by Mary Alford
Michael watched him for a second then lowered the weapon. “Me, too. I’m sick of this game. There will be no winners or losers here. Only more innocent victims. All I care about now is getting Laura out of here safely for her daughter’s sake and for my friend’s. I owe him that much. Beyond that, I don’t care anymore.” Michael shook his head in disgust. “Will you help me do that?”
Khalid studied Michael’s expression for a long time and then accepted his answer. “I believe you mean that. Yes, I will help you. But you understand we are far behind the others. We’ll need to get airborne soon to get there before it’s too late to help.”
Michael considered this. “I can get us in the air and to the area. Do you know the place where we’re heading well enough not to get us killed?”
“I can try. The area is dangerous and I’m not talking strictly political danger. The conditions in that area are terrible. We will have no means of traveling except by foot. We should notify your partner and my people. Someone needs to know where we’re going.”
Chapter Eleven
The copter set down, not in Germany, but in enemy territory. I tried to keep from panicking when Mathoud ordered me outside.
“Why are we landing in Iran?” I challenged, hoping I didn’t sound like the nervous wreck I was inside.
Apparently, Mathoud was still trying to garner my cooperation. “Laura, we don’t have much time. This area is dangerous. If we’re discovered, we will be shot on the spot.”
“What happened to Germany?” I still hadn’t budged.
Mathoud blew out an annoyed breath. “Our destination was discovered. Someone found out we were heading in that direction, which, of course, was exactly what we wanted. No one will be looking for us if we follow the border, but we are in Iran and it is extremely dangerous the more time we spend here. We need to get moving.”
I stubbornly refused to move a muscle from the helicopter. Something told me that if I did, I’d be leaving behind my last chance of being found. Alive, anyway. “We’re hiking out of here?”
“No. We have transportation.” He motioned toward an approaching SUV. “Our guide to safety. First, you have to leave the helicopter. Now, please.”
I was about to refuse again when the back passenger side window of the SUV lowered and David’s face appeared.
He smiled and all my worries melted away. David beckoned me toward the vehicle. “Rachel, it’s okay. You can trust these men. Please, you must hurry.”
I jumped from the helicopter, ignoring the hand Mathoud extended to help me.
David opened the door. I rushed inside and into his open arms. I’d never felt safer.
When I actually let myself believe he was not a figment of my imagination, I asked, “David, what are you doing here?” I still held him tight, afraid he might disappear.
“I’ll explain everything in a moment. First, we need to get out of here.” He waited until Hendrick and Mathoud were inside before he instructed the driver to get started. Two men I didn’t recognize were seated behind us.
A shiver of uneasiness slipped down my spine. “David, what’s going on?”
“I’m sorry for all this cloak and dagger stuff, Rachel. Somehow or other, word got out to the wrong people that we were getting you out of there. I think that was my fault. They obviously had my phones monitored and I didn’t realize it.”
The explanation certainly made sense. Whoever was after me would have done their homework and discovered my identity soon enough if they hadn’t known it from the beginning.
I shook my head, exhaustion numbing my usual analytical skills. “David, none of this adds up. Why would someone want to hurt me?”
“I don’t know. I certainly don’t understand any of it. My only concern right now is getting you to safety. We can sort through the rest later on when you’re safe.” He took a moment to look me over. “I’m sorry, my dear. You look like you have suffered a great deal.”
Seeing David again reminded me of my daughter. “I’m okay. How’s Ava?”
“She’s well. Dana and Hannah have been indulging her. She misses you terribly.”
For a moment, I couldn’t speak. “I miss her, too.”
David clucked his tongue at my tears and patted my hand. “This will all be over with soon, my dear. Only a little while longer. Perhaps you should rest. You look as if it’s been a long time since you got a good night’s rest.”
I smiled at his thoughtfulness. “Yes. I feel as if I can sleep for a week.”
“I cannot give you a week, but you do have a couple of hours. Use them wisely.”
Still, I couldn’t completely let go of my worries. “David, I think this is all related to the peace talks coming up next week. I’m certain someone is planning to do something.”
He patted my hand again. “Let’s not worry about that for now. You need to rest.”
I leaned back against the headrest, content with his answer. My eyes stung from lack of sleep and physical exhaustion. My body ached. The places where the wounds had begun to heal itched like crazy. But I was safe. I was with David. And this crazy nightmare would all be over with soon.
The temperature inside the SUV was blissfully warm. The rocking motion the vehicle made as it climbed the rough terrain soothed me. Before long, I was asleep.
* * * *
I awakened to stillness. For a moment, I was disoriented. When I opened my eyes, there was nothing but darkness. I looked around. David was watching me. The SUV had stopped.
I glanced out the window and saw through the pitch darkness what resembled a house. I turned back to David. “Why are we stopping here?”
He nodded toward the house. “This house belongs to a friend of mine. We’ll be safe here. Come. Let’s get you inside and in a real bed.”
My thoughts were still muddled from sleep. I didn’t move. “But why are we stopping here? Shouldn’t we keep moving to safer territory?”
He reached for my hand and squeezed it. “Rachel, I didn’t want to alarm you, but we’ve gotten word that someone is tracking us. They’ll expect us to show up in Algiers. It’s safer this way. We can hide out here until the danger is gone. Come, Rachel, it’s freezing in here.”
I allowed him to help me from the SUV. “Watch your step. There’s ice and slush everywhere.”
I glanced up at the dark bulk of the place. Though the others had entered the house, the lights remained off.
“What is the first thing you and Ava plan to do when you get back home?” My attention was drawn back to David by that question. He was smiling at me.
“I don’t know. I think I want to hold her for a long time. To reassure myself she’s okay.”
He chuckled and then stepped up onto the porch. “Yes, well, I can understand that. She is precious. I regret that I may have inadvertently fibbed to her in promising I’d take her to the zoo, but I wasn’t expecting this new glitch.”
This new glitch?
He opened the door. The house was still dark. Suddenly, I didn’t want to go inside.
“Wait, David, how well do you know these men?”
He seemed offended by my question. “I trust them with my life.” One strong hand was suddenly positioned against my back. He pushed me inside. The force of the action sent me flying across the floor with enough speed to crash into the opposite wall. The pain that seared along my back assured me I’d reopened several of the wounds there and probably added a few new bruises as well. I blinked back tears.
At first, I thought I’d imagined the whole incident until I got a good look at David’s expression. The cold emptiness in him took my breath away. I knew this was no safe house.
And David was no friend.
Someone hauled me up from the floor with force. A stabbing pain shot down my neck and along my spine. But the physical pain was nothing compared to the emotional agony ripping apart my world, my heart.
I’d walked into the worst betrayal of all time. The man I thought was like a second father to me had now t
urned into my worst enemy.
No, please God, no.
My body grew weak. My legs could no longer support me. I was falling. Then I realized the pain I’d felt in my neck had been a needle. In a matter of seconds, the drug coursed through my body. My last coherent thought was that I’d willingly given my daughter over into the hands of my enemy.
* * * *
He circled back behind the rapidly approaching vehicles. There were three in all. They appeared to be some type of military. They’d been watching for the copter. Someone had tipped them off.
He’d expected them to comb the area, searching for him. Instead, the vehicles headed toward the mountainous area. Which meant, he wasn’t their top priority.
On foot, it would take forever to follow. He’d need to find another means of tracking them. He searched the remaining building for some means of transportation but found nothing.
There was a small storage building at the end of the row. It was locked.
He took the butt of his gun and smashed it against the lock. It took several tries before the lock popped free. Inside, he found a less than encouraging Jeep, several cans of gas along with a wealth of explosives.
After the fifth fruitless try, he was almost ready to give up when the Jeep’s tired engine cranked to life. He hauled several spare cans of gas and some explosives into the back of the Jeep then began following the caravan of vehicles. There was enough light from the moon and stars to make the road ahead somewhat visible. He didn’t dare turn on the vehicle’s lights.
He kept the Jeep at a speed that allowed him to keep the vehicles in view, but hopefully would prevent them from spotting him.
If what he suspected were true, the people in those vehicles were searching for Rachel. It that was the case, he needed help. He called Hughes and miraculously managed to get through.
“I’m in Iran. I’m following three vehicles. I think they’re tracking Rachel. Get me help, now.”
“I’ll do my best. I’ll have someone on the way. Do you trust your contact?”
He jerked the Jeep’s wheel, barely missing a tree stump in the middle of what passed for a road. “Yes.”
“Call him in. Get him there. He can reach you before my men can get there.”
“All right, but hurry. I have a feeling Rachel’s time is running out.”
He stopped the Jeep and pulled out a map and small pen light from the backpack. He needed to calculate the best place to rendezvous with his contact.
Retrieving his cell phone from his pocket, he called the man. “I need your help. How soon before you can get airborne?”
“We’ll be in the air in minutes.”
He breathed a sigh of relief. “Good. I need you to meet me.”
His contact said something he didn’t catch and was forced to have it repeated. “All right, we’ll be there within the hour.”
We’ll be there? There was no room to spare, certainly not time to question. “Good. You’ll be arriving around the same time as me. I’ll see you there.”
* * * *
Michael turned to Khalid and asked what could only be described as a pointless question. “Are you ready for this?”
Khalid did little more than nod.
“Right. Here goes nothing.” Michael wiped the sweat from his brow as they approached the military base. With any luck, Hughes hadn’t put out warnings at all the bases yet. Otherwise, he’d be arrested the second he set foot at the base outside of Kabul.
Security was unusually tight. Something was definitely in the works. The guard at the entrance spotted his and Khalid’s approach. Michael brought his fake ID, which was pretty much standard procedure for most agents traveling in enemy territory.
He’d had the bare essentials for creating an alternate ID for Khalid as well.
While Khalid drove, Michael took his picture ID and superimposed it to his alternate ID.
He handed it to the tribesman. “It sucks, but I’m hoping the men at the base won’t check it too closely. It’s all about the attitude you approach them with. Let me do the talking. And take off the robe, will ya? At least give us a fighting chance. I’ll drive.”
The two guards lowered the security arm at their approach.
Michael could sense Khalid’s uneasiness growing. “Relax. I’ll handle it.”
Michael had his ID out and waiting and instructed Khalid to do the same.
“May I help you, Agent Blake? Agent...Stephens?” He glanced briefly at both their IDs then sized them up, his gaze remaining on Khalid, who obviously didn’t look like a Stephens.
“Yes, I have orders to meet Commander Hughes in Algiers. I need transportation there immediately.”
The soldier clearly was suspicious. “I’ve received no word from any Commander Hughes concerning this. I’ll need to call it in.”
“Fine, if you want Hughes breathing down your neck, and probably having your job as well as mine, go ahead.”
The soldier eyed him carefully. At least he’d caused a moment of doubt. “I beg your pardon?”
“Commander Hughes has given me specific instructions to meet him there in one hour. If I am delayed, it could be a matter of national security. Now do you understand? Do you want that on your hands?”
“Sir, I have orders to verify all incoming and outgoing flights. I’m just doing my job.”
“And I’m telling you this is your job, soldier.”
After a glance to his partner, who seemed frozen in place at the turn of events, the young and clearly inexperienced and overstressed soldier shrugged. “Okay, but if this comes back to me, it’s on your head, Agent Blake. I’m not taking the rap for this.”
He opened the guard post and let them pass through. When they were a safe distance from the soldier’s hearing, Khalid released a deep breath. “That’s all fine and good but how do we get airborne? Can you fly?”
Michael turned to him and grinned. “As it happens, I can.”
Chapter Twelve
I awoke to ice-cold water thrown into my face. A bright light, so blinding that I couldn’t see anything beyond it, was trained directly on me. Once again, my hands were bound above my head. My body was weak from the drug they’d used to sedate me.
It seemed to take forever to get my bearings through the drug-induced fog. Then I remembered David’s betrayal.
“Ah, good, you’re awake,” David acknowledged in that same jovial tone he’d used a thousand times in the past to update me on the latest happenings at work or perhaps spread a little office gossip.
The depth of his betrayal to both me and our country, and possibly Booth, was immeasurable. It took forever to voice my condemnation. “David, how could you do this? How could you betray me, our country, and the people we’re entrusted to protect? For what?” It was hard to form coherent thoughts anymore. Torture and sleep deprivation had that effect on the human body. Not to mention the fact I hadn’t eaten anything substantial in days.
He appeared taken aback by my shock. “Why do you think? You left me with no other choice when you insisted upon going after Tanner.” David moved close enough for me to see the rage and yes, the hatred, in his eyes. “You couldn’t leave well enough alone, could you? You had to insist upon searching for him and see where it got you. You know too much, Rachel. I’m sorry, but you have to be taken care of.”
I shook my head to clear away the cobwebs. “Know too much? I don’t know anything about what you’re talking about.”
“Oh, come now, Rachel. Do you honestly expect me to believe he wouldn’t have told you anything about this?”
“Who? Who are you talking about?”
“Stop playing games. You know who I’m talking about. Booth Tanner. Your lover.”
My mind struggled to keep up with his accusations. “Booth? I haven’t seen Booth Tanner in years and you know that. What could he have possibly known about you? What are you involved in, David?”
As I watched, the man I considered a father figure changed in an instant. Gone was
the caring man with which I trusted my child’s life. In his place was a cold, calculating stranger.
He motioned to someone behind him. When the man stepped into the light, I recognized him in an instant. It was Hussein. He stalked close enough for me to smell his foul breath. The leer on his face confirmed the truth. The punishment I’d endured at his hands the last time would seem like a cakewalk compared to this round.
He grabbed a handful of my hair and twisted it tight. Several clumps pulled loose. I couldn’t hold back the cry of pain.
Unmoved by my suffering, David addressed me again. “You have a choice, Rachel. I can make sure your death is painless, or I can guarantee you suffer dearly. It’s up to you. Tell me what you know about the weapons.”
I kept my gaze fixed on David. I wanted my torment embedded in his memory. “What weapons?” I asked through gritted teeth. “I told you, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
David blew out a put-upon sigh then motioned to Hussein once more.
The man released me, then held something up for me to see. It was a stun gun. With one quick movement, he lowered his hand and aimed the device against my right side. Electrical current shot from the weapon, the pain excruciating as the voltage fired through my body. My heart rate kicked into a frightening tempo.
After what felt like an eternity, Hussein removed the gun. My legs turned to jelly. I slumped against my restraints, losing consciousness for a second or two.
More water was tossed in my face. I took my time trying to steady my pulse before my heart exploded in my body. Slowly, I opened my eyes.
Hussein stood close, waiting for the command from David.
“Rachel, please tell me what I want to know. Do you think I enjoy seeing you hurt this way? It breaks my heart. You were like a child to me.”
“Don’t give me that!” I spate the words out. My gaze locked once more with his. David shook his head and then signaled Hussein into action. He made a show of raising the voltage up another notch. He jabbed the gun against my side and the pain seared through my body like a wildfire out of control. My body jerked and convulsed as my heart pounded out of control and a welcoming darkness overtook me.
