by Lynda Filler
REBORN
Code Raven 5
by
Lynda Filler
Disclaimer
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or deceased, events or locales is entirely coincidental
Cover Photos Canstock
©2018 Lynda Filler Author
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
To the fans, the readers, those who have found me on social media and shared my work and are following along in the journey of Luke Raven and Samaar, I owe you my gratitude. It’s you I think about when I plot each new adventure of the Raven Group. You inspire me to bring you the best adventure and the most intriguing plot lines. I hope you have as much fun reading as I do when I write into the world of the billionaire Luke Raven and his lethal assassin, Luci aka Samaar.
Special thanks for all your support in the proof-reading process to my friend, author whisperer BJ. She has the most challenging job of picking up my periods and rescuing my commas and pointing out the mismatched tenses and nonsensical gaps in timing. I value your stunning eye and patience.
Welcome to the fifth story, the sixth is in the works. As long as you keep reading I will keep writing! Thank you.
Please feel free to say hi on FB or any social media where I hang out!
Main Characters in the Code Raven stories.
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.
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 four-year-old 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, 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 the Raven Group. Currently stationed in Paris with Samaar and Alice.
Table of Contents
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
SILK ROAD, book 6 in the Code Raven Series
Cape Town, South Africa
SHE TUCKED HER ceramic knife into the lining of her custom running boots, pushed her hair up under her black nylon baseball cap and secured a fully customized HK P30 pistol in the small of her back. She took one lingering look at the stranger in the mirror, shook it off, and prepared to go.
Covered in head-to-toe black lycra running gear, she stepped out through the ground floor bamboo patio door on to smooth weather-worn stone. The virtually invisible figure avoided all light and moved expertly within the shadows. Abruptly she took off at run, hit the high stone wall surrounding the elegant hotel and leaped over the top without a sound. Security was conspicuously absent as she had predicted, distracted by a muffled cell phone call warning of a tourist in danger outside the doors of the prestigious high-end establishment. No lights, cameras or sounds announced her departure.
The woman crouched on the dark side of the wall, her location chosen carefully, her skill-set above anything recognizable to the Cape Town constables who were conspicuously absent, more than likely enjoying a game of cribbage at this late, and mostly calm hour of the night.
She started off on a casual jog along the waterfront, ignored by the late-night tourists spilling out of the champagne bars and beer joints. She ran around the scores of revelers sampling local foods. The pungent aroma of braai’s, beef barbeque or anything that ran away from spears or arrows, hung sizzling over grills. The meat dripping with spicy sauces assaulted her senses. Her mind turned to hunting, but not for food.
Anything in her way would be fair game.
She continued at a steady pace. The trendy night spots gave way to graffiti-covered metal-shuttered storefronts. She ran around overflowing garbage bins, the smell of rotten fish and dog manure mixing with wafts of hashish and marijuana. She ignored punks huddled in doorways, lights burning or burnt out. The whites of their eyes followed her, their faces blackened by generations of angry slave laborers once exploited by white plantation owners, now long dead.
She kept on going. Every mile took her deeper and deeper into territory where white faces never traveled. Luci was bored by forced inactivity and spurred on by her own demons. Her mind turned to her lover, murdered and never coming back. And her six-year-old daughter Alice, safe with Luke Raven back in the States. She missed her so much. But she’d had no choice. Drastic changes were critical if she wanted to stay alive.
Her blackouts had ceased, brought on by the kind of stress that left you wondering about your life’s purpose. Whatever the doctors had done, she was now back in control of her mind. And now, she needed to know her skills were intact.
She’d dropped her concentration for a minute; that was more than enough time for nocturnal predators to get the jump on her. She stopped abruptly. She felt but didn’t see, the presence of bodies behind her and two lanky teens stood in front of her, hopping back and forth, twitching like coked-out fighters in
a ring. They had guns in their hands, but their eyes said they were scared.
“Give us your money, bitch, or we’ll…”
Before they could finish speaking, Luci lashed out with her knife toward the one on her left while high-kicking the man on her right. One dodged her blade but tripped over in the attempt while the other doubled over, holding his chest and screaming in agony. Before the two behind her could react, she’d turned and kicked out, hearing the loud crack as a knee cap gave way. The other boy raised his hands in surrender, stumbling, turning and running away.
Luci looked over the destruction. She felt neither pity nor anger. She was done here.
She took off at a jog; no crowds lurking. Anyone stupid enough to take her on had witnessed the confrontation and decided whatever she might be carrying wasn’t worth the risk.
She took in deep gulps of air while wiping a trickle of blood from her cheek. She must have injured herself somehow and hadn’t even noticed. She’d gotten what she came for; her skills intact, she was good to go.
Cape Town, South Africa
LUCI DROVE HER rental car up the winding highway away from the shimmering blue ocean and the touristy parts of the Cape. She pulled over at a lookout, mesmerized by the treacherous, turbulent, shark-infested bay waters way below her. Her cell phone vibrated. Only one person could connect with her on this phone.
“Hi, Raven.”
“Samaar.”
The way he spoke her Israeli name sent unwanted shivers throughout her body. This was the only man, who had ever seen into her soul. He knew her past, the anger and evil that could be her default operational mode, and he accepted her. She trusted Raven with her life and her daughter’s life, and yet…
“I should send you a photo from the top of this mountain.”
“It’s very special, isn’t it? That’s why I thought it might be a good choice for your retreat.”
“How’s my daughter? Does she miss me?”
“Of course. But she’s playing with Maggs and learning to cook!”
“Hah! If I know Maggs, she’s probably teaching her martial arts!” Luke Raven had sought out the six-foot-tall Maggs for her special force’s prowess and her Michelin chef status, never quite sure which talent was more important to his elite operational team.
Luke laughed. “Well, that too.”
“Lorena sends her regards. You knew she wouldn’t go to Paris with you. It works out well for us because Maggs needs a break. Lorena left yesterday to return to the Bay of Banderas. I have a property we manage for a group. It’s located on the coast near Punta de Mita and is extremely secure. I needed someone there to help me with a friend who requires security, so it works for both of them.”
“Does Alice miss me? Or Lorena?”
“I’m sure she misses her Momma. She’s used to your absences. I keep assuring her you are coming back and will take her on a ‘venture’. But she’s busy with her studies and play with Maggs, and of course RB is teaching her computer games. He says she’s very bright. We should have her tested to make sure her education suits her ability level. He says at almost five years old she’s remarkable—like her mother.”
Her heart—whatever heart she still had—ached to hold her baby girl. She was a gift from a short but poignant affair with an Arab journalist. Her life was hectic before Alice was born. After her parents had been murdered by suicide bombers in Tel Aviv, Samaar had returned from her studies in London and been recruited by the Mossad. Her knowledge of London made her the perfect liaison with MI6. But she tired of that life and looked for opportunities to give it up. She found it when she ‘intercepted’ hundreds of millions of dollars in an illegal scam between the drug cartels and a rogue group from the CIA.
They both waited for the other to fill the silence. Finally, Luke spoke up.
“When are you coming home?”
Luci sighed. Luke Raven’s place would not be home for her. She couldn’t. She’d tried to let Raven love her, but it still didn’t feel like the timing was right.
“How’s my new place coming along in Paris?” She could sense Luke’s disappointment in his hesitation to answer the question. He’d saved her life more than once. He was the one person in the world whom she could trust completely to keep Alice safe these last few weeks. And she did love him, but…
“Your place is almost complete. My security team have made sure that anything available either on the market or in development with the Raven Group has been installed in your apartment. Your baby girl is speaking French with Maggs.”
“Perfect.”
Luke waited.
“Have you heard anything, Luke? Any chatter from the infamous American intelligence group? Or cartel rumors from South America?”
“No.”
Luci felt the breath she didn’t know she was holding, slowly release.
“Raven.”
“Yes?”
Luci looked out over the expanse for ocean off Cape Town. She could imagine Luke standing in this very spot. She wondered—but wouldn’t ask—if he had come here with his now dead wife Lily.
“I will let you know when I’m ready to leave, so Maggs and Alice can meet me in Paris.” She closed the connection.
A half hour later, she turned her car into a private gated compound. A Carmelite nun was watering her roses. She stopped and waved. A winery stretched as far as the eye could see. African workers picked perfect clusters of grapes ripening in the vibrant sunlight.
The inn was attached to the Abbey and was advertised as a bed and breakfast; but Luke had negotiated the entire facility for a month-long stay, so Luci would have complete nursing staff, total privacy, and expert security. She’d left the contemplative life for the shores of Cape Town five days before.
These nuns lived a sparse life, no access to media, movies or television. Should anything earthshattering happen, the Priest would decide if the sisters’ solitude need be disturbed. The nuns were oblivious to outside affairs of state, creating a perfect hide-away for a woman who needed a change of face.
She exited her rental Jeep and entered the weathered sandstone medical facility on the other side of the parking lot away from prying eyes. Somewhere in the distance she saw billowing smoke, where farmers burned off crop residues and brittle aging grass.
“Good day, ma’am.”
They exchanged very few words, while the Doctor, his lab coat too small for his corpulent frame, studied her from half-moon glasses as if she were a fascinating specimen in a petri dish.
“What happened?” He looked at her injury with a microscopic instrument and shook his head.
“I went out for a walk yesterday. I tripped.”
“Hmmm.” The doctor’s discretion was in proportion to the receipt received in his email before the operation commenced. In this case, his mouth was sealed, and all files, x-rays, and photos would be incinerated before his patient left the facility today.
“You’re very lucky. If your fall had interfered with the surgery around your eyes, we would have had to do this operation again. You must be more careful.”
Luci had nothing to add.
“You’re healing very nicely. Soon you can travel.”
He looked her over, making no comments about her change in hairstyle, nor the addition of makeup that seemed to draw one’s glance to her bright red lips and away from the understated jade eyes.
“But you said I’m healed, right?”
“Yes.”
“So, I can go in the water, correct?”
“As long as you don’t exert yourself. No jogging, running, or exercising, not for another couple of weeks. It’s only been a month since we completed all the procedures.”
Luci studied herself in the full-length mirror. The woman before her no longer had Asian eyes, or long jet-black hair. She’d chopped her hair off, layered it and lightened it to a natural auburn shade. She looked softer, younger. Her lithe body was the same, although she’d put on some weight with all her inactivity. Her jade eyes still h
eld their hypnotic intensity. She would see what Raven thought before she decided if she needed to wear contact lenses. But the space between her eyes had been altered, and she now had a more pronounced eye socket and lid. Yes, she recognized her eyes, but she’d toned them down with muted eye shadow. And her face was now shaped more like a Caucasian woman with a touch of mixed race in her heritage. Her memorable Eurasian beauty was gone, and a sophisticated quiet beauty stood in its place. The ruby red lips were a perfect touch.
“I like what you’ve done with my cheekbones.”
She was no longer recognizable as the lethal ex-Mossad agent wanted in several countries. Her changes would pass any facial recognition software, no matter how sophisticated. That was this doctor’s specialty.
She could finally begin to give Alice the life her child deserved. They had more money than they could ever spend with the money Luci had intercepted from the deal the South American cartels had with the CIA. They would live in a city she loved and knew well from the year she had spent at the Sorbonne. She had friends there, Simone and President Matisse. Alice would make friends with Rasha, her seven-year-old daughter Amira, and the orphan Kamar, rescued by Luci at the Serbia/Hungary border. Alice would have friends and live like other little girls in Paris.
And if anyone threatened their existence, a change of face would not prevent Luci from using her skills as Mossad’s most lethal assassin.
Borough Market, London, England
THE EBONY-HAIRED stunner grabbed her girlfriend by the arm and walked along the sidewalk on the way to the local pub.
“I’ve been working on a big story for the network. I’m tired.” She rolled her eyes, laughed at her friend and pulled her into a big embrace. “I’m just happy to get out of work early enough to do happy hour and have a night out on the town with my best friend.”