Dark Return

by DV Berkom

  As they raced toward the group, an unmistakable sound grew louder behind them. Leine glanced in the rearview mirror. Relief flooded through her as the low-flying Mi-24 helicopter blew past them overhead.

  “Yes!” Jinn yelled, grinning with the excitement of being part of the chase. Leine couldn’t help but smile back.

  The helicopter swung wide and swooped back over the small convoy.

  “One of the trucks is leaving,” Jinn said breathlessly, her eyes glued to the binoculars. “It’s the one with the camper on the back. The other truck is pulling away from the van. Wait. The first truck is slowing.”

  By this time, they were close enough for Leine to see what was happening. She tensed as events unfolded, knowing Lou would have briefed the flight crew about the children. Moments later, the ground near the pickup with the camper shell erupted in fountains of sand as multiple rounds from the nose-mounted cannon peppered the earth. The truck skidded to a halt, a cloud of dust obscuring the occupants. The chopper swerved and went after the other pickup.

  Leine stomped on the gas, headed for the stalled vehicle.

  Automatic gunfire erupted from the second truck. One of the gunmen had started shooting at the helicopter with an AK-47. The helo veered off, but then came back around, getting into position.

  “Wait,” Jinn said, her tone urgent. “The guy in the camper truck is getting out. He’s got something in his hands—”

  “Oh, god,” Leine breathed. A chill danced along her spine. The driver had just shouldered a surface-to-air rocket launcher.

  The missile streaked from the launcher, hitting the helicopter straight on. The aircraft exploded in a ball of flames. The blackened, twisted wreckage swung in a wide arc and spiraled to the ground like a broken windmill, hitting the sand with a loud whumph.

  Jinn screamed. Leine rammed the accelerator to the floor and rocketed toward the wreckage. Her earpiece erupted in excited Arabic, telling her to make sure there were no survivors. They still thought the truck they were in was manned by the advance team. Good. It would allow her to get close.

  Her face white, Jinn sat ramrod straight and gripped the door handle. Leine pushed the truck to its limits and they screamed toward the burning chopper. The gunman who’d fired the missile had returned to his pickup and was headed toward the aircraft. If anyone had survived that fiery mess, Leine was damned if she was going to allow the asshole responsible to finish the job.

  They made it to the crash site before the other truck, and Leine slammed on the brakes, skidding to a stop in a cloud of dust.

  “Stay down!” she yelled as she grabbed the MP5 and exploded from the Nissan. The gunman’s truck slowed to a stop, and Leine dove behind a piece of the wreckage. She waited for his next move, heart thudding in her chest. Three yards away, two bodies lay on the ground. She couldn’t tell if they were alive or dead.

  The gunman exited the other pickup carrying his AK-47 and walked toward the helicopter.

  “Hassan, is that you?” his voice crackled through her earpiece. When he didn’t receive an answer, he hesitated.

  “What’s happening, Firas?” another voice asked. It sounded familiar, but Leine couldn’t place it.

  “He’s not responding,” he replied. “I think his earpiece may not be working.”

  “We’re leaving before more people come. Meet us at the rendezvous point.” The second pickup swung around and sped east, its tires kicking up a rooster tail of dust. Firas keyed the mic twice in acknowledgement and headed toward the wreck.

  Leine tracked him as he edged closer to the bodies. He skirted a piece of the fuselage and came abreast of her position.

  She cut him down with a three-burst shot. He dropped where he stood, sprawling facedown in the sand. Leine sprinted to the crew’s bodies and checked for a pulse. Neither had made it. She scanned the rest of the wreckage for survivors. There was a groan behind her and she pivoted.

  A man in a bloodied shirt hoisted himself to a sitting position and shook his head as though to clear it. Leine hurried over to him. His shirt had FPS stitched in red across the breast pocket. Ferguson Private Security.

  “Are you all right?” she asked, visually scanning him for wounds. Besides several lacerations, he appeared to be intact. “Can you move your arms?”

  “Yeah, I think so.” His Scottish brogue seemed out of place in the Sahara. He flexed his arms and then tried to stand, but abruptly sat back down. “Dizzy,” he muttered, by way of explanation.

  “We need to get you out of here, in case the other tank blows.”

  He nodded. Leine wrapped his arm around her shoulders and hoisted him to his feet. Her arm throbbed with the effort, taking her breath away, but she kept moving and tried to ignore the pain as they staggered to the truck. Jinn opened the door and helped Leine ease him into the front seat.

  “I saw two dead. Are there any others?” Leine asked.

  The man closed his eyes and nodded. “Two more. Don’t know if they made it out or not.”

  “I called Lou and told him what happened,” Jinn said in Arabic, nodding at the sat phone sitting on the console. “He said to tell you it will take time to charter another helicopter, so he’s sending a drone and a team over land, too.”

  “Good job. Did he say when they’d be here?”

  “Two hours or less.”

  “Stay here,” she said to the crewman. “Jinn will take good care of you. If you need anything, she knows some English.”

  She left him in the girl’s care and sprinted back to the wreckage, where she checked through the debris. She discovered the two other bodies in what was left of the interior of the chopper and was able to physically verify the first one’s death, but not the second. A visual was all that was needed, though. The second casualty hadn’t fared any better than the first.

  Leine made her way to the gunman’s truck, not knowing what she’d find. A quick look inside the cab showed a cache of weapons behind the seat. The rocket launcher lay on top. She walked to the back and opened the tailgate, expecting more weapons. Instead, a group of frightened, wide-eyed kids stared out at her. Plastering a smile on her face, Leine slid the MP5 behind her back and held out her hand.

  “It’s all right. Remember me? You’re safe now.”

  One by one, the children climbed from the back of the pickup. None of them had been hurt. She slid the flat of water closer and ripped the plastic covering off before handing them each a bottle.

  She turned to the oldest, a boy of about ten. “What’s your name?”

  “Ja’mal,” he answered, staring at the ground.

  “Well, Ja’mal, can you keep an eye on everyone? I’m going to bring that truck over here, all right?” She pointed to the truck where Jinn and the FPS guy were.

  Ja’mal nodded, and Leine hurried back to the other pickup. She got in and started the engine.

  “Looks like you found the kids,” the FPS guy said. “Is it all of them?”

  Leine shook her head. “Seven. There were twelve. The other five are most likely in the other pickup.” She glanced at the fuel gauge. It was near empty. The extra can in the back was, too. There was still the van, parked by itself several meters away. “I’ll check the van for extra fuel. Jinn can look in the other truck.”

  “I imagine you found the rest of the crew.”

  Leine nodded. She didn’t say anything. He’d know by her silence what she’d found. He closed his eyes and leaned his head back.

  “I’m Leine, and the young lady you’re sitting next to is Jinn.”

  “Travis,” he managed.

  Leine didn’t make small talk, preferring to let him be so he could deal with what just happened.

  She left Travis and Jinn with the others and hurried to the van. Rounding the back, she stopped short. Kadeem Hamid sat slumped over on the step near the open door. Dr. Dahmani was sprawled facedown at his feet. Anger clouded her vision, and she took a deep breath to calm herself. She turned the doctor over and closed her unseeing eyes.
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br />   “Thank you,” she whispered, remembering the care she’d given her the night before. Sadness flickered through her and she turned away to tend to the assistant director. She checked for a pulse and was shocked to feel a faint beat. Lifting his chin, she studied the damage. There was no exit wound, meaning the bullet had lodged somewhere in his skull.

  There was no way he should have been alive. But there it was. His skin was cold and clammy, indicating that he was either in shock or on his way there. Gently, she brought his legs up before she searched the van for a blanket, which she found in the back. She wrapped him as well as she could, wincing at the stabbing pain in her bandaged arm. She was about to check the van for a first aid kit when he groaned.

  “Kadeem?” she asked, and crouched by his side. “Can you hear me?” She took his hand and squeezed his fingers.

  He moaned again and muttered something unintelligible. She climbed into the front and checked for a first aid kit, which she found in the console. She brought it back to him and dressed his wound.

  Having done all she could, she leaned down next to his ear. “Kadeem, if you can hear me, I’m going to go over to the other truck now to be with the children, but I’ll be back. Hang on a little while longer—help is coming.” She straightened and made her way to the two pickups. Jinn was talking in a low voice to one of the kids, while Travis sat on the ground in the shade.

  “I found the doctor and Hakim.”

  “Are they all right?” Jinn asked, hope lighting her eyes.

  Leine shook her head. “I’m afraid Doctor Dahmani didn’t make it. Hakim is still alive. I don’t know if he’ll survive long enough to get help.” There was no time for sugar coating.

  Jinn’s eyes grew moist, but she didn’t cry. Tough kid. “Did you find Yusuf?”

  Startled, it was then that Leine remembered Ahmed’s brother, Yusuf, and the motorcycle.

  “Jesus. I completely forgot he was following the van. I’ve got to find him. You two, watch the kids and make sure they stay put. Backup should be here in less than an hour.”

  “No problem. It’s not like I have anything better to do.” Travis waved her off.

  Leine jumped in the pickup and retraced the van’s route, coming to where the motorcycle’s tracks veered left. Apparently Yusuf had split off from the van, perhaps in a bid to throw one of the assailants off their path.

  She followed the tracks heading east, keeping her eyes on the fuel gauge. A set of four additional tracks paralleled the motorcycle’s, giving Leine a bad feeling. When she’d exhausted more fuel than she should have, she slowed to a stop and scanned the horizon one last time. A dark spot in the distance caught her attention, and she refocused the binoculars. The bad feeling grew stronger as the outline of a small trailer, looking lost and forlorn, took shape.

  She’d found Yusuf.

  20

  BLANCHE LA POINTE unlocked the door to her office and tossed her satchel on the desk. It would be strange not having Hakim in the outer office, but she’d make do. There was always someone who wanted to work for the popular relief organization. She’d have to get her story straight before she filed a missing person report for Kadeem Hakim and the security guard. She’d wait until someone from the camp reported Dr. Dahmani missing before doing anything about her.

  Although they were only able to recover five of the children, the debacle in the desert did have a silver lining—now she would be able to pick up where she’d left off without Hakim’s meddlesome actions thwarting her every move.

  La Pointe walked behind her desk and turned on the lamp. She sat down and rummaged in her purse for her phone. The call she was about to make would take care of two problems: one, it would initialize the first step of her plan, and two, it would tie up a loose end from her last operation. One that she never would have left dangling if she’d been aware of the SHEN operative’s identity. Allowing Chessa’s rescue had been a brilliant move, in more ways than one.

  She picked up the phone and dialed.

  THE NEXT MORNING, AFTER everyone had a good night’s rest, Fatima welcomed the seven children into the SHEN office with her trademark warmth and humor, putting the kids from the refugee camp at ease. Leine and Jinn hung back as Fatima took them through the intake process.

  “I’m sad that we weren’t able to find the others,” Jinn said in a quiet voice.

  “At least these kids will find homes now.” Leine stared into space, thinking about the five other children now lost to some hellish reality. How was she going to find them? There were no clues to their whereabouts, no threads to pull. Maybe she’d go back to the refugee camp, see if La Pointe had anything to add.

  Lou had combed the desert with the drone but lost the other pickup’s trail several kilometers to the east, when the tracks led to a main thoroughfare. White pickups were ubiquitous in Libya and were difficult to differentiate from the air. He’d sent a team to recover the bodies from the crash site. Travis was treated for multiple lacerations at a local hospital and released. He was scheduled to fly back to his home in Los Angeles for some R&R.

  Hakim was in a medically-induced coma waiting for the swelling in his brain to go down before doctors attempted to remove the round from his skull. She hoped he’d come out of it sooner rather than later, but that was the surgeon’s call. The assistant director might have information they could use to find the traffickers.

  “I think I know a way to find the others,” Jinn said.

  “Oh?” Curious, Leine turned to look at her.

  “They are looking for children my age, yes? Why don’t I go back to the refugee camp and tell them I’m an orphan?”

  “You mean use yourself as bait?” Leine shook her head. “Not a chance, Jinn. It’s too dangerous.”

  “But how else are we going to find them?” The anxiety in her voice spoke volumes.

  Leine smoothed her hair. “It’s good that you want to help. But I can’t let you do that. Not when you’re finally safe.” She shook her head. “I couldn’t live with myself. You deserve to be a kid—go to school, make friends, and have fun, instead of worrying where your next meal is coming from. You need someone to watch over you and give you a safe place to sleep at night.”

  “Then why can’t I go home with you? You would keep me safe.”

  Leine gave her a weary smile. “They’d never let me take you.”

  “Why not?” Her indignation almost made Leine laugh.

  “Because of my job. I’m never home, and neither is my partner, who’s a detective. No one in their right mind would grant me custody. Hell, I wouldn’t grant me custody of a plant, much less a kid.”

  “I can take care of myself.” Jinn crossed her arms and sat back in her chair, staring straight ahead, her chin lifted in defiance.

  “I know that.” Leine softened her voice. “But you shouldn’t have to.”

  They sat in silence. A creeping guilt gnawed at Leine’s insides, no matter what she told herself. You can’t be responsible for every single kid that comes along.

  Maybe not, but she could make sure that Jinn was safe.

  Twenty minutes later, Fatima finished the last kid’s initial intake.

  Leine prodded Jinn with her elbow. “Your turn.”

  She frowned and looked from Leine to Fatima back to Leine. “What do you mean? I’m not staying.”

  “Why not? I said I’d do everything in my power to find you a good home.” Leine gestured toward Fatima. “This is a great opportunity.”

  “You would do this to me?” Jinn stood, her eyes flashing in anger.

  “Wait a minute. I’m not ‘doing’ anything to you. I thought this was what you wanted. Didn’t you say something to me about living in France? This is how that can happen.”

  “You’re just like the rest.” Unshed tears brimmed in her eyes and she angrily wiped them away. “You never cared about me.”

  “Of course I care—” Leine reached toward her.

  Stone-faced, Jinn brushed her hand away and marched up to t
he counter. Fatima smiled and began asking her questions, entering her answers into the computer.

  At that moment, the phone in Leine’s pack went off. She fished it out of the front pocket and answered. It was Lou.

  “Hey, Lou. When’s my flight?” she joked, glad for the diversion. Why else would he call her now?

  “Yeah. About that. You’re leaving at oh eight hundred on the FPS jet. But you’re not going to LA.”

  “Wait a minute? What?”

  “You’re going to Paris. There’s a situation developing.”

  “Okay, then. I guess I’m going to Paris.” Leine had known Lou long enough to understand the word “situation” meant something serious had happened or was about to. “What’s going on?”

  “It’s Chessa.”

  “Is everything all right? Are her parents there?”

  “They touched down at de Gaulle last night. That’s not the problem. Apparently, Chessa slipped away from our team at the hotel yesterday. No one can find her and her parents are upset, as I’m sure you can imagine.”

  “That’s not good. Do you think she went to meet the recruiter?”

  “Not exactly. Have you checked your burner?”

  “Not lately, why?”

  “Our people found a note in Chessa’s room that said she would speak to you and only you. Did you give her anything with your number on it?”

  Leine tensed as another bad feeling came roaring back to settle in the pit of her stomach. What’s Chessa doing?

  “I gave her one of my cards like I usually do, and told her to contact me if she needed to talk. Hold on—let me check the phone.” Leine rummaged in her pack for the burner phone she’d been using to communicate with the SHEN office while she was in Tripoli. She drummed her fingers on the armrest while she waited for it to boot up.