The Path to Freedom (Task Force 125)

by Pietsch, Lisa; Gerow, Tina

  Creating the socialite was the easiest part. It involved shopping on a nearly unlimited expense account. “V” became Sarah’s favorite letter. Louis Vuitton luggage, Valentino and Versace dresses, and a full complement of the best of Victoria’s Secret underneath. There was something about dressing in only the best that made Sarah feel the part.

  She’d never had the money to buy such extravagant clothing and accessories. She’d always dreamed of someday having thousand-dollar handbags but never truly believed it could happen. Now she had five. When she put on the clothes, she became the glamorous, sexy socialite and started to fall in love with the part she would play. Sarah’s life was truly becoming larger than any life she’d ever known, and she loved every minute of it.

  The difficult part of the transformation was becoming the spy. She had basic skills in the Arabic language that had to be built upon quickly. She had to know much more than how to locate a bathroom and buy a cup of coffee. She was immersed in Arabic with Hamza for eight hours every day while every night was spent at the best restaurants and nightclubs, being seen and getting to know the real jet setters and socialites.

  Outside of her lessons in Arabic and social graces, she made sure to work in a very serious exercise routine every day. A swim every morning and weight training every afternoon. After her lifting session, she’d get Jason to go out to the desert and spar with her. He still didn’t like the idea of fighting a girl but who better to train with than a Green Beret?

  Simply showing up on Hassan’s yacht with Tony wouldn’t be enough. Sarah had to be seen with Tony in Vegas, and she had to be seen by the sort of people who would get the gossip mill going and reinforce her cover as a sexy “it girl.” That meant going to and being seen at the hottest clubs. Every night became a new lifestyle lesson.

  Though she was busy preparing for her part in this assignment nearly twenty-four hours a day, her infatuation for Vince still raged. When she found herself daydreaming about him, she would fight it by delving deeper into her studies. She had a complete dossier on Hassan that she had practically memorized just to keep her mind off Vince.

  “Studying Hassan’s dossier again?”

  Sarah set the dossier down on the couch beside her. “Oh, hi, Tony. Yeah. He’s got a huge family.”

  Tony sat in the chair across from Sarah. “Hassan comes from a very wealthy Saudi family. The larger the family, the more rank conscious they are. The first born son usually holds all the power among the siblings, but siblings in the wealthy families generally do a lot of political maneuvering. If the eldest son falls out of favor, the next in line holds the power and so on.”

  Sarah winced. “Seems like a hell of a way to go through life.”

  “Yeah.” Tony nodded. “As the youngest son of a man with nine wives and thirty-two children, Hassan had to work hard to stand out. His mother, having only one son, doted upon him in an attempt to make up for his father’s lack of interest.”

  “He got the best education money could buy, didn’t he?” Sarah picked up the dossier and pulled out a sheet of paper and read from it. “Eton, undergrad degree from Cambridge, Masters from Georgetown and then, of course, Harvard.”

  “Excellent education,” Tony answered. “His grades were always exceptional, but he was also very well known as a ladies man. He speaks fluent English and Arabic.”

  Sarah turned to the next page in the dossier. “It says here he joined Al Qaeda at twenty-five.”

  “He couldn’t get his father’s attention so he worked on his eldest brother,” Tony added. “His association with Osama Bin Laden’s organization earned him his eldest brother’s favor and moved him up in family rank. However, just as quickly as he’d gained favor, he lost it again when he fell out with Osama.”

  Sarah understood even more about Hassan now. “So, rather than continuing in the family political games, he took the trust fund he received from his father and built a successful shipping business. It was when he added smuggling to his business that he really struck it rich.”

  “Correct.” Tony nodded. “And after several hefty donations to Al Qaeda, he found favor once again with Osama as well as his own eldest brother, thus buying himself back into the family political scene. Hassan then leveraged his business and school networks to create a brilliant social network. Through his networking, he proved himself an able fundraiser for Al Qaeda and quickly became one of the few primary financiers for the organization. With all the income from the shipping, smuggling and fundraising activities passing through his hands, Hassan soon became a connoisseur of fine things and grew to enjoy a lifestyle of conspicuous consumption complete with large estates, expensive toys and priceless collections of art and horses.”

  Will and Brian walked into the suite.

  “’Sup kids?” Brian walked straight to the bar and poured himself a drink.

  “Ah, Brian. I see how it is. You only visit me for the booze,” Sarah joked.

  “Hey, Uncle Sam pays for it when I drink here and until you start putting out, this is going to be the big attraction.” He raised a glass to Sarah and took a drink.

  Will sat on the other chair across from Sarah and lit a cigar. “While you’re there, Bri, pour me two fingers of Scotch.”

  Brian pulled a crystal glass from the bar and poured Will’s Scotch. “Anybody else?”

  Tony turned his wrist and glanced at his watch. “Eight-o-clock already. Yeah, I’ll have a gin and tonic.”

  Brian looked at Sarah. “Sarah, the usual?”

  “Sure. Thanks.” Sarah lit a cigarette. After taking a drag from her cigarette, Sarah tapped the dossier. “Says here he likes American women. What’s that about?”

  “Yeah.” Tony grinned. “He never cared much for Middle Eastern women. He goes for the tall, athletic type. Just the opposite of his mother.”

  Sarah raised an eyebrow at Tony. “So, I just endear myself to him and then get him to spill his secrets?”

  “Sweetheart,” Will interjected. “You are what we spooks call a swallow. Swallows use sex to get secrets. You know what the name American Swift is about, right? It’s a sort of swallow. The success of our mission is resting on your sex appeal.”

  No pressure, huh?

  ~~~

  A week into her preparation for the mission, Sarah was enjoying a fabulous evening on the terrace at Pure with Tony and several of his friends when she literally bumped into Vince. She was returning from the ladies room when she saw Chris lounging with a group of people. Just as she smiled at Chris, Vince, who was seated with his back to her, stood and turned right into her. Sarah stumbled backwards but Vince quickly wrapped his arms around her and caught her before she fell.

  Sarah gasped as lightning ripped through her body.

  Control yourself, Sarah. He’s still married! He’s a co-worker! He outranks you! He’s your boss!

  “Excuse me. I’m sorry,” he whispered with his lips only inches from hers.

  Feeling him holding her and having the opportunity to wrap her own arms around him emboldened her. Her blood was racing and every cell of her body was screaming for more of him.

  Oh, don’t be sorry!

  Sarah snaked her hands over his shoulders as she righted herself and whispered seductively into his ear, “It’s okay. I’m sure I’m not the first woman who’s fallen for you.”

  And by the look and feel of things, you’ve got a whole lot going on here. I’m sure I won’t be the last to fall for you!

  Something in his eyes seemed to soften, but it disappeared as quickly as it appeared. Vince slid his hands from around her waist and let go of her. “Are you all right?”

  You’re my boss and make me weak in the knees. No, I’m definitely a frigging mess but you’re the last person I’m going to tell!

  Sarah’s socialite smile shined at Vince. Playfully, and loud enough so his party could hear her, she sighed and feigned a swoon. “I’ll never be the same again.”

  She then strutted back to her table to join Tony and the others
. Sarah curled up near Tony on a banquette and gazed around the terrace at all the beautiful people, hoping Vince still watched her. Her eyes eventually returned to Vince. He sat with Chris, Brian and Will…and they were all watching her.

  If he had any idea how serious I was, he’d throw me off the team in a heartbeat!

  ~~~

  The next day, Sarah awoke to Jason tromping into her room and demanding with a rather affected English accent and a very wicked smile. “Okay, love, show me your knickers!”

  After seeing Vince at the club the night before, Sarah had been so distracted she drank a few too many glasses of champagne. Tequila, no problem, but champagne never failed to go straight to her head. The first thing she realized after Jason’s voice boomed through the room, was that her robe sat several feet away from the bed.

  Great. I’m in the raw and he wants to see my underwear. I don’t even want to think what he might be up to.

  Sarah pulled the sheet up around her naked body as she sat up in the bed. The room spun in slow circles.

  She groaned, slumped back down on the pillows and closed her eyes. “I’m not wearing any, but you just may see my birthday suit right before I kick your ass.”

  Of course, I’m in no shape to kick anyone’s ass because the tiny bubbles from last night have banded together and decided their mission is to kill me. But if I could kick an ass, yours would be at the top of the list.

  “Hey, sorry. Boss’s orders. He was adamant we outfit you with a few weapons for your own safety. It’s important you get used to wearing them now so you can act natural when you go in. I’m definitely up for the birthday suit thing though.” He flashed a wicked smile. “If you’re going to be wearing the kind of clothes we’ve seen you around in lately, the best place to pack heat is going to be in your undergarments. So, let’s see what you’ve got here.”

  Jason began opening and closing dresser drawers. Whenever he closed a drawer, he seemed to take particular joy in slamming it closed.

  She snarled and willed daggers from her eyes.

  Jason, I will find a way to pay you back for this.

  Sarah wrapped her sheet around herself and walked carefully over to her robe on the back of the chaise. Even the plush carpet seemed to make noise this morning. When she finally reached her robe, she wrapped it around herself and dropped the sheet where she stood. Let the maid get it. Bending over to lift something, even as light as a sheet, may just be too taxing at this point. The light sound of the silk robe sliding over her shoulders sounded more like a belt sander than the whisper it was. Sarah slowly turned around to watch Jason exploring her dresser.

  Holding her head, just in case it might fall off, Sarah made her way to the dresser to open the appropriate drawer for Jason. The sooner she did, the sooner he’d stop slamming drawers and making her feel as though concussion grenades were going off inside her head.

  “Hot dog!” he shouted as she opened the drawer containing all of Victoria's best secrets. Jason turned to her and smiled his crooked, Cheshire cat grin. “I just love my job.”

  “That’s super,” she deadpanned. “Can I trust you in here alone while I get some coffee?”

  Jason held up a violet embroidered garter belt. “Yeah, sure. I’m not going anywhere.” Then he added, “Hey. You always look like this when you wake up hung over?”

  Sarah’s head throbbed and threatened to split open at any minute. “I don’t need any shit from you this morning.”

  He raised his hands in surrender. “No, hey, I’ve seen hung over chicks in my time…usually helps to get them drunk before I sleep with them…but you look pretty damned good for all the booze you put down.”

  I’m pretty messed up, but I think that’s a bit of a backhanded compliment. I can’t bear to think with all this drumming inside my head.

  “Charming,” she mumbled, walking into the other room to get a cup of coffee from the pot Tony always had delivered bright and early. She poured herself a cup of black coffee, lit a cigarette and returned to her room where Jason had spread a collection of small knives on the bed. The previous conversation finally settled into Sarah’s head.

  “Wait a minute. When have you seen me lately, other than last night, and how do you know how much I drank?”

  “Listen, Sarah,” he began. “First of all, sit down, you silly, hung-over bitch.”

  Sarah was in too much pain to deal with hurt feelings. “Hey…” She sat on the edge of the bed with Jason’s assistance.

  “Do you have any idea how hard it is to find a chick that will do this kind of job? We had one before you but she just didn’t have what it took. When you go out, we will never be far behind. When you go in, we’ll be even closer. Not only do we know how much you drink, but we know the average amount of time you spend in the ladies room.”

  Sarah tried to focus through the headache.

  “Seriously, Sarah. A lot depends on how you perform. If you get the info we need, we can put this bastard and quite a few others out of business and that’s going to save the lives of a lot of uniforms on the ground.” Jason suddenly seemed very serious. “This isn’t an easy job, but a lot of troops and their families are depending on us to shorten this war. Putting Hassan out of business could help do that. Every six dollars we stop is one less AK-47 in a terrorist’s hands.”

  Only six bucks for an AK-47? Can that be right?

  Jason gave a little tug on the collar of Sarah’s robe. “Now cover up some of that cleavage before you drive me completely nuts and let’s check out the blades I brought for you.”

  Sarah became quite sober after hearing this from Jason. Nobody had ever actually described this job to her that way before. This assignment was her chance at redemption. This was her chance to do something big. She wouldn’t let them down.

  Sarah pulled her robe a bit tighter and cinched the belt. She stubbed out her cigarette in the ashtray on the dresser and then watched as Jason tapped out two cigarettes from his own pack, lit them and handed one to her.

  Sarah took the cigarette. “Thanks, man.”

  “Hey, we take care of each other.”

  Sarah and Jason spent the rest of the morning fitting some of the finest small knives she’d ever laid eyes on into her wildly expensive undergarments and footwear.

  I had no idea you could hide knives in places like these.

  “Jason, what did you do before you were recruited for this job?”

  Jason took a drag of his cigarette and puffed out a perfect O. “Well, you know I was a Green Beret. Joined up straight out of high school and had some crazy dreams about Delta Force. After training, I went straight to the sandbox for Desert Storm.”

  “I’m guessing you saw some action?”

  “Little bit.” He nodded. “Got caught painting a skiff for the bombers and spent forty-nine days as a guest of Saddam’s Republican Guard.”

  Sarah had never known a prisoner of war. “Oh my God!”

  Jason’s expression turned dark. “They weren’t as friendly as you might think.” He shook his head as if to shake off the memories. “The fuckers left me on the side of the road when they ran out of food and water. Too busy worrying about their own asses to deal with POWs. I took a cushy job teaching survival school at Fort Bragg after that. That’s where the task force picked me up.”

  “Wow.” Sarah ran her hand through her hair and tried to wrap her mind around the idea of being a POW.

  “Hey, we all have stories,” he said coolly. “You’ll have a few of your own before it’s all said and done.” Jason stood. “I gotta get going. Chris should be here any minute to go over the com equipment you’re gonna use.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Sarah had enough time to shower, dress and drink some more coffee before Chris arrived.

  Chris waltzed into the room with his wavy blond hair shining and his blue eyes sparkling. “Jason says you’ve got some hot lingerie. What say you slip into something and model it for Big Daddy?”

  “I’ve got a better idea
.” After a pot of coffee, Sarah was a bit more up to speed and ready for Chris’s flirty banter. She lit a cigarette and eyed him provocatively. “Why don’t you model it for me?”

  “Ooh, kink. I like that in a woman.”

  Sarah was ready to get down to business. She had some shopping to do before they left for this mission. “Why don’t we get the serious stuff out of the way first?”

  Adopting a look of dejection, Chris pouted. “Killjoy.” He sat and opened his briefcase. “Okay, you and Vince are our eyes and ears. We’re counting on you guys, especially you, to get the goods on this dirtball. If you can get the intel to me, I’ll report it so we, and anyone else we need for backup, can act. Understood?”

  So far, Sarah thought it sounded pretty easy. “Yeah, sure, but I’m guessing a cellular phone isn’t the way we’re going to go. So, how do I get you the information?”

  “Well, you’ll have this cell as part of your cover. Load it up with party people. If anybody ever checks it, they shouldn’t be able to connect you to any of us.” Chris then pulled three Mikimoto jewelry boxes out of his briefcase. He opened the largest box to expose an exquisite four strand, pearl choker.

  She had always wanted fine jewelry, but this was well beyond her dreams. “Oh, it’s beautiful!”

  “Hmm.” He shook his head. “I’ll be damned.”

  “What?”

  “Oh, I just figured you for diamonds. Vince picked them out and said it had to be pearls. He wouldn’t even discuss it. Are you sure you wouldn’t prefer diamonds?”

  Sarah picked up the choker and ran her fingers lovingly over the pearls.

  I’ve always wanted pearls…

  “No.” She sighed. “These are perfect.” She wondered how somebody like Vince could possibly know to buy her pearls instead of diamonds. “Vince has impeccable taste.”