by Ann Heathman
He turned and sat up in bed. He reached out and grabbed her arm, pulling her down on the bed, and said, “Sit!” He snapped on the light. “Sorry? Hmm. Let’s see. Are you sorry you didn’t listen to me, or sorry I’m mad because it seems to me, you’re not sorry you ditched the bodyguard, only sorry I’m pissed off.”
“No. Yes… maybe both.”
“Both? Well, let me explain something to you.” He moved her to the other side of the bed. “I’m not trying to be a prick about things, but when Raul couldn’t find you for several hours, you don’t know what horrible thoughts went through my mind. After all, you were kidnapped before. The thought that you might have been kidnapped again scared me to death.”
Oh! She hadn’t thought of that.
“Look at me,” he said, facing her. “Arianna, I’ve killed men in my line of work, and those men have friends that want nothing more than to get even with me. Killing you would be the perfect revenge for them.”
Her mouth dropped open. This was pretty heavy stuff. The rationale behind having a bodyguard was a lot more valid than she had first thought. Now, she was feeling selfish. Also it dawned on her this was a rough way to learn about a whole other side of his life he’d never shared with her, but maybe it was worth it.
“I’m sorry,” she repeated. “I appreciate your concern for my safety. I’ll never leave the bodyguard again.”
He studied her for a moment, then pulled her close and gently kissed her, letting her know all was forgiven.
Oh, my God,” Arianna squealed as she jumped into Zach’s arms when he entered the bedroom from the shower.
“Whoa!” he said, bracing himself as she engulfed him in a huge hug. “What’s all this about?”
She slid out of his arms and pounced on the bed. “Oh, my gosh! I just got off the phone with Kevin, and it’s so exciting.”
“O-kay?” Zach toweled his hair dry and slipped on his jeans. “Are you going to tell me the news or are you just going to keep jumping around?”
She rolled her eyes at him. “Very funny. I’m quite pleased to announce that Harold shopped our documentary around, and it looks like Sixty Minutes wants to pick it up.” She jumped off the bed and practically bowled Zach over with an enthusiastic hug.
“Congratulations,” Zach said, returning the embrace.
“And, that’s not all.” She started pacing excitedly as Zach sat on the side of the bed, putting his shoes on. “Kevin said they’re interested in my personal experience… the drama I went through to get this story. They want to devote five minutes at the end of the segment exclusively to my personal adventure.”
Zach’s head snapped up. Whoa! That can’t happen. He continued putting on his shoes, saying nothing.
“I think this could be my big break as a journalist,” she continued. “I can’t believe it.” She straddled him and pushed him back on the bed. Leaning down, she showered him with kisses.
Zach looked up at her and tucked a lock of hair behind her ear. “I don’t know too many women who would have taken the risk you took to get this story. I’m really proud of you.” He cupped her face and pulled her in for a kiss. He mussed her hair and kissed her again before finally stopping and saying, “But I think right now, we better get off this bed before your news turns into an early celebration of a physical nature, if you know what I mean.”
She laughed and rolled off him. “You’re incorrigible.”
“Just stating the obvious, babe.” He stood and pulled his T-shirt on.
“I have to fly up to New Jersey to help Kevin finish the documentary and then meet with the producers to film the interview. You’re okay with me going, aren’t you?”
Zach frowned and shook his head. “You have a bodyguard, Arianna, not a prison guard. You can come and go as you please.”
“I know that. Don’t be silly. It’s just that we’ll be away from each other for such a long time. That’ll be hard, but maybe you could come see me, or maybe I could fly home.”
“We’ll work something out.” He turned and moved into the bathroom. “You need to talk to Pilar. She’ll make arrangements for lodging and a rental car while you’re there. I’ll have my pilot fly you up in my plane, and you have your credit card to cover all the everyday expenses.”
Arianna followed him into the bathroom and sat perched on the vanity while he combed his hair. “You know they’re going to pay us for this film, don’t you? Not sure how much, but I want to help pay for my expenses when I get paid.”
He put the comb down and gave her a sly smile. “Sure, babe. Whatever makes you happy.”
“I’m serious. I have to pay my own way, at least as much as I can.”
He stifled a smile. Miss Independent. Not likely she can repay the expenses, but no sense arguing with her.
He leaned in and gave her a kiss. “Now, I’m off to take care of business. I’ll leave you to start packing and planning. Good luck with your project. I’m really happy for you.”
He kissed her again and held her tight, almost like he didn’t want to let her go. It was more like a long good-bye type of kiss. Finally releasing her, he turned and left.
ZACH MET up with Tony and Juan at the stable storage locker which held much of their op’s equipment and gear. He hadn’t told Arianna they were shipping out on what looked like might be a month-long operation. Her news today coincided nicely with his absence. She’d be off working on her project at the same time he’d be gone. Maybe this way, his absence would be less noticeable.
He was conflicted about whether to tell her he was leaving. Though he wanted to say a proper good-bye, he didn’t want to have to lie or dodge any questions. He definitely wasn’t going to answer any questions about where he was going. His relationship with Arianna was deeper and more permanent than previous relationships he’d had, but as he thought it through, the situation still didn’t merit full disclosure on his part.
“So I heard we have a briefing in Langley before we deploy,” Tony said.
Zach nodded. “The original assignment’s changed. Veritas is going to brief us on this mission and introduce us to someone else he’s sending on this op with us. We fly out after that.”
Juan gave Zach a funny look. “That’s different. Someone’s going with us? What do you know about this guy?”
“Nothing.”
“This better be important,” Tony interjected, “because it’s dangerous to work with unvetted personnel. Probably some damn rookie who’ll end up getting us all killed.”
Juan nodded his agreement.
Zach sat down on a bale of hay to send a text. “Don’t worry, guys. If I don’t get a good vibe about this person, he’s not going with us.”
“Roger that,” Tony said. “And what’s the deal? Are we telling or not telling the girls we’re out of here?”
Zach snapped his phone back into its case and looked up. “Not.”
“That suits me just fine,” Juan said. “Every time I’ve tried to give Lorena a heads up about me being gone, it’s always turned into an inquisition and a tear fest. I mean, I get it. I love her dearly, and I’m glad she misses me and stuff, but what’s the use? There’s nothing I can say. No information I can give her… no reassurance that makes my being gone any better.”
“I hear ya’,” Tony added.
“That’s why we’re just going to bug out of here without any notice.” They threw their bags into the waiting SUV. Zach reached down and patted Duke’s head who was looking at him with anxious eyes.
“Not this time, boy. You can’t go. You’re not healthy enough for battle. You stay here and keep working out.” He signaled for Rafa to come get him.
“Okay, guys. Let’s do this.” Zach opened the door and hopped into the front seat.
“Arianna got some interesting news today,” Zach said, as they sped down the highway to the airport.
“Yeah?” Tony asked.
“Sixty Minutes is going to air her documentary from Afghanistan.”
“Awesome!
” Juan said, giving Zach a high five. “You got to be proud of your talented, little lady. That’s quite an accomplishment.”
Tony high-fived Zach as well. “Very cool, but what is it, buddy? You don’t look all that happy about this.”
Zach sighed. “She’s a tough, talented journalist who captured an important story. She deserves to be recognized.”
Tony looked at Zach, his best friend, who he could read like a book. “Okay, cut the bull. Something’s bugging you. What is it?”
At first Zach didn’t speak. But after a bit, he said, “At the end of the documentary, they want to interview her about what she went through to get this story.”
Dead silence enveloped the car. Juan finally spoke. “No way. That can’t happen.”
“Yeah, no way,” Tony chorused. “So what’d you tell her?”
Zach winced. “This is the break she’s been looking for as a journalist, but her personal story, the part about her kidnapping and rescue… you’re right. That can never be told.”
“You told her that?” Tony asked.
Zach shot him a look which said, Are you nuts?
“Okay. Okay.” Tony held his hand up, conceding the point. “I’m guessing you said nothing.”
Zach nodded. “That’s right, but God, she was so excited.” He paused as if reliving the moment. “It was her dream to get this documentary on air. I feel terrible for bursting her bubble, but her personal interview’s never going to see the light of day, and she’ll never know how or why it got nixed. She’s not going to be happy, and God, I hate causing such a disappointment.”
FIVE HOURS later, they arrived at CIA headquarters in Langley, Virginia, and were escorted into a conference room where their handler, Veritas, waited. Also in the room was a tall, attractive female dressed in a business suit which nicely highlighted every one of her curves.
“Greetings, gentlemen,” Veritas said. “I’d like you to meet fellow agent, Clare.” Turning towards her, he said, “This is Zach, operation’s team leader, and his two teammates, Tony and Juan.”
They all nodded a greeting but no one spoke.
“You’re all SOG so no need to be cryptic today. It’s okay to speak freely. Please, have a seat everyone.”
SOG was the special operations group, of the “special activities” division in the CIA. This group was tapped for duty when there was a special assignment the government wanted to distance themselves from.
Everyone sat down except Zach. “Agent Clare,” he said looking at Veritas. “Is she the person you referred to when you told me another agent was going on this op with us?”
Veritas nodded. “It is, and I know you’re a bit taken aback by this, but before you jump to the wrong conclusion, let me explain the mission.”
Zach looked at Tony and Juan who looked back at him, unsure how to take the news a female agent would be joining their team.
“What do we have here, V?” Clare asked, looking over at Zach and his team. “A bunch of male chauvinists? I assure you I can hold my own in any circumstance, so don’t get your underwear in a wad, boys.”
“Okay, everyone. A little decorum please.” Veritas motioned for them to take a seat. “You’re going to be working in tight quarters, so I suggest we all relax.
“Clare is a communication expert with the Agency. We need to get her to a secret location in Libya where we’ll be planting a listening device which is going to be sending vital information back to us in the States and elsewhere. We needed a woman and a trained communications expert to fill this role. Clare fits the bill, so she was picked for this assignment.”
Zach looked at Clare and asked, “You ever been in Libya? Speak the language?”
“Yes and yes. Arabic, fluently,” she snapped back.
Zach didn’t respond. His face revealed nothing of what he was feeling. Chauvinism had nothing to do with his reaction to having a woman on this op. He’d known many women in the military who were exceptional at what they did. For him, it was all about the agent’s ability to execute the mission and not about what they had or didn’t have between their legs.
“She’s had much of the same training you’ve had,” V said, motioning around the group. “I assure you, her credentials are impeccable, so let’s continue, shall we?” He snapped the computer on and brought up a PowerPoint presentation. On the first slide, it said, Operation Red Herring. “Here’s a brief overview of what the mission is. You’ll get more information once you arrive in-country.”
On the screen was a dark green, cylindrical communication device, which looked to be about six feet long and seven inches in diameter.
“This is the red herring although it’s actually green, as you can see. It will act as a relay station for misleading information intended to be received by British and Jordanian listening stations. The listeners will believe they have intercepted genuine communications when in fact, there will be a mix of both valid and invalid information. Because of the sophisticated methods of triangulation used by these countries in order to verify the source of information, this has to be located as close as possible to the authentic transmissions.”
Veritas clicked to the next slide. “This is where you guys come in. Zach, you and your team need to get this device into Tripoli along with Clare, who will manage the communication transmissions for us once the device is in place.”
The room was silent as everyone ran through a mental checklist of the risk of this operation. Being taken hostage in the Middle East at this time was surely a death sentence. A horrific death sentence.
“You were all hand-picked to carry out this mission. Any further questions you have will be answered once you arrive at the training site in Italy. You leave at sixteen hundred hours.” He closed the computer down and removed the memory stick. “Gentlemen. Clare. Good luck and God speed.” With that he left the room.
We need to celebrate,” Lisa said, as she uncorked a bottle of wine. “This is the break you’ve been looking for.”
“Thank you.” They clinked glasses. “It’s more than I could have ever hoped for. Just getting the documentary aired is big enough, but the fact they’re going to do a separate interview about me is really exciting.”
“You’re going to be famous.” Lisa tipped her glass in a congratulatory manner. “And I can say I knew you when you when you were just a lowly journalist.”
“I don’t know about that, but this is a start.”
“I’m curious,” Lisa continued, “how much of your personal story are you going to tell them?”
“That’s a good question. I think I’ll share the highlights of the trip… what it’s like to wear a burqa and about the men beating on me for being out late. I’ll probably also talk about the fact I was kidnapped and taken out of the country, but nothing beyond that. I don’t want them delving into my personal life.”
“That sounds right. A lot of what they include will depend on what they ask you. I’ve been through a deal like this before, and it seems they only use a small fraction of what you tell them anyway.”
Arianna nodded. “True. It definitely is a chance to get recognized in the journalistic community. Which reminds me. I have to call my mom and share the news with her. She’s going to freak out.”
Pilar entered the veranda carrying an iPad. “Good afternoon, ladies. Arianna, I wanted to talk to you about the arrangements I made for your trip. Do you have a moment?”
Arianna invited her to have a seat.
“I booked a suite at the New Jersey Hyatt and have a car rented for you.”
Arianna’s mouth dropped open. “The Hyatt Regency? I can’t afford that.”
“I understand, but I don’t believe you’re paying for it.”
“I told Zach I wanted to pay my own expenses. Can’t you find me a small apartment in New Jersey for the month? Something more in my price range.”
Pilar cleared her throat. “I could, except this is where Zach wants you to stay. It’s spacious, so you have room to work at home, and i
t has excellent security. Safety was high on the criteria Zach had for your housing.”
A troubled look crossed Arianna’s face. She could never afford to pay Zach back for this. “He’s such a control freak. Well, I’ll have to talk to him about this tonight when I see him.”
Pilar gave her a look which appeared to say, “Good luck with that.”
“What?” Arianna asked. “I told him I wanted to reimburse him for this trip, and this hotel is way out of my range.”
Pilar ignored her comment and continued. Turning the IPad so they all could see the screen, she said, “Well, in the meantime, why don’t we just take a look at what the hotel has to offer?” She swiped the screen and brought up the hotel website. “You have Broadway, SoHo, and shopping just a short ferry ride away in New York City. There’s Greenwich Village and Times Square nearby, too. I think this seems like a perfect place to stay. You’re going to want fun things to do when you’re not working, and this puts you right in the heart of some exciting activities.”
Arianna sighed. Most girls would jump at the chance to stay in such exquisite accommodations. She wondered what her hang-up was.
“This is a three bedroom suite.” Pilar looked at Lisa. “Maybe you’d like to go along with her. You would have your own bedroom.”
“Me? No. It’s all very nice, and I do love New York City, but I can’t be away from Tony that long.”
Pilar clicked off the website and pushed the IPad aside. “I don’t think Tony is going to be home for a while.”
“What do you mean?” Lisa asked, a puzzled look on her face.
“Zach either,” Pilar added. “And Juan. They’re all going to be gone for some time.”
Arianna set her drink down and looked at Pilar. “Really? When did they leave?”
“Late this morning, I believe.”
“I just talked to Zach this morning. He never said a word about leaving.”
“I suspect he said good-bye in his own way,” Pilar added. “You just missed it.”