by Mary Alford
Michael held his glance. He thought he saw the tribesman smile. “Yeah, I’m up to it.”
“May I suggest we leave your man and my nephew to search the desert directly south and you and I head toward the village?”
Michael reined the horse to a halt. “Why would you suggest that?”
Khalid stopped his horse as well. “Look, my friend, I know you don’t trust me, but I’m telling you I’m on your side. And I’m telling you, the less people showing up at one time, especially this hour, the less likely we are to draw attention to ourselves and the more likely we are to get the locals to cooperate.”
Sam pulled up next to them. He’d heard most of their conversation. “It makes sense, Michael. The last thing we need to do is call the wrong attention to ourselves.”
Michael considered it for a moment longer, mostly out of stubbornness. He knew what Khalid said was true and yet he couldn’t quite dispel the feeling that Khalid was not being completely honest.
“All right. But you will check in every hour, Sam. And if anything looks off to you, no matter how small, you know what to do.”
Sam nodded and then addressed Alain. “Ready?”
Alain gave Michael and his uncle a curt nod then kicked his mount into motion.
“Let’s go,” Michael barked to Khalid, who took the lead.
They’d covered less than five kilometers when Khalid’s cell phone rang. He answered the call but kept his answers brief, further increasing Michael’s suspicions of the man.
“Trouble?” Michael prompted when Khalid offered no explanation.
“No. My wife. She is concerned.”
Michael accepted his explanation but didn’t believe it for a minute. They continued their journey in silence. When they reached the midway mark, Khalid stopped at a small well.
“Why are we stopping?” Michael asked without bothering to hide his suspicion.
“We need to water the horses. A short break is in order.”
Michael didn’t believe him. He dismounted as well but made a point of keeping a hand on his weapon. Khalid drew water from the well using a bucket left there for that purpose. Michael led his horse to the water and turned away from Khalid. It was then that he heard it. The sound of a trigger pulled back into its firing position.
Chapter Nine
The lights of the village David instructed me to go to came into view. This was it. Please, God, let David’s contacts be reliable.
With any luck, by this time tomorrow, I’d be home with my daughter. Then, I could leave the details of this nightmare for the pros to clean up. No matter how much I still loved Booth or how it destroyed me to think of what he must have gone through in those final moments of his life here on earth, especially if he’d sacrificed his life for mine, I’d had enough of these shadow games to last me a lifetime.
Driving in pitch darkness through unfamiliar territory, with fear my constant companion, it had taken me hours longer than I’d expected. By now, my appointed meeting time had come and gone. Would my contacts still be waiting for me? I didn’t dare risk trying to reach out to David again.
As I reached the outskirts of the village, I slowed the Jeep’s speed and took a moment to survey my surroundings. What I saw could barely be called a village. Little more than a row of shops and a scattering of small houses, there wasn’t much to lend encouragement.
My arrival had to be drawing all kinds of attention, especially since I was traveling by Jeep and not normal means such as horse or camel, but I didn’t dare risk leaving my only way of escape behind.
I held my breath and drove into the village. At first glance, there didn’t appear to be anyone around. Not completely surprising considering the hour.
I spotted the heart of the town where I was supposed to meet the contacts. There was no one. I pulled the Jeep around to the side of what appeared to be some type of dry goods store. Some instinct I couldn’t begin to explain told me to leave something personal in the Jeep. Something that could eventually be traced back to me.
I took out the picture ID with my fake name on it and left it face down on the seat then got out. I tucked the weapon I’d lifted from one of the men I’d killed into the pocket of my jacket, the cell phone I shoved into the other.
I kept in the shadows of the building as much as possible where there was a small amount of coverage. I waited in seclusion for what felt like hours before finally spotting them.
Two men, dressed in dark clothing, entered the village square. They stood next to what appeared to be some sort of gathering place. One of the men carried a paper. They were both nondescript. Average height and build, I could have been describing any of about a million different men.
I took a deep breath and made my way slowly toward them. The man holding the paper spotted me right away. He raised himself to full height and nudged his partner. They watched my approach cautiously.
“Laura?” The one with the paper, clearly the leader, asked. I detected a faint accent that sounded like a mixture of German and some type of Arabic dialect. It was so farfetched that I thought I had to be mistaken.
“Yes. Are you David’s friends?”
The leader was the one to answer. “Yes.”
I expelled a weary sigh of relief. “Thank You, God.”
They smiled at each other and moved closer. “I’m sorry, there’s not much time for introductions,” the leader said. “My name is Hendrick and this is Mathoud. We need to leave. Now.”
I slowly moved toward the Jeep. “I have transportation.”
Hendrick shook his head. “No, there might be a chance someone has followed you. Please, we have a vehicle this way.”
I hesitated, a tingling of uneasiness creeping along my spine. “Okay,” I said at last, dismissing my fears. These men had been recommended by David. I could trust them. I followed them to the dark-colored SUV parked in the open.
Hendrick held the rear passenger door open for me. I hesitated only a second before climbing in. The vehicle had all the comforts of home, including leather seats and blessed AC.
I slumped back against the seat.
Almost home.
Mathoud peered back at me. “You look tired, Laura. We have a long journey. Perhaps you should rest.” His accented voice held kindness. It wasn’t reflected on his face.
“Yes, you’re right. I am exhausted.” I thought about what he’d said. “Where are we going from here?”
“To Sandifar, a small village near Kabul. There will be a private plane waiting for us where we will fly directly into Jerusalem.”
I nodded, satisfied with his answer. I remembered the village of Sandifar. I’d seen it on the map. It was another one of those tiny villages prevalent here in this part of the world.
I thought about my daughter. I bet she’d grown a foot in the few days since I’d seen her last. I couldn’t wait to hold her in my arms again and know this thing was truly over. With any luck, I’d be able to join Ava and David at the zoo...
I awoke with a start, uncertain where I was for a moment. What had awakened me? Some strange sound.
Then I remembered. I was safe. I was on my way home to Ava.
To my right, the sky blazed with varying shades of pink and orange. I’d been sleeping for hours. I rubbed sleep away and glanced around. Mathoud was now driving. He smiled at me. In the third row seat and directly behind me, Hendrick typed on his phone.
“Did you have a nice rest?” Mathoud asked.
Disoriented, I nodded. Something didn’t feel right. I slipped my hand into my pocket. The gun was gone. As was my cell phone.
I glanced at Mathoud. He’d caught the movement. “You kept poking yourself and crying out. I thought it best to put your things out of your way. They are here in the seat beside me. Do you need your phone?” he asked pleasantly without giving anything away.
“Oh, no. No, I was curious.”
Satisfied, Mathoud glanced back to the road ahead.
I pretended to be interested in the vi
ew outside of my window, but suddenly I was worried. Something Mathoud said didn’t add up.
From what I’d learned about the small villages of the desert, most of them barely had any of the modern conveniences we enjoyed in the western world. Was it possible there would be an airstrip outside of a village as small as Sandifar? “How much further?”
Mathoud glanced my way again. “Not far. We’ll be there within the hour.”
I was beginning to doubt everything I knew. I didn’t trust anyone. I wanted to be home. Wanted my life back to normal.
But David trusted these men. Why was I worried? After another hour of stark desert terrain, Sandifar came into view. I could see miles surrounding the village. I checked carefully, but I didn’t see any airstrip, certainly no plane. I knew better than to ask questions at this point.
Mathoud maneuvered the SUV through the narrow streets to the opposite side of town where he pulled up in front of a small house.
I was conscious of Hendrick in the back seat behind me. He was gathering his gear.
“What are we doing here?”
“We are to wait here until our pilot arrives.” Mathoud grinned back at me, dispelling some of the coldness from him. He got out of the SUV and waited.
With nothing else to do, I climbed out as well and followed Mathoud, aware of Hendrick bearing down close behind me. Whether or not this was intentional or not, I certainly felt trapped.
The house consisted of two sparsely furnished rooms. One served as a living and apparently a bedroom if the pallet in the corner was any indication. The other room was the kitchen. I assumed the bathroom would be outdoors.
I drew in a breath and forced my voice to remain level. “How long before the pilot arrives?”
“Soon, Laura. This will all be over with soon.” Hendrick turned to me and smiled. Something in it told me my nightmare in Afghanistan was nowhere close to being over.
* * * *
Michael slowly turned to face Khalid. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“I might ask you the same, my friend. Perhaps you’d be kind enough to tell me who you’re working for.” A sliver of a smile briefly lifted one corner of his mouth. “Why are you here?” Khalid held a small pistol against his temple.
Michael drew in a sharp breath. No honor among spies... How many times had Booth reiterated that point?
“I told you. I’m trying to find Laura.”
Khalid shook his head. “Oh, I know what you tell me, but your actions speak differently. They make me wonder exactly whose best interest you truly have in mind. What purpose are you trying to serve here, my friend? Do you care if Laura lives? Because it almost appears as if you hope she doesn’t come out of it at all.”
“Put the weapon down, Khalid.”
Khalid ignored the request. “Answer the question. You aren’t here at your government’s authority are you?”
“How could you possibly know--?”
“Because I’ve been watching you. You haven’t once checked in with your superiors. You don’t trust your own people. You’re not acting under the authority of the U.S. government.”
Michael stalled while considering how much to tell Khalid. How did a tribesman in the middle of the desert know about the CIA’s inner workings unless he was more involved in matters than he led everyone to believe?
“How do you know CIA procedure?”
Khalid didn’t answer. He nudged the pistol closer. “I would suggest you stop stalling and speak. Time is running out for more than Laura, my friend.”
Michael’s narrowed gaze swept over the man. He’d always trusted his instincts and his gut instinct was telling him Khalid was not the enemy. He blew out a breath and went for broke. “All right. I was sent here to bring Laura back. Alive,” he added at Khalid’s open skepticism. “I was given twenty-four hours to accomplish this or someone else took over and the outcome of the situation wouldn’t be kind. That’s when I found out she’d been kidnapped.”
Khalid digested the information. “I see. Your people will want to put a lid on this thing before it gets out of hand.”
“Yes. By now it’s probably too late. I’m sure they will have sent agents here to take care of the situation.”
“What do you mean, ‘take care of the situation’?”
“What do you think I mean?”
Khalid understood. After a moment, he lowered the weapon. “Either they didn’t have much confidence in your ability to diffuse the circumstances or they never intended Laura surviving hers.”
Clearly, Khalid was no innocent when it came to the shadow games they played. Both scenarios were probably true. Michael chose to neither acknowledge nor deny the man’s assumptions.
“What about you? What’s your story? You weren’t in the least surprised by any of this and if I’m not mistaken, I’d say you’ve done this type of thing before. I might ask you, who are you working for?”
Khalid appeared to waver.
“Who are you working for, Khalid?”
Khalid shook his head. “I work for no one. I am my own man. Now, I’m heading for that village. You can come or stay, it doesn’t matter to me.”
Khalid mounted the horse and moved away. With no other option, Michael was forced to do the same.
They made the rest of the short journey in silence. Whatever secrets Khalid was keeping would have to wait. The most important thing was to find Rachel alive.
* * * *
“Forget the village. She’s in Sandifar,” Hughes barked into his ear.
He grabbed the map and flipped it open, searching for the new location. Sandifar was within a stone’s throw of Kabul.
“Are you sure? How did she get there?”
“She’s had help. And yes, I’m sure. Get there as soon as possible and get her out of there.”
He tossed the map on the passenger seat once more and put the Jeep in gear. “I’m on my way there now.”
He hoped this new twist in the plot wouldn’t prove to be the worst of all. And the delay in reaching her wouldn’t end up costing her life.
* * * *
“She’s been here. Her ID’s still here. She would have left it behind deliberately. She’s giving us a clue. Something prevented her from returning to the Jeep. She left the area in a hurry.” Michael’s gaze held Khalid’s. “I think we should search the area. See if anyone remembers seeing her.”
“You think someone took her or she had to leave in a hurry?” Khalid asked with clear and present concern in every word. Michael suspected Khalid knew the answer already.
They both did. He feared canvassing the village would be a wasted effort, but it was an option and they were quickly running out of them.
“I’m not sure.” This was obviously not the answer Khalid hoped for. With a dismal shake of his head, Khalid moved toward the first building, what appeared to be some sort of store and Michael followed. Laura’s Jeep was parked close by.
The place was all but empty with the exception of a wizened old man leaning hard against a makeshift counter.
Michael faked ignorance to the language he’d excelled in during his CIA training while Khalid asked the patriarch if he’d seen the owner of the Jeep.
The old guy spared them a brief wag of his head before he shuffled off behind a curtained door separating the store from what was probably the owner’s living quarters.
His answer wasn’t any great surprise. Khalid questioned all four owners of the town’s businesses in less than half an hour. Their answers were identical right down to avoiding eye contact and rushing off. No one saw a thing.
They were about ready to give up the search when an old woman sweeping out the front of a small eating establishment remembered seeing two men talking with a young woman late in the evening.
“Did you get a good look at her? Is this the woman?” Khalid asked in Arabic. He showed the woman Laura’s picture ID.
She nodded. “Yes. That’s her.”
“And the men?”
&nb
sp; “Foreigners. Like him.” She pointed to Michael. “But they had a big black motor vehicle.”
“Did you see what direction they were traveling?” She gestured in the opposite direction from which they’d entered the village. They were heading farther into enemy territory.
Khalid thanked the woman, and then he and Michael stepped outside into the heat of the early morning.
“Well?” Michael prompted, to keep his cover intact when Khalid remained silent.
“The old lady remembered her. She said she met with two men here last night. They left in a black vehicle, heading north. She recalled the men spoke English. They were not Arabs.”
Michael shielded his eyes against the glaring sun. “Who are these men? Who could Laura possibly know in the place? She doesn’t have any connections here.”
“Perhaps someone from your team?”
Michael considered the possibility. The more likely option was not nearly as pleasant. Had Hughes taken things into his own hands? If that were the case, Rachel was trusting the wrong people to get her to safety.
And if that were true, then he would be found as guilty as Hughes. The time for secrets was over. “I hope not. Because if that’s the case, then she’s in more danger than she would be from the people who were holding her hostage.”
They’d returned to the Jeep by this time and had begun searching for any further clue Rachel might have left there. Khalid’s sharp gaze locked on his. “What do you mean by that, my friend? I think you’d better explain yourself.”
“I’m saying it might be in the best interest of certain people if she remains silent. And no, I’m not talking about me. I want to save her life.”
“She knows something? Something that wouldn’t set well if it were made known to the world?”
Michael threw protocol out the window. “Exactly. She knows too much. She’s former CIA. She’s seen things.”
“If that’s the case, then why were you sent here?”
“To bring her in--alive,” he added when Khalid’s arched one dark, menacing brow.
