Redemption

by Ever N. Hayes

  “I must stay here and buy you time.”

  “Then why did you help me if you don’t want to escape?”

  “You don’t remember?”

  Eddie shook his head. “Remember?”

  “My father was Ben Mubarak. He—”

  Eddie knew then exactly who this soldier was. This soldier had been a twelve-year-old boy the last time Eddie had seen him. Eddie put his hand on the young man’s shoulder before he could finish his sentence. “Silas, right? I saved your father’s life in Tripoli.” Eddie remembered the corrupt cop-led mob that had been stoning the man for stealing bread.

  “Yes.” The young man nodded. “And my mother’s. I found out you were in Puerto Rico when I was in Denver and requested an assignment here. I thought I might be able to help. I owe you—”

  “You owe me nothing. Your father did not deserve to die for feeding his family. You—he would be very proud of you. You have helped me plenty. And now, you must come with me.”

  “I cannot possibly—”

  “Son, they will kill you.”

  “I know.”

  “I cannot allow this.” Eddie handed him a handgun. “I am trusting you with my life now. You can fly, yes?”

  The man nodded. “I have, yes.”

  “Then you come with me.” Eddie motioned at Cera. “You protect her.”

  They ran down to the boat and took it to Rincon. On the jeep ride from Rincon to the airstrip, Silas filled them in on what he knew about Qi Jia’s current operations, Lazzo’s journey, and everything else he’d overheard from Commander Boli. Eddie asked him about the numbers on the bottom of the sheet.

  “Commander Boli wrote them down while on the radio with someone in Denver. He typed them into a computer before he left and then threw the paper away. I copied for you.”

  What would he have typed into a computer? They aren’t a phone number. So what is— Then he knew. Coordinates. But for where? And for what purpose? There was only one possible answer. Wherever Boli is meeting Lazzo.

  THIRTY-FIVE – Sneak Peak (Hayley)

  Early Morning Hours.

  ---------- (Tuesday, August 9, 2022.) ----------

  Nine miles west of Cheyenne Mountain, Colorado.

  I didn’t know how Flynn and I had made it across that open rock field. Considering all the action and gunfire in the valley, the snipers had to be watching for movement. Our crawling couldn’t have fooled them. Suddenly I felt like an idiot. Here I was acting almost like I wished they had fired at us—that they had hit us. What is wrong with you? Who cares why they didn’t? We’re still alive!

  The bigger issue was Lazzo. I assumed he was dead—though it probably wasn’t safe to assume anything. Can he possibly still be alive? The soldiers had said the bounty on Lazzo depended on taking him alive. Maybe he is. But that last gunshot from the forest had sounded different. It had finality to it. Did Lazzo take his own life?

  Again, it didn’t matter. We had to keep going. The troops were going to keep coming. Surely the Libyan commander had told them exactly where we were all heading—where the exchange was supposed to take place. We had to stay ahead of them.

  Shortly before daylight, we arrived at the Penrose-Rosemont Reservoir at the base of Knights Peak. We had to be close to the exchange coordinates. As we skirted the south side of the reservoir, I noticed two boats patrolling the waters and knew there had to be more soldiers around. They had to know Lazzo had been taken—maybe even killed. But they were still looking for me. Using my binoculars, I found four groups of soldiers clustered around campfires along the eastern shore. I was finally starting to panic, and now it was Flynn’s turn to calm me down. I didn’t know where exactly we needed to go, but I did know the paratroopers would be closing in on us quickly in the daylight. We had a matter of hours before they were here—assuming they had waited until daylight to continue their search.

  “Flynn, I don’t know where specifically this exchange is supposed to take place. Knight’s Peak isn’t exactly small and all Lazzo said was a lodge. I feel like we’re in the middle of a spider web with a thousand spiders crawling towards us. You and me…we’re no match for them.”

  She appeared to be thinking over our dilemma. I knew she agreed with me, but in my panicked state one of us had to be the rational one—the strategist. “Say your brother is here or gets here and sees the same thing—all these soldiers coming together in one place—the spider web you referenced. He’s not going to walk right into the middle of it either. He’s going to try to find you without anyone else finding him.”

  “Right. So where would Lazzo take me?”

  “I don’t know if that’s the right question.”

  “What do you mean?”

  Flynn looked up towards Knight’s Peak. “First of all, this exchange spot probably wasn’t up to Lazzo. It would be somewhere they could see him coming though—where they could see anyone coming. So if Lazzo is working with someone—with the kidnappers, or whatever—wouldn’t he be meeting them first and then meeting Danny?”

  “Okay, yeah…that would make sense.” I nodded.

  “So it’s somewhere around here—somewhere elevated, if we’re right.”

  “Somewhere up there.” I pointed up the mountain.

  We didn’t have to look hard—or for long. Within the hour, jeeps were driving on the roads around the reservoir, all heading the same direction. A helicopter flew overhead and landed behind a large building on a plateau about a third of the way up Knights Peak. There. “Flynn, if that’s the Libyan commander—”

  “We have to kill him.” She finished my sentence. The idea didn’t seem to bother her. Amazing what losing someone you love can do to your convictions.

  We worked our way slowly up the side of the mountain. We were five hundred yards from the edge of the plateau now. I could see troops lining the ridge and could hear dogs barking. I knew more troops had to be sweeping in behind us. There was no doubt this building was where Lazzo was expected to bring me. I looked around for the best angle of approach. “I don’t know how we do this. There are too many guards.”

  Flynn reached out and took my hand. “Then maybe we don’t.”

  “But why are there so many troops? And why are they being so obvious?” It doesn’t make any sense. They have to know Danny is coming. Why would they want to scare him away?

  “Hayley, maybe something happened.”

  “Like?”

  “I don’t know, but maybe they know Danny isn’t coming, and they’re waiting for you?”

  “But then why would the commander be here?”

  “We don’t know he is. That chopper could have had anyone in it. It could have been carrying a chicken and a pig.”

  She was right. This could be a trap. This was where they’d told Danny to come, and he had to come or Reagan, Emily, and Abbey were dead. Danny didn’t have a choice. But I did. “Flynn, I can’t ask you to do this.”

  “I’m not going anywhere.”

  “I could die here.”

  “Then we both die here.”

  I smiled sadly at her. Right now the two of us were alive and I could keep it that way by walking away from the hornet’s nest. But I couldn’t just let my brother walk into this. If I could kill the Libyan commander somehow, Danny wouldn’t have to turn himself in—or give Qi Jia the book. I could save everyone. I looked back up the hill and saw two soldiers working their way down the rocks in our general direction. I glanced back at Flynn and handed her my knife. “If anything happens to me, you tell them you’re Hayley. You tell them you’re Danny’s sister. Understand?”

  She nodded. I took two arrows out of my quiver and stuck one into the ground at my feet. I loaded the other and took dead aim at the approaching soldiers—first at the one farthest from me. When I was certain they were out of sight from the men up on the ledge, I let the first arrow fly. It was a little off—a little low—from my intended target, but it still took him down instantly. He hit the ground with a thud, and his partner spun tow
ard the sound. He saw the arrow sticking out of the other man’s chest and turned back toward me. I saw the terror on his face before the second arrow put him down—this time right through the head. Missed a little high that time. I should have practiced with this bow more. I heard Flynn mutter, “Wow,” but I was already on the move, another arrow pulled and loaded.

  I ducked into a ditch and dove to the ground. Flynn was right beside me. Two more soldiers were coming our way. Just as they discovered their two comrades, I rose up on one knee and let another arrow fly, pulling a second before the first even hit its mark. The last arrow flew true as well—I finally hit where I was aiming—and I stood to move toward the four men to retrieve my arrows. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a pile of leaves erupt and a large body rise from under them, lunging toward me. His left arm wrapped around my chest, and his right arm went around my mouth. He pulled me back down into the ditch and under a large nylon net covered with leaves. He lay on top of me as I struggled to break free. It occurred to me that he wasn’t really hurting me or even trying to. He was trying to keep me quiet. And then he whispered in my ear. I froze. No frickin’ way! I hadn’t seen his face, but by his voice I knew exactly who he was.

  THIRTY-SIX – Reunion (Hayley)

  ---------- (Tuesday. August 9, 2022.) ----------

  “Quiet, it’s okay,” he whispered. “You’re okay.”

  Holy shit. Eddie!

  He slowly removed his hand from my mouth. “I can’t let you go up there. It’s murder.”

  Suicide. “Holy crap. Eddie, how are you here? How—”

  “I can’t tell you now. I must get you out of here.”

  “Eddie, I can’t go. Danny—”

  “I know. Danny is coming.”

  “But the commander is—” I stopped as Eddie shook his head. He had slid off me now and was lying beside me. I was finally able to peek under the net to find Flynn, and another man was holding her down under a similar net—in full Qi Jia uniform. His hand was still over her mouth. What the hell?

  “The commander is not up there.” Eddie sounded certain. “He wouldn’t come for this.”

  “Eddie, who is—” I pointed at the man holding Flynn.

  “Don’t worry. It’s Silas. He’s with me. We couldn’t let your friend scream.” Eddie nodded at the other man, and he released Flynn. She scurried out from under the other net and over to my side.

  I pulled her up against me. “It’s okay, Flynn.”

  “What’s going on?” she whispered, trembling.

  “Flynn, this is Lazzo’s brother, Eddie,” I replied.

  I allowed Eddie to explain further. “We were trying to find a way in, and you have provided it for us. My friend here is going to blow up the building on the plateau so that Danny doesn’t come. Danny will understand the explosion was not set off by Qi Jia. It will buy us some time to try to find him.”

  “How did I help?”

  “Hayley, trust me. I need to get you out of here. Do you know where Lazzo is?”

  “No.” I shook my head. It’s the truth.

  Eddie hesitated then looked around again. “Okay.” He handed Flynn and I a pair of white booties. “Put these on and let’s go.”

  Part of me didn’t want to move. I had trusted Lazzo and it had cost me greatly—and this was his brother. But I also knew Lazzo had betrayed Eddie, and I was pretty sure Eddie was aware of that too. Without asking any questions about the footwear, I nodded at Flynn and we removed our boots and put the booties—or slippers—on. “Okay.”

  Eddie said something to the other man—Silas—in Arabic, and he nodded. “Come on.” He stood and pulled on my arm.

  I stood up slowly, clutching my boots and bow. “I need my arrows.”

  Eddie motioned for Silas to collect my arrows. “He’ll get them, don’t worry.”

  Eddie led Flynn and me down the hill south of the reservoir. I understood the purpose of the booties now—they didn’t leave much of a print. We moved quickly for about ten minutes and then came upon a burnt-down farmhouse. A large—and surprisingly intact—propane tank sat next to a storm cellar, between the farmhouse and an old barn. Eddie knocked on the cellar door. I heard a lock slide, and Eddie lifted up the door. I found myself staring face-to-face with a beautiful African woman. “Hayley, this is—”

  A loud explosion thundered through the valley, shaking our knees and sending a billion birds scattering—chattering—across the sky.

  “Quick, in,” Eddie ordered, and I stepped into the cellar with Flynn right behind me. Eddie followed us in and locked the door.

  We sat quietly in the darkness for a minute as our eyes adjusted to the dim light of a single kerosene lamp. The woman was staring at me, and I felt like I should know her from somewhere. And then it hit me. The picture Lazzo had been holding on the boat. She extended her hand to me. “I am pleased to meet you. I am Cera.”

  I took her hand and nodded. Yep. I knew it. “Cera, I’m Hayley, and this is Flynn.”

  Flynn shook Cera’s hand.

  “Cera is Lazzo’s wife,” I explained.

  Eddie looked at me in surprise. “You know this?”

  I smiled. “I know a lot of things now.” I looked back and forth between the two of them. They seemed to be waiting for me to continue, but I wasn’t going to say anything until they specifically asked. I had questions of my own. “How did you find me—or us? How did you find us Eddie?”

  “Truth is, I wasn’t looking for you. I wasn’t looking for Danny. I was trying to save Lazzo. I thought if I could blow up the building I would have time to find him. But when the helicopter landed, I knew General Roja is probably here. I know I can’t get close enough to him. And I no have uniform. But Silas, he has a uniform, and I have a bomb for him. I was going to kill the guards on that hill, but you killed them first. That was Silas’s way in.”

  Makes sense. “But where have you been?”

  “I’ve been prisoner. We both were prisoners in Puerto Rico. The other man—Silas—he helped us escape, and we flied a plane in here last night. He got the coordinates from Libyan commander, and when we figure out what they were, we know it was where Lazzo would be coming.”

  “Eddie …”

  “He’s not coming, is he?” The giant African’s sad face communicated he knew the answer.

  I looked at Cera and could see her lower lip quivering. Tears had pooled in her eyes. I shook my head. “I don’t think so.”

  “They killed him?” Eddie asked.

  I shook my head again. “Not exactly.” Before Eddie could take that any other way, I completed my answer. “I’m pretty sure Lazzo gave himself…”

  “He—” Eddie stopped short. He understood. So did Cera.

  “No.” She buried her head into Eddie’s shoulder. He wrapped an arm around her as her sobs transferred into his chest.

  I could see the hurt in Eddie’s eyes as well. He was disappointed. “Can you explain this, Hayley?”

  “This?” But I knew what he meant.

  “Lazzo came here to give information to Commander Boli, but why are you here? You shouldn’t be here? Boli told me Lazzo kidnapped you, but that can’t be true. It’s not true.”

  “Lazzo couldn’t get the information he needed. Danny had it. So Lazzo…” Cera was looking at me again, in confusion. I didn’t want to say it and didn’t know how to.

  So Flynn said it. “Lazzo kidnapped her.”

  “No.” Eddie stood, and his voice boomed in the cellar. “He didn’t! He would not have done this.”

  I nodded. “Yes. I’m afraid he did. He killed my boyfriend and kidnapped me, and three others. He needed me as bait so that he could be sure Danny would come here, and bring the book.”

  “Hayley.” Cera was shocked. “No …”

  I kept nodding. Eddie knew I was telling the truth. It was evident in his eyes. He was angry but not at me. He’d already been told I was kidnapped but had refused to believe it from Boli. From me…he definitely believed it.

&n
bsp; “You knew this?” All he could do was shake his head.

  “Lazzo told me on the carrier.” I couldn’t believe I was about to defend his actions, but this had to be really hard for Cera to swallow as well. This was how her husband had died. “He didn’t feel like he had a choice.” I took Cera’s hand. “I understand.”

  “That is no excuse. Hayley, that is no excuse.” Eddie was riled up.

  “Eddie, it’s done. He thought he had to do it to save you, Cera…and Isabelle. Is Isabelle…”

  “Hayley.” Eddie put his hand on my shoulder. “Commander Boli has Isabelle.”

  Panic filled my face. “Here?”

  “No. He would not trust anyone else with her. She is probably in Denver or around there—wherever Boli is. Hayley, there is no excuse for what Lazzo did. I am truly—”

  “Eddie, you don’t need to apologize for Lazzo. No one does. I understand.” It was clearly not in his nature to excuse this in any way. “Trust me, Eddie, I would do anything for my brother if I thought it would save him.” I let that sink in. “Anything—right or wrong.”

  He was silent. Now he was the one nodding. He understood what I was saying. I wasn’t defending Lazzo, but I knew why he’d done what he’d done. “You’d have done the same thing?”

  “Pretty much.” I nodded, staring back into his half-sad, half-angry eyes.

  “So when did he die?”

  “If he did, it happened last night.” My eyes moved back to Cera.

  “And you still went to the Knight mountain?”

  “Knights Peak? Yes. There are three girls still being held prisoner back in Hawaii by the men Lazzo was working with. If Boli gives the order, they will be killed. I thought the only way to save them was to kill Boli. Besides, I knew my brother was coming, and I knew where he was going—generally anyway. Lazzo gave me the meeting site. It was my only chance. I had to be here.”

  “Danny would not be expecting the explosion.” Eddie’s voice had regained its typical commanding tone. “And when Boli hears about the explosion, he will send more soldiers to try to find who did it and capture them. If he knows Danny is in the area, he will send everyone to find him. If he cannot, then—at that point—he will certainly give the order to kill the hostages. We do not have much time.”