by Mary Alford
“Not much at all,” he agreed. “But I will help you because I believe you, but only if you do exactly as I tell you. A woman traveling there alone will be taken into custody immediately. With the proper clothing, you could pass for a young man.”
Relief overwhelmed me. “Thank you. When can we leave?”
He continued to watch me before answering. “Soon. We will need to take some of my men with us. I often travel there to buy supplies. We will not draw undue attention. You will not speak. Not ever. If anyone asks me, you are my nephew. Do you understand?”
“Yes,” I smiled with relief. “Thank you.”
“One more thing. You will leave your weapon along with your ID here. If you are searched, you must be without them.”
The thought of leaving my weapon behind left me feeling exposed, but I needed Khalid’s help so I’d do what he asked. “I understand.”
“Good. Drink up. We will leave immediately. I take it you can ride?”
I’d been on a horse only once in my life, but I didn’t tell Khalid this. “Yes, of course.”
He eyed me suspiciously and then seemed to decide I was telling the truth. “All right, I will have my wife bring you something to wear.”
Khalid left and a few minutes later, the same woman as before entered the tent. She carried a tray of food and a stack of clothes.
“Thank you,” I managed to say to her back as she left me alone without a word.
I ate the food with more of an appetite than I imagined. It had been hours since I’d had a decent meal.
With the food gone, I changed quickly into the clothing. When I left the tent, I found Khalid waiting next to the opening. He looked me up and down, then adjusted my turban so that it partially covered my face, and grunted in satisfaction.
“I have a gentle mount for you. Again, I must caution you, no matter what happens, don’t speak to anyone. Your accent alone will give you away. Your use of the dialect will only confirm it. Do as I say and with any luck, you’ll be okay.”
Four more men joined us. One was Khalid’s nephew. We set out for a mountain range in the distance. We’d traveled less than half an hour when the desert sun began to beat down on us. The heat was unbearable, making the loose fitting robes cling like paste to my body.
We topped another hill when a small, run-down village came into sight. Bel-Ahzar.
Khalid slowed his mount and waited for me to catch up. “Remember, keep your mouth shut. If this goes bad, I’ll do my best to help, but you must get out of there by any means possible.”
We entered the village at a slow canter. Though it was still quite early, there were dozens of men milling around. Several eyed us suspiciously. I knew without asking that these men were my sworn enemy.
I tried to think of how I would ever find the person known as Rahab. I assumed she was female, but there were few women about. Of those I could see, all were escorted by men.
Khalid reined his horse to a halt. He dismounted and indicated that I should do the same.
“Follow me and try to act like a man,” he whispered against my ear. Our arrival had not seemed to draw too much unwanted attention. Several men appeared to know Khalid.
We made our way to a small open market filled with freshly skinned animals, fowls and various strange looking vegetables and grains. The men that came with us examined the goods. I stuck close to Khalid’s side.
“How do we find Rahab?” I whispered and Khalid threw me an angry look.
“I have an idea. You will keep quiet, please.”
Khalid stopped in front of a merchant selling vegetables. It was clear that they knew each other well.
Once they’d exchanged a few pleasantries, the merchant became curious about me. Khalid said something to him and he laughed. After a few more friendly exchanges, Khalid brought up the name Rahab.
The merchant gestured wildly in the direction of a less than savory section of the village.
Khalid nodded, then indicated that I should follow. When we were out of earshot, Khalid said that a woman of ill repute named Rahab lived on the outskirts of the village.
“We don’t have much time. We will be drawing attention to ourselves by being in that part of the village,” he said with distaste.
Trying to be as discreet as possible, we found ourselves standing in front of a shabby mud-hewn hut.
“This is it?” I asked in amazement, forgetting that I wasn’t supposed to speak. Khalid didn’t answer. He knocked on the door and a woman dressed in dark garb appeared in the doorway.
Khalid spoke to her briefly. She gestured for us to come inside. Once we were in, she locked the door, then disappeared into another part of the house.
“What did she say to you? Is she Rahab?”
Khalid shook his head. “No, but she claims to know this person and can get a message to her. I don’t like the sound of this.”
“Where did she go?”
Khalid put his finger to his lips to indicate I should be quiet. The woman returned a few seconds later and spoke again to Khalid.
After another rapid exchange of conversation, Khalid indicated we should leave.
I waited until we were outside of the house to question him. “What did she say, Khalid?”
He stopped a few feet in front and turned to look back at me. “We need to go. Now. It isn’t safe here any longer.”
“No. Not until you tell what happened in there.”
He glanced around us. What few people there were didn’t seem the least bit interested in what we were doing.
“She said that Rahab will arrange a meeting between us tonight. That you are to come alone. You are being set up. No doubt your friend is dead.”
His words were like a knife to my heart. I blew out a breath, fighting back emotions I’d hoped were dead. “No. I won’t accept that. I can’t.”
Khalid reached for my arm to stop me, his face inches from mine. “And if you go there tonight alone, you won’t come out alive.”
“Maybe. But I have to know the truth.”
Khalid let me go, glanced away, then all around us before heading for the market, leaving me no other option but to follow. Khalid’s men were waiting for us next to our mounts.
We traveled the rest of the journey in silence. Once we’d returned to the camp and dismounted, Khalid indicated that his nephew and I should follow him back inside his tent. I retrieved my phone and found a message from Rahab. I was to meet her at eight at a place called The Well of Jacob.
I told Khalid this.
“I cannot guarantee your safety or the safety of my men if you go there. My gut instinct tells me you will be walking into a trap.”
I believed the same thing. In fact, I was beginning to get suspicious as to how someone had found out about my relationship to Booth in the first place. Only a handful of people knew we’d once been lovers. All were supposed to be on our side of this battle.
“Probably. But if there is a chance he’s still alive I have to try.”
“Have you ever considered someone might be using him to get to you? The time for secrets is past. I must know what your connection is to this man.”
I had considered this, but why would someone be after me? I hadn’t been part of the game in a long time. Sure, I’d made enemies. But I’d left that world behind. Why would someone wait so long to come after me?
As next in line to take the controls of a volatile region, I was forced to admit, I could have been the target all along. Maybe Booth was a means to the end. Father, please don’t let him have died because of me.
“You are CIA, like this man?”
I met Khalid’s gaze before answering. “I was.”
He gave a short nod. “The Well of Jacob is an open area in the desert some ten kilometers from here. There is no place to hide. Simply open desert. If we go with you, we will be spotted right away. I see one of two things happening. The person you are meeting will be spooked and leave if this is a legitimate meet. Or my team will be annihilat
ed. Neither scenario is pleasant, do you think?”
Khalid was right. This risk far outweighed the gain. If the meet were legit, what did I hope to learn? That Booth might still be alive. I couldn’t wait for Michael to send help. The CIA had written Booth off. If the situation were reversed, Booth would do the same for me no matter how much it cost him or how badly we’d parted.
“No, you’re right, but I have to go. I have to help him.”
Khalid’s guarded stare scrutinized my facial expression for answers. “This is about more than completing a mission, isn’t it? You have a personal connection to this man.”
It wasn’t a question and I didn’t try to deny it. “Yes.” That he didn’t approve was easy to read. Khalid got to his feet and paced the tent, anger following at the heels of every step.
“You’re willing to risk my men’s lives along with your own to save him?”
I owed Khalid the truth. “No, I can’t ask you to put your men at risk. But I will do whatever it takes. If it means I must put my life in jeopardy to save the life of my daughter’s father, then I’ll do it.” Emotionally drained, the familiar stirring of tears returned. I hadn’t cried since my baby’s birth. Being back in this situation of life and death, risking everything once again, and knowing it might all turn out to be in vain because Booth might already be dead, brought back a barrage of unwelcome emotions. “Booth is my husband and he has a daughter he doesn’t know anything about. I owe him…something. I owe her more.”
Khalid stopped and watched me incredulously. “This man has no idea that he has a child?”
I shook my head, regretting I’d shared this personal information with a virtual stranger.
After a moment, Khalid said, “All right. I will help you. But we can only go so far with you. You will be on your own for the meet.”
He found a map and spread it out before us on a small table, jabbing a finger at a particular section. “Here. There’s a small outcropping of rocks here. My men and I will follow you as far as this point. We’ll wait for you there. You will stay in touch every moment of the way beyond this point. If anything looks suspicious, you will leave immediately. Do you understand?”
I nodded. “Yes. Yes, I understand.”
Khalid’s dark gaze inspected me once more, not liking what he saw. “You should get some rest. The heat of the desert can be overpowering to those unaccustomed to it. My wife will bring you something to eat and then you will rest. I will explain to my men what is happening.”
Without another word, he left me alone. As before, his wife returned with food and coffee, barely sparing me a glance. I wondered what thoughts she might be keeping to herself. The things she would have seen here in this barren desert land would shock most Western women. I gratefully accepted the meal she offered. Finding sleep when my thoughts spun and my body hummed with energy was not easy to come by.
There was a real chance I might be walking into a death trap tonight and I prayed, for my daughter’s sake, I would live to tell of this day.
Although I was taking a huge risk someone might be tracking my calls, I missed Ava terribly and needed to hear her sweet voice once more as a reminder as to why I was here in the first place.
I called Dana’s cell number. She picked up after the second ring. “Rachel? Oh thank God, I’ve been worried.”
“I know. Dana, I can’t talk long. I’m okay. I’m still searching for the problem. Is Ava up?”
It was my daughter’s naptime, but I had to take the chance. “I put her down for her nap a few minutes ago, but she’ll be mad at me if I don’t wake her. She’ll want to talk to you.”
“No, Dana, don’t do that...” Too late, I realized Dana was no longer listening. I heard her saying something and then my daughter’s voice came on the line.
“Mommy!” My daughter’s excited voice came through the phone loud and clear making me question everything I was risking by being here and bringing new tears to my eyes.
“Hi there, baby.”
“Mommy, when are you coming home? I miss you.”
I fought back a sob. I couldn’t let my daughter hear my fear. “I miss you too, baby. I’ll be home as soon as I can. Are you behaving yourself for Dana, Uncle David, and Aunt Hannah?”
“Um hum. Uncle David said he would take me to the zoo on Friday.”
“That’s terrific.” Friday was three days away. Would I be back in time to join my daughter and David for their excursion? I had no idea what awaited me or if I’d be able to find out the truth in Booth’s disappearance.
“Baby, I have to go now. You be good and I’ll see you soon. I love you, Ava.”
“Love you too, Mommy.”
After I disconnected the call, I sank to my knees. Here alone in a place that represented the enemy to my country, my nationality, and me, I desperately needed God. Now, like so many times in the past with Jewish history, I prayed to God for deliverance.
Chapter Five
“Anything yet?” The flight to Kabul had seemed endless. Valuable time had been wasted in the air, but there was nothing to be done about it. This thing was too important to leave in the hands of others. Michael needed to be personally involved in this one.
A team of CIA agents had met their plane. They’d been discreetly escorted to a waiting Suburban fitted for traveling in the harsh desert terrain.
“We have two agents working undercover in Kandahar. There’s been no sighting there of Tanner or the woman as of yet, but the team should be arriving in the area where Tanner went missing any moment,” the senior agent said before he spared Michael a glance and returned to his steely surveillance of the airport layout. It was impossible to read his expression through the mirrored sunglasses, but Michael knew it by heart. This was bad for business. The resentment of American involvement in Afghanistan’s political affairs was still strong. If word of Booth’s covert activities were to reach the government’s opposing party, the virtual powder keg they were sitting on would erupt into all-out civil war.
Michael turned to his partner. “Sam, did you find out where the text message originated yet?”
“My team’s still working it. We should have something in a few more hours.”
“Light a fire under them, will you? We don’t have any time to spare.”
Sam fished out his cell phone and checked for messages. “We have something. They’ve tracked it to the mountain region close to where Booth went missing. A village by the name of Bel-Ahzar.” Sam glanced at Michael. “Ever heard of it?”
With great effort, he managed to be convincing. “No. But it’s as good a place to start as any, though.” He addressed his next question to the senior agent, Sheridan. “How soon before you can get us there?”
Agent Sheridan looked to the driver to confirm.
“Couple of hours, sir.”
Michael settled back against the seat without answering and let the memories of her return. Rahab. He hadn’t wanted to think of her again. She was still alive. He wasn’t sure how he felt about that. There was a time when hearing her name made him long to be with her. Their romance had ignited like a firestorm that one brief summer. It ended when rumors of Rahab’s loyalties came into question.
Had she become a double agent as suspected by those closest to Booth? If so, had he, Michael, sent his friend to his death? Would he find Booth alive or had Rahab betrayed more than Michael’s trust? Had she betrayed Booth and her country? That was the problem with using local operatives, even the ones you thought you knew. You never knew which way their loyalty might blow. Michael hadn’t told Rachel, but he’d been Booth’s handler and the one to have the final say as to whether Booth went on this mission. And as Booth’s handler, Michael had cautioned him against trusting Rahab too much. Still, if Booth was wounded, as Michael believed, then he might not have had a choice in confiding in her.
Agent Sheridan’s monotone voice interrupted his thoughts. “We’ll be there by eight. We’ll have to proceed carefully. At the very least, the village
is under the control of the Taliban.”
“What’s the worst scenario?” Michael asked.
“ISIS. Al-Qaeda.”
Michael understood the drill although he wasn’t a field agent. He’d handled some of the best, Booth included. They’d need to have a contact to get them inside. He’d need to get to Rahab before the rest of his team if he was going to try and contain this thing.
How had he let this get out of control? “You have someone in mind?” Michael asked.
“I do,” Sheridan assured him with bravado.
The fewer details he and Sam knew about the contact, the less they’d be able to reveal if it came to that. Where they were heading, there was a real threat of capture. Here in no-man’s-land, anything was possible.
The team lapsed into silence. Michael opened his laptop and pretended to work, his thoughts going back over the final moments and his last conversation with Booth before he’d gone radio silent.
Booth hadn’t been himself for a while. His last call had only served to emphasize the point. He’d seemed depressed. He talked about coming home to the States. Michael had wondered about the reason behind Booth’s sudden need to be on American soil. He still remembered Booth’s answer, though vague. He’d said he needed to find something back home worth believing in to make all of the things they were doing in the name of justice worth the price. At the time, Michael’d thought Booth was battle weary. Now, he wasn’t sure.
He still remembered the promise he’d made to Booth to keep him there. Once this mission was finished, he’d bring Booth home. He hadn’t meant it and he figured Booth had guessed as much, but it had been enough to keep him focused for a while. And he needed Booth’s focused attention. The stakes were too high.
Now, after almost a week of silence, Michael feared the worst. If Booth were still alive, he’d find a way to get word to him.
Michael had lost track of the regrets. He knew sending Booth into this particular area with only a local operative as backup was risky, but the reward if Booth were successful--and Booth was the only person who could make this mission happen--would be enormous.