by Will Jordan
‘Excellent,’ she decided. ‘Thank you, Hussam.’
The old man beamed under her praise. ‘For you, anything.’
She laid the assault rifle down on the table again. ‘We must leave in a few hours if we’re to make our rendezvous tomorrow. I’d like to cover as much ground as we can before sunrise.’
‘A sound plan,’ he agreed. ‘I will make sure your jeep is fuelled.’
She flashed a wry smile. ‘I imagine you have plenty to spare.’
The old man spread his hands. ‘Life here has its advantages.’
As Anya set about wrapping the two assault rifles again, Hussam moved closer to Drake and touched his arm. ‘I am going outside to take some air. Walk with me, my friend.’
Drake glanced at Anya, who he noticed was studiously avoiding his gaze. He was reluctant to leave her, yet Hussam had proven to be a great aid to them so far; he didn’t think it wise to refuse the man. He was also intrigued about what he had to say.
Leaving Anya to her own devices, he followed Hussam outside.
Chapter 56
DIETRICH’S PHONE WAS ringing. It was Franklin. ‘Yeah?’
‘Jonas, we just got an alert in from the NSA.’ He was trying to be calm and businesslike, but Dietrich could hear the mixture of excitement and anxiety in his voice. ‘They found Drake’s vehicle. It’s parked up beside a house in a small town called Al Majma’ah, about fifty miles from the Iraqi border. The house is registered in the name of Hussam Khariri, a former major in the Saudi Army.’
Dietrich could barely hide his smile of triumph.
Frost had managed to track their movements as far as Highway 65, heading out of the capital, but after that the camera coverage became sporadic until they were reduced to mere guesswork. Still, it seemed logical to conclude they were heading north, towards Iraq. Dietrich had instructed Franklin to concentrate their satellite assets on that area, and it seemed his assumption had paid off.
‘Copy that, Dan. We’re gearing up now.’
It was all coming together for him. He could feel it. Already he could imagine the praise and commendations that would be heaped on him for this. His previous transgressions would be forgotten about. He would be redeemed, vindicated.
And as for Drake …
‘Remember, we need them alive,’ Franklin reminded him. ‘Don’t get trigger happy.’
Dietrich smiled. ‘We’ll do our best. I promise that.’
Signing off the call, he turned to Rahul. ‘Get an assault team together, fully armed and equipped for a house raid. And we need a chopper. Something big and fast. We don’t have much time.’
The temperature had fallen with the setting sun, a cool breeze blowing little clouds of dust across the courtyard as Hussam ambled away from the house. High above, the first stars twinkled in the vast darkened sky.
The peaceful scene was interrupted when two young children darted across the open space, yelling and shouting at each other. A boy and a girl, perhaps eight or nine years old. Drake knew nothing of their language, but it seemed there was some disagreement over a little toy sailing ship that the boy was trying to wrestle from the girl.
A stern reproach from Hussam was enough to silence the dispute, for now at least. Both children turned to face him, as if they were young squaddies on a parade ground waiting to get an earful from their drill sergeant.
As Hussam scolded them for misbehaving in front of a guest, the little girl glanced at Drake for a moment, her large brown eyes filled with curiosity and a hint of suspicion.
Drake felt a shiver run through him. For an instant, he saw a different girl staring back at him. A girl in a blue dress, her eyes wide with terror.
He blinked, and the vision was gone.
‘Children,’ Hussam said, switching back to English as he resumed his walk. His look of gruff discipline was gone now, replaced by an indulgent smile. ‘They can drive a man to distraction, but life would be empty without them. Do you have any of your own, Drake?’
He shook his head. Somehow he couldn’t see a family fitting in with the kind of life he lived. ‘None.’
The old man said nothing further for a while, and Drake didn’t press him. Whatever he had to say, he would say it in his own time. There was a certain deliberate confidence about the man that he found almost disarming, as if everything that unfolded around him did so because he allowed it to happen.
‘You have the look of a man who does not know where he is going, my friend,’ Hussam observed conversationally.
‘You’re not far wrong,’ Drake admitted.
‘You travel in good company. Trust in that.’
Drake sighed and looked upward, gazing into the heavens as if his answers lay there. ‘A week ago, I’d never even heard of Anya. Even now, I feel like I have more questions than answers.’
At this, the old man stopped walking and turned to face him, looking him over for a long, thoughtful moment. ‘She is the most honourable person I have ever met, man or woman. Whatever she speaks, it is the truth. If she is your friend, you could ask for none better. If you stand in her path, you will fall. But if you betray her … then God help you, because no one else can.’
Drake glanced away. Once again, he found himself asking the same question that had dogged him since all this began – who was Anya? How did someone like her end up in a world like this?
‘In truth, that is why I asked you to join me,’ Hussam went on, resuming his walk. ‘It is about Ameera. It has been years since I last saw her, and like you say, much has happened. She is different inside, not the same woman I once knew. What has happened to her?’
‘She … wasn’t in a good place when I met her. She had suffered a lot. I don’t know how well she’s dealing with it.’
The old man nodded sadly. ‘I had feared as much.’ He sighed. ‘Look at me, Drake. I am old and fat and content with life. She would never have it this way. She will not live to see old age.’
His words felt like a punch in the chest. ‘It’s her choice.’
‘This is true,’ Hussam said. ‘And any man who tried to change that would certainly regret it. Ameera is the bravest soldier I have ever known, but she is headstrong and stubborn. She will not listen to reason, will not back down. I see her standing alone, surrounded by enemies. And when that happens, she will fall.’
‘What can I do?’ Drake asked, at a loss.
‘Be there for her,’ was his simple answer. ‘Do what you can to protect her, even from herself. I am too old to play that game now, but you are still young. You can still stand by her side. I think there will come a time when you have to choose, either to stand with her or against her. When that time comes, I hope you make the right choice, Ryan Drake.’
His words sent a chill through the younger man. He couldn’t imagine having to protect Anya from anyone, or her ever needing or wanting his help. And yet, he saw the worry and sadness in the older man’s eyes. She meant a lot to him. He respected her, cared for her, perhaps even loved her.
Drake understood that more than he cared to admit.
‘If there’s anything I can do for her, I will,’ he promised.
His brooding thoughts were interrupted by the buzz of his cellphone. It was Munro.
He looked up at Hussam. ‘I’m sorry. I have to take this.’
The old man nodded understanding. ‘I have said what I wanted to. Take as long as you wish.’ He paused a moment. ‘But remember your promise.’
Drake nodded. As Hussam walked away, he hit the receive button. ‘I’m here.’
‘Good to speak to you again, Drake,’ Munro began. ‘I hope I’m not calling at a bad time?’
‘Would it make any difference?’
‘Not really.’
‘I want to speak to my sister,’ Drake said. ‘I need to know she’s safe.’
‘First you fill me in on what’s happening. You’ve had three days. I hope for your sake you haven’t wasted them.’
Drake sighed and chewed his lip. ‘We made c
ontact with Anya’s source. He’s willing to meet us.’
‘Where?’
‘Iraq. He’ll give us more information once we’re in the country.’
‘I see.’
‘Do you? Good, then put my sister on the phone.’
‘Say please.’
Drake gritted his teeth, striving to keep his temper under control. ‘Please,’ he finally managed to say.
The line grew muffled for a few moments before another voice came on the line. ‘Ryan.’
She sounded calmer than before, which didn’t surprise him. Jessica had never been the hysterical sort. She could handle anything he could. More, perhaps. She didn’t run away from problems.
‘Jess.’ His voice was low, ragged when he spoke. ‘Are you all right? Have they … hurt you?’
‘No. They promised to treat me well if I cooperated. If I tried anything, they … said they would find Scott and the kids,’ she added, her voice cracking with emotion. Threats to her own life she could deal with, but her family was another matter.
‘Christ, Jess, you have to believe me, I had no idea …’
‘It’s all right, Ryan,’ she assured him. ‘It’s all right. This wasn’t your fault.’
‘No. It’s not all right. I let you down,’ he said, facing up to the truth at last. ‘I lied to you. I didn’t tell you what I really did, the world I was part of. The people I dealt with.’
‘Ryan, listen to me,’ she said, speaking in the same strong, commanding tone he had heard her use on her two children. ‘This wasn’t your fault. You didn’t make this happen. I don’t … I don’t blame you for any of it. You have to believe that.’
He swallowed hard. Her quiet acceptance, her understanding was more than he could bear. He would rather she had raged at him. He wanted her to be angry with him.
But she wasn’t. She understood him just as she always had. Despite everything, she accepted him for who he was.
But that didn’t assuage his guilt.
‘I’ll get you out of this. I promise,’ he said, speaking low and quiet. ‘You never gave up on me. I won’t give up on you, ever. I’ll find you.’
Before she could reply, the line grew muffled again.
‘Touching, Drake. Very touching,’ Munro taunted. ‘I was almost tempted to let you keep going. I wonder what else you would’ve admitted to?’
Drake gritted his teeth. ‘You piece of shit, Munro. You’d better pray I never find you without a woman to hide behind.’
The older man chuckled. ‘At least you’re honest. That’s probably why she hasn’t killed you yet.’
‘What are you talking about?’
‘Wake up. You really think Anya’s helping you out of the goodness of her heart? You’re just a tool to be used and thrown away. Sure, she’ll make you think she trusts you, that you mean something to her. She might even make you feel something for her. But believe me, sooner or later you’ll outlive your usefulness.’
Drake paused, staring out across the dusty desert landscape stretching off to the horizon, where it met the deep azure sky above. He should have shouted Munro down, told him to go fuck himself, but something held him back.
‘She’s a killer, Drake,’ Munro went on. ‘No remorse, no hesitation, no regrets. She doesn’t feel emotions like that any more. She has no loyalty to anyone or anything but herself.’
‘Is that your excuse for trying to murder her?’ Drake hit back.
‘So she told you, huh? I guessed she would.’ He didn’t sound concerned at all. ‘She’d do anything to blame me for what happened.’
‘You tried to murder your commanding officer and stage a mutiny,’ Drake reminded him. ‘I know the whole story. You’re a fucking coward, Munro. That’s all you are.’
‘What you don’t know – what she never would have told you – is that she was planning to turn rogue and take the entire task force with her! She was the one planning the mutiny, not me!’ His voice was shaking with anger now. ‘So I did the only thing I could. I admit it – I tried to have her killed. I tried to stop her while there was still time.’
He sighed, his voice tinged with sadness and regret when he spoke again. ‘But I failed. She survived. I don’t know how, but the bitch survived, and she executed everyone who tried to stop her. My men, my brothers in arms, and she executed them. No remorse, no hesitation. She’s a fucking murderer, Drake.’
Munro’s words felt like a knife driven into his stomach. Fervently he tried to tell himself that Munro was lying, that he would say anything to keep Drake off balance, but deep down he couldn’t stop thinking about that night in Khatyrgan when he’d watched Anya brutally murder that guard. Never in his life would he forget the look in her eyes.
There was a killer inside her. Sometimes it was hidden deep down, but it was there nonetheless.
‘If you’re looking for sympathy, you’re talking to the wrong man,’ he said at last, summoning up what defiance he could.
‘You of all people should know how it feels to be condemned for one mistake,’ Munro hit back. ‘That’s why you’re working for the Agency, isn’t it?’
Drake’s heart leapt and his stomach twisted in a sickening knot. ‘And what would you know about that?’
‘Operation Hydra ring a bell?’
Drake stood there in stunned silence while the desert wind whipped around him.
‘I thought that might get your attention.’
‘What do you know about Hydra?’ Drake rasped.
‘I know there’s more to your discharge than meets the eye.’ He was enjoying every moment of this. ‘You have quite a history, Drake. Almost makes me feel better about myself.’ He chuckled with amusement. ‘I wonder how your new friend would take it if she knew what kind of man you really were?’
Allowing that ominous threat to hang in the air for a moment, he added, ‘Time’s running out. For you, and your sister. I’ll be in touch.’
The line went dead.
Chapter 57
SIGHING, ANYA LEANED back in her chair, relieved to take her eyes off the map she’d been poring over for the past twenty minutes. She was worried about crossing the border tomorrow, not just because of what lay beyond, but because she had no current knowledge of the area. Four years ago she could have hand-drawn every Iraqi observation post and patrol route, but now she was little better than a lost tourist.
A commotion outside drew her thoughts back to the present. Walking over to the window, she found herself overlooking the small courtyard at the rear of Hussam’s house. His two small children were playing a game of some sort which, typical of such games, involved a lot of running and a lot of shouting.
The boy was yelling that his sister was cheating. He was short and heavyset, much like his father, and obviously not well suited to games like this. In response, the little girl stuck out her tongue mockingly and took off on nimble feet as he chased her again.
Despite her worries, Anya couldn’t help but smile at their antics. They were young yet, neither having seen ten years, and still ignorant of the roles their society would one day require of them.
Anya had never had children of her own; something for which she was usually grateful. She had never considered herself maternal. Even as a girl, her head had been filled with thoughts of excitement and adventure, not babies and motherhood.
Anyway, the choice had eventually been taken out of her hands. After what happened to her in Afghanistan, children were no longer an option. A lot of things had changed for her after that horrific ordeal.
Perhaps it was fitting. She was a soldier, not a mother. She existed only to take life, not to create it.
And yet there were times, very rare times, when she felt something. Something as inexplicable as it was unsettling. Not a specific emotion or thought, but almost a physical sensation – a sense of emptiness, of longing, as if her body somehow remembered the purpose for which it had been created and tried to remind her.
Absently she reached down and touched her abdomen, ha
rd and flat from long years of physical exercise, and wondered what it would feel like to be full and rounded, to feel the kick of a tiny limb, to sense a new life growing within her …
She turned around abruptly as the door opened and Drake entered.
‘You and Hussam were gone a while,’ she remarked, studying his reactions carefully.
Drake avoided her questioning gaze. ‘He likes to talk.’
She laughed with amusement. ‘I’m not here to interrogate you, Drake. If Hussam chose to have words with you, they were for you alone.’
‘That’s very trusting. What if he told me to kill you?’
She regarded him with a raised eyebrow. ‘You could try.’
And yet, studying his reactions, she sensed there was more to it than a mere conversation with Hussam.
‘Did something else happen out there?’ she asked.
Drake looked at her sharply, but before he could reply he felt the phone vibrate in his pocket. He fished it out and checked the number. It was Munro.
‘What now?’
‘Get out of there, Drake!’ Munro yelled, his voice hard and urgent.
‘What—’
‘Your location’s been compromised. I don’t know how, but you’ve got a Shepherd inbound on your position. If you don’t want them to catch you, get out of that building now. Move!’
Anya had stopped what she was doing to listen in on the conversation. Straight away she saw the change in Drake’s posture, the sudden tension in his muscles. Something was wrong.
Drake wasted no time on explanations as he shoved the phone back in his pocket. ‘We have to bail.’
She was moving in an instant, throwing her gear into the pack she’d brought with her.
Even as Drake reached for the weapons stashed beneath the bed, they both became aware of a noise outside. Hard and heavy, a rhythmic thudding. Rotor blades.
‘That’s it!’ Dietrich called, staring at the building below through his night-vision scope as their Black Hawk helicopter, on loan from the Saudi army, thundered in on approach. ‘Alpha Team is good to go!’
