“And who might you be?” Pat asked looking intently at Damba.
“I’m Damba,” he replied as he held out his hand to shake hers. “I’m Alp’s friend.”
“Oh yes, of course you are. My apologies. I’d forgotten you were coming. Well, let’s get down to business. Our last team member should be here shortly.”
As everyone found their seats, Pat returned to the kitchen and brought back a straight back chair for Damba. Within a few minutes there was a firm rapping on the door. Lionel opened it and escorted James into the living room.
“Hello James. It's good to see you again after so many years," Pat said as she strolled over to him and gave him a big hug.
“It's great to see you again, also, Pat," replied James as he returned the hug. "Boy, the years sure have been good to you."
“I wish I could say the same for you, old friend; but you know I don't believe in building friendships on lies, even small ones. I had heard that you had gone over to the dark side. Was that rumor true?"
“Well, my wife developed breast cancer a while back and the dark side, as you call it, was willing to pay a lot more for my services,” James replied.
“Oh, I'm sorry to hear that. How is she doing now?"
“She died a few years ago,” James answered.
“Way to go Pat. Open mouth and insert foot."
“Don't worry about it. It's in the past. Life goes on."
“Well, at least this is an opportunity for you to return to the light side," Pat said.
“The light side?"
“Yeah, you know the dark side versus the light side. Oh, never mind," Pat said as her face grew even redder. “Let’s get this meeting started before I completely blow it."
“Everyone, this is James Stepp. As you know, James and I go back several years, but then we lost track of each other. This mission has brought us back together. James and I have spoken a number of times on the phone in an effort to work out the best plan that has the greatest chance of getting your children home safely. I'll let James fill you in on the details."
James looked around the room and was about to start speaking when he noticed Alp and Damba sitting in the corner next to each other.
“Oh, hi guys. Good to see you again, Alp. Sorry the situation isn’t better. Well, here's the plan in a nutshell. There will be two teams: One team to get us into the Sheik’s Falcon Lair, the other team to get us back out and home safely. I’ll lead Team One since I’m familiar with Falcon Lair and up to this point have been on good terms with the Sheik. I’ll use you, Alp, as the cover by telling the Sheik that I’m bringing in another one of the Kindred. Pat, you’ll accompany us as we discussed.”
Pat nodded.
“Wait a minute,” Damba spoke up. “I’m sorry, but that sounds way too dangerous. That would simply be compounding the problem by having one more person to have to rescue.”
James stared at the young boy for a minute before replying. “Let me back up for a minute and explain a couple of things. First, this is a very dangerous mission, no matter how you cut it. Our chances of success aren’t more than 50:50 under the best of scenarios. The Sheik is a devious man who will have no qualms about using violence if he suspects I’m not on the up and up, but he’s much more likely to kill me in a dozen different brutal ways for double-crossing him than he is to harm Alp. She’s a precious commodity as far as he’s concerned.”
Everyone sat in silence for several seconds as James let this first point sink in.
Finally, Lionel spoke up. “And what’s the other point you wanted to make?”
“These plans are not negotiable. Pat and I have looked at this situation from every conceivable angle, and in this matter, we’re the experts, not you…” he said as he motioned to the four adults, “…and certainly not you,” he said as he turned back to Damba.
There was a long pause as the two stared at each other. Finally, Damba nodded. “Okay, I got it with just one small change. I go with Alp.”
James smiled and glanced over at Pat, as he shook his head. “What does he think the phrase ‘not negotiable’ means?”
“Well, it might not be such a bad idea to include him in some way” Pat replied. “His darker skin will make it easier for him to fit in once we get to Dubai, and having him along will help put Alp’s mind at ease.”
James thought about her comments before replying. “Okay, I’ll consider your request.”
Damba smiled as he reached up to his throat and rubbed a gold medallion around his neck.
Alp had noticed him performing a similar motion before. She leaned over and whispered, “What’s that around your neck?”
Without breaking his gaze from James, he whispered back, “It’s my lucky charm.”
“Okay, as I was saying,” James continued, “We’ll need an extraction team.” He turned to Pat. “I did some scouting around for who’s available that we could count on. There’s one particular guy I’ve worked with in the past. He’s well trained, plus it seems like every time I’ve worked with him, the mission has gone smoother than expected. I’ve talked with him and he’s willing to head up the second team. We’ll keep it small so it won’t attract too much attention. I’d rather go in with quality than quantity.”
“I agree,” Pat replied. “I trust you’ll hire the best, and if he’s your lucky charm, so much the better.”
Alp and Damba looked at each other and smiled as Damba once more rubbed his own charm.
James paused for as he mentally checked off the different parts of the mission.
“This second team’s job will be to help us get out of Falcon Lair and out of the country with the children. After that, my plan is to enter a Tibetan monastery as far away from Dubai and the Sheik as I can get.”
“Any questions?” James asked as he looked around the room at each of the adults and then to Alp, avoiding Damba.
No one spoke but instead looked at each other. Finally, Flip cleared his throat and stood up.
“First, I want to thank you and Pat for all the hard work you’ve already done to help us get our children back. I know such a mission isn’t easy and that it puts your lives in jeopardy, not to mention your career and reputation, James. Believe me, we do not take such a sacrifice lightly; and I can assure you that I will make it well worth your time. We can speak about that later, just the two of us. However, I do want to address one thing you said a few minutes ago. May I?”
“Sure,” James replied. “Go ahead.”
“You mentioned that the chances of a successful mission is at best only 50:50. I believe, no, I know I can significantly improve those odds.”
“How so?” James asked, leaning forward, obviously interested in what the man with the cane had to say. After all, he was also the one holding the purse strings.
“I happen to have a few financial connections in Dubai myself…well, at least my family has had some in the past that I’m sure I could easily re-establish. I would like to propose, for your consideration, that Damba and I travel to Dubai in the next few days. From what I understand, Falcon Lair is part of Falconcity of Wonders. Now that’s a pompous name if I ever heard one; but from what I understand it also accurately describes what they’re building.”
“Yes, that’s correct,” James agreed. “Upon its completion, Falconcity of Wonders will revolve around replicas of the seven Wonders of the World including the Tower of Pisa, the Pyramids, the Hanging Gardens of Babylon, and the Eiffel Tower. It’s quite an amazing undertaking.”
“And they are actively searching for investors, right?”
“Correct again,” James said. “So, are you suggesting you might be one of those investors?”
“Yes, well, at least as far as they need to know. That will be my cover. That way you will have a legitimate, trustworthy person in-country that could help with any logistical, communication, or other issues you might have. I could probably use the services of Damba as he would fit in nicely,” he said as he smiled at the young boy.
James chewed on his lower lip as he considered Flip’s suggestion. Finally he replied, “Yes, I could see this working, and you’re right. It could improve our odds. But are you really up for this?” He pointed to Flip’s cane.
“Yes,” Flip replied promptly and with conviction. “And I’ll be even more ready for it by the time I leave for Dubai…with a little help from Alp.”
Alp nodded enthusiastically. “We can get started on your healing sessions anytime you’re ready.”
“Tomorrow will be soon enough,” Flip replied. “I’ll let you get settled in, first.”
Capture
As the door to the cabin swung open, Kristin and Tabitha turned to watch as a young lady with short red hair and matching face entered, followed closely by Mel, who pointed the shotgun at her back. He’d taken the gun from the mantel before slipping out through the rear window of the cabin.
“Who do we have here?” Kristin asked as she stepped away from the cook stove where she’d been finishing up scrambling eggs for their breakfast.
“Don’t know,” Mel replied. “But I’m about to find out.” He motioned with the end of the shotgun to the small table and chairs in the corner of the room where the three customarily ate their meals.
“Sit there.” And as Mimi did so he asked, “Who the hell are you and what you doing snooping on us?”
Mimi gazed around the room taking in every detail, including taking a good look at the two young girls, and ignoring Mel’s question. She’d learned early in her journalistic life that questions were invitations to be answered, but only when it was in her own best interest. Oftentimes, such questions could be deflected with her own questions.
“Hello, ladies,” she said smiling as warmly as she could as her heart continued to pound. While she’d been raised around guns, she wasn’t used to having a loaded one pointed at her. It wasn’t something she was interested in getting used to.
“You must be Kristin,” she said as she nodded toward the young girl with red hair and a striking resemblance to Rachael. A confused look grew on Kristin’s face as she slowly nodded, but before she could ask her own question, Mimi continued.
“And who are you?” She asked as she nodded to Tabitha.
“ I’m Tab…“
“That’s none of your business,” Mel interrupted. “Tabitha,” she finished despite his efforts to stop her.
Mel pointed the gun at Mimi’s head for emphasis. “I’m the one asking the questions, and you’re the one answering them. Now, one last time, who are you and what are you doing snooping on us?”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Mimi replied as she tried to maintain a pleasant smile and demeanor even though she felt like her heart might leap out of her throat. “No problem. It’s just my nature to ask questions.” And my job, she thought, but decided revealing that she was a reporter for Global Inquiry was probably not a good idea, not while someone was pointing a loaded shotgun at her. But she had to give him something.
“My name is Mimi Rogers. I’m a…a friend of Rachael Phillips.” When the name didn’t prompt a look of recognition on the boy’s face, she added, “Kristin’s mother.”
Kristin looked startled by the news. She opened her mouth as though to comment, but then shut it again as she stared at the boy.
“What the hell?” Mel asked. “What would she be wanting with you?” He asked as he turned his attention to Kristin.
“I don’t know, Mel,” she answered with a tremble in her voice.
“And how would she know where you are?”
Kristin shrugged.
“Something fishy is going on here,” Mel said, “and I’m going to get to the bottom of it.”
“I think I know,” Tabitha spoke up for the first time. “Remember, the other day while we were in the ski lodge, Kristin said she had to go to the bathroom. She was gone a lot longer than usual.”
“Yeah, that’s right,” Mel replied as he slowly turned the muzzle of the gun in Kristin’s direction. “What was that all about? What were you doing?”
Kristin backed away from him, a look of fear mixed with anger growing on her face, but before she could answer, there was a strange blonk-blonk sound. Mimi watched as two canisters rolled across the floor from the opened rear window through which they’d been thrown, noxious gas spewing out of them filling the small room in a matter of seconds. It was the last thing Mimi remembered before losing consciousness.
The four bodies lying sprawled on the wooden floor of the cabin were almost hidden by the thick carpet of gas that had settled to the floor. After several seconds, the window through which the canisters had been thrown was pushed open wider and a short man dressed in black and wearing a gas mask slid nimbly through into the room. He glanced down at the four unconscious figures, then walked over to the boy, nudging the still figure several times with the toe of his boot. Getting no response, he turned towards the door.
“All clear,” Tao shouted. Ned and Ted walked in, with Willow following a few steps behind them. They all wore gas masks and each of them were dressed in black jeans, and tight-fitting jerseys of the same color.
“Where’s the boy?” Willow asked, “Make sure he’s out cold.” The last thing she needed was another episode of his unique ability to inflict pain. It was her turn for payback.
“Everyone’s out, boss,” Tao replied. He walked to the front door and opened it, fanning it back and forth to clear the noxious gas. “Just one thing. We’ve got four bodies, not three.” He walked over to Mimi lying quietly where she’d fallen. He turned her over and checked her pulse.
“This one’s older than the other three. Not bad looking, either. What you want to do with her?”
“Bring her along,” Willow answered as she walked over to where Tao crouched over Mimi’s still form, but still glancing to where Mel lay a few feet away. “I want them all hooded and bound securely, but that one…” she pointed to Mel “…tape his mouth, eyes, and ears. Let’s hope for his sake he can breathe through his nose. After that, place a hood over his head as well.”
“You aren’t taking any chances with him, are you boss?” Tao said with a chuckle.
“Hell, no,” Willow replied as she walked over to the boy’s body and stared down at it. “It still hurts whenever I take a deep breath, and it’s been a good two weeks since my last encounter with him. Come to think of it…” She strode closer to Mel and using the pointed toe of her boot kicked him three times in the chest. “See how he feels when he wakes up.”
“Easy, boss,” Ned said as he took a step towards Willow. “Remember, we’re not supposed to damage the merchandise.”
“I know, I know, but I can’t help that he resisted our last invitation to visit Dubai.” She turned away from Mel. “How long will they be out from the gas?”
“Hard to say even under normal conditions with normal people, which clearly at least three of these aren’t,” Tao replied. “Typically, a dose like we gave them would keep an adult out for at least three or four hours, but don’t worry. I’m prepared to put any of them back down with a strong, injectable sedative. These kids have really got you spooked, haven’t they?”
Willow was about to give a sharp retort of ’that’s none of your business,’ then thought better of it. Instead she replied, “Yeah, maybe, but they’re not normal kids. I doubt the Sheik would be so interested in them if they were. I just want to be sure everything runs smoothly this time.”
She pulled her foot back to give the kid a few more swift kicks, but then thought better of it. Time to practice a little restraint; something she often found challenging. Instead, she turned to Ned.
“Tell Widget to pull the van around, and load our merchandise up. I want to sleep in my own bed tonight, even though it’ll be almost daylight tomorrow by the time we get back to Dubai.” As she walked out the door she rubbed her chest. Damn, it still hurt, but not as much as it had a few minutes before she’d kicked the shit out of the kid.
As she
walked to the van, her cell phone vibrated. It was a text message from the Sheik that read:
When primary mission complete, proceed to Roanoke Regional Airport to pick up two passengers. More info to follow.
Willow groaned. What the hell? Two more passengers? Could there be more of these kids? Not likely if she was to pick them up from a regional airport, unless they were going willingly.
“Okay, guys,” Willow shouted as she approached the van. She opened the door. “Slight change of plans. We’ve one more stop before we head home?”
“What’s that?” Widget asked from the driver’s seat.
“I’ll explain on the way to the plane,” Willow replied as she climbed into the passenger seat and turned around to the rear where her men were finishing loading the kids. “Keep a close eye on them, especially the boy. Any sign of them waking up, I want to hear about it.”
As Widget placed the van in gear, Willow’s phone vibrated again as another text message came in. This one included two photos; one of an older man with long white hair, and the second of woman wearing her hair in a tight bun. Below the images was the text:
Passengers are Dr. Chickowski and Miriam Petty. Important you keep them isolated from the children.
What the hell? Willow thought as she turned and handed the phone to Tao who sat in the seat behind her. I’m tired and just want to go home. Now I’m expected to become a chauffeur for these two assholes? She took a deep breath, and slowly let it out as she turned around in her seat.
“Those are the two we’re picking up. Memorize their faces so you’ll recognize them.”
Tao stared at the images on the phone for a few seconds before nodding and handing the phone back to Willow. “Got it boss.”
“And figure out how we can keep those two from knowing anything about our other passengers. I know the Gulfstream has a lot of room, but it’s beginning to feel tight to me.”
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