Blood Ransom

by Lisa Harris

  Paul called over two of the UN soldiers. “As soon as you’ve got him stabilized, Chad, I want him on that helicopter.”

  Five minutes later, Chad watched as the two men carried the president to safety. He then took a quick look inside the car the president had been in, but it was empty.

  Natalie stepped up behind him. “We’ve passed out all the water, and those who are able to are helping to dress wounds. Three were killed when the bomb exploded, but all other injuries appear to be only burns and shrapnel wounds. It was a miracle that it wasn’t—”

  She stopped midsentence.

  Chad ran his hand down his arm. “You okay?”

  “I don’t know.”

  He followed her gaze to the charred vehicle. “What is it?”

  “I haven’t had time to stop and figure out what happened until now. Stephen said he was driving the president’s car, which was supposed to be the third car.”

  “And the third car is the vehicle that exploded.”

  “But the president wasn’t in the third car.”

  She was right. He hadn’t had time to examine the situation closely either, but the president had obviously not come from the third car. He’d come out of the car behind it.

  “What if Patrick had planned to take them both out at once, but in the confusion of the crowd the president got into the wrong car?” he asked.

  “But if that’s true, where’s the driver of this car? And where is Stephen?”

  “I don’t know, Natalie.”

  Chad walked to the smoldering car, fearing what he was going to find. The backseat was empty, but in the driver’s seat sat a charred body.

  SIXTY-THREE

  SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 7:46 A.M. EST

  NORTH BETHESDA, MARYLAND

  Gabby pulled off her tennis shoe and rubbed the heel of her foot. She’d have preferred a run in the quiet neighborhood, but had decided it was a risk she wasn’t going to take. The dusty treadmill had been the next best thing.

  Sabrina entered the living room, still clad in her favorite plaid flannel pajamas. “Don’t you think it’s a bit early—and cold for that matter—to be exercising?”

  “Nope.” Gabby placed her hands on her hips and shot her friend a grin. “Forty-five minutes on the treadmill, and I’m a new person.”

  “You know I hate mornings. Especially early mornings.” Sabrina picked up the bowl of popcorn from the movie she’d watched last night with Michael and chomped down on a popped kernel. “How are you feeling?”

  Gabby pulled off her other shoe. “Are you referring to my sprained wrist, the scrapes across my shins, or the cut on my head?”

  “I think it’s time you took up another career.”

  Her cell phone interrupted their conversation. She turned down the music on the stereo and answered the call. “Gabby Mackenzie speaking.”

  “Miss Mackenzie, this is Mickey Chandler. I just wanted to call and see how you were feeling.”

  Gabby gaze focused on the candles sitting on the stone hearth. How quickly was one supposed to recover from being carjacked, threatened, and almost kidnapped in the scope of one week? She’d yet to find a rulebook on that one.

  She pressed her lips together. “I’ve still got some scrapes and scratches, and a few nightmares, but I’m going to be all right. Still trying to convince my mother that she doesn’t need to hire a bodyguard for me.”

  “She may not have to.”

  Gabby’s journalistic instincts kicked in. “What do you mean?”

  “A lot of the information you passed on was able to help solidify the government’s case against Alexis Yasin. He was arrested last night for money laundering, attempted murder, and alleged terrorist ties, to name a few. ”

  “Wow. That’s wonderful.” Gabby sat down on the couch, drawing one of the loose cushions into her lap. Maybe his arrest would be the start of freedom for many. “I have to say, I’m going to sleep better tonight.”

  Mr. Chandler cleared his throat. “There’s another reason I called. I thought you might like to know that U.S. troops found the first occupied slave camp in the RD this morning.”

  Gabby scrambled for the notepad she kept on the end table and started scribbling notes. “Where?”

  “About 350 miles west of the capital. They’re going to need someone to tell their story. I thought you’d be the perfect person. If you can get to Bogama, I’ll personally arrange transport to the site for you in one of our military helicopters.”

  Gabby dropped her pen. “I don’t know what to say.”

  “After reading your articles, I believe you have plenty to say. Don’t let anyone stop you from telling the truth.”

  “I won’t, sir. That I can promise you.”

  Gabby hung up the phone, her mind spinning with all the details of what he’d proposed. She had her passport and visas. If she left today, she could be in Bogama tomorrow night.

  “Gabby?” Sabrina plopped down on the couch beside her. “What’s going on?”

  Gabby pulled up her knees beneath her. “That was Mickey Chandler with Interpol. I’m going back to Africa.”

  SIXTY-FOUR

  MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 9:17 A.M.

  KALAMBALI SQUARE, KASILI

  Chad started to knock on the door of Natalie’s office, then paused. She sat at her computer, completely absorbed in whatever she was doing. She’d pulled back her hair with a clip, leaving a few stray wisps around her neck that fluttered in the breeze from the ceiling fan. The sleeve of the red T-shirt she wore only covered half of the bandage on her shoulder—a blunt reminder of everything they’d been through the past week. He’d been amazed at how well she’d held up the past three days, enduring hours of interviews as both the UN and the Dhambizan government worked together to sort through what had happened. And what the future of this country held.

  He rapped lightly on the door frame. “Hey. Are you about ready to go? Joseph’s waiting for us.”

  Without looking up, she held up her hand for him to wait. “Give me another second or two.”

  He stepped into the tiny office where she’d managed to add a few personal items to transform the space into something both functional and warm. His gaze stopped at the collage of photos hanging above her desk. Paris, Egypt, England, Rwanda, Brazil…He hadn’t realized she’d visited so many places. Which was only one of the dozens of things he still wanted to learn about her.

  She swirled around in her chair and shot him an apologetic look. “Sorry.”

  “You’re not supposed to be working today.” He sat down across from her in the other chair. Because of the tight quarters, they were so close that their knees touched. Not that he was complaining. He leaned forward and squeezed her leg. “How are you feeling?”

  She pulled the clip from her hair and ruffled the back before securing it again. “Besides trying to endure this heat wave?”

  “Yeah. Besides the heat.”

  “Well, thanks to the sleeping pills you prescribed, I’m feeling pretty rested. And I have to admit that it was good to be back home in my own bed last night even though I have a mountain of work to do to get everything cleaned up from the break-in. I just wish…I don’t know.” She started playing with the edge of a chipped fingernail. “Paul called me a little bit ago and told me that the police have confirmed that it was Stephen’s body found in the bombed vehicle.”

  He reached for her hands and held them between his. “I’m so sorry. I know that while it doesn’t come as a surprise, that’s not what you wanted to hear, either.”

  “I guess I kept hoping that somehow there had been a mistake.” Natalie pulled away from him and turned back to her computer. “And there’s something else, Chad.”

  She held up an envelope while he scooted his chair beside her. “I received a letter this morning. He must have put it in the post last Friday afternoon.”

  Chad tensed. “What does it say?”

  “There are letters he wanted me to give to his wife and daughters if anything hap
pened to him. I know it won’t change anything, but I’m hoping it will help.”

  “So he had this planned all along?”

  She nodded.

  “So his death wasn’t an accident?”

  “No, and I guess he wanted me to know that once it was all over. When he found out about the car bomb, he didn’t know how to stop it, because Patrick was keeping a close watch on him. He decided that the only way to save the president was to ensure that the president wasn’t in the car. It was crowded that night, and he bribed the man assigned to drive the president to switch to the fourth car. It was a gamble, I suppose, but since President Tau was used to simply following the guard into the vehicle, he didn’t question anything. I’m sure Patrick was counting on that.”

  “And then Stephen drove the car with the bomb.”

  “Exactly. He was assigned to drive one of the decoy cars, making the switch even easier.”

  “So he was trying to make up for the mistakes in his past?”

  “And apparently he made a lot of them. He bought the house in Switzerland with money skimmed off the books from aid organizations. I guess he’s been doing it for years, but until lately he was too afraid to spend it.”

  “So that’s how he bribed the driver?”

  “Yes, and for him, this was the only way he thought he could finally be at peace. I guess he lied to us that night because he didn’t want to take a chance of anything going wrong.”

  Chad tapped his fingers on the desk. “Paul’s going to need to see these.”

  “I know. I’m planning to send him copies right away.” She turned toward him. “The only good thing about all of this is that his letters bring about some closure. He might have made a lot of mistakes, but at least I don’t have to wonder anymore which side he was playing on. He did what he thought he had to do to save the president.”

  “And he did save him, Natalie. Which in turn helped stop what could have been a horrid civil war.”

  A lone tear rolled down her cheek. “But we could have found another way to stop it without him dying.”

  “Maybe for him, that’s what he had to do. On the bright side, they’ve arrested Patrick, as well as General Dumasi, who allegedly was being backed financially by Yasin so that he could take over the country during the upcoming elections.” He drew out a low whistle. “There’s nothing like a few hundred million dollars worth of natural resources as motivation.”

  “Which means that this won’t be the end of trouble for this country.”

  “At least the UN is claiming Tau’s victory was fair. Other than a few angry protestors, things have been fairly quiet.”

  “And that’s not the only good news. The helicopter will be here in five minutes. Do you think you can make it?”

  Natalie’s smile reached inside his heart and tugged. “You know I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”

  SIXTY-FIVE

  MONDAY, NOVEMBER 23, 10:43 A.M.

  NORTHERN RD

  An hour and fifteen minutes later they were airborne above the vast mountains of northern RD in the transport helicopter. The vast expanse of green forests spread out beneath them. Joseph peered out the window across from him and Natalie. Seven days ago, they’d left Kasili together for the capital. Today, the three of them were finally back together again. This time, thankfully, they were on their way to a celebration. While further searches would still be conducted in the coming weeks, using demographic reports and satellite photos, U.S. troops had already found two slave camps high in the mountains. Joseph’s family had been kept in one of them. It was time to bring them home.

  “What exactly are they mining down there?” Chad shouted above the noise of the helicopter to the officer leading the mission.

  “From our briefing,” the officer explained, “I was told that four months ago, columbite-tantalite, or coltan for short, was discovered. It’s a dull metallic ore found in major quantities primarily in the eastern areas of Congo.”

  “How is it mined?” Natalie asked.

  “It’s collected much like gold. When it’s refined, it becomes metallic tantalum, a heat-resistant powder that can hold a high electrical charge. Coltan has become a vital element in creating capacitors, the electronic elements that control current flow inside circuit boards.”

  “So what do they use it for? Cell phones?”

  “Exactly. Cell phones, laptops, pagers, and scores of other electronics.”

  The helicopter set down on a small clearing a hundred yards from the mines. Joseph was the first to alight onto the area that had been secured by UN and U.S. troops working together after the arrest of the thirteen Ghost Soldiers who’d been guarding the compound. His family stood in the clearing, waiting to leave, while Gabby, who’d arrived earlier, snapped photos of the poignant reunion.

  Chad watched the scene unfold before them. It made the past week worth everything they had been through. The horror of what Joseph’s family had endured wouldn’t be erased overnight, but at least they had survived and would be returning to their village.

  Joseph broke away from the group and walked toward them between his little sister, his mother, and his father. “Dr. Talcott…Ma’am. I want you to meet some of my family.”

  Chad shook the older man’s hand with one hand while clasping his forearm with his other hand as a sign of respect. “Eh fo banda.”

  “Eh fa.”

  Joseph couldn’t stop beaming. “They have promised my father medical care in the capital until he’s well.”

  “That’s wonderful news.” Natalie knelt down in front of the little girl and pulled something from her pocket. “I believe I have something that belongs to you.”

  The little girl’s mouth dropped open as Natalie held out a handmade doll with tiny black beaded eyes and a crooked smile. Aina’s face lit up as she pressed the doll against her chest, then fell into Natalie’s embrace.

  With her arm still around Aina, Natalie glanced up at Joseph. “You’ve proven yourself to be a man, Joseph. I’m proud of you.”

  “Thank you, ma’am. And…I did what you said.” Joseph looked from Natalie to Chad. “I prayed to Jesus. And He heard me.”

  “Yes, He did.” Natalie stroked Aina’s hair. “No matter what the circumstances, He cares for both of you.”

  Someone shouted from the helicopter. It was time to start boarding.

  “Go on.” Chad motioned to Joseph and his sister. “We’ll be there in just a minute.”

  Natalie stood and watched them walk hand in hand to the helicopter. “It’s a miracle, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, and I want you to see another miracle.”

  He took her hand and led her through a clump of bamboo with its long, spear-shaped leaves to the edge of a deep precipice. A thin, white mist covered the fertile valley below them, while farther in the distance Mt. Maja, an inactive volcano, rose proudly from the earth.

  “I thought the view was incredible from the helicopter, but this is amazing.”

  He caught the enthusiasm in her voice as an eagle soared across the valley below them. It was the same passion he’d seen in everything she did.

  For the next few moments, they stood side by side and listened to the chatter of birds competing with the thick hum of insects.

  “I haven’t had a chance to tell you everything yet.” Natalie broke the comfortable silence that had settled in between them. “The president has agreed to work with the UN in reestablishing homes for those forced to work in the mines, and my organization has agreed to additional funds and will prioritize aid to the victims. They want me to be in charge of the project.”

  He wrapped his arm around her and felt her snuggle against his shoulder. “I’d say they found the perfect person.”

  “I haven’t said yes. So much has happened that I told them I needed time to think and pray about it. ”

  “I’ve certainly been doing a whole lot more of that lately. The past few days have taught me at least three important things.”

  “What a
re they?”

  The wind blew a strand of her hair against his face and he gently brushed it away. “One, there are still a few good men left in this world, like Stephen. He might not have been perfect, but then neither am I. And in spite of all his faults, he was willing to give his life to save his country.”

  “It’s humbling, isn’t it?”

  “Yes, and it reminded me of number two: the even greater sacrifice made by Jesus Christ.”

  Neither of them said anything for a moment. The thought struck even harder after Stephen’s death. Christ had given up His life so that they might have an abundant life.

  “What about number three?” Natalie prodded.

  “Number three?”

  “You said you’d learned three things.”

  He swung her around until she faced him. The panoramic view of the valley and mountains spread out behind her, but all he could see at the moment was the woman he’d fallen in love with. “I’ve decided that a week wasn’t near enough time for me to get to know you.”

  “Really?” She giggled as she looked up at him.

  “I was thinking we needed to do something about it.”

  “Did you come up with anything?”

  “Personally, I’ve never liked the nightlife of Kasili.”

  Natalie laughed again as the blades of the helicopter began to rotate. “What nightlife?”

  He glanced behind him. They were still loading the last of the refugees, which gave them a couple more minutes. “We need to go, but I was thinking dinner and talking under the stars in your backyard.”

  Her smile widened. “I think I can manage that.”

  He ran his finger down her cheek, then tilted her chin toward him. “I don’t know what the future holds, but I don’t want to lose you.”

  “I’ve been hoping you would say that.”

  Chad kissed her gently, then paused to take in one final glimpse of the magnificent view in front of him before heading back with Natalie toward the helicopter—and their future.

  ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS