by Andres Mann
The next day, they rented two vans and drove to a dilapidated warehouse, where they were issued various weapons, dark clothing, flak vests and nighttime goggles. General Turner had been thorough and resourceful.
At dusk, the team parked the vans two blocks from the address that they had extracted from Amir and started to scope the place. The villa was big, surrounded by a tall iron fence. Using light sensing binoculars, Jake and George detected at least three guards and two large dogs. Jake as usual came prepared. He tossed several juicy steaks over the fence to attract the dogs. The animals rushed to the meat and started to rip into it. In an operation like this, they would have injected the meat with poison, but Tess insisted on the use of a tranquilizer which worked beautifully. Within ten minutes, all activity from the dogs ceased.
Ken Ross, the sniper, found a spot on the corner of the property, loaded his long range guns with silencers and got ready to shoot the guards if necessary.
John Powers used his silenced rifle to direct fire at two visible surveillance cameras on the perimeter of the property and then poured acid on the lock of the main gate. They heard a fizzle and the lock assembly fell off on a rubber mat that he had placed below it to prevent any noise.
The team stealthily moved into the garden. Ken and John got behind two of the guards and put them out with well-placed blows to the head. The probably weren’t dead, but they would remain unconscious for a while. Jake, Tess, and John got into the house and surprised the occupants, an elderly woman, and a man that appeared to be a butler. They tied them up and Jake asked them where they could find the kids. The terrified pair insisted that there were no children in the house. Tess didn’t buy it and she rushed up the stairs followed by Jake. They started to open doors but found each room devoid of people. Finally, they charged into a large bedroom suite, where a woman was sitting on a chair reading.
Muna, Amir’s temporary wife, stood up, alarmed. “What is the meaning of this?” she asked.
Tess walked toward her. “Are you Amir’s wife?”
“Yes, I am Muna, General Amir al-Saadi’s wife and the mistress of this house. Who are you? What do you want?”
Tess looked at the beautiful, proud woman wearing a gorgeous robe and nightgown. ‘I guess I should not be surprised,’ she thought. ‘Amir likes beautiful women.’
“We want the children; if you comply, we will not harm you.”
Muna sat down, adjusting the folds of her long gown. She looked at Tess defiantly. “The children are no longer here. My husband took them somewhere else.”
Tess felt like someone had punched her in the stomach. She raised her Uzi and pointed it at the woman. “You are lying. Tell me where the children are.”
“I am not lying. Look for yourself. They are no longer here.”
Jake put his hand on Tess’s shoulder. It was obvious that she was getting ready to slug the woman.
Courteously, he asked Muna to tell them what she knew. She refused.
Suddenly there was a commotion. The third guard became aware of the house invasion and was rushing toward the house. Ken dropped him with a single shot to the leg.
Jake resumed his tactful interrogation. “Madam, you must know that your husband kidnapped our son. We know that he was taken to Canada and that you and Amir took the baby out of the country. You used forged passports. You were complicit in this crime. You both committed a serious offense and unless you cooperate, there will be consequences.
“Tell me what you can do about this. We are no longer in Canada.”
“We seized your house. We put down your guards and your dogs. Do you think we are joking?”
Muna finally realized that she was defenseless against some nasty people.
Tess now approached her with gentleness. “Muna, we know that you don’t have a real marriage. Amir admitted that it is mainly a business arrangement for the sole purpose of illegally taking my son out of Canada. We know that you a victim too. Help us and we will help you.”
Muna broke in tears. “I fell in love with Amir, but he doesn’t want me. He wants you. He is obsessed with you. He hasn’t given up. He vowed he will get you back.”
“Then why do you feel that you have to be loyal to a man that doesn’t want you? He hurt both of us. He does not deserve any loyalty. He is a horrible person. Please come to your senses Muna.”
The woman wiped her tears with a silk handkerchief and put her head down, defeated. “You are right, Tess. He does not deserve my loyalty. I would like to help you, but I don’t know much.”
“Tell us what you know, Muna. Anything will help.”
“All I know is that Amir took the children away on his plane along with the nannies. I wanted to help with the children, but he refused to let me go with them. I think that he took them to Italy where his sister lives part time.”
“Do you know where she lives?”
“Last time I heard it was somewhere around Amalfi.”
Tess now hoped that they still had a chance of finding the kids.
“Muna, I thank you. You have done the right thing.”
“I may have done the right thing, but I betrayed my husband.”
“Muna, he is not your real husband. He used you like he uses everybody else. You have no obligation to him.”
Muna did not seem to be convinced. “You got some of what you came for. Now leave, please. Good luck.”
“Thank you, Muna. Your people are fine, except for one guard who was shot in the leg. We have bandaged him, but he needs medical attention. Please wait ten minutes then call the ambulance. We are all grateful to you. Goodbye.”
The team rushed out to their vans, changed clothes and returned to the hotel, now looking like tourists on the town.
Muna sat for a while, deep in thought. Then she opened a drawer and retrieved a pistol. She put the gun to her head and pulled the trigger.
Chapter 59
Arrogance and Torment
Carmen and Nicola were stuck in a remote CIA black site facility in Jordan. There wasn’t much to do, other than keep an eye on Amir, who was being held in relative comfort. He had a cell with television and was provided with any reading material that he asked for.
After the attack on the World Trade Center in 9/11, the CIA had established “black site” secret prisons in several countries. The facilities were known for the controversial extreme psychological interrogation measures used on detainees. These included sensory deprivation, sleep deprivation, keeping prisoners naked indefinitely and photographing them naked to degrade and humiliate them, and forcibly administering drugs by suppositories to further break down their dignity.
The CIA agents that ran the facility were getting uncomfortable. They were holding a top Iraqi general prisoner with no official approval from Langley. They started to pressure Nicola and Carmen for a resolution, but the best they could do is to ask them to be patient until the team returned from Istanbul.
Carmen was also under pressure to go back to her flying duties in Iraq.
She picked up the phone and saw that it was Tess calling.
Tess went straight to the point. “Carmen, the baby was not there. Amir lied to us to get us off the scent. Now we think that he sent the kids somewhere in Italy.”
“That narrows down the search area, like a whole country,” Carmen noted, trying not to sound sarcastic.
“We think that the kids may be somewhere on the Amalfi coast. That’s still not much to go on, and we need to get Amir to finally tell us the truth. The team is flying to Naples, but Jake and I are coming down to have another chat with Amir. We are at the airport and we will arrive in Amman in two hours.”
“That’s fine, Tess. I will have Nicola pick you up.” Carmen told Nicola what happened and sent him off to the airport.
She now was as angry as hornet’s nest and proceeded to see Amir against the advice of the other two team members. She ignored them and walked to the holding cell.
Carmen appeared outside the cell’s iron bars. Amir was
reading a book.
“Good morning, Carmen; such a pleasure to see you!” he smiled, “I could use some eye candy. Would you like to come in and entertain me? It’s kind of boring here.”
“Stop your sarcasm, Amir. You are in trouble. They did not find the children. You lied to us.”
“That’s not correct, Miss Carmen. When Tess was playing with my private parts with her knife, I told her the absolute truth. The children were in Istanbul at that time. She just neglected to politely inquire if they were still going to be there when she arrived to steal them. Mine is only a sin of omission. I was not obliged to tell her more than she asked for.”
“Well, Tess is coming back to see you. She is furious and I don’t want to be around when she gets her hands on you.”
“I know that she missed me. I would be wonderful to make love to her again; it’s has been a while. Perhaps we could spice up the activity with a threesome. I would enjoy mixing her white skin with some light chocolate; it may be good for you as well. I always deliver pure bliss to my women.”
“I don’t think you get it, Amir. This time Tess will literally cut your balls off.”
“I doubt it. I am sure she remembers that when I made love to her, I transported her to a paradise of earthly delights. In any case, perhaps you might want take advantage of the current situation, and let me show you what it means to be possessed by a man that truly appreciates beautiful women. You are beautiful, Carmen — somewhat small but delectable, I am sure.”
Carmen was starting to build up steam. “Amir, would you please get your mind off you dick and realize that you are in real trouble? Tess will be here in a few hours, and this time, she will not be gentle.”
“I am looking forward to seeing her again. I just hope that this time she will wear a suitable custom, perhaps a black rubber suit.”
“Have it your way Amir. You are going to be in a world of hurt when she gets here. You forgot that she is capable of killing you.”
“Are you sure you don’t want to enjoy a threesome or perhaps a quickie between us?”
“Go to hell, Amir. I hate you. You are insane.”
“Sometimes I have that effect on women,” Amir noted, picking up his book and turning his back to her.”
***
Nicola picked up Tess and Jake at the airport and proceeded to the black site. “I am sorry that this turned out to be a waste time for you. I didn’t think that Amir would have the guts to give you bad information, even after duress.”
Tess was fuming. “This time, duress does not even remotely describe what I am going to do to him.”
“You should also know that we have problems here,” Nicola added. The Iraqi Army is raising holy hell looking for their missing general. They are scouring the country and they are putting pressure on the surrounding nations to help them find him. The CIA guys at the site are getting nervous. They want us to leave as soon as possible.”
Upon arrival, Tess and Jake went straight to Amir’s cell.
Amir flashed a big smile. “Tess, beloved; you are back! I missed you.”
Tess closed her hands into a fist. “Ok, Amir, you lied to me again.”
“I did no such thing,” he responded, affecting an insulted look. “You did not ask the next logical question.”
“All right; I am asking it now. Where do you keep the kids now?”
“Tess, you are all business, I am hurt. Don’t you want to tell me about your trip first? How was Istanbul? I am anxious to know if you enjoyed it.”
“Here is how this is going to play out, Amir. You tell me where the kids are and after we get them back, I will let you go. If you don’t, I will break you to pieces.”
“Horror! I didn’t know that you employed the euphemistically called ‘Enhanced Interrogation Techniques.’ Are you going to take your clothes off when you do it? It would be more enjoyable for me.”
Tess resolved to tear him apart, except Amir was still locked in the cell. Jake grabbed her hand and insisted they do to a different room.
“Tess, let me try to reason with him. It will only take a minute.”
“That’s all you are getting Jake, then I am going to kill him.”
“You stay here, I will be right back.”
Jake went back to Amir’s cell and sat on a chair outside the bars.
“Amir, you know that this is the end of the line. If you don’t tell us what we want to know, Tess will tear you apart.”
“To you, I am General al-Saadi. I did not bestow on you the privilege of familiarity.”
“Okay, General. Tell me what we need to know.”
“I will only talk to my beloved. She has a tendency to give me bad headaches, but it’s a little price to pay to be in her company.”
“Amir, in this place, eventually we make people sing like a canary. Why go through that? It does not make any sense.”
“Please call me General, Mr. Jakes. Let me elucidate my position. You accuse me of kidnapping my son and bringing him to where he belongs. Now you want to take him back, and in addition you plan to steal my daughter. What’s wrong with this picture?”
“This is a situation that you created.”
“Yes, Tess and I conceived my son during a night of supreme bliss. You should have seen her, Mr. Jakes. She opened herself to me so I could give her endless delights. She screamed in pleasure, and we did it again and again. It was marvelous. When I spilled myself into her, it was indeed an act of creation; she made my son. You will never experience her like I did.”
“You have an inflated opinion of yourself, Amir. You had to deceive Tess to come to you; she would have never done it if you hadn’t promised to let her have the girl. In the end, you just set her up.”
Amir smiled. “All is fair in love and war. In any case, aren’t you a little jealous? When you are on top of her, don’t you suspect that she might prefer me to possess her? Perhaps you occasionally feel that there is an elephant in the room. Now that’s a pleasant thought, a threesome.”
“Tess came to me because she wanted to be with me. I did not have to deceive her. She married me, not you. She also gave me my own child that died in the womb as a result of the accident that you engineered. Then you put her in a coma for a month. So, your problem is not only with Tess, but with me as well. This is the end of the road for you. Even you must recognize that I am right. So, tell me where the kids are and we will all go our separate ways.”
“I will tell you nothing! I don’t care what you do. I will die before I deprive my son of his heritage.”
Jake walked out.
Tess was sitting in the meeting room with Carmen and Nicola. She looked at Jake expectantly.
“He is a stubborn son of a bitch,” Jake said. To get him to spill the beans we will have to resort to very unpleasant, desperate measures. The problem is that the CIA is throwing us out of here. Things are getting too hot.”
Tess rose. “My turn.” She went to the jail cell and opened the lock. She was going to beat Amir to death. Amir saw what was coming. The instant she opened the iron gate he slammed it into her, sending her flying to the floor. He rushed out of the cage and charged into the other room, surprising the team. He grabbed Carmen by an arm and threw her against the wall. Nicola moved against him, but Amir kicked him in the stomach, making him double over, then he kicked him again.
By this time, Jake had recovered from the surprise and lunged at Amir. They collided and rolled on the floor, landing blows on each other. Jake managed to get on his feet, but Amir kicked him behind the knees, causing him to fall. Nicola was still stunned on the floor. Amir seized his pistol and ran outside. He surprised two CIA men and shot both of them down. He was ready to commandeer a Humvee parked in front of the building until a pistol shot missed his head by inches. Tess was now behind him.
“Drop the gun, Amir.” She cocked the gun and pointed it at him. He hesitated and she shot again, grazing him on the shoulder. He let go of the weapon, raising his hands. Tess came closer. Amir was b
leeding but not disabled. Tess approached him but was momentarily startled by the guys rushing to the scene. They were obviously hurt, but trying to come to her support.
She turned her head for a second, enough for Amir to attempt jumping at her. Tess had superb reflexes; she turned herself to the side like a matador. Amir missed hitting her by an inch. He turned around facing her. Tess now became a fearsome warrior. Her face turned to stone, her eyes icy, deadly. She dropped her gun. It was no longer necessary. Amir charged her again, like a bull. She sprang like a coil, recreating her lethal ballet moves, swirling through the air. She hit Amir on the left cheek with her combat boot, shattering the facial bones. Amir reeled and tried to counter attack, grabbing a pole and going for her. Tess flew in the air again and planted her boot on the same side of his face, sending him flying on his back into the dirt.
Amir’s face now was grotesque. His cheek and jaw were fractured and his eye socket had dropped, suggesting the face of a monster in a horror movie. Still, he made another attempt to get up, only to see Tess’s boot coming at him again, slamming into his testicles. He collapsed and passed out.
Tess did not want to take any chances now and tied him up. Then she looked after her battered team. They were attending to the two wounded CIA men, applying bandages.
Carmen finally got up. “Tess, I wouldn’t like to be on your bad side.” The battered team wholeheartedly agreed.
The CIA boss of the facility assessed the situation and quickly made arrangements. The wounded men were placed in a Humvee to be brought to the military hospital. A medic patched the rest of them in place. Amir was more of a problem. His face was a ruin. Besides medical help, he needed a lot of plastic surgery.
The medic explained the situation. “There is not much that we can do about his face here. He needs to go to a specialized facility, and there are none around. The best that a doctor can do here is to try to patch him up until he is ready to see a plastic surgeon.”