a database was made of all the cars in the area.
Marcus kept the cars and plates straight for the two Seals. All neighbors who passed, including those who walked dogs, were photographed. They were all put in the database.
That Sunday night, Lynda had to sleep with Ted. He was scared of the two greased-up men.
For the next two weeks, nothing much out of the ordinary happened. Lynda went to work each workday, but the nights were difficult for her. Her mental state stabilized. She still thought of Max nearly continuously, but was able to function for her daily tasks adequately. Marcus was becoming acclimated with the new, post-breakdown Lynda. He still wasn’t certain that she did not have a lover. His heart told him no, but his brain said, “Yes!”
The database of activities around the neighborhood began to slow down. Very few new things occurred. The two Seals that were monitoring the house never became lax. One of them, Josh, spotted the rental car. He photographed the car and the plate. The driver was difficult to see, other than he was dark-complexioned. A government check of the car’s license plate showed it was rented to Onwar Mogadusha. He was found to be distant relative of Sheik Abdul Mogadusha. A decision was made by the three Seals to try and capture Onwar themselves.
Neal, the second Seal, spotted the car parked a block away. It was empty. They had placed wireless transmitter sensors at the end of each alley. The sensor at the south end of their street was blinking on their control panel. It could be an animal, but they were sure that it was Onwar. Neil was on the roof, watching the alley. So far he had seen no movement in the alley. There were wooden fences that Onwar could hide behind. Josh and Marcus were at the back of the house, hiding in the bushes. As they watched, the back gate opened and a dark form slipped through and the gate closed. The form moved along the fence to the north and disappeared into the shrubs.
The house was nearly dark, just night lights on, no outside lights Onwar slid silently down the fence. He was now inside the yard. His great-uncle had raised the amount of the contract to a quarter of a million dollars. The Sheik really wanted the woman and all her family dead. Onwar would be rich. He pushed these thoughts out of his mind. In the next few minutes he would earn his money. He snuck through the hedge and was certain that he had not been seen. Onwar had made it all the way to the house before he got the inkling that perhaps things were not as they seemed. He was about to put his hand on the screen door at the back of the house when he realized that someone was behind him.
Marcus let the figure pass by him without moving. Once the figure was clear, he stood up and moved two steps, such that he was directly behind the figure.
Marcus waved at Josh; Josh stood up. Marcus said, “Onwar, don’t move. There is shooter on the roof, one to your left, and me. We have you surrounded. Give up and you will live. There is no reason for you to die. If you so much as move we will kill you instantly.”
The figure did not move. He looked frozen.
Josh said, “Onwar, raise your hands slowly and put them on top of your head.”
Onwar did as he was told.
Marcus reached up and grabbed both the man’s thumbs. He held them tightly as Josh searched Onwar. He removed three guns, two knives and a can of pepper spray. Marcus pulled each of Onwar’s hands behind his back and again held his thumbs tightly. Josh went into the house and brought back out a roll of duct tape. As Marcus held Onwar’s palms together, Josh taped his wrists together.
Once they had Onwar secure, Neal climbed down off the roof and the three Seals took Onwar through the house into the garage. Once in the garage they taped his ankles together and set him down on the concrete floor.
Marcus rolled Onwar such that he was lying on his side, and took an eight-foot-long two-by-four and placed it behind Onwar. Josh ran tape around Onwar’s forehead and the two-by-four. Then he taped Onwar’s chin to the board. Next they taped his ankles to the board. Onwar could not move his head at all.
Marcus said, “Onwar, we already know who sent you, we just don’t know why. Would you like to tell us why?”
Onwar looked at three men. “The woman killed the Sheik’s son in Afghanistan; she shot him dead, in cold blood.”
Lynda was standing at the door to the garage. “I have never killed anyone in cold blood.”
Onwar stared at Lynda. “Young Abdul never carried a gun. He was killed by you. You shot him like a dog. You do not deserve to live.”
Lynda smiled at Onwar. “I have no idea what you are talking about.”
Onwar said, “Cut me loose and we can talk about it!”
Lynda motioned to Marcus; Marcus shook his head.
She said, “Tell me when I was supposed to have killed the Sheik’s son.”
Onwar shook his arms. He smiled at the woman. “You might remember he was doing his father’s business and flew in, in a small helicopter.”
Suddenly, she remembered. The man had not had a gun. Onwar was right: she had killed Young Abdul, and he had not had a gun. She walked back into the kitchen. How was she going to get out of this?
She spun around and went back to the garage. She stepped in and sat down in front on Onwar. “Cut him loose, Marcus,” she said.
Marcus started to argue, then cut the tape around Onwar’s head, chin and hands. Onwar sat up and rubbed his wrists, then he peeled the tape off his head. He made a face, but no sound came out of his mouth. He then looked at Lynda. “Thank you, madam.”
Lynda asked, “Onwar, tell me, how do I get out of this alive?”
Onwar stared at Lynda’s face. “I don’t think you can. You could go back with me and let the Sheik behead you, and he would probably let the rest of your family live.”
She looked at the floor. “I hear the bounty on me is a hundred thousand dollars.”
“The price went up; I was offered two hundred and fifty thousand.”
“Wow,” Lynda said, “I had no idea that I was worth so much.”
Marcus said, “We can go into the witness protection plan and move somewhere where no one knows us.”
“I have a deal for you, Onwar.” Lynda smiled at the Arab. “I will give you fifty thousand dollars to carry a message back to the Sheik.”
She had Onwar’s attention. “You’re not going to kill me?”
Lynda smiled. “I will trust you if you will trust me!”
“Okay,” Onwar said, “what is it?”
Lynda continued to smile. “I am not sure. You will have to help me.”
Onwar nodded. “You want me to convince the Sheik to let you and your family live?”
Lynda’s cheek scrunched up. “Yeah, something like that. You probably know more how to talk him into forgiving me than I do.”
Marcus couldn’t stand it. “Lynda, we can’t let him go. He will just come back and kill us.”
Lynda looked at Onwar. “Is that right, Onwar?”
“It is in my nature!”
Lynda’s eyes lowered. “Come in the house; let’s sit like civilized people.” As she passed by the table, she saw the steak knife lying out in the open. She knew that Onwar would see it too.
Onwar followed Lynda into the house. The knife did not escape his attention, but he ignored it. He said, “Where does a woman like you get fifty thousand dollars, and why would she believe that I would change sides?”
Lynda smiled. “Let’s just say someone close to me died and left it to me, and I can’t answer your last question. Does a leopard change its spots?”
Marcus was wondering the same thing. Where would she get the fifty thousand?
Lynda motioned for Onwar to sit on the sofa. The three Seals stood around him. Lynda came back from her bedroom. She threw the brown paper bag in Onwar’s lap. “Do we have a deal, Onwar?”
Onwar looked into the bag, and closed it before any of the Seals saw what was in it. He said, “What exactly is it that you want me to do?”
Lynda looked at the ceiling. “Convince him not to kill me, or any
of my family.”
Onwar now looked at the same spot on the ceiling. “And how would I do that?”
She shook her head. Her hair flung around her face. “Tell him that his son died a brave man. Tell him that he can be proud of his son!”
Onwar put his empty hand to his chin. “He only knows that he was killed by a woman, and that he didn’t have a gun.”
Lynda’s lips tightened. “I was the one who killed him. It was a fair fight.”
Marcus’s mouth fell open. He had not heard this account before. He knew that he should just kill Onwar and get his family out of here.
Onwar said, “I will pass your message to the Sheik, and I will bring you his answer. But don’t expect much. I personally will leave you alone; I can see that you are a lady of her word, and that may carry some weight with the Sheik. Please understand, he is sick with hate for you.”
Lynda said, “Onwar, call me. My number is on the bag there!” Lynda cut her eyes at Marcus. “Let him go. Don’t touch him!” It was another order.
Marcus looked at the other two Seals. “She is the boss!”
Onwar went out the back door and traced his footprints back to the alley, and then to his car. He smiled wickedly as he drove off.
When Onwar was gone, Marcus said, “Lynda, that was stupid. Who is to say that he is the only one here after us?”
Lynda was off to the bedroom. Over her shoulder she said, “Get your bags packed. I will get mine and the kids’. I don’t trust him, or the Sheik. Someone will come after us.”
Marcus and the two Seals went and packed
CIA - The Slave Traders Page 46
