Chaos

by Iris Johansen

  “Calls?” Alisa repeated. “You said there were things you could do that Gilroy couldn’t. Who are you calling?”

  “Vogel.” He added, “And maybe Lakewood.” He saw her tense and said quickly, “We’re going to need him. I have to prepare him. You know it.”

  “I know if you bring the CIA in too soon, you’ll get Sasha killed,” she said curtly. “Lakewood is going to be like a hungry lion when he goes after Masenak. He’s had all those diplomats and power figures on his ass for a solid month. All he wants is Masenak’s head on a platter.”

  “Then I won’t let the lion have Masenak until we get Sasha out. I’ll hold off Lakewood until we have her safe. Trust me.” She didn’t answer and he went on, “Look, these mountains are going to be hell to negotiate. We’ll have to slip in troops and weapons and place them where we can before any attack. But I can do it. I’ll handle it. I’ll never let anything happen to either of you again.” He paused and then asked, “Will you trust me?”

  She was silent. “I might,” she finally said. “Even though Gilroy says you have no dazzle or pizzazz, I’ve always found you to be an honest man. That has to count for something.” She looked back down at the map, her finger once more reaching out to trace the south wall leading to the stable. Soon, Sasha. We’ll be there soon. “But if you don’t keep Lakewood under control, I’ll go after him myself. Remember that, Korgan.”

  “I’ll remember,” he said wryly. “I’m just grateful you didn’t say you’d go after me.”

  * * *

  1:40 P.M.

  “Who the hell do you think you are?” Lakewood bit out. “You must have been reading your own press clippings, Korgan. You call me and tell me that you’re taking down Masenak and Reardon and I’m just supposed to sit quietly on the sidelines until you give me permission to make a move? The CIA does not ask permission. Why did you ever believe I’d let you run a show like this? Give me the location where I can grab Masenak and I’ll snatch him so fast his head will spin.”

  “You’re not mentioning Reardon,” Korgan pointed out. “I want both of them, Lakewood. I was afraid you’d back off dealing with Reardon if you had Masenak in your sights.”

  “Because Reardon will be a political nightmare to prosecute if we gather him up with Masenak. He’s a respected businessman as far as anyone knows. He has contacts all over Africa. And he’s smart enough not to leave any evidence. We pick him up and he’ll walk anyway.”

  “Then the answer is for you not to pick him up. I understand that your organization is under intense scrutiny these days and it might be awkward. I’ll do it for you, and I guarantee you’ll have a confession from him that will please everyone. I even promise that there won’t be any sign of abuse.” He paused. “The only thing I won’t guarantee is that I’ll turn him over to you afterward. I won’t have you sticking him in a cell and letting him lawyer up so that he might end up getting a medal instead of a death sentence.”

  “I might consider it, after I get Masenak. Now tell me where I can find him. You wouldn’t have called me if you hadn’t thought you might need us. You pulled off the rescue of those students, but you’re not as golden as you think you are. No one cares about Reardon. Masenak is the monster knocking on the front door. Murderer, terrorist, kidnapper. He’s the one everyone wants dead.”

  He was definitely the one Lakewood wanted dead, Korgan thought, and he was proving intractable. “I care about Reardon,” he said quietly. “And I told you about my friend Karim Raschid, who would have cared very much. Besides, the job of freeing those students isn’t finished yet. He still has Sasha Nalano captive in that castle. She’s the ward of one of your operatives, and that should count for something.”

  “Of course it does. But I shouldn’t let Company business influence my decisions. That’s why I’ll assign one my most effective operatives to head the assault. I’ve used Walt Edwards many times before. He has a sterling record, and he’ll wrap up the operation in no time.”

  “I’m sure he’s excellent, but there are more things to consider than speed. Sasha is in a very vulnerable position. I prefer to handle it myself.”

  “Too bad,” Lakewood said. “It’s my way or nothing. Give me the location where I can find Masenak or you won’t get my help. I’ll send out a team and we’ll find Masenak on our own.”

  “I’ll think about it. I believe we should both consider possible consequences. Suppose I call you tomorrow?” He hung up the phone and glanced at Alisa. “You heard him. The son of a bitch wants Masenak so bad, he’s not even thinking straight.”

  She nodded. “Everyone at Langley knows that Lakewood is more politician than CIA operative these days. Masenak made him look like an amateur to the entire world.” She shivered. “And Sasha may pay for it.”

  “No, she won’t. I’m just stalling him until I see how I can work around him.”

  “We don’t have much time to stall. Do we have to have Lakewood’s team for the assault? Couldn’t we just use the same team we did at Szarnar?”

  “We will. But we need more feet on the ground in these mountains. We’ll have to strike Jubaldar from several different directions, with painstaking coordination from all team leaders.”

  “That’s why you want to be in charge.”

  “Lakewood would say I always want to be in charge. I’m surprised you didn’t.”

  “No, you always have a good reason,” she said absently. “And Lakewood should have realized that, too. He was just in too much of a hurry to catch Masenak.” Her lips tightened. “It was clear he was already considering Sasha collateral damage given in sacrifice to the greater good. It’s like him to expect me to give up a family member so that he could have Masenak that much sooner. Not bloody likely. If we need those additional teams from him, we’ll get them.”

  He gave a low whistle. “Just the response I thought you’d have. Now tell me what you know about this Walt Edwards. How good is he? And can we work with him?”

  “He’s very professional and skillful.” She paused. “But he’s also what Lakewood said. He’s goal-oriented and ambitious and would want to wrap up the attack quickly and hand it to Lakewood any way he was ordered to do it.” She added harshly, “And I’m not having him anywhere near Sasha.”

  “Then he won’t be,” Korgan said. “I had to ask. I’ll think of something else.”

  “Or I will. You’re not the only one who has experience,” she said as she got to her feet. “Now that you’ve told me what we need, we’ll just go and get it.”

  His brows rose. “Right this minute?”

  “No, you gave Lakewood a reprieve until tomorrow. I want to get as far as we can on the way to Jubaldar before dark and be ready to explore those mountains surrounding it by tomorrow morning. Gilroy should definitely be there in the castle by that time, and I want him to have whatever support we can give him.” She glanced at him over her shoulder. “I’ll leave you to think about what an ass Lakewood is turning out to be and what we can do about it to keep Sasha alive, while I go tell Margaret it’s time we got busy. Screw these maps. By tomorrow afternoon I want to be looking at Jubaldar. I want to see where that bastard is keeping her.”

  * * *

  They didn’t make it to Jubaldar by afternoon the next day. By the time they did the initial exploration and discovered a place high in the cliffs above the castle that both Margaret and Korgan considered a safe observation site, the sun was going down.

  “Satisfied?” Korgan asked Alisa curtly as he caught up with her at a stand of tall boulders overlooking the canyons below. “Too bad if you’re not. We should have forced you to stop two hours ago to rest. This is where we set up camp.”

  “No, I’m not satisfied. It’s not close enough. I can barely see the castle. We should get farther down. From here I can’t see the stables, and I know that’s where she’d be.”

  “If you could see the stables, you’d be right on top of the castle. You might be able to see them, but they’d also see us. From here we can see a
ll activity around the exterior. See arrivals and departures. Be available to receive signals if Gilroy needs to send any. We have a cave and a stream a mile away, and these boulders block any vision from below. It’s as good as we’re going to get.”

  “It’s not close enough.” She couldn’t take her gaze from the castle. “We could keep searching and we might—”

  “No.” His voice was no longer curt but gentle. “This is what we need. You’ll be safe here. I know that it must seem like a mirage to you that you could be this close and not reach out and touch Sasha. But the closer you get, the greater will be the temptation. And you’re not thinking straight. You know we have to take it slow.”

  “Do we?” Her gaze was still focused on that mesmerizing streak of sunlight illuminating the tall windows of the castle. It seemed to be calling her. “You saw how good I am with locks and security systems. I’d have no problem getting in that damn place. All I need is a plan to get her out.”

  “And not get caught and make it worse for her. Gilroy is down there now, and he’s good with locks and bypassing security, too. Not nearly as good as you, but he won’t have to be. The report from the council says that the Jubaldar interior security is barely basic. He’ll be able to reach Sasha without putting her life on the line.” He paused. “Which you would be doing, Alisa. You know it.”

  She did know it. There was a plan in place, and it should be followed. But it was agony looking down at that castle and knowing Sasha was there, just out of reach. “She’s alone down there, Korgan,” she whispered. “Just as she was at the camp at Szarnar. I want to be with her.”

  “I hear you.” His lips twisted wryly. “So do I. But I’ve been told I’m not good enough to be down there. So we’re just going to have to suck it up and do what we know is best, aren’t we? She’ll know she’s not alone soon.”

  “Typical silver-tongued Korgan. Putting us both in the same boat so that I’d see your point of view is the right point of view.”

  “And do you?”

  “Yes,” she said wearily. “It was just a moment of temporary insanity. But I don’t promise not to have another one or two before this is over.”

  “Then I’ll be there for you until it is,” he said quietly. “Just reach out and I’ll be there.”

  She felt the warmth flow through her as she looked at him. The sadness and desperation were still with her, but he had given her comfort with no hint of judgment in those moments. She turned back to the castle. “You mentioned surveillance? We can do that, of course, but it would be more efficient for us to make certain Samlir’s maps and diagrams are as accurate as they thought. Tomorrow Margaret and I will start out early and go over the entire property. I’ll send you and Vogel emails and photos that will give you a hell of a lot more information than that council did.”

  “Good idea.” His lips were twitching. “Not to mention letting you get closer to that castle. Just don’t get too close.”

  “I wouldn’t be unprofessional. But accuracy is important.” She turned away from Jubaldar. “Now I think we’d both better go up to the cave and be there for Margaret in case she needs help setting up camp. She probably would have called us if she hadn’t decided your persuasive efforts would be better used in making me productive.” She started up the incline. “She approves of division of labor…”

  * * *

  Jubaldar

  Two Days Later

  “I was watching you this afternoon.” Masenak was waiting for Sasha at the stable as she walked Chaos down the aisle toward his stall. “I wasn’t pleased. You had your instructions and you didn’t obey them. I won’t permit that.”

  “If you were watching me, then you know that I was working with Chaos all day,” she said coldly. “It takes time and patience when you’re dealing with a horse like him. He made progress.”

  “You’re making excuses,” he said impatiently. “You didn’t ride him.”

  “But Chaos let four other horses with riders on the same track with him without attacking them. How can you expect to have a race if Chaos won’t allow Reardon’s horse on the track? And he let me put a saddle on him this afternoon. Ask Davidow if that isn’t progress.”

  “I want you to ride him. Reardon will be here in another few days and you’ll make me look like a fool to him if he doesn’t see you on his back.”

  “I have a little time,” she said flippantly. “I might get there yet.”

  “Bitch!” Masenak took a stride toward her and his hand reached out, his nails digging into her shoulder. “You’ll get there tomorrow, do you hear? Or I’ll have you—” He broke off and jerked back away from her. Chaos was suddenly rearing behind Sasha and lunging toward Masenak!

  “I heard you.” She turned and tried to quiet the stallion. “So does Chaos. He doesn’t like you. You’d better get away from here or he might hurt himself trying to bash your head in. He’s very fond of doing that. Then you wouldn’t have any fine horse to show off to Reardon.”

  Masenak was breathing hard but backing away. “Tomorrow you ride him,” he hissed. “You understand?” He turned on his heel and strode toward the stable door.

  He’s gone. She opened Chaos’s stall door. Now stop that nonsense. He’s not worth your effort.

  Nor yours. Chaos went into his stall. You should not have let him touch you. But since you’re so pitifully weak and weaponless, I will do you the favor of stomping the fool for you.

  No. All she needed was to have to defend Chaos from a vengeful Masenak. Well, not right away. Not until I tell you that you can. There might be problems. And I’m not all that weak. She changed the subject. But I thank you for allowing those other horses to share your space on the track today. It was very helpful to me.

  I don’t know why you would want them there, since I am clearly all anyone could need. He was becoming interested in his oats, but he was taking his time. But I didn’t mind them being there. They stayed out of my way, and I could tell how much they were admiring me. It was good that they realized how superior I was to them.

  Yes, it’s always nice to have fans. I thought you might feel that way. No one can say you’re overly modest.

  I am king. Everyone knows that but you. Sometimes I want to kick you for being so blind.

  But you don’t, because I’m your friend, and I would care for you even if you weren’t king.

  “Friend.” That word again. Wrong. When will you learn? King.

  Friend. Much better than king. When will you learn? She turned away. I have to go and shower in that other place. I’ll come back later and check to see if you need anything.

  And stay with me again? He lifted his head. I don’t like having you go to that other place. I did not mind it too much having you here with me. You should do it again.

  We’ll see. A shower doesn’t do me a great deal of good if I come back and curl up on the hay for the night. I only did it last night to show Masenak how meek and obedient I was about working with you day and night.

  Foolish. You should do it because I wish it, not because he does. Tomorrow you must not get in my way when I stomp him. You understand?

  She understood that they had come full circle. Maybe I’ll stay with you if you agree not to get in my way when you believe I’m handling Masenak foolishly. King or not, this is important to me.

  He went back to eating. I might allow you to be foolish for a little while longer.

  And she was probably going to spend another night in the stable, she thought as she turned away and headed down the aisle toward the stable door. Oh well, it didn’t matter. Cleanliness aside, she’d far rather stay here with the horses than in that luxurious harem where she could sense all the pain and subjugation that must have taken place within its walls. It was the difference between natural and the—

  “Sasha!”

  She jerked to a stop in the middle of the aisle.

  “Don’t speak. Don’t look at me.” The voice was a sudden, low whisper in the dimness. “I don’t know how closely
this stable is being watched by the guards. Maybe pretend you’re having trouble with the door latch?”

  She froze. Her heart nearly jumped out of her chest.

  She knew that voice.

  Gilroy?

  Her hands automatically went to the latch on the door as she said, “Don’t look at you? How could I? Where the hell are you, Gilroy?”

  “One stall back on your left.”

  She turned to face the stall, but he was only another dark shadow in the dimness of the entire area. “No guards here in this stable. Only two in the courtyard outside that leads to the main house.” She was whispering like him until she realized what she was doing. “No audio or cameras,” she said in a normal tone. “The main stable has all those bells and whistles, but this is a special add-on facility used by Reardon when he brings his horses here for the races. Davidow took it over for Chaos when he realized how antisocial he could be.”

  “And not only with other horses.” He was coming forward and paused at the door of the stall. “I was afraid I was going to have to step in if he ran you down getting to Masenak.”

  “That would have been a mistake. Chaos is very quick. He could have taken down both of you. I’ve seen him—” She inhaled sharply as she got a good look at him. “You look terrible.”

  “I do not,” he said with mock indignation. “I look authentic Berber. Everyone at the village gave me their seal of approval. I think I even look more Berber than Naleek, the man they sent along with me to run interference with any other Berbers from the same village.” He smiled, revealing teeth that were a little stained with a broken incisor in the front. His skin was a dark bronze; his hair was mussed and ended just above his shoulders. The blue eyes were now covered by dark-brown contacts, in a face that was weather-roughened and made him appear older. He was dressed in loose black cotton trousers, black leather boots, and a beige shirt like most of the other stable hands she’d seen since she’d arrived here.