by Lynda Filler
DISPLACED
Code Raven 4
By Lynda Filler
© Displaced, Lynda Filler 2018
All content contained in this publication are fictional in all respects. Any and all character names, places, brands, media and storyline circumstances or incidents have been created fictitiously and shall not be construed or otherwise misinterpreted as real persons, places or true-life situations.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
There are always many people in your life that believe in you and encourage you to follow your dreams. One for me would be Jeanne Proteau. Without her constant support playing with words, I wouldn’t have pursued my art and started publishing in 2009.
And more recently in this journey, whenever I need a dose of “you can do this!” I go to the reviews on Goodreads and Amazon and remember why I’m compelled to share my stories.
There are far too many people to list who’ve been along for this crazy adventure. I have to give thanks to my first readers, the Myspace gang, the Facebook followers, and my very closest partners-in-crime who shall remain anonymous.
As an Action/Mystery/Contemporary Romance/Memoir author I’m asked all the time if my stories are based on real events and actual people. I claim the fifth.
We live in a fast-paced, demanding world. I honor the time you have taken to read my stories.
I thank you in advance for telling your friends about my work and for taking the time to leave a review.
I would love to hear from you. You can find more books on Amazon.
Drop by and say hi on Facebook, or Twitter, and introduce yourself. I can promise you one thing I never know what naughty, personal, enlightening or outrageous comment I will post next.
My wish for you:
Be fearless in the pursuit of what sets your soul on fire.
Characters in the Raven Group.
Luke Raven
-Billionaire scientist, high-tech genius, history of working on US top secret projects, philanthropist, somewhat reclusive. He is a Patriot. He formed the Raven Group after his wife and seven-year-old daughter were murdered in the Bahamas. He will do whatever it takes to keep America safe.
Samaar (code name Luci)
-Ex-Mossad, once on loan to M16, assassin, in hiding from her ex-employers and a South American cartel after exposing their drugs/money/guns/CIA scam.
She’s the sometime romantic interest of Luke Raven and sometime agent in the Raven Group. She currently resides in Paris with her four-year-old daughter Alice and a team of security provided by Raven to keep her safe.
Alice
-The daughter of Samaar never knew her father an Arab Journalist murdered in the Middle East. Currently lives with her mother in Paris, learning to speak French and Arabic, already knows English, and Spanish from her life in hiding with her mother in South America.
RB
-Genius techie, security expert, inside crucial man of the Raven Group, and close friend of Luke Raven. They met at Caltech. Luke taught, and RB was his protégé. Luke and RB have an unbreakable bond. RB was there for Luke when his wife and daughter were murdered. When Luke formed the Raven Group, RB was the first person he recruited.
David
-Family to Zach, part of his Navy SEAL team, recently retired from the Navy, pilots Raven’s prototypes and corporate jet, joins the Raven Group and very active in Silk Road.
Zach
-Retired Navy SEAL, was involved in the takedown of Osama bin Laden. He was born in Israel, his parents were professors (undercover CIA) in Beirut, killed there when he was a child. Zach is now a full-time international operative for the Raven Group.
Maggs
-Ex-US Special Forces, Michelin trained chef, the only full-time woman in Raven Group. Currently stationed in Paris. Likely with Samaar and Alice.
Himanish
- An ex-military Pilot for India. Joined RAW-Research and Analysis, the Indian secret service department. He covertly helped Samaar/Luci disappear by hacking into a South American Cartel’s Swiss bank account. He took 250 million US dollars and gave it to Luci and Alice to support their new life on the run. Himanish currently works for the UN Human Rights Commission in Geneva Switzerland, in a covert role he has created for himself. His main focus is Human Rights and cyber-crimes.
Lorena
-Friend of Zach and Raven. Trained operative. She looks after a safe house in Puerto Vallarta, Yelapa Bay, Mexico.
Table of Contents.
PROLOGUE
1
2
3
4
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
30
31
31
32
33
34
35
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40
41
41
PROLOGUE
Somewhere in Europe
THE BITING NORTH winds howled through the ancient pines provoking them to dump their snow on the sleeping bodies huddled below. The child turned in her tormented sleep and cried out. The woman pulled her closer, wrapping the thermal blanket tighter, and brushing snow from her exposed face.
“Be still my love. Sleep.”
The woman had also woken abruptly, but not because of the icy snow. Something had alerted her to danger. Furtively she moved her eyes left, then right. No other sleeping bodies moved, and nothing was out of place around her.
“Papa?” The seven-year-old girl murmured.
“Shush Amira.”
In the distance packs of wild dogs snarled and snapped, hungry and hunting. Rasha thought she heard a car backfire but couldn’t be sure. But who would be out in the middle of this desolate night? Maybe she’d imagined a disturbance while dreaming.
Her mind wandered back to three months ago in Damascus. It was Nizar’s birthday. The cook had prepared his favorite lamb with green beans. She could almost taste it now. Everyone gathered around her grandmother’s walnut table. But her husband was preoccupied and unsettled. He would focus on her brother who worked with him in the labs and sigh.
Nizar didn’t want to talk about his work or what was going on in Syria, but she’d heard rumors. Finally, she got him to explain in a whispering voice what the international press was reporting—and what they were not saying.
A few nights later, her husband announced that they must rehearse their evacuation and showed her where he’d hidden new travel documents for her and Amira. He provided her with two untraceable cell phones that she must carry with her at all times from this moment on. He showed her a money belt and presented her with weapons.
“This is how you will carry them on your person.”
“Why are you showing me these things? And where are your papers?” Nizar didn’t respond. He offered instead, the last essential garment, her coat.
“Rasha, you will keep this coat on you all the time. There are documents for my brother, and extra Euros sewn into the lining.” He hesitated than lowered his voice. “You may find it appropriate to wear your burqa over it for part of your journey; and other times, not. You will keep a hijab in this knapsack. You will know when it’s advisable to appear more modern. Allah will understand.”
“Nizar, we are a family! I will not go anywhere without you!”
Nizar shook his head.
“Rash
a, there may come a time when I’m no longer able to protect you and Amira. And you must leave immediately. You will make your way to my brother in Paris and I will meet you there. Do you understand, Rasha?”
She nodded obediently.
Two weeks later the frenzied phone call came.
“Take Amira. A driver is waiting who will take you outside of Damascus as close to the border as possible. Use the map and follow the refugees. It will be difficult, but this is the only safe way to leave. When you get to a safe country, call my brother. Now, destroy this phone immediately. When I’m able, I’ll call you on the other one.”
She clutched that phone for ten days. Her husband never called back. It was stolen on her journey through Turkey. Still, she knew the information for her brother-in-law was sewn inside her coat and emblazoned in her mind. Maybe her husband would be waiting for her in Paris.
The cooking fires had long fizzled out. The child calmed down and settled in slumber once again. Rasha was acutely aware of snoring bodies, and the howling sounds of forest creatures. Her hands never strayed far from her concealed revolver and the knife fitted into her boot. She could feel the precious document her husband had sewn into her coat. What if she lost her overcoat? Or it got wet from all the snow.
She recited passages from the Koran and prayed to maintain the strength for their continuing journey. His last words were embedded in her soul.
“You must carry this document. I have other things sewn into your coat. Protect them as you would Amira. You will give these things to my brother in Paris. I will join you as soon as I can.”
Rasha wiped fresh tears from sad onyx eyes. Her mother always said she was the strongest of all her children. She had to be invincible now for the sake of her only child Amira.
She knew in her heart Nizar, and her brother was dead.
1
Mexico, South of Puerto Vallarta
THE COSTALEGRE FISHING village could be reached by boat or by a several-mile-long trek-in by foot. A small stone villa stood perched on a towering granite wall above a cove in Yelapa. In hurricane season it was entirely protected by the surrounding Sierra Madre mountain range. If you listened carefully, you could hear the rush of majestic waterfalls tucked covertly into the lush jungle.
Life moved slowly and sensually in this remote inlet at the southernmost point of the Bay of Banderas. On an evening like tonight, the party boats from Puerto Vallarta had motored back to their all-inclusive bargain priced resorts. A few fishing boats and luxury yachts remained moored at the pier or anchored out in the gentle cove for privacy. The village prepared for sleep.
The coastal town was made up of Mexicans, and a few gringos who’d discovered Yelapa during the sixties and never left. The odd tourists who vacationed in Yelapa were found relaxing at the Guest Houses or luxury boutique hotels nestled in amongst the coconut palms and overgrown Umbrella trees.
At this time of night, most locals could be found at the beachfront bars devouring grilled red snapper and guzzling lime Margaritas like they were designer water. Boozy voices carried up the hillside singing along with a local guitarist to tourist favorites, Guantanamera or Born in the USA.
No one paid much attention to the non-descript villa chiseled into the rock face. Nor were they aware of its reinforced walls built to withstand most type of frontal assault short of an RPG. When the home’s occupants increased from one to three, the Raven Group’s state-of-the-art security team added a vault designed to house precious and/or dangerous materials out of the reach of a young child. Discreetly hidden in the jungle were sensors to alert them to any hostile element that might drop in uninvited. Intruders would be surprised to know that a new and controversial satellite system monitored for miles outward and fed directly into the offices of the Raven Group in all their international locations. Few people in the world were this well guarded.
The current purpose of the home was safety, peace, and tranquility. The Mexican government welcomed this foreign property investment registered to an international corporation headquartered in the Turks and Caicos. And at the command of the President of Mexico, the unusual floor plans were kept in a top-secret file accessed only by the highest authority in the Republic.
At this moment in time, this peaceful hide-a-way served as a perfect shelter for a four-year-old child, a retired FBI Agent, and an ex-Mossad assassin.
2
Washington State, USA
LUKE PACED THE living room of his multi-acre estate in Anacortes. His mind was always in deliberation. One thought merged with the next until he had all his international plays morphing into one excellent chess game in his head.
He needed to take his mind off Samaar. He’d done everything he could. She’d be here soon.
He went over his proposal to the President of France earlier. Luke had his consortium together. But the big question is, could this work? Could the President of France sell it to his people? If anyone could get the point across it would be Samaar.
He stopped in front of a bulletproof plate glass window. It perfectly framed another magnificent Pacific Northwest sunset. He grabbed his Nikon and tripod and went to a door that was flush with the left wall. It opened silently with the touch of Luke’s fingerprint. What he needed right now was to lose himself and clear his mind in something that fed his soul. As he’d done countless times before he set off to capture the perfect image of a sun setting over the San Juan Islands.
His heart had always loved the great outdoors, first as a child in the mountains of New Mexico, and as an adult, trekking up and down the Pacific Coast of the USA. His mind strayed back to that time several years ago after his wife and daughter were murdered. He’d spent four months losing himself in the wilds of the West Coast trail from California to Canada. He loved people in small doses and never pretended to be anything other than a reclusive geek. But those four months turned into a soul quest for Luke. During that trek, he developed the concept of The Raven Group. He combined his desire for revenge for his family’s murder, and his passion to protect his country at any cost. From that moment on, he knew what he wanted to do with his billions. And nothing short of death would stop him.
He brushed his hands through his straight greying brown hair. He stretched his lean six-foot frame and thought about a workout. There was something significant going on. He could feel it. The quick phone conversation with Jack was running through his mind. Jack’s Foundation would be a key player in his plan. With him on board, many would follow. And France’s answer one way or the other, would impact the lives of millions of people around the world.
“Luke?”
Raven turned at the sound of Magg’s voice. The Sun had fallen quickly into the ocean, and he’d been lost in his memories.
“Hi, Maggs. What’s for dinner?”
“Great, that’s all I am to you? A chef? I need to whip you into shape on the mat.”
Maggs, one of Raven’s key operatives, could sense his moods and for the most part, ignored them. The fact that she was the only person who could get the best of him at Krav Maga—besides Samaar—was a huge plus. He’d stolen Maggs away from the military when they’d reneged on a promise to let this six-foot Amazonian beauty play in Special Forces. His gain. Still, her best skill was reading his mind, and sometimes his heart.
“You only get to beat me once a month. What’s up?”
“RB called from Canada. He’ll leave our place in the ice fields early tomorrow and arrive by noon. He decided to drive. Do you know why he didn’t fly the floatplane?”
“He has a meeting in Vancouver in the morning. Might as well drive.”
“He said he’d heard from Zach.”
“Yes.” Luke was not really paying attention. His mind was still on Samaar. It had been another close call for her, but he’d promised to protect them, and he did.
Maggs was hesitant; she had a feeling this might be news to Luke.
“You know Zach’s in Syria.” Maggs turned towards the house and started walking.
“Syria? No. What’s he doing in Syria?”
“I have no idea. Zach asked RB to research a few things for him. He said things are not what they appear to be Syria.” RB was the critical analyst for Raven’s group and also his best friend.
Luke looked off into the distance, the first stars appeared in the darkening sky.
Maggs stopped. “Let’s eat by the fire pit. Would you like that?”
“Sure.”
She continued into the house, wondering what Luke was up to this time. He was holding something back for sure. Well, like everyone else in the Raven Group, she’d find out when she needed to know.
3
Yelapa, Mexico
“MOMMY! Alice no want to go to bed!”
Samaar smiled indulgently. The love of her life, all four years of her mini-me, stood defiantly one hand on her tiny waist and the other dragging Maddie doll on the floor.
“Alice, you know when the sun goes into the ocean it’s your time to sleep.”
Alice hung her head, her little mind calculating which excuse she might use this time.
“But Momma, you promithed we could watch Frothen on the TV!” Samaar looked down at the little lady who reminded her so much of herself. Sometimes she liked to push her buttons to make sure she was growing up strong and defiant—skills Alice would need in the world she would inherit. She was somewhat concerned with Alice’s lisp, but the doctor had promised her it was not medical and should disappear with time. If only Samaar—code name Luci—could get inside of Alice’s head and erase the memories of running from Cartels and being chased by hit men. It’s a miracle her baby speaks at all.