Alisa stiffened as she heard Korgan start to swear when he caught that last sentence. She’d known it was coming, but there was no way to prepare for it. He whirled on Alisa. “Masenak’s camp?”
Margaret quickly stepped between them. “Yes, we already know exactly where we can find Masenak. You have a right to be pissed off that we lied about not already having found his camp yet.”
“You bet I do.” His eyes were blazing in his taut face. “Surprise. Surprise.”
“Alisa felt it was dangerous for us to tell you that we’d already located him, and I agreed with her.” She added to Alisa as she turned away, “Handle it. I have to get back to Sasha. She’s on edge. Make up your mind what you want to tell him. But he’ll have to know everything eventually.” She looked back over her shoulder at Korgan. “I know this isn’t going to be easy for you to understand. We’re doing the best we can.”
“Should I go with you tonight?” Alisa called after her.
“No, we agreed on a division of duties, and this doesn’t change anything. You’d just get upset with seeing Sasha there.” She disappeared into the trees.
“What the hell was all that supposed to mean?” Korgan asked Alisa through set teeth. “It was kind of her to give you a choice what bits of info to share with me, but I’m not feeling nearly as generous at the moment. Particularly after she just casually mentioned that she’s going to drop into Masenak’s camp tonight.” She could almost feel the waves of fury he was emitting. “That’s not going to happen. Do you think I’d risk a blunder like that? You didn’t even mention you knew where it was located, much less the fact you’ve been monitoring what’s going on there. If that’s not a lie, too, it changes everything.” He took a step closer to her. “I told you that I won’t let you do anything that might put Masenak on the run. I won’t lose him.” The words were low but spraying out like bullets. “If you want to have even a chance of me going after those students, you’ll back off now.”
“I can’t back off.” She lifted her chin as she stared into his eyes. “And neither can Margaret. She has to keep watch there tonight, just as she does almost every night. No, I didn’t mention we already knew where he was located. You held all the weapons, and that was the only one I had. I did tell you I had sources. How did I know you wouldn’t go after him yourself if I’d told you any more? I knew how much you wanted to get your hands on him. I was supposed to trust you?”
“Only if you wanted me to go through with the deal you proposed.”
“I’m desperate for you to go through with what you promised. But I’m not a fool. I knew I was going to have trouble with you when I brought you down here. There was no way you were going to understand what’s going on here. But I had to take a chance. Time was running out and you were our only hope.”
“No, I don’t understand,” he said coldly. “Except that Vogel might have been right that those kids were only a decoy and you have another agenda. What is it?”
“It’s not a decoy. You know it. You can see it. You trust your instincts and you know I wasn’t lying to you about that. It was one of the only things I had on my side when I screwed up because of that damn drone.” She had to convince him. “You’re not the easiest man for me to read, but we both know that’s true. Don’t we?”
He didn’t speak for a moment. “My instincts aren’t always infallible, and you’re very believable.”
“But in the end, you trusted them enough to come with me when you had no idea if I was leading you into a trap.” She gestured impatiently. “Oh, there were probably a hundred other reasons bouncing around in that brain of yours that made you take the chance, but that was the main one.”
“Really?” he said with soft sarcasm. “Do tell me more.”
His gaze was probing, taking every word she was speaking apart and weighing it, but she could see that he was at least listening. “There’s not much more. Just that I knew you were armed and ready to pull that gun out of your jacket any second when you were shaking hands with Margaret. And you told me that Vogel had already sent a drone down here and knew exactly how many people you’d have to face when we landed. So I knew we were being watched. And do you think I don’t know that Vogel probably has one of those new super drones of yours keeping an eye on you that you can activate with a blink of an eyelash? He’d never let you go anywhere unprotected. Yet you still came with me, and you didn’t do either one even when Margaret told you the truth and you thought she might blow your plans to get Masenak. That means I’m right, and you want Masenak as much as I want to free those students. So you should just give me a chance to explain.” Her hands clenched into fists at her sides. “Look, Margaret has to keep surveillance on that camp. You can’t imagine how careful she’s being. She won’t blunder and Masenak won’t go on the run. I promise you.” She paused and then added stiltedly, “And I’ll promise after she leaves here to go to his camp, I’ll tell you everything we’ve been doing since we came here and who we’ve been doing it with. Total honesty.”
“I’ve heard that before,” he said.
“I was honest about everything I chose to say,” she said. “I just couldn’t take the risk of going all the way. I was taking an enormous chance with you and I know practically nothing about your motives except that you want Masenak dead.”
He was silent, gazing at her. “Anything I want to know?”
“Anything.” Her lips twisted. “Not that you’ll believe it.”
“I might. You can never tell.”
“No, you can never tell,” she said quietly. “But I’ll start off with telling you I have every intention of getting you Baldwin as soon as possible. That’s the prime thing Margaret is checking out tonight. What will it hurt to give us the time until she gets back from his camp before you make up your mind?”
“But do I really need Baldwin? Were you lying about not being able to trap Masenak, too?”
“I wasn’t lying. He’s too well protected. You’ll see that once I show you what we’ve found out about the camp.”
He was silent. “And are you also going to tell me where Masenak’s camp is located?”
“Absolutely. I’ll make sure you have that information tonight as soon as Margaret gets back.” She smiled faintly. “But I should tell you that Masenak moves his camp every other week. That’s why we have to keep on top of him. How’s that for total honesty?”
“Questionable.”
“Quit while you’re ahead,” she said wearily. “I’ve told you I’ll practically strip my soul to give you every detail I know. Now it’s your turn. Tell me you’re not going to stop Margaret tonight. After all, I’m still your prisoner. You could pull out that gun at any time and use it on me. If Margaret does anything you don’t like at Masenak’s camp, you’ll be able to punish me for it.”
“True.” He tilted his head. “What an unusual phrase. I’ve never had a soul stripped for me before. And I’m sure your soul would prove more fascinating than most. Though the process does sound uncomfortable. Sort of like milking a cobra.”
“Don’t play games.”
“I’m not, this is no game to me. I just had to decide if I could resist the experience of dealing with you. But now that you’ve assured me it was entirely my own instincts guiding me, I feel much better. I have infinite trust in myself.” He was silent again before he added crisply, “I won’t do anything tonight. I’ll wait and see if your Margaret brings back anything about Baldwin I consider worthwhile.”
She drew a relieved breath. “Good.”
But he wasn’t paying any attention to her at the moment. He was frowning absently. “Do you really think I could have a drone drop a bomb here by flipping an eyelash or two?”
“What?” She was confused at the change of subject. “No, but I have no real idea what you can do with those drones. It wouldn’t surprise me.”
“You give me too much credit. That would be enormously difficult. To have that kind of capability it would have to be large, probably noisy, and ye
t ultra-complicated.”
Her gaze was narrowed on his face. “But you do have some other kind of fail-safe device set up?”
“Perhaps.” He smiled. “But the lash-blinking idea as an automatic signal has promise. I used something similar in a high-tech bank vault alarm in Paris, but I’m going to have to consider the drone application. With extreme miniaturization, it could be a challenge…”
It appeared the crisis was over. Thank goodness that brilliant mind of Korgan’s had spiraled to another “challenge.”
“Only a temporary reprieve,” he said quietly, his gaze zeroing in on her face. “We’re still teetering on the brink. But you’re right, I want Masenak bad enough to take almost any chance.” He turned away. “Now we’re going to get a cup of coffee from that thermos I brought with us. Then we’re going to look around this entire area and make certain there aren’t going to be any other surprises that drone didn’t pick up. And after your friend Margaret leaves, we’ll settle down for that long chat. Isn’t that a good plan?”
“Good enough. Since I’m limited for choices.”
“Excellent answer.” He strode back toward the helicopter. “Coffee, first…”
Chapter
3
He might have reserved that “chat” for later, but that didn’t stop Korgan from firing off a multitude of questions while they were touring the surrounding area that included the plateau and jungle. He even went a mile or so along the bank of the lake before he turned back and strode back toward the plateau where they had landed. He noticed everything; his eyes were arrow sharp, and so were his questions. She’d thought he was finished almost forty minutes later, but it was only a temporary stop as his gaze fell on the dozen or so villagers beneath the canopy who were just finishing tucking foliage around the helicopter to hide it from above. “Those are villagers from northern Maldara. What are they doing this far south?”
“They agreed to come as far as the border as a favor.” She asked curiously, “How did you know they were from the north?”
“Those dashiki shirts they’re wearing have an identifying stripe common to the northern tribes. I studied Maldara while I was researching the Szarnar Jungle. I thought I might have to use it as an entry point.” He glanced at her. “Favor? To whom? You?”
“No, I don’t have any clout in Maldara. But I did do a job once for Jed Novak while the civil war was going on. He practically runs everything CIA in Maldara at the moment.”
“I know he does.”
“Yes, you would. More research. Anyway, the job went well, and Novak believes in payback. So he talked the villagers into coming here and helping me.”
“He knows what you’re trying to do? He’s one of your sources?”
“Source? Novak always knows everything about everyone. But I couldn’t compromise him by admitting anything to him about this. Even if he was sympathetic, he can’t involve himself with what I’m doing. Maldara might fall apart again if he isn’t on-site to monitor the truce. All I can hope is that I’ll get a little help when I need it most.” She glanced at him. “And don’t think you can coax him into your camp with money. He’s one of the good guys.”
“But then so am I…sometimes. Can you get those villagers to go into the jungle after Masenak in an emergency?”
“I told you we prefer not to involve them. It’s not their battle.”
“Just a thought. The unit I’m bringing in will be much more efficient anyway.” His gaze wandered to the edge of the jungle, where Margaret was apparently giving last-minute instructions to the villagers. “It appears we’re going to lose your friend shortly.” His glance shifted down to the gleaming cream-colored coat of the retriever at Margaret’s feet. “Beautiful dog. Odd to see a purebred retriever like that here in the jungle. She brought it with her?”
She nodded. “Juno goes almost everywhere with Margaret. It would be odd to me not to see them together.”
He stiffened. “Tell me she’s not taking that dog with her tonight. A white, possibly barking dog, to set off sentries? It would be like shining a searchlight out there in the darkness.”
“Juno won’t bark. She never does. And they won’t see her. She’ll mind Margaret.” She added soothingly, “It’s actually safer if Juno goes with her.” She watched Juno following Margaret into the trees. “And unless you intend to go tackle Margaret right now, I believe our conversation about Juno is over.”
“Tempting,” he said grimly. “But since I promised you I wouldn’t interfere with Margaret Douglas tonight, it might as well include that blasted dog.”
“Juno is a wonderful dog, and I wouldn’t let Margaret hear you malign her if I were you. She’s a peace-loving soul but that doesn’t extend to friends or animals, and Juno is both.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. If your Margaret manages to get back here without having one of Masenak’s sentries blow her head off.” He turned away and said curtly, “In the meantime, if you need to eat, you’d better go to the supply hut I saw beneath the tarp and grab something right away. I was promised information, and I’ll give you the time it takes me to build a fire and get myself another cup of coffee for you to keep that promise.”
“I’m not hungry,” she said quietly. “I realize you’re going to be on edge until you’re satisfied that you know everything I do. Go get your coffee. I’ll make the fire.” She smiled faintly. “You’ll find I’m very good at everything to do with camping. In fact, my first meeting with Margaret took place in the wilds. If you like, I might even tell you the story.”
“Don’t bother. First, I want to see a map of Masenak’s camp and any weaknesses I can exploit. I’m not interested in anything else unless it has to do with this rain forest and Masenak.”
“It does in a way.” She turned and started to gather wood. “Since it has to do with Sasha.”
“And who is Sasha?”
“Go get your coffee.”
He turned on his heel and headed toward the hut. By the time he returned and handed her a refill on her coffee, she had a brisk fire flickering. He dropped down on the ground beside her. “Masenak’s camp,” he repeated curtly. “Numbers. Placement of troops. Vehicles.”
“Vehicles.” She opened the notebook she had laid out in readiness. She pointed to three boxes near the top of a drawing. “He always travels with three trucks when he’s here at Szarnar.” She pointed at the oblong figure to one side of the tracks. “Helicopter pad about a mile from the main camp. Masenak never takes a chance on not having an escape route. He has troops on patrol at that pad twenty-four hours a day. And the copter’s always guarded by a truck with a mounted machine gun.”
“We might still be able to reach him before he’s able to take off,” he muttered.
“Only if you make the choice to go after him while his men are butchering the prisoners,” she said. “Because that’s what would happen. He already told the CIA that any move on him would lead to the students being massacred. He meant it,” she said hoarsely. “That’s why you have to get the students out first. Don’t you see?”
“I see that there’s a problem.” His gaze was narrowed on the page. “But there’s usually more than one answer.”
“Not this time.” Her eyes flew to his face. “I know you like to experiment with solutions, but not with those girls’ lives. You can’t do that, Korgan.”
“I didn’t say I would.” He was still studying the diagram. “Troops?”
“Eighty-four soldiers located at the main camp.” She pointed to a square south of the helicopter pad. “They occupy sleeping bags in this area of the clearing when they’re not on sentry duty.”
“Prisoners?”
She pointed to one of two long tents running the length of the encampment. “This is the main prisoner tent. There’s a side entrance that leads out into the main camp and another the guards on duty use at the far south end to prepare their food and make sure the girls are kept away from the soldiers.” She added bitterly, “Unless Masenak decides to rewa
rd one of his men and lets him have his choice for a night. Otherwise, only Masenak and Baldwin are allowed to rape them.” She shook her head to clear it of that horror of ugliness and get back to reporting something that might help. “The tents are wired with explosives, and Masenak always carries the remote detonator to set them off.”
“Do you know what kind of explosives?”
“Of course I do. It’s a co-crystal of HMX and CL-20. Powerful but stable. I asked Sasha to go into the tent and get the info while she visited the other students. The girls are chained to posts inside the tents. Forty-one in the first one. Only six in the second. There used to be ten more in that second tent, but they killed the one girl to set an example and Sasha said Masenak sent the other girls as gifts to chiefs in Sudan.” She frowned. “She said she tried to find out exactly where they were sent, but she’s only located four of them.”
“Sasha, again. Who the hell is this Sasha?”
“She’s one of the students Masenak is holding captive in that camp. She’s just fifteen years old, and her name is Sasha Nalano.” She tried to keep her voice steady. “And she’s probably going to be next on Masenak’s kill list if I don’t stop him. She’s angry, and she won’t listen to us all the time. I don’t know long she can take what’s happening to her friends in that camp. You heard Margaret—she’s on the edge.”
“I heard it, but I didn’t understand it. I still don’t understand it. Why would this particular student be singled out?”
“Because she caught the bastard’s attention in the worst possible way.” He was right, she realized: She wasn’t being coherent. The moment she’d started talking about Sasha, she’d become emotional. And she couldn’t expect him to help them unless he did understand. Perhaps not even then. She cleared her throat. “She loves horses, and she volunteered to work in the stables at the academy giving lessons to the students and helping to train the horses. She did such a great job that rumors were suddenly spreading among the wealthy horse communities in Morocco and Marrakech just how good she was. You told me once that you knew what a passion Masenak had for his own horses. Do you think that he wouldn’t be aware of what a fine stable St. Eldon possessed? One of the first things he did during the raid was steal all the thoroughbreds and paperwork regarding their pedigrees. Evidently, he didn’t think Boujois, the trainer, was worth keeping, so he killed him immediately.” She paused. “Not only was Sasha a student who might be able to be ransomed, but there were also those intriguing rumors she might prove valuable to him in another way.”
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