Coveted Kiss (Savage Security Book 3)

by Karen Tjebben

  Brian inhaled deeply and then began. “Last night I set up an algorithm that would scan the web and tag any searches relevant to ‘Hazeem Ali’, ‘Eric James’, ‘Operation Recluse’, ‘Aditya Chopra’, ‘Omar Zafar’, ‘Savage Security’, and a few other topics. Anything that could tie back to this case.” Brian pointed at the pages in the folder. “With some of these names being in the news, as you can imagine, there were a lot of hits. But,” he paused as he thought about what he was going to say. It was serious business to accuse someone of treason or of being a spy. “There was one person who made several searches within the World Wide Web. But what is more significant, is that same person ran several searches within our internal web.”

  “Hmm,” Dr. Quinn nodded. He’d noted the company’s internal web searches when he’d read Brian’s findings.

  “There are too many coincidences, too many searches from Captain Esam Tomir,” Brian pointed to the file, “to think that he’s not actively searching for Hazeem. Why would he be doing that? The name Hazeem Ali wasn’t released to the press, only Eric James.”

  Dr. Quinn took a deep breath as he thought about the situation. He wasn’t about to accuse a decorated patriot of treason without proof. He couldn’t even question Captain Tomir without raising some flags.

  Dr. Maki flipped through the other pages in the folder as he formulated a plan. Then, pushing his chair away from the table, he crossed one ankle over his knee and tapped the table with his fingers. “Apparently, Captain Esam Tomir wants to find Hazeem very badly. Can you arrange that?”

  Brian’s eyebrows pulled together as he looked between Dr. Quinn and Dr. Maki. “You mean set a trap?”

  “Exactly,” Dr. Maki replied with decisive nod. “If he’s still running searches, can you leave some breadcrumbs, something that won’t be obvious?”

  Brian nodded and felt his eye twitch. He hated that tick. It happened when he got excited or nervous. And it never worked wonders on the ladies when he flirted at bars. He just ended up looking like a twitchy dweeb.

  “Yeah, I can do that.” He normally worked the boring jobs. Running searches, hacking the occasional web-site, comparing facial recognition scans of terrorists, but setting a trap felt exciting. Almost spy-like. “I can lead him here,” Brian added confidently. He wanted to make sure he had this right. “That’s what you want, right? Esam Tomir in this building?”

  Dr. Maki’s fingers stopped drumming on the table. “Lead him here, to Hazeem’s door.” He pointed a finger at the two-way mirror.

  Brian couldn’t help the humongous smile that threatened to crash into his ears. “I’ll get on it. He’ll be here soon.”

  38

  Esam ran the towel over his damp head and then tossed the wet towel into the bathtub. It was one of those big garden tubs. He and his wife never used it for bathing. Instead, it functioned as a giant clothes hamper. Alia emptied it every day when she did the laundry. He was thankful to have her as a wife. He’d chosen well when he married her. She never complained about his work, which seemed to consume his days and nights. When he’d come home late last night, she’d greeted him properly and then made him a pot of coffee. It had kept him energized well into the night.

  He’d spent the night scouring the internet and the company intranet for any clues on Hazeem Ali or the takedown at Omar Zafar’s apartment. He’d discovered that Adeel Shah had been apprehended at a hotel as he’d tried to disappear. He was thankful that Adeel didn’t know about him. He’d kept his identity a secret, but Hazeem and Omar had been important enough to warrant knowing his name. With Omar’s death, he was at least safe on that front, but Hazeem was still alive and probably talking. He needed to get to the man before he had a chance to rat him out.

  If Hazeem was at one of the company safe houses, then Esam could get to him. He’d have to make up a reason to be there, but he’d think of something. With his connections to several operations underway in the Middle East, he could make up an excuse to be there. As long as he kept his shit together, no one would question his presence.

  Esam hit the light switch as he walked into his home office. Making his way to his desk, he sipped some coffee from the mug. He set the mug down and logged into the work intranet and typed in Hazeem’s name. A heady thrum of excitement laced his veins when a hit popped up. He knew he’d find something eventually. Sometimes it took a while to process the paperwork, but apparently, the intranet gods were on his side.

  He clicked the link and read through the report. Hazeem was at one of the warehouses in the shipping district of Carrisburg. It wasn’t a long drive from his house. He’d go there and sneak in. Once he was with Hazeem, he’d help the man realize his only solution was swallowing the tiny pill that he’d slip him. The pill would cause an aneurysm, and therefore remove the threat that Hazeem posed to him. Thankfully the pill was undetectable in autopsy tests. Esam would be free to continue his subterfuge as he sabotaged the military’s efforts concerning the War on Terror.

  39

  Jack and Bella walked into Savage Security. The others were already there prepping for the takedown. Jack didn’t know the details yet, but he knew this was big. Earlier, when Cole had called, he noted that Cole’s serious tone of voice was laced with excitement. He was glad that Bella and Alisha were going to stay at Savage Security with Logan as they went for the head honcho. They’d be safe under Logan’s protective eye. Logan’s role was to dig into the bastard’s past so they could put the guy away forever.

  Jack squeezed Bella’s hand and then continued down the hallway without her. A slice of regret cut through her. He hadn’t kissed her. She’d wanted him to kiss her. Forcing the disappointment from her mind, she knocked on Mike’s office door. Alisha’s voice called out a second later and invited her in.

  Alisha smiled at Bella from the sofa. She had a hundred questions she planned on asking Bella once the men left for wherever they were going. She knew Bella had spent the night with Jack. She was dying to hear how it went. She also knew she’d never get any real answers from Mike. He followed a ridiculous ‘bro code’ that locked his lips when it came to gossip concerning his team members.

  Bella shrugged as she closed the door behind her. “So, we meet again,” she said. She couldn’t wait for this nightmare to be over with. She wanted her life back. She wanted to feel safe again.

  Alisha appraised Bella, her eyes narrowing with precision as she looked for any hickeys or other signs of affection. Raising an eyebrow, she patted the sofa next to her. “I want to hear it all,” she cooed, leaning forward with delight.

  Bella knew what she was talking about, but she didn’t feel ready to unburden her heart. Her emotions were still raw and damaged from Eric’s attack. There was too much that she didn’t understand yet. She wasn’t sure what was going on with Jack.

  Jack entered the room that served as an armory. Mike, Ryan, Tyson, and Cole stood around a table that was piled with guns and ammunition. Jack stepped up to the table and drummed his fingers on a bare spot. “So, we’re going in light?” he said sarcastically, eyeing the mountain of weaponry.

  “Damn straight,” Cole said, shoving a gun into his ankle holster. If what Captain Wallace had told him was correct, catching Esam Tomir would be huge. Not in the ‘glad we stopped a bastard’ huge, but more of a ‘we stopped a fucking, huge bastard and fucked the remaining bastards in the ass’ kind of way.

  Jack wasn’t sure why Captain Wallace was helping them so much. They didn’t need to be called in on this takedown, but he was thankful that they were going to be there. They were support only, but that was fine with him. He just wanted to see the threat eliminated so he could sleep better at night. Who knew, when this was all over, maybe he wouldn’t be sleeping alone.

  40

  Hazeem wanted to run his hands over his face and rub his dry eyes, but his hands were still handcuffed to the middle of the table, limiting his range of motion. His head lolled, so he rolled his head and then looked up at the ceiling and back down at the tabl
e. Every joint and muscle in his body screamed for relief.

  He’d long lost the ability to track time. The interrogation room was windowless and without a clock, so he had no clue what time it was. He assumed it was morning, but as time ticked on, and Suit didn’t reappear, his mind started to wander. Where had the old man gone? Who was the geek that interrupted them? Why weren’t they trying to talk to him?

  He craned his head and confirmed that Wooly still stood behind him. The man was so quiet that he’d almost forgotten that the hairy man-beast was still there. How could he stand there so quietly for so long? Hazeem knew he’d lose him mind if he had to stand in one place without doing anything. His brain would shrivel and atrophy from lack of use. He figured it was safe to assume that Wooly was as stupid as he looked. Perhaps even more stupid than he looked.

  The door to the interrogation room cracked open and a guard stuck his head in. His eyes cut through Hazeem and then darted to Wooly’s. “You’re needed,” was all the guard said.

  Wooly peered down at Hazeem as he made his way to the door. With a final sneer, he left the room and closed the door behind him.

  Was this some new type of torture technique? Leave him unattended so his mind could dream up what they had planned next for him? What horrors would await him when they returned?

  Hazeem sat alone in the room. Never before had silence been so terrifying. He didn’t even have the soft sound of a clock ticking to comfort him. Thankfully they’d stopped the pounding music and other noises when Suit and Wooly had shown up. He didn’t want the deafening sounds again, but he did want some sound. Anything to prove that life still existed for him.

  He listened for the sound of airplanes or trains. He strained to hear voices in the hallway, but silence was all that greeted him. Finally, in exhaustion, he set his head down on the table and shut his eyes. Much needed sleep overwhelmed him.

  41

  Esam used his badge to enter the corridor that led to the interrogation rooms. He hated that the badge would leave a record of his trip to the facility, but he’d set up an excuse to be there. The building housed records that couldn’t be stored on the company intranet, but were instead archived in hard copy form. He’d worked on several of the cases that were stored in the archives, so he’d created a reason to look over some of the archived information. No one would question his visit to the building.

  He’d made small talk as he cut through the building towards the interrogation rooms. Rounding a corner, he was thankful that guards were not stationed outside the interrogation room. That made his life so much easier. He walked to the door, glanced down both sides of the corridor and eased open the door.

  A persistent tapping on his hands woke Hazeem. He lifted his head and cracked open his eyes. His heart rate skyrocketed when he recognized the man who awoke him. Captain Esam Tomir.

  “What do you want?” Hazeem asked, straightening in the chair. He craned his head to ensure that Wooly hadn’t snuck in to watch him from behind. Had Esam figured out a way to smuggle him out?

  Esam slid into the chair across from Hazeem and placed his hands on the table in a dome shape. He leaned forward to whisper, “I have something for you.” Moving one hand from atop the other, he slid a white pill across the table.

  Hazeem hid the pill under his fingertips and glanced at the mirror that loomed large in his sight. He knew someone had to be behind there. “We’re not alone,” he whispered, doing his best to keep his lips from moving and revealing what he’d whispered. He dragged his eyes to the mirror as a clue to Esam.

  Esam took a deep breath and slowly exhaled to settle his nerves. “I checked. No one’s in there.” He needed to hurry and get out of there before someone returned. He may have an excuse for being in the building, but he didn’t have an excuse for being in the interrogation room.

  Hazeem fiddled with the pill. “What is it?”

  Esam gave a subtle nod towards the hidden pill. “Freedom.”

  “Freedom.” The words elevated Hazeem’s spirits. “How?”

  “Take it. You’ll have a seizure.”

  At the words, Hazeem’s green eyes filled with concern.

  “Don’t worry, it’s perfectly safe. We use it all the time in the field,” Esam soothed. “Once you’re in the hospital, I’ll smuggle you out.”

  Hazeem’s eyes narrowed. Even if he made it to the hospital, he’d still be under guard. He didn’t see a scenario that would leave him unguarded. Yet, here he was, unguarded. That didn’t sit right in his gut. At first, he figured it was some sort of technique to scare him, but now as he looked Esam in the eyes, he started putting pieces together.

  The computer nerd, Suit disappearing, and then Wooly making an exit. They’d laid a trap, and Esam had walked right into it.

  Hazeem fingered the little, white pill and took in a deep breath. The bastard had shown up to kill him. Fucking kill him with a cyanide pill or some other shit.

  “Are you still safe?” Hazeem asked clearly. If they were listening, he wanted them to hear Esam’s confession. “Do they know your part in all of this?”

  Esam brought a finger to his lips to signal a hush. “No.” If they were onto him, his badge would never have worked and they’d have arrested him at the door. “I’m good. Take the pill,” he ordered as he jutted his chin towards Hazeem. He was running out of time. If Hazeem didn’t willingly take the pill, he’d shove it down the bastard’s throat and disappear.

  Hazeem sneered and set his finger beside the pill and then flicked. The pill slid across the table and disappeared onto the floor.

  “Hey!” Esam stood and stepped towards the pill to retrieve it.

  “You’re so stupid,” Hazeem seethed. “I gave you too much credit.” He shook his head with disgust. “You’re just a dumb fuck who got promoted because of your language skills and common knowledge of a region. You’re nothing but a translator to them.” He laughed.

  Esam knelt and gripped the pill in his fingertips. As he stood, anger welled in his chest and his sight narrowed on Hazeem until all that was left in the room with him was Hazeem’s face. He’d make sure the arrogant bastard choked on his fist as he shoved the pill down his throat. Then he’d enjoy watching Hazeem die.

  Would it be entertaining with gasps and grimaces as veins in his brain burst, or would he just collapse onto the table? Esam hoped it would be entertaining.

  “You’re busted,” Hazeem snorted. He looked around the room for some sort of camera or recording device. There was probably something in the smoke detector. “They’ve set you up, and you walked right into it.” He laughed, a real belly laugh that shook his wounded shoulders, but he didn’t care.

  Esam stalked to Hazeem and wrapped his arm around Hazeem’s head. He gripped his chin in one hand and forced his mouth open.

  Hazeem couldn’t defend himself with his hands still handcuffed to the table, but he grunted and twisted, trying to free himself from Esam’s grip.

  The door burst open and guards filed into the room with weapons drawn. “Hands up!” barked Wooly with his gun trained on Esam.

  Esam still gripped Hazeem’s chin in his hands. The guards stalked closer. He was trapped. There was no escape. They’d discovered his treason. He’d passed along secrets to his friends in the Middle East and saved several training camps full of recruits from destruction by alerting them to an impending attack.

  “Let him go,” Wooly ordered. “It’s over.” The rage he felt towards Esam nearly consumed him. Betrayal was the worst kind of sin. It destroyed faith and left a gaping hole that quickly filled with doubt. Captain Esam Tomir’s betrayal would rock the community of brave men and women who’d dedicated their lives to national defense.

  Esam sneered and in a fluid, quick motion, he snapped Hazeem’s neck. Dropping Hazeem’s head, it hung limply. The guards rushed him. But before they got their hands on him, he shoved the pill into his mouth and swallowed. He wouldn’t waste his life rotting in a secret prison.

  Esam’s body hit the fl
oor and shook. His legs and arms flailed, jerking uncontrollably. Loud, eerie groans escaped from his quaking body. But then, as quickly as the shaking started, it stopped.

  Wooly knelt over Esam’s body and felt for a pulse in his neck. He looked up at the other guards in the room and then made eye contact with Dr. Quinn, who stood silent in the doorway. Wooly shook his head to signal the man’s death.

  Dr. Quinn was disappointed. He’d wanted both men alive, especially Captain Esam Tomir. He hadn’t counted on the man killing himself. He’d falsely believe that Esam wouldn’t have the time to carry it out. Now he’d have to trust men like Brian to sift through Esam Tomir’s digital history to discover his partners and potential threats.

  42

  Jack stood with his eyes locked on the computer screen that showed the live feed inside Hazeem’s interrogation room. When both men were confirmed dead, Jack suddenly felt overdressed. The other men from Savage Security were dressed for trouble, like him, but instead of being in on the action, they stood with their arms crossed over their chests and weapons holstered. They hadn’t earned the satisfied looks on their faces. They hadn’t even been allowed to pull their weapons. And he didn’t like that. He didn’t love being shot at; no one did. But to see this nightmare resolved without breaking a sweat felt anticlimactic. He couldn’t deny that there was a part of him that wanted to be in on the action that crumpled the terrorist cell that was gunning for them. That desire was in his nature.

  When they’d arrived on sight, they’d been quickly informed that they would be observing from an interrogation room that was in a different part of the building. Each man had clearly been disappointed not to have a more pivotal part to play in the takedown, but it wasn’t surprising either. In all honesty, they were fortunate to even observe.