by Mary Alford
When I awoke again, I was lying on the floor, my hands and feet bound. Although the room was dark, someone close by smoked unfiltered cigarettes. I could hear voices. I recognized David’s right away and Anwar’s as well. Anwar asked David to let him kill me and be done with it. I was wasting their time.
“Don’t be foolish. She might know something she’s told the others. We cannot risk it.”
“Then let me have a turn at her. Hussein is weak. I can get her to talk.”
Hussein was quick to voice his opinion. “You speak foolishness. What do you know about interrogating prisoners? I worked for Saddam. I know how to break a prisoner.”
Anwar gave a derisive snort.
As I continued to pretend unconsciousness, David put an end to it. “You are both wrong. She’s a former agent. She’s too good for you. There’s only one way to get her to tell us what she knows. Anwar, I need the child.”
They were going after Ava as leverage against me. A helpless terror any parent would feel when they were unable to protect their child washed over me. I tried to think beyond it. I couldn’t let them hurt my baby. I’d do whatever they wanted, make up a plausible lie if it meant saving her from pain.
Anwar came over to where I lay and nudged me with his foot. “She’s awake.”
David followed, along with Hussein. “Are you ready to talk yet?”
I sat up slowly, buying time.
“Don’t be a hero, Rachel. I wouldn’t want anything...distasteful...to happen to Ava. You know I love her as if she was my own and it would kill Hannah if the child was harmed, but I will do what I have to do. I cannot go to prison. Not even for Ava. I’ll ask you one more time, what do you know about the weapons? Who have you told?”
I drew in a shaky breath and prayed my hunch was correct. “All right. You want to know who I told. Everyone. All of my former colleagues at the CIA. They’re on their way as we speak. They’ll be here at any time.”
The expression on his face would have been comical under any other circumstances. “If that were the case, then you wouldn’t have come here in the first place. You’re lying, Rachel. Do you think I don’t know you well enough to tell when you’re lying to me?”
“You think? Are you willing to bet your life on it? Are they?” For a second, he hesitated. I held my breath. This was my last shot.
Then he turned to Anwar. “Get the girl. Maybe watching her daughter suffer for a while will jog her memory.”
It took everything in me not to take the bait. David and his entourage of henchmen left me alone. There was only one choice left. I had to find a way out of here. I could get word to Dana before Anwar could make good on David’s threat.
* * * *
The house appeared large and rambling. Dark. The men searching for him had gone inside less than a half hour earlier. He’d counted twelve. Who knew how any others were inside? Or what they’d done to Rachel.
He’d broken radio silence long enough to give his coordinates to Hughes.
“You have until 0400 hours to get her out of there. Do you understand?”
He glanced at his watch. Less than an hour. Next to impossible with an army of troops watching his back. “Yes, I understand. I’ll take care of it.”
“Get in touch with your man and have him set down near Moumar.”
He disconnected the call. He was one step ahead of Hughes. He’d contacted his informant already and given him the location for the meet. He hoped his man was the only one listening in. Otherwise, the people in the house would kill him before he could think about saving Rachel.
He used the night vision goggles but didn’t see any type of outside security. Slowly, he left his vantage spot to examine the house for a point of entry. Other than the front entrance, there were plenty of windows, all of which were locked. He made his way around the house. There was a back door situated at what appeared to be the kitchen area.
Someone had left a light on, which made it risky, but he couldn’t wait any longer. He jimmied the lock until it released then crept inside and stood stock still, listening for any sound within the house.
Bits of conversation drifted down the hallway to where he stood. He cracked the door to the kitchen and followed the sound. The voices came from an open door. He eased to a position where he could see into the room, hopefully without being spotted.
From his vantage point, he counted seven men, all dressed in dark military type apparel. Where were the others? He slipped past the door.
The place was certainly large enough to possess a basement. He imagined they’d be holding her there. It would offer the right amount of security. They’d know she was former CIA.
He found the stairs after two tries and a dozen adrenalin rushes. He crept his way down, one careful step at a time until he reached the bottom.
There were three doors at the bottom of the landing area. He tried the first two but came up empty. The last was locked.
The lock proved a little more of a challenge than the last. It took him several hair-raising minutes before the lock sprung free. The room was dark. He stepped inside and let his eyes adjust to the darkness. After a second or two, he spotted what appeared to be a lump in the corner. Then, it moved.
* * * *
I was no longer alone. Someone opened the door and stepped into the room. Whoever it was didn’t turn on any lights. This couldn’t be good. I’d been working on the knots on my hands since David and the others left.
I froze when the person came near. I could smell the masculine scent of soap and male reaching out to me. After a second, he knelt in front of me.
“Rachel, thank goodness. I was afraid I’d find you dead.” I’d expected a fate worse than death. Nothing prepared me for seeing my under director, Jeff Scott, staring back at me in relief. Jeff?
“Jeff? Jeff, what are you doing here?”
He began hurriedly untying my restraints. “There’s no time for explanations now. There’s a dozen or more armed men up there and I don’t think they’re up to any good. I need to get you out of here.”
“Jeff, David’s here. He’s the one responsible for this. It was David all along. Do you think he killed Booth?”
Jeff paused for a second to look me in the eye. “I don’t know. Let’s get you out of here and to safety and then we can figure the rest of it out. Can you walk?”
His non-committal answer made me believe Jeff knew more than he was willing to tell me under these circumstances. It all but confirmed Booth’s death. I forced myself to answer him. “Yes.” Tears slid silently down my cheeks, giving much away.
Jeff reached beneath his jacket to where he had a second weapon holstered. “Here, take this.” He helped me to my feet, but I refused to lean on him. I’d finish this thing the way Booth would have. They way he’d taught me to finish a mission.
“I’m fine. Lead the way.”
He gave me a quick assessment, then seemed to decide I was telling the truth. Jeff made his way back to the door and I followed close behind. He stopped to listen for a second then cracked it and looked out.
“Okay, let’s get out of here. We don’t have much time.”
I grabbed his sleeve and whispered desperately, “Jeff, David is going after Ava. He’s trying to use her to gain information from me.”
He stopped long enough to look at me. “That won’t happen. We have Ava and Dana. They’re both safe. We figured David might try to use Ava against you.”
My legs almost gave out on me. I blew out a sigh of relief. We’d reached the landing when he whispered, “Stay behind me. If we make it out alive, head for the woods to the north of the house. There’s a Jeep waiting there. If I don’t follow, keep moving north to Moumar. There’s help on the way there.”
Jeff cautiously opened the door. The place seemed silent enough, which in itself was frightening. As we made our way down the hall, one of the doors opened. Jeff pushed me inside another room. It was a bathroom.
“He’s probably coming this way,” he whisp
ered. He searched the small closet-like room. There was a shower with a curtain. “Get behind the curtain.” Jeff lifted me into the space then made sure the curtain was in place before flattening himself behind the door.
The man swung the door open and stepped inside then closed it again, not bothering to turn on any lights. Jeff grabbed him before he knew what hit him. He snapped his neck, then eased the man’s body to the floor.
“Help me get him into the shower. If anyone comes looking, I don’t want them to find him right away.”
We struggled to maneuver the man’s dead weight into the shower. With the curtain covering him from view, Jeff peeked out the door to make sure no one else was coming. Slowly we headed through the house. It seemed to take forever, and I realized I’d been holding my breath. With freedom close, I didn’t dare hope.
We’d reached the kitchen when I heard it. The sound of helicopters, more than one, flying in at a rapid speed.
“We’ve got to get out of here. They have the coordinates. Their orders are to capture the men alive as they flee the house, then destroy all evidence of the place. I don’t think they’ll take the time to ask our names. Hurry, Rachel.” Jeff dragged me through the door and outside. Shouts came from inside the massive structure as we cleared the yard.
Then Jeff lifted me into his arms and ran. We’d made it to the edge of the woods when the spotlights from the first copter hit the house.
Jeff didn’t stop until we were outside the group of trees and into a small clearing where the Jeep was parked. Jeff dumped me into the passenger seat and climbed into the driver’s side. He started the Jeep, put it in gear, and floored the vehicle.
The Jeep barely had time to lurch into motion when the horizon behind us was engulfed in gunfire. Shock and awe.
“Oh my…” I couldn’t take my gaze off the sight. It looked like Armageddon had broken out behind us.
Jeff’s cell phone shrilled to life. “Yes. We’re fine. She’s banged up, but I’d say otherwise okay.” Jeff glanced my way. “Yes, I’ll see you there.”
We’d covered another couple of miles in silence as I waited for answers. When none was forthcoming, I finally turned in my seat to face him.
“What happened back there?”
Jeff barely spared me a glance before he focused on the bumpy, rutted dirt road in front of him. “I’d say a couple of bad people got what they deserved, wouldn’t you?”
“And what about you? Whose side are you on?”
He quirked that familiar grin my way. “Yours, of course.”
“Then who are you working for? Obviously, it’s not the State Department.”
Jeff laughed at that. “No, but I was kinda enjoying playing the brown-nosing nerdy geek for a while.” He glanced at me again. “You have to admit, I was pretty good at it.”
He was right. I thought about all the times I’d resented Jeff for what I thought to be his wanting my job. I never suspected him of being a spy. “Yes, you were good at it. Who do you work for, Jeff? I think I’ve earned the right to know, don’t you?”
He agreed. “Yes, fair enough. I’m CIA. I’ve been working undercover for Director Hughes since I started with the State Department. We’ve been investigating a security breach within the department.”
This piece of news had my full attention. “A security leak? What type of security leak?”
“No, not a leak, I said breech. Someone within the department was using their power to communicate with terrorist cells operating in the Middle East. They were being paid a lot of money to move weapons of mass destruction through the area undetected.”
“WOMD? David was transporting WOMDs to terrorists? But, he’s Jewish.”
“Yes,” Jeff said quietly. “But I guess they were willing to overlook that fact to get what they wanted.”
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. “When did you find out about the breach?”
“A little more than two years ago. We’d been trying to find the connection for a while without any luck. Then we raided a known terrorist hideout and found information that led us to believe the person we were looking for was one of our own. It seemed virtually inconceivable. I was sent in to investigate. I started with the usual. I checked everyone’s background, including yours.” He confirmed my unasked question.
“Booth? How does he fit into this?”
“Booth got a lead from one of his contacts.”
“Rahab?”
Jeff shot me a strange look. “Yes. Through her help, we captured a fairly high-ranking member of al-Qaeda and soon discovered the name of our man inside. David. We needed to prove it. I’d say we have now.”
“I don’t get it. He’s been like a father to me. I’ve known him for a while. David has no vices. It’s inconceivable. Why would he do it?”
“Everybody’s got their dirty little secret, Rachel. I dug deeper into his financial records and found out David was in debt up to his head. Overextended on all his credit cards. Apparently, David has a gambling problem. I guess it’s true what they say, money is the root of all evil.”
“But I thought Booth was sent to take out Zyad Ali-Arawar?”
Jeff shook his head. “That was his cover story. We didn’t know who we could trust including our own people.”
It was impossible to take it all in. My thoughts reeled. I’d been so caught up in trying to understand David’s act of treason I hadn’t realized Jeff had brought the Jeep to a stop in what appeared to be a small airfield.
“What are we doing?”
“We’re getting out of here. I don’t doubt that our guys took care of the situation back there. But we are in enemy territory and I don’t want to take the chance of someone witnessing what happened and coming after us.”
Within minutes of our arrival, another Blackhawk helicopter appeared over the treetops. Once the copter touched down, Jeff got out of the Jeep and came round to my side.
“Ready? We need to hurry, Rachel.”
I opened the door and got out, but Jeff refused to let me walk. He carried me to the helicopter. As I neared the copter, Khalid reached out his hand and helped me inside.
Once I boarded, I saw the pilot of the copter. Michael Bernard.
Jeff boarded next and shook Khalid’s hand. “Glad to see you two could make it. Glad you proved not to be a traitor, Agent Bernard.”
“I appreciate the vote of confidence,” Michael said as he acknowledged both Jeff and me. I glanced at Jeff. He was as surprised as I was to see Michael. It was easy to read the animosity between them.
Khalid spoke and broke the tension. “We were beginning to wonder if we’d be too late. Now, if no one has any objections, I’d like to get out of here before our luck runs out.”
“You were the one Hughes sent to clean up. I should have known,” Michael said with a touch of anger in his tone. He was not easily shaken, but clearly, he hadn’t expected this twist. He spoke to Khalid while putting the copter in flight. “This is who you work for?”
“Sorry we had to keep you in the dark, Bernard, but Hughes wasn’t willing to take any chances when the stakes were this high.” Jeff tried to smooth the waters, but Michael didn’t go for it. His pride had been wounded by being kept out of the loop.
I waited until we were airborne and heading for safety before turning to Jeff. As much as I dreaded the truth, I needed to know answers. “I think it’s about time you told me what really happened to Booth. Don’t you?”
Chapter Thirteen
Jeff had known the minute she had time to digest everything she’d want answers. Still, he wasn’t prepared to tell her the truth yet.
He didn’t miss the warning glance Bernard threw him. Since the beginning, he’d worked close to Rachel and gotten to know her pretty well. She was a woman of integrity and courage though at times she seemed to doubt those strengths in herself. He’d quickly dismissed her from the list of possible traitors. From past intel they’d received, he knew whoever was responsible for aiding in the weapons transfe
r had to have a high-security clearance.
Discovering it was David had been like a blow. Everyone who knew the man thought he was as good as they came. A true peacemaker.
It would be next to impossible to sweep this mess under the rug. Especially now, with the world’s attention focused on the Middle East and the upcoming peace talks.
David’s absence from them would take center stage. “Jeff?”
He turned to her. She waited expectantly. “I don’t know, Rachel. We’re not sure if Booth is alive or not. There’s been a report.”
Fear clouded her expression. “What type of a report?”
“A body of a male has turned up near Kandahar. In the desert. A white male fitting Booth’s description.”
Her hand flew to cover her trembling lips. “How soon before you know for sure?”
He glanced Bernard’s way again. “Not long. We have people on the way there now.”
She shook her head, buying his answer for the moment. “And David?”
“We’re still waiting for the final analysis.” Michael evaded the question.
“Is he dead, Michael?”
“Oh, no. No, he’ll pay for his sins dearly.” Everyone in the copter knew what that meant. Rachel seemed to grow weary of the conversation for the moment. She’d need immediate medical attention once they arrived in Kuwait.
The remainder of the trip was made in tense silence. Jeff reflected on the future. There would be many changes to come. The events of the past would demand it. He hadn’t wanted to tell Rachel the truth about David. How he’d be interrogated and forced to give over names then turned over to the Israelis where he’d be dealt the final justice for his crimes. But, considering her past, he had a feeling she’d know.
* * * *
When I awoke again, I was lying in a hospital bed. I didn’t remember a single thing beyond those first few moments of the flight. I glanced around the room and saw Jeff keeping watch while working on his laptop.