at the photograph of a piece of architecture. Jackson caught on immediately and rose from his seat to help. He walked over to Steve muttering something in Arabic and held his hand out for the book. This was an out and out ploy played out with Shakespearean aplomb. They’d passed the building on their way to the café, so he began gesticulating to Steve how to get there, which of course he already knew. Steve then thanked him profusely and put the guide away in a pocket exchanging it for an innocent looking tourist camera. Again Jackson was a step ahead and moved slightly to the side so that Karuna and Taliban Joe were almost behind him. Steve stood back a little and pointed the camera at Jackson. The Afghani’s were maybe slightly concerned but as Karuna was in disguise he didn’t care too much. The other Afghani looked across at Steve and then at Jackson and must have deduced that the camera was not pointing at him.
Steve took a couple of shots with the extreme wide angle lens easily catching the duo in sharp focus. Jackson’s picture wouldn’t be too clear but that was hardly the point. Steve then thanked everyone and left the café in the direction of this really difficult building to find. Jackson finished his food, paid for it, and then left the café after thanking the proprietor heartily. He nodded to the dynamic duo and opened the door. Steve was waiting for him in the narrow alley they had used before.
‘We need to follow Taliban Joe and find out where he lives or hangs out. We have about an hour to do that and then we have to be back at our base to meet Jean and Marcel’ said Steve, ‘the problem is he now knows what we look like and should remember us if he’s any good.’
Meanwhile the crippled beggar hobbled out of the café and performed his security ritual. Steve thought he would have a name and some decent details within a couple of hours.
Taliban Joe left the café a few minutes after the cripple and turned east walking fairly slowly. He was certainly in no hurry and as far as they could determine not suspicious at all. All they could do was keep as far behind him as possible without appearing suspicious themselves. Of course they each were on different sides of the road and caught up to overtake each other every few minutes. As far as Steve knew Karuna might still be in the cafe. It didn’t really matter. He hoped that Jean had found some useful information about Karuna’s home.
They used the jumbled buildings, recesses and alleyways to good effect and to the best of their knowledge were not spotted or even suspected. After about half an hour the Afghani entered a small hotel and disappeared inside. At least they had a lead on him. Now it was time to return to the farmstead to meet up with Jean and Marcel.
They waited a few minutes more and then Steve gestured to Jackson to start walking back towards the bus station. Steve followed on a few minutes later. As they neared the bus station Steve caught him up and gestured to a side street. They went down the street a few steps apart and after a couple of hundred yards Steve fished some car keys from his pocket and opened the car. He got in and started the engine. Jackson continued walking slowly. Steve then moved out and pulled across to Jackson whilst pushing the passenger door open. Jackson jumped in and immediately shrank down in the seat as Steve accelerated away towards the west of Kabul.
They got back to the farm at seven forty-five p.m. as it was getting dusk. They ducked inside the house and Steve passed a bottle of water to Jackson who nodded his thanks. They sat down and rested while they could and a little later heard the noise of a coasting car. Jean and Marcel had arrived. By the time they entered Steve had fired up the laptop and uploaded the photograph. On the screen, clear as a bell was a full frontal of Taliban Joe. Steve then sent it to the contact who would know exactly what to do and how urgent it was. They sat where they could. Steve explained this afternoon’s happenings with Jackson nodding his affirmation. ‘Great news’ said Marcel.
‘Right’ said Steve, ‘we now know what Taliban Joe looks like and we’ve also got Karuna in camouflage.’ They all smirked. ‘We now have to find a way to abduct them
as close together in time as possible. I vote we bring them back here, get what we can out of them and dispose of their bodies in a nearby field. We then need to get out of here faster than a speeding bullet. Jean, Marcel, it’s not as important for you to leave immediately, providing we all keep our heads down, you’ll be under no suspicion.’ Jean was smiling. She was looking forward to the interrogation.
Steve followed on ‘We know what Karuna looks like in and out of disguise. We also know where he lives and where he works. By the way Marcel, what did you find out at the Government buildings?’
Marcel cleared his throat and said, ‘It was not difficult to get photos close up to the building. Once they realised we were professionals we had no problem. All the guards were that bowled over by Jean we had no problem going anywhere. We know exactly which office is Karuna’s and we also know when they have the food and prayer breaks. If we time it right we could get him out of there in a minute.’
Steve thought for a moment and looked around at the others. ‘I have a bit of a problem with that, we could get unlucky and be seen by the wrong people and have a big fight on our hands. We don’t want to draw attention to this one, we need to take him when he and everyone else least expects it. I think our best bet is from his house later at night.’ Gradually they all concurred. ‘Okay then’ said Steve, ‘I think we should go and hunt down Taliban Joe as soon as we hear from the contact about his photo. I don’t need a laptop for that’ he said and pointed at his satellite phone.
Jean then said, ‘Is Karuna still the overall priority?’
‘Yes’ said Steve, ‘the other guy is a bonus but a very big one. We have to try very hard to get him as well, okay?’ They all nodded. Steve then asked Jean for the details of Karuna’s abode.
‘He has an apartment in a quiet area as we saw on the map earlier. There was a fair amount of security about and I wasn’t allowed to get very close. It looks like there is an alley which leads around the back of a larger building to where you would gain access to Karuna’s place.’
‘Great stuff’ said Steve.
Chapter 23
The Afghanistan Mission - continued
‘I’m not sure which way round we should pair up’ said Jackson. ‘Taliban Joe has seen both me and Steve and if he has any skills at all he will remember us, but I also think that using Jean as bait could lure Karuna out of his bed or house.’ Jackson was right there could be a big problem. Steve asked them all for their considered opinions and after some discussion it was decided that Jean and Marcel would go to the hotel where Taliban Joe was last seen, using their Photographers cover. Steve and Jackson would pay Karuna a call. Steve assumed that Karuna would at least go home to change and he wouldn’t be off to the pub later.
Steve showed Jackson, Jean and Marcel where all the necessary equipment was to deal with their abductees and then they were off. They would return when they had finished their part of the job, or they would die doing it. They all hoped that by daylight tomorrow the operation would be over and they’d be on their way back to Spain.
Jackson kept his Islamic robes on. They had been good so far. Steve also donned some more bulky robes and the traditional hat, and also a set of false glasses, nose and beard combination which looked surprisingly realistic as long as you weren’t within a few inches of him. The rest of the team fell about laughing when he showed them but anything that worked was infinitely better than something that didn’t. They would see later how effective it had been.
Jean and Marcel were perfect as they were and had already got the camera gear with them in the boot of their hire car.
As they prepared to leave the farmhouse Steve’s phone chirped. It was the special chirp that would only sound with a call or info from the contact. The message said ‘Bingo. That is Taliban man number three, Faisal Sherzai. He’s wanted for murder, rape and pillage, acts of terrorism both here and in Pakistan. He’s in the pack of cards.’ The Pack of Cards referred to the fifty-two most wanted people by the American agencies, a big fish indeed.
The message continued ‘We don’t know where he lives but he spends a lot of time at the Hotel Karte Naow about a mile and a half east of the centre of Kabul. Be careful he has some very unpleasant friends to guard him. He will not be alone. Good luck.’
The mission was on.
‘Last one back buys the cakes’ said Jackson as they evaporated into their vehicles and quietly drove away.
Jean and Marcel didn’t need to pretend and so they hot footed it towards the Hotel Karte Naow. Steve and Jackson needed to be much more careful and vigilant so they arrived in the area of Karuna’s place a little later. They planned to walk the block in opposite directions as they’d done a thousand times before and meet each other back where they started to compare notes. There was no obvious external security which surprised them both. That should have made them both a little more alert.
Jean and Marcel, playing the French couple Elodie and Xavier, just carried some of their equipment into the hotel foyer and set it up as if they owned the place. No-one said anything to them.
When Steve and Jackson compared notes, they had both noticed the very narrow alley that appeared to go along the side of the building and the around the back of Karuna’s house that Jean had mentioned in her report. Steve stayed watch while Jackson went for a look. When he returned he nodded. ‘It leads up some stairs to what looks like a couple of spacious apartments. I have no idea which one is his.’
Steve thought for a moment and said ‘It’s time you went begging. Keep your profile low and your head down and try each place in turn. I’ll be a yard behind you if there’s any trouble.’
Jackson climbed the steps and decided to do the furthest apartment first. He wrapped his robes around his face and banged on the door. There was no response so he tried again. There were no lights on so he tried to peer through the glass portion of the door but could see nothing distinct. He shrugged at the invisible Steve and moved on to the first apartment. He could hear faint music through the door and knew that this was frowned upon by the Taliban. Maybe the occupier wasn’t frightened, maybe this was someone with influence. This was the one. He knocked at the door.
A few moments later he saw a small shape come towards the door, obviously not Assim Karuna. The door opened and a short woman dressed in domestic robes stood there and looked at him. He took off his hat and turned it over gesturing for money to be put into it. The woman understood and gestured for him to wait while she went back inside.
Karuna and his housekeeper, there might be someone else but they’d have to deal with that as they went. This was too good an opportunity to miss. Jackson walked slowly and quietly into the hallway and in the direction that the woman had gone. He guessed she gone to ask for alms for the beggar from Karuna. His H&K was primed and held beneath his swirling robes. Steve was right behind him covered by the big robes.
Jackson heard louder voices from what must be a sitting room or lounge. Only two voices, no security? Jackson entered the room holding out his hat. Karuna didn’t recognise him until Steve popped out and moved over to hold the barrel of his Glock against his temple. The woman started to scream and was shot between the eyes by Jackson who immediately regretted the unnecessary collateral damage. Karuna attempted to make a break for the door and was clubbed by Steve’s pistol. He went down like a sack of potatoes.
All under control, yes, all under control until a shot from nearby took Jackson in the upper shoulder and spun him around and over the top of an ornate sofa. The bodyguard who had been out of sight in the kitchen was brave but inexperienced. He hadn’t got all the info together before opening fire. Steve had no problem picking him off with a shot to the head from his silenced pistol.
Steve wrapped Karuna in a rug and then helped Jackson to his feet. Jackson was in mild shock but from his general reactions it must be a flesh wound. Once his head had cleared a little Jackson used his good arm to help carry Karuna down the stairs with Steve, who then left Jackson to guard him, whil
e he scurried away to get the car.
Within ten minutes they were taking the scenic route around Kabul centre and heading west to the farmhouse with an unconscious Karuna hog tied in the boot. As soon as Steve could he got on the phone to their emergency contact. It was answered immediately. Steve said ‘A member of my team has been shot, shoulder wound, not too serious but I want him evacuated. I also have Karuna and will need a translator for the interrogation.’
The voice at the other end of the phone said ‘Understood. Continue past your turn off point for fifteen miles. We know your car. Stop when the torch flashes and turn off the road and go right for two hundred yards. We’ll make the swap over there. We’ll be expecting you in forty minutes. Okay?’
‘Fine’ said Steve and knew it was pedal to the metal time. There wasn’t much time to spare and he’d have to very careful until he got out of Kabul itself. It would fuck everything up if he got stopped for driving like a dummy.
Steve kicked himself for such an amateur error. It could have been a fatal mistake, for both of them. They had got a little over excited at the prospect of nabbing Karuna so quickly they’d both taken their eye off the ball. Jackson had paid for that and Steve felt guilty for not looking after his team member better. They should have scouted the apartment more before going in. If there had been two guards it would have certainly been curtains for both of them. No point crying over spilt milk though, only learning from it. Jackson wouldn’t blame Steve but he’d be pretty pissed off that he wouldn’t be in on the final episode. However, he might yet be fussed over by some nice nurses. That might make up for it.
Meanwhile, Jean in absolute theatrical mode had the inmates of the Hotel Karte Naow captivated. She had showed them all her portfolio of ‘award’ winning photos and they appeared to make an exception to this western woman who would normally have been confined to a house and probably chained to the sink or bed as well.
