Dangerous in Transit

by Sidney Bristol

  If they didn’t get out of their hideaway soon, they might die in here.

  The voices died down, but something pinged against the sides of the truck.

  “They’re taking off the straps.” Felix shifted and lowered his rifle a bit.

  Jackie didn’t see a way they could fight out of this.

  Once the crates were removed, the only protection they had was Felix’s pack, which didn’t have as much in it as she’d have hoped. His helmet on her head wouldn’t do him much good, but the idea was she and the bag were a shield.

  How had this all gone so wrong?

  Light sliced through the cracks between the crates. Without the straps, the crates shifted on their own.

  “Are we in the camp, or is this a blockade?” Felix asked.

  “None of the voices are close enough to hear. Sh.”

  “Get that end,” someone said in Arabic.

  “I think we’re in the camp,” she whispered.

  “Are you sure?” Felix asked.

  “No.”

  Voices and wood creaking were the only thing she could hear, and nothing besides the groaning of the crates was loud enough to be distinctive.

  “What’s the plan?” Felix asked.

  “If we aren’t in the camp, I duck my head, you shoot, and I run.” She’d be deaf what with the rifle going off next to her ear, but it was the only plan they had.

  “Good. I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  “Me, too.” She licked her lips and stared at the light. Sweat trickled down her neck, chest and arms.

  They could die any minute, either from the heat or people who wanted them out of the way.

  “Felix?”

  “Yeah?”

  “Thank you. For everything.”

  “We’re getting out of this,” he said.

  “Yeah, but in case I haven’t said it lately, you know?”

  “Keep thinking about French fries, okay?”

  “Hey, that’s my line.” She blinked away a half-delirious tear.

  Jackie really wanted to go on that date. To sit across from Felix and get to know him, his family. He was the kind of guy who she could grow to care about. Sure, she had a flood of warm, fuzzy I’m-in-like-with-you type feelings now, but it was still the early stages. She wanted time to explore what they could have, but they might not get there.

  “Hey?” She turned her head. The helmet blocked her view of Felix’s face, but she knew he was there. “Just so I get to say it once—”

  Someone knocked on the crate directly in front of her.

  “All safe,” the driver yelled.

  “He says it’s safe.” She relaxed against Felix, despite the warm, stickiness of being pressed up together.

  “We made it.” Felix squeezed her arm.

  The first crate came off, and the driver thrust a bag containing bottles of water and damp cloths in to them. By the time the unloading crew had enough of them for Jackie to wiggle out, they’d downed the water and were ready for more.

  Heat exhaustion made her unsteady enough Jackie needed someone to help her down, but there were people there.

  “Jackie Davis?” a man said.

  Felix jumped down behind her.

  “Who is he?” Felix asked.

  “I don’t know,” Jackie said over her shoulder while she blinked up at the man still holding her hand. “Yes?”

  “I’m Odion, part of Duku’s unit.”

  The man’s English was accented and hard to make out. It took a moment for his words to penetrate the fog clouding her head.

  “Duke?” Felix asked. “Where are they? Did they make it out okay? Are they here?”

  “Is Val still with them?” Jackie glanced around, taking in their surroundings.

  Tents were pitched on the sand, made out of whatever people had. Bed sheets, tarps, anything that could be rigged into a shelter.

  “I do not know,” Odion said. “I am with the women and children.”

  “You got them out?” Jackie gaped at the man, her heart thrumming in her throat.

  “Yes.” Odion gestured at the largest, sturdiest tent in sight. “This way. We will take care of you. It is not safe to be out and seen.”

  He gestured to the on looking crowd. No doubt food was in short supply and what they’d brought would be distributed and gone before nightfall. The more dangerous factor was that an unknown number of people had seen them. Felix’s way of thinking was rubbing off on her. Used to, security measures were a thought but not her responsibility. Now, she was painfully aware of the risk they were taking.

  Odion led them through the crowd and warren of tents that had popped up in the last few weeks.

  “Do you have a phone? Any way of contacting the others? Or getting help?” Felix asked.

  “Yes. A...” Odion frowned and pointed at the sky.

  “Satellite phone? A SAT phone?” Felix asked.

  “Yes. Satellite. There’s a doctor who is doing what he can for them, but...” Odion wiggled his hand.

  “They’re still in bad condition?” All they’d wanted to do was help them.

  “They’ll survive.” Odion squeezed her arm. “They are strong.”

  “How’d you get them out of the city?” Jackie wished she could have done it herself.

  “We walked. The men patrolling took our weapons, but after that they let us walk out. Here.”

  Odion pulled the wall to the tent aside, and they stepped into a make-shift medical facility. People lay on cots or pallets. Half their faces were familiar to Jackie. There was the little girl who’d had the fever, sitting up in bed smiling. There were the babies she’d carried out into the truck and held while they were taken hostage. They were laughing and rolling around on a blanket.

  Felix grabbed her hand and squeezed.

  “They’re okay? All of them?” she whispered.

  “There is one woman with an...infection? Yes, but it not too bad. Everyone is fed, happy and well.” Odion smiled and spread his hands. “We have a team coming for them. They will all get a second chance.”

  “Thank you. Thank you so much.” Jackie blinked back tears and barley restrained herself from hugging the man.

  Felix wrapped his arm around her and kissed her forehead.

  “I want to check on them. Is that okay?” Jackie swiped tears from her cheeks.

  The relief she felt at seeing these women and children safe—and smiling—was the best thing. She’d begun to fear that saving them at all was just prolonging their deaths, but now there was hope. Her rash, stupid decision to jump before she looked had paid off. This time. It was time she learned a few lessons, but first, she wanted some hugs. In the two weeks she’d been locked up with these people, she’d gotten to know their hopes and dreams for a better life. Now, they could have that chance thanks to Duke’s team.

  Felix watched the kids pile on top of Jackie. Two women had their arms wrapped around her.

  “How is it out here?” Felix asked.

  “So far, it’s good.”

  “Are there a lot of wounded?” He gestured at the tent. “Are people unhappy?”

  “Many are wounded, yes. The people are very angry. They blame the PPM for this.” Odion gestured at the surrounding tents. “We have been talking to them. Figuring out what they can do.”

  “Are they ready to do something?”

  “Maybe? Some of the leaders from the mosque have been talking about protesting against the regime change, but...” Odion shook his head. “It is not good to protest in Mauritania.”

  “I hope things get better.” Felix glanced at Odion. “The phone?”

  “This way.” Odion gestured at a slit in the adjacent wall.

  “Have you heard from Duke? Duku, I mean.”

  “A little. He said for you to call Zain. They know?”

  “Thanks again for all of this.”

  “It is what we do.” Odion grinned, as though that were his default expression.

  Through the tent wall and under a
tarp was a sort of lean-to structure. One man lay on the ground, a hat over his face. A few bags were pressed to his sides.

  Odion held back and spoke words that didn’t sound Arabic or English. The sleeping man flicked his hand as though it were some sort of signal. Odion grabbed the bag under the man’s arm and dragged it closer. He dug inside for a moment before producing a large, black phone with an antenna that flipped up. It was a little worse for wear but when booted up showed full bars.

  “Thank you.” Felix took the phone and breathed a small sigh of relief. “Hey, one more thing?”

  “Yes?”

  “I need to get Jackie out of here. Do you have a lead on a vehicle of any kind?”

  “We’re working on it,” Odion assured him. “Call.”

  Felix nodded and sucked down a deep breath. What kind of news should he prepare for? Everyone was dead? The team made it out? It’s a lost cause? What?

  He plugged in the direct line to Zain’s cell.

  “Hello?” Zain’s voice was distant, the poor quality of the call muffling the sound, but the man on the other end of the line was familiar.

  “It’s Felix. I’ve made it to the refugee camp.”

  “Felix? I’m glad to hear your voice. What happened to Jackie?”

  “She’s here with me.”

  “She is?” Zain’s voice went up, the disbelief telegraphing in the silence.

  “Yeah. Our truck got hit, so we pursued the other guys, got her back. She and I ran on foot while the others laid down cover fire. We hid out in a cellar, then found some people who were kind enough to put us up for the night and arrange for us to get out of the city.”

  “She’s really with you?”

  “Yeah. That’s what I just said.”

  “Mr. Davis got a call a few hours ago saying she was being held prisoner with her body guards.”

  “What? No.”

  “They have Isaac. Davis said he didn’t sound good.”

  “Shit.” Felix pivoted toward the city, as though he could see the others. “What the hell happened?”

  “I’m not sure. Kyle is with Duke. He got a fucking fax out. A fax. Said he got split up from the others, Duke’s team found him and he has no idea where everyone else is. We thought the call Mr. Davis got was real.”

  “Well, they don’t have Jackie.” But they did have Isaac. That fact turned Felix’s stomach.

  “How bad is it there?”

  “Bad. There’s no power, cell phones, or anything like that. There are PPM, military and civilian blockades all over the city. Most people have fled from what we could tell. At this point, what’s the point of taking control of the place? There’s nothing left to control.”

  “Look—Lepta Team should be on the road to you, but they’re coming from the north. At best, they’ll be there sometime tomorrow.”

  “No, they won’t be. Too many people trying to leave. They won’t make it to us in time.”

  “I didn’t think so either, but I had to make the call and I hadn’t heard from anyone in hours. From what’s on the news, what our intel sources can tell us and what Davis believes, the best picture of the situation we have is that it’s a shit show over there. The military cut the power to hinder PPM. PPM took the cell towers down so there could be no communication. Everyone is fleeing.”

  “That sounds about right.”

  “Davis said he has to call into an emergency parliament meeting to voice his support for the change of power. They’re doing some sort of no confidence vote since the president has disappeared. That’ll leave the door wide open for the PPM.”

  “What should we do?”

  “Get Jackie on the phone with her dad. He needs to know she’s not at risk. That’s our job. After that, get her out of there. This is going to get ugly.”

  “What about Isaac? Shane? Adam?”

  “Kyle said they might be able to get to them. I’ve been making phone calls since Davis told us about his call with Hamadi. Your job is to keep Jackie safe. You’re all we’ve got. Wherever you are, get out of there. Keep moving. Head south or north if you can. Let Lepta handle getting our guys out.”

  “Our plan was always to go south, so that’s what I’ll stick with. It’s what the others would do if they got free.”

  “Understood. Get Jackie on the phone, then go. I’ll try to have something lined up for you guys in Senegal, okay?”

  “Okay.”

  “Be safe.”

  Felix hung up the call and stared at the skyline of the city.

  Leaving his team behind went against everything he’d ever done. But this wasn’t the military. They were paid to do a job, and that job was Jackie. They all knew that meant putting their lives on the line for the asset, and it was a call he’d make without hesitation. Jackie was easy to prioritize. But the others? They were still out there. With any luck, Kyle would find them, and in a week, they’d be tossing back a beer and washing the last of the sand out of their clothes. But they had to survive this first.

  Jackie glanced up from the cooing baby to catch sight of Felix’s face. The hard lines combined with the stubble and his partially free hair gave him an ominous look.

  “What is it?” she asked.

  He crossed the tent without saying a word.

  “Felix?”

  “I need you to call your dad. Tell him you’re okay, you haven’t been captured, and then we’ve got to get on the road. Odion’s getting us a car.” Felix handed a chunky phone to her.

  “You’re scaring me.”

  “Things are serious right now.” He nodded at the phone. “Call first. The rest I’ll explain in the car.”

  “What do I say?”

  “You’re okay. You’re on the road out of the country. Keep it simple.”

  She closed her eyes and counted the time difference.

  Dad would be in his prep meeting for the day and wouldn’t answer. That left her brother, who’d just be getting to the office. With any luck, she’d get both of them that way.

  She plugged in her brother’s cell number and pressed the phone to her ear. The women on either side of her picked up her unease and rubbed her shoulders.

  “Yeah—hello?”

  “Jeff, it’s me.”

  “Jackie? Holy shit. Where are you? Are you okay?”

  “Yeah. Okay is relative, but I’d say I’m okay. Is Dad around?”

  “I’m walking into his office now. Putting you on speaker.” The line beeped. “Dad, its Jackie.”

  Several voices spoke at once. Her dad. His assistant. A few people she didn’t recognize.

  “I don’t know what’s going on,” she said over the noise. “I was just told to call you and tell you I’m not being held hostage and we’re on our way out of the country. What’s going on?”

  “Jacqueline—am I understanding that you are not being held by the PPM?” her father asked.

  “No. No, I’m not. Why?”

  “They called in the middle of the night and told us they had you and your bodyguards. They put one of the men on the phone,” he said.

  “Who?”

  “Isaac something.”

  Jackie swallowed, Isaac’s jovial face springing to mind. He had a girlfriend still recovering from some gnarly stuff. They’d just moved into a bigger place. She’d emailed him paint colors that first night. He’d rolled his eyes, but the smile betrayed how much he cared.

  “Jacqueline, you need to get home soon. Your mother can’t hold on for much longer.”

  “Mom—what?” Jackie clutched the baby tighter to her chest until it began to protest. This was the first anyone had said about Mom.

  Silence met her question.

  “Jeff? What about Mom? Take me off speaker right now.”

  The line muffled and static muted what anyone might have said for a moment.

  Jackie stared up at Felix, who wasn’t looking at her.

  He’d known something was wrong with her mother and he hadn’t said anything?

  “Hey, I
thought, well, I assumed they told you,” Jeff said softly. He must have left the conference room. He never treated anything to do with Mom this way unless Dad wasn’t listening.

  “Tell me what?” Her voice wavered. She’d always feared this call, but to be halfway around the world with no way to get there...

  “She overdosed. There’s no bringing her back this time. She’s on a ventilator. We were hoping she’d last long enough for you to say goodbye.”

  Jackie covered her mouth to keep the sob in. The woman to her left took the baby while the one on her right hugged her tightly.

  “When?” she managed to get out.

  “Almost a week ago.”

  She shut her eyes, her mother’s glamorous, mischievous eyes staring at her in the darkness. Mom was part of Jackie’s every positive, childhood memory. There were years from before the affair Jackie remembered, and they all featured Mom before the pills and drugs. Even when she’d been battling her addiction, she’d shown Jackie the kind of love that only a parent could. And Dad had taken her from them both.

  “I’m coming home,” she whispered and hung up.

  Her father had sent the team because he’d known that this would forever indebt her to him, and damn him, he was right.

  “I have to go. Your baby is beautiful.” She wiped the tears from her cheeks and gave the woman a squeeze.

  They traded a few words and well-wishes before she stood and strode past Felix out into the afternoon sun.

  “Jackie? Wait up.”

  “You knew.” She stared at the hard line of the city against the blue sky. Her mother was halfway across the world, dying, and Jackie was stuck in this hell.

  “Kyle told us not to tell you, that you should find out from your family.”

  She’d dragged her heels when she could have run. And they’d let her. Felix had let her.

  “We made a deal.” She glared up at him. “You tell me the truth, and I do what I’m told.”

  “I told you that—”

  “I don’t fucking care what Kyle told you to do or what orders you were given. You had no right to keep that from me.” Who knew what opportunity she’d missed because she was so focused on other goals? “Do your job. Get me out of here.”