About Face

by Christian, Claudia Hall

  Alex crossed her arms and refused to look at him.

  “If I was in your position, I’d probably feel the same way,” Colonel Gordon said with a sigh. “Look at me.”

  Alex’s eyes flicked to him.

  “No one knew that Ingram would do this,” Colonel Gordon said. “The CS Army, CS Navy, and CS Air Force have protested his placement as well as his actions in regards to your team. No one knows how he got that position.”

  “Someone knows,” Alex said.

  “You still think it’s the Admiral,” Colonel Gordon said. “I’ll tell you what. You have the best mind I’ve ever met when it comes to this kind of thing. I’ll get you permission to do a deep search of me, the Admiral, Ingram — hell, all of us. You tell me. What the hell is going on here? Because I, for one, would like to know.”

  Alex gave him a grudging nod. He nodded in return.

  “Now, where is your team?” Colonel Gordon asked.

  “They are due here at eight,” Alex said. “As you know, we need to ride in, so it takes a bit. They’re usually here by 8:30 am.”

  Alex nodded.

  “Any progress on that book?” Colonel Gordon asked.

  “We’ve translated everything into English with Ji and his mother’s help,” Alex said.

  “And?” Colonel Gordon asked.

  “Some kind of code or complete nonsense,” Alex said. “The computer algorithms haven’t figured it out. Max, me — we don’t have any idea. Margaret, either.”

  Alex opened her mouth, took a breath, and then closed her mouth.

  “Yes?” Colonel Gordon asked.

  “It’s almost as if there’s some trick in the translating,” Alex said.

  “Trick?” Colonel Gordon asked.

  “Translate this letter, that word, leave the other,” Alex said with a little shiver. “I don’t know. I wish I read Linear A.”

  “How’s that going?” Colonel Gordon asked.

  “The same,” Alex said. “We get so far and then get stuck.”

  Colonel Gordon nodded.

  “If I had a magic wand, I’d wish for a Rosetta stone, something to help us actually translate the Linear A,” Alex said.

  “Could you ever trust that it was right?” Colonel Gordon asked.

  “Exactly,” Alex said.

  “Colonel Gordon?” Vince asked as he came into the office. “I heard you were looking for me, sir.”

  Alex and Colonel Gordon turned to look at him. Seeing Alex, Vince shook his head.

  “I apologize, I didn’t . . .” Vince said.

  “It looks like I am the one to apologize,” Colonel Gordon said. “I arrived and asked who was in charge. They told me you were. I didn’t mean to make you rush.”

  Colonel Gordon gestured to Vince’s misbuttoned shirt. Vince looked down and flushed red.

  “Don’t worry, son,” Colonel Gordon said. Alex nodded. “I like to get the lay of the land before anyone arrives. Right, Lieutenant Colonel?”

  “Yes, sir,” Alex said.

  Vince unbuttoned his shirt only to show them a dirty undershirt.

  “We have a toddler,” Vince said with a gesture to his shirt.

  Colonel Gordon grinned.

  “I’ve been there,” Colonel Gordon said with a smile and a nod. “And I wasn’t riding a horse into my office.”

  “Yes, sir,” Vince said.

  Vince bulged his eyes at Alex, and she grinned.

  “Plus, we had quite a bit to catch up,” Colonel Gordon said.

  “Please, go ahead,” Vince said.

  “When you’re ready, why don’t you show us around?” Colonel Gordon asked. “I’m sure that Lieutenant Hargreaves has ideas about these men.”

  Colonel Gordon looked up as MJ and Margaret came into the building, followed by a dust-covered Trece and White Boy.

  “Why don’t you collect your thoughts, and we’ll talk in a half-hour or so?” Colonel Gordon asked. “I understand Captain Mac Clenaghan is out on paternity leave and Major Walters is in hiding?”

  “Yes, sir,” Vince said. Alex nodded.

  “Shame, I really like those two,” Colonel Gordon said. “Now, I’d love a cup of coffee.”

  “Right this way,” Alex said as they moved toward the coffee maker “How are your grandkids?”

  “Thrilled,” Colonel Gordon said. “They’re here with us.”

  “You’re staying?” Alex asked.

  “Just until we have a plan, and the men and women are sorted out,” Colonel Gordon said. “The grandkids, my kids, couldn’t resist some beach time in the middle of winter. Everyone’s coming for Thanksgiving.”

  “Nice,” Alex said.

  “If we set up a training camp here, I assume we’ll move here permanently,” Colonel Gordon said. They were in the far back by the espresso maker when he looked around the room and then back at Alex. “I dropped by The Factory on my way here.”

  Alex looked at him.

  “It’s a long way from done,” he said with a nod. “But it looks fantastic. They’ve been able to save more of the features than they thought originally. You’re going to love it.”

  Alex nodded. He impulsively hugged Alex.

  “I can’t tell you how proud of you I am,” Colonel Gordon said.

  Alex gave him a detached look, and he smiled.

  “Sir?” Raz asked as he walked to the back. “Colonel?”

  “Arthur!” Colonel Gordon exclaimed. “How the hell are you?”

  Raz touched Alex’s shoulder in greeting before moving to work the espresso machine. When their conversation turned to professional football, Alex slipped away. She wandered out to the front of the building, where Vince was standing. She stood next to him, and he put his arm around her.

  “I’m sorry,” Vince said.

  “For what?” Alex asked.

  “I know you’re not feeling great, and there I go being all . . . ‘I’m the boss of everything,’” Vince said.

  Alex gave him a sideways look.

  “‘I’m the boss of everything?’” she asked.

  They laughed.

  “I can’t ever take your place, Alex,” Vince said. “No one wants me to. I don’t want to. I’m just trying to help. The moment, I’m not helpful. I hope you’ll let me know.”

  Alex nodded.

  “Why don’t you come with us today?” Vince asked. “You, me, Gordon — we can look at the men and women with an eye to what we want to do. You’re better at that than I am.”

  “At what?” Alex asked.

  “Looking at people and knowing what they’re capable of,” Vince said.

  Alex shrugged.

  “I know what you’re thinking,” Vince said.

  Alex raised her eyebrows at him.

  “You’re thinking that you misjudged Ingram,” Vince said.

  Alex gave him a slight nod.

  “What if you didn’t?” Vince asked.

  Alex turned her head to look at him.

  “What if I didn’t what?” Alex asked.

  “What if you didn’t misjudge him?” Vince asked.

  Alex opened her mouth to respond, but he cut her off.

  “Hear me out,” Vince said. Alex gave him a quick nod. “There’s one thing in that whole, horrible drama that doesn’t make any sense to me.”

  “Only one?” Alex asked.

  “Yeah, right,” Vince said with a nod. “It was all pretty wacko. It’s just that . . . I know, but . . . Do you remember when Ingram said that he had promised to watch the tape of the murder of the Fey Special Forces Team? We know from Royce and Quanshay that he and Nathan’s mother aren’t on speaking terms. He couldn’t have promised her. The only thing that Zaine knows about him is that he’s a thief. So it’s not for Nathan’s son.”

  “I’ve wondered about that, too,” Alex said.

  “Who did he promise?” Vince asked. “Maybe everyone is right, and he’s faking being upset in the bathroom. But what if he’s not? What if that’s his real reaction? What if that�
��s really who he is?”

  Alex didn’t say anything. They looked at each other for a long minute.

  “Truth is, we don’t know,” Vince said.

  “We need a deep background on Ingram,” Alex said.

  “I’m almost wondering if that’s what he wants us to do,” Vince said.

  “I’ll ask Raz and Ben,” Alex said. “They are the best I’ve ever met.”

  “Would Ben do it?” Vince asked.

  Alex nodded.

  “Let’s do that,” Vince said.

  “Alex! Hutchins!” Colonel Gordon said as he came out to where they were standing. “Your team is here. Why don’t you show me around?”

  Vince smiled at the Colonel. He glanced at Alex, who nodded.

  “I want you to walk me through what you’ve done so far and what you’re thinking of doing,” Colonel Gordon said with a smile. “I’ve found that ,on an extremely competent team like yours in a situation like this, you’re never really sure what the other guy is doing. Let’s review it all together. Get caught up.”

  “Yes, sir,” Vince and Alex said.

  Colonel Gordon smiled at them both.

  “God, it’s nice to be back,” Colonel Gordon said.

  Grinning at him, they went inside to walk him through what happens when people arrive at their location.

  F

  CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

  Two days later

  November 11 — 8:30 a.m.

  Between California and Colorado

  Alex looked up when Bestat came out of the bedroom in the back of the plane. Alex glanced at Raz, who was listening to audiotapes of Ingram’s telephone conversations. He nodded to acknowledge Alex. She was reading the transcripts of Ingram’s telephone conversations. After two days with Colonel Gordon, they were hitching a ride to Denver under the cover of Bestat Behur’s diplomatic immunity. Alex looked up to see Bestat standing near her. Bestat gestured to a chair next to Alex.

  “Please,” Alex said.

  Alex moved her bag and coat from the chair next to her. Bestat sat down in its place.

  “How is he?” Alex asked.

  “Zackery?” Bestat asked. “He’s good. Healing. He and Neuth are resting. Neuth likes to get up very early to spend time with her father. They play games and go for walks. He tires easily now. By this time of the day, they are both exhausted.”

  Alex smiled and looked down at her computer. She’d read through another conversation when Bestat touched her leg.

  “We owe you a great debt,” Bestat said

  Alex laughed.

  “Why is that funny?” Bestat asked.

  “I owe you so much,” Alex said. “I wouldn’t be here or be as marginally sane as I am, if you hadn’t intervened last year. Raz wouldn’t be able to walk. You’ve helped me at every turn.”

  “We are lucky in our company,” Bestat said with a smile.

  Alex smiled and nodded. Alex knew from experience that Bestat was a very still person. It would take her a while to get around to whatever it was that she had wanted to talk to Alex about. Because Bestat rarely spent time with equals, she could be very formal in her interactions. Alex had learned to wait for her to warm up. In the meantime, Alex enjoyed her warm presence and the nutty scent of the shea butter Bestat used on her skin. One of her attendants brought Bestat a pot of tea and two cups.

  “Earl Grey?” Bestat asked. “I believe it is a favorite.”

  “With cream,” Alex said. She looked up at the attendant. He was holding a china pitcher of cream. He poured some into Alex’s tea. “Thank you.”

  He nodded a bow and left them.

  “Would you like a biscuit?” Bestat asked. “I’m sorry — a cookie.”

  “I translate British,” Alex grinned.

  “Yes, I imagine that is true,” Bestat said with a smile.

  She took a lemon cookie from the plate Bestat held out. Bestat took one before setting the plate down.

  “This is lovely,” Alex said. “Thank you for the ride.”

  “Of course,” Bestat said. “Are you reading that horrible man’s telephone conversations?”

  “We’re trying to gain a better understanding of him,” Alex said.

  “Impossible task,” Bestat said.

  “Do you know him?” Alex asked.

  “No,” Bestat said. “Would you like me to?”

  “No,” Alex said. “He’s . . . unpleasant.”

  “Yes, I gathered,” Bestat said. “That is the reason Zackery put in for his retirement.”

  “Yes,” Alex said.

  “You know that he will come back the moment you have made your decision,” Bestat said. “What way are you leaning?”

  “It depends on the hour,” Alex said with a smile. “The contractor job seems easier, but has less . . . soul, I guess.”

  “I understand,” Bestat said with a nod. “Cliff stopped by before we left. He said you found some lost soldiers in a variety of locations that were once cities of Greco-Bactria?”

  “The first team we found was in the Wakhan Corridor,” Alex said.

  “The mountain valley on the south passage of the Silk Road,” Bestat said. “Have you been there?”

  “In the winter and in the summer,” Alex said. “It’s a cruelty to send a team of soldiers there in the winter.”

  “Yes, it is,” Bestat said with a smile. “Such a gorgeous part of the world. I’ve fought, more than once, to keep it protected. For now, its harsh beauty is safe. But China’s need for oil and Afghanistan’s need to be financially solvent may well destroy this wonderful spot on the earth.”

  She fell silent as if remembering. After a moment and a sip of tea, she smiled.

  “And the others?” Bestat asked. “Please don’t let me harass you. I have an interest in this time period.”

  “Time period?” Alex asked.

  “Greco-Bactria was one of my favorite times in the world,” Bestat said. “Alexander went through Afghanistan in the 300s BC. He left behind simply gorgeous cities and lasting peace. Greco-Bactria was a world where everything you could possibly desire was easily at your fingertips — great food, wine, gold from the Altai, pearls from the Persian Gulf, anything from China or Europe, rubies from Burma. There were huge palaces, paved streets, clean water for everyone.”

  Bestat sighed.

  “Of course, there were slaves made from those who lost in battle,” Bestat said. “But Greco-Bactria was a time where your position in the social strata determined your life. High or low status, everyone was invested in keeping the structure. In some ways, I think people were happier because they knew their place in the world. This modern idea of equality would have felt like insanity to them.”

  Bestat took a sip of tea and sat forward to set the cup down.

  “I must tell you that Zack’s son — Sam?” Bestat looked at Alex and she nodded that she knew Sam. “He says that I think that because I was always in the upper class and was never a slave. He may have a point.”

  Bestat shrugged.

  “Greco-Bactria was a small window of time when beauty and peace were valued, treasured even,” Bestat said with a sigh. “A wonderful time in this world.”

  Bestat nodded.

  “Do you know Ai-Khanoum?” Alex asked. “It was on the Oxus. I’ve read that it may be Alexandria on the Oxus or possibly Euratida. Either way, it was a large, metropolitan area with an enormous palace and paved roads.”

  “Set in a fertile valley?” Bestat gave quick nod of her head. “I spent a few years there.”

  “What was it like?” Alex asked.

  Bestat paused for a moment. She gave Alex a partial smile before answering.

  “Ai-Khanoum was . . . a jewel of a city,” Bestat said. “It sat on a flowing river in a peaceful valley. Lots of gorgeous homes. A large theater for strictly for entertainment. It sat thousands of people. There was an administrative palace as well as a court. All religions were welcome and there were plenty of temples for worship. I used to relish the chance
to bathe there as the baths had this amazing mosaic with dolphins, sea monsters, even sea horses created out of tile.”

  Bestat stopped talking for a moment. She grinned.

  “If you can imagine, people came through the city from everywhere on the globe on their way to China,” Bestat said. “Of course, it was a walled city, but everyone was welcome.”

  “We found a platoon of lost soldiers there,” Alex said.

  “It doesn’t surprise me,” Bestat said.

  “It surprised me,” Alex said.

  Bestat smiled.

  “Why weren’t you surprised?” Alex asked.

  “Ai-Khanoum had a reputation for wealth and excess,” Bestat said. “If there was to be a library outside of Egypt, it may very well be under the protection of this lovely city.”

  “That’s what we’re thinking, too,” Alex said.

  Bestat raised her eyebrows in agreement and fell silent. Neither one said a word for a while. Then Bestat turned to Alex.

  “Was there a library at Ai-Khanoum, Bestat?” Bestat asked in an imitation of Alex’s voice. Alex grinned at her. “Why do you ask, Alex?”

  “We have this idea that Ingram is looking for the library — our library,” Alex said.

  “That may be,” Bestat said. “It would not be the first time that the US military was used to do the work of your Black Skeletons.”

  “Hey, they don’t belong to me,” Alex said, shaking her head vehemently.

  Bestat smiled.

  “What do you know about the library at Alexandria?” Bestat asked.

  “Largest library in the world at that time,” Alex said. “More than 700,000 scrolls. Burned to the ground in advance of the Caesar, or maybe the Christians, or possibly the Muslims. Depends on who you listen to.”

  Bestat nodded.

  “Fire destroys wisdom,” Bestat said. “Who does that sound like?”

  “Black Skeletons,” Alex said.

  Bestat nodded. Alex drank her tea for a moment.

  “Wait,” Alex said. “Are you saying that the burning of library at Alexandria was about this?”

  “The Greeks are a civilization that was burned to the ground,” Bestat said. “That’s what happened to Greco-Bactria.”

  Alex looked at Bestat and blinked.

  “You seem surprised,” Bestat said.