Tal nodded, rubbing her brow. “Has anyone contacted my parents about this?”
“No, ma’am. You’re our first call.”
“I’ll do it,” Tal whispered. She felt Wyatt’s hand come to rest on her bare shoulder, trying to give her some comfort. Taking a deep breath, Tal asked, “What’s being done to find these kidnapped women?”
“Sergeant Hunter is heading up the rescue effort, ma’am. He’s a Marine sniper, and he knows Alexa personally. He’s called the SEAL and Delta Force units here. He’s got a drone up, and it’s following three white Toyota Hilux pickups with the women bound and in the back. There are two Taliban soldiers in each bed with AK-47s. We’ve got a live feed. You need to get down here to Artemis ASAP.”
Tal felt Wyatt’s hand leave her shoulder. He pulled some clothes from the drawer for her, tossing them nearby so she could get dressed as soon as the phone call ended. She loved her fiancé fiercely and nodded in his direction with a silent thank-you for his help.
“What else is being done? Does Sergeant Hunter know who’s behind this?”
“There’s a regional warlord, Daud Zadgal, who’s a Taliban sympathizer. He’s behind it, says Sergeant Hunter.”
“And what does Sergeant Hunter think is going to happen to these women?”
“Probably be sold as sex slaves across the border, ma’am.”
Grimacing, Tal saw Wyatt’s scowl deepen, his eyes darkening with silent rage. “Have you connected with Special Operations Command out of Tampa, Florida, yet?”
“Yes, ma’am, Trudy is on it. Everything is being coordinated as swiftly as humanly possible. They know your sister is among the captives. They won’t spare any expense or manpower to find all of them and get them back to us.”
“Great platitudes,” Tal growled, “but I want a mission drawn up on this ASAP. I don’t want words I want action. Anything else?”
“The drone following them shows the drivers are skirting one of the mountains on a back road. The snow is deep, and it’s slowing them down. We’re putting up top-secret maps of that area right now down in the War Room. By the time you arrive, everything will be up, and we can potentially see where they might be taking these women.”
“Good,” Tal breathed. “That’s as good as it gets. Have you been in touch with my brother Matt yet? He’s with Delta Force.”
“Sergeant Culver is out on another mission, ma’am. His captain said he won’t let him know because his team is taking down an important HVT.”
“How soon will he be off this op?” she demanded, closing her eyes. Matt was one of the best when it came to this type of kidnapping scenario. She wanted him there, and Tal knew he’d want to be there for Alexa. They were, after all, twins, and they had a powerful, invisible connection to one another. Tal wouldn’t have been surprised if Matt was picking up on Alexa’s dangerous situation.
“Ma’am, I can’t get that out of the captain. Maybe if you call him when you arrive, that might shake loose a little more Intel. You know how black ops people are. They hold their cards close to their chest.”
Growling, Tal rose. “Yes, I know that.” She grabbed her jeans, pulling them on. “All right, we’ll be there in twenty minutes. Call anyone else that we might need on this mission into the firm.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Tal punched the off button on the phone, grabbing the red turtleneck sweater Wyatt handed to her. “I need to call Mom and Dad.”
“I know.” He handed her a pair of thick socks. She sat down on the edge of the mattress and pulled them on. Wyatt looked stricken as he knelt down on one knee and slipped her boots on for her.
“Thanks,” she whispered, giving him a warm, grateful look.
“Tal, sugar, take a deep breath on this one. We’ve hired good people for Artemis Security, all military vets. They know what they’re doing, and they’re as on top of this fluid situation as you can get under the circumstances.”
Her lips twisted as she knotted the laces, standing up, quickly moving her fingers through her hair. “I know you’re right. It’s just such a shock, Wyatt.” Sudden tears burned in her eyes.
“Hey,” he rasped, “come here for just a sec.” He hauled her into his arms, holding her, kissing her hair. Gruffly, he said, “Alexa is made of strong stuff, Tal. She’ll get through this. Remember, she’s a SERE-trained officer.”
His strength comforted her, and, easing out of his arms, she gave him a wry look as she walked over and retrieved her red down jacket from the closet. “Well? You wanted to test your mission software on a real scenario. Here it is, Wyatt.”
Giving her a sad look, he nodded. “Yeah, but I never thought Alexa would be a part of that rescue mission.”
“Me either,” Tal muttered, terribly worried and struggling to keep a brave face. She threw open the door, limping down the hall to the carpeted stairs. Her shattered ankle was still healing from being injured last June. And she still had to wear a special supportive boot around it. Wyatt was beside her, pulling on his leather bombardier jacket. As she carefully took the stairs, she was going to ask him to drive their black SUV down the snow-covered roads into the country surrounding Alexandria, Virginia. She would make the call to her parents on the drive over to Artemis.
Her stomach tightened, and she felt like she wanted to vomit. It was a visceral reaction to her little sister, whom everyone loved dearly, being captured. God only knew what could happen to Alexa, and with Tal’s background as a Marine Corps sniper heading up her own unit at Bagram for five years, she knew Taliban torture methods weren’t spared for women. In fact, they hated both genders with equal ferocity.
Alexa was truly in the worst kind of trouble. Could they get her out of it?
*
Dilara Culver stared in shock at her husband, Robert, after they received the phone call from their daughter Tal. She stood by the bed in her pink silk nightgown, her red hair in disarray as she saw her husband quickly get dressed. His mouth was set in a hard line, his eyes glittering and implacable. At six foot three inches tall, Robert Culver was a well-respected Air Force general, revered by every branch of the military. Now he was going to drive to Artemis to support Tal’s efforts to find and save Alexa.
Fighting back tears, Dilara knew that emotional histrionics wouldn’t get the job done. Her daughter, Alexa, had been captured by the enemy. She could tell by the way Robert looked that this was akin to two officers coming up to a woman’s house to inform her that her husband had died in combat.
She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly chilled. “I knew this day would come,” she whispered unsteadily, catching his gaze for a moment. “I always had that premonition, but I kept telling myself it was because I feared for all our children over there in the military, in that country, and I didn’t say anything to you.”
Robert sat down on a chair and hauled on his hiking boots. “Don’t go there, pet. This is not your fault.” He stood, pulling back his broad, capable shoulders. Walking over to her, he settled his hands on her upper arms, his face becoming readable. “Listen to me, okay? We’ll find Alexa, and we’ll get her out of this situation. I want you to stay here. You need to call your brothers in Turkey and your cousin Angelo in Greece. Ask for their prayers.” He cupped her face, placing a warm kiss on her lips. “I’ll be in touch and send you hourly updates, Dilara. I don’t want you worrying any more than you have to, all right? I’m going to call my brothers, Pete and John, on the way to Artemis. They may want to join us.”
Pete was a general in the Marine Corps and John an admiral in the Navy. Right now, Robert wanted to bring all the military power they had to bear on this situation.
Love welled up inside Dilara, erasing momentarily her terrifying fear for her youngest daughter’s life. She touched her husband’s shadowed face, his beard prickly beneath her fingertips. Dilara had to be calm and centered for him, too. Robert was a wonderful, caring father to their three children and loved them as much as she did.
Putting on a brave front
, she managed a broken smile, gazing directly up into his narrowed, concerned eyes. “Yes, that’s more than all right. Get going, okay? I’ll make the phone calls.”
He kissed her again, hard this time. She could feel her husband’s desperate wish to give her hope. Dilara knew all about the military. Tal, Matt, and Alexa had all joined different branches, and they all had jobs that were potentially life-threatening. She’d had to learn to live with the threat that one or more of them might be killed. Already, Tal had been injured on a sniper op last June, and she would have died if Wyatt had not found her in time. Even now, her ankle, held together with pins and screws, was not completely healed. Her once-athletic daughter had been slowed to the pace of a snail, which Tal hated.
She watched as Robert picked up his black leather jacket, shrugging it over a dark blue shirt. Even in jeans and hiking boots, Dilara thought, a military bearing exuded from her husband. “Be careful driving out there. The roads will be icy,” she called as he pulled open the bedroom door.
“I will.” He hesitated, turning, his voice going gruff. “I love you, pet. We’ll get Alexa home. Somehow, some way, we’ll make it happen. You just say your prayers and ask your family to do the same.”
He left without a sound. Her husband was a giant among men, literally and figuratively speaking. Dilara couldn’t give in to her roiling emotions, or her terror, or her mind, which kept drifting toward horrifying scenarios Alexa might have been facing at this very moment. She hurried to the closet, opening it, and pulled down a pair of black wool slacks. From the dresser, she took out a soft pink angora sweater with a mock turtleneck. This was Alexa’s favorite color: pink.
Her heart felt as if it were breaking as she quickly dressed. She pushed her feet into a pair of black leather shoes and hurried downstairs. It seemed so quiet. As if the world were holding its breath. Waiting. Just waiting . . .
Dilara went to the kitchen and quickly made herself some strong Turkish coffee. She needed it, because when she called her brothers, they would be highly distraught. Her Greek cousin Angelo would be equally rocked by the news. After downing a second cup, Dilara picked up the phone, took a deep breath, and tried to steady her own churning emotions. Her Turkish family dearly loved Robert and Dilara’s three grown children. Uncle Ihsan, as everyone called him, had special affection for Tal, Matt, and Alexa. As Dilara pressed the button that would connect to her brother’s villa on the Aegean Sea, she leaned an elbow on the granite counter. She felt her knees weakening and sat down on a black leather stool, waiting for her brother’s voice. Tears burned in her eyes. Oh, God in heaven, how was she going to break this news to her brothers?
They loved Alexa as if she was their daughter, and Dilara knew the fierce passion that Turks held in their DNA. This would shatter them in ways she couldn’t imagine. And what if they couldn’t find Alexa? What if she was killed? Tortured? Whether she wanted them to or not, tears leaked out of her tightly shut eyes as she waited for Ihsan to pick up the phone at the other end.
*
Tal drew in a breath of relief as her father strode into the War Room within Artemis Security. She sat with her assembled team of seven people. Among them was Wyatt at her right elbow. She’d left a place for her father on Wyatt’s other side, gesturing for him to come in. The lights were low. Up on the viewing screen at the end of the room, a good six feet across and five feet vertically, they were watching a live drone feed.
Robert leaned over, placing a kiss on Tal’s mussed hair. “Catch me up?” he asked gruffly, sitting down and pulling over a pad and pen from the center of the long, oval table.
“What you’re seeing is a live drone feed, Dad,” Tal said. “We’ve been able to identify every woman in those three trucks via facial ID. Alexa is in the lead truck, near the rear, next to the Taliban soldier. She seems to be okay, as are the other women. We haven’t been able to see any wounds on them.”
Robert learned forward, eyes squinting as he studied the color video, which was sharp and clear. “Is this a Pred?”
“I wish,” Tal said, giving him a look, “No, not a Pred.” A Predator drone carried weapons on it. Other drones carried cameras and infrared or other equipment, but no weapons. If it had been a Pred, Tal knew they could have used its weapons if necessary, but with the present situation, a loosed rocket would not only kill the enemy but the women hostages as well.
Robert watched without saying anything for the next five minutes. “They’re trying to force those trucks up and over that slope.”
“They aren’t going to make it,” Wyatt said quietly. “I’ve been in that area. I know it like the back of my hand. When things get wet, it turns to sticky, slippery clay. It’s a bitch to plow through. Sooner or later, they’re going to get stuck.”
“And where are the Apaches? What’s happening, Tal? These bastards are out in the open. It’s an opportunity to get to them.”
Grimacing, she said, “That’s the problem, Dad. We can’t loose a Hellfire missile or fifty-caliber bullets on them for fear of killing or injuring the women. They’re all civilians except for Alexa.”
Wyatt told Robert, “There’s a SEAL team on the move. They’ve got eight men, plus Sergeant Hunter is going with them. He’s a Marine sniper. He was there when it happened.”
“And he won’t admit it,” Tal said, “but he probably saved Alexa’s life when the first RPG hit so close that he took the shrapnel and blast wave from it, instead of her. He said Alexa is not wearing a Kevlar vest.”
Robert rubbed his wrinkled brow. “Good man, this Hunter. So, he’s the ninth operator?”
“Yes,” Wyatt said. “I know the SEAL Bravo Platoon. Their shit is tight, and they are up to this kind of extraction mission. And I know Hunter. My team worked with him previously over the years. He’s steady and reliable.”
“I know Gage Hunter, too, Dad. He was in the other sniper unit there at Bagram with our unit. He’s the right man to be in the driver’s seat on this rescue mission. But they have to be careful,” Tal cautioned. “If the Taliban hears SEALs flying in by helo, they might shoot all the hostages and run for it. We don’t know what they’ll do.”
“What do you think?” Robert asked, sliding a glance at her.
Tal shrugged. “Sergeant Hunter, who’s been a key player in this, says that there’s a regional warlord, Daud Zadgal, who’s a Taliban sympathizer. The way he makes money for his villages is to steal women and children from other villages outside his tribal boundary and sell them across the border.” She wiped her lips, her voice dropping to a whisper, laden with withheld emotion. “Sex slaves. Sex trafficking. They’d all be sold off to the highest bidder. They could end up anywhere in the world.”
Robert nodded, his face hardening, his eyes never leaving the feed. His youngest daughter was crouched in that truck, her hands tied in front of her. He could see the mud on her jeans and jacket, her beautiful red hair loose and wild.
He wished he could see her face, but her hair hid it. What was she thinking? Feeling? God, he couldn’t go there.
Wyatt slid a photo toward the general. “Here’s Zadgal, who collects these kidnapped women and children. I think you know of Zakir Sharan?” He saw Robert’s hazel eyes narrow on the color photo in front of him.
“That sonofabitch,” he breathed, anger leaking through his deep voice as he picked up the photo. He shot Wyatt a look. “You’re sure about this?”
“Dead positive,” Wyatt drawled. This regional warlord, Daud Zadgal, is a relative of Sharan. He’s been dealing in the sex slave trade for a decade, because in his province, poppies don’t grow well, so he has to make money another way.”
“Shit.”
Tal tried to throttle her emotions. It would do no good to break down and cry. Every man and woman at the table with them was just as emotionally affected by Alexa’s capture as her family was. She felt Wyatt’s warm, comforting hand move slowly back and forth across her tight, tense shoulders. There was no way she could tell anyone how helpless she felt. Alex
a was half a world away and in the worst trouble of her life.
“So, do they know who Alexa is?” Robert demanded, his voice heavy with fear.
“No,” Tal said. “That’s the good news. Sergeant Hunter asked Alexa to take off her dog tags out at the village. He’s got her tags. So if they search her, and I’m sure they will, they won’t find dog tags to ID her as military.”
“Thank God for small miracles,” Robert rasped, rubbing his face. “We’ve dodged a bullet on this one.”
“Sergeant Hunter said the other women are civilians, and they do not know Alexa is military, either. They only know her as a representative of Delos. Just another NGO to them. And I’m sure Alexa will keep her mouth shut about that and fabricate a fake name and anything else she needs to keep that intel out of their hands.”
Robert grimaced. “Because if they knew, they’d single her out, torture her on video, and probably behead her on camera as well.”
Tal winced and shut her eyes, knowing this to be true, but hearing her father say it brought it home in a terrible way. Wyatt’s hand stilled on her shoulder, anchoring her, feeding her strength and courage.
Wyatt said, “They’re stuck.”
All eyes moved to the screen. Tal saw as the women were forced out of the trucks, the guards shoving the snouts of AK-47s into their backs, forcing them to hurry up a trail that another soldier was walking.
For the first time, Tal got a look at her sister’s face. She breathed a sigh of relief, finding no bruising or swelling. So far, it seemed that the soldiers were not using their fists on them. So far . . .
Wyatt pointed to the info running across the bottom of the screen. “Sir? That’s real-time intel on the SEAL team and where they’re at.”
“Are they going to try to get dropped in on the other side of that mountain to intercept them?”
“Yes, sir,” Wyatt said. “They’ve got four snipers plus the Marine sniper. They’re going to set up after we try to figure out the trail they’re taking. I’ve been in that vicinity. There’s a goat path that goes up another two thousand feet to that ridge and comes down the other side of it.”
Broken Dreams (Delos Series Book 4) Page 11