Jeru came back. “Martha says she will go with us to the airport to guarantee Holt’s health if there’s any problem. She’ll ditch my bloody car in the poorest part of town. It will be stripped and trashed within an hour after she leaves it. I have my passport and papers. I’ll fly out with you. I’ve already phoned my control here in town, explaining as best I could over an open line.”
“We could use some ampoules of morphine if Martha can spare any. It may be the only thing to keep Holt from screaming all the way across the continent.”
Franklin left just after 0600. He took with him Khai, Jaybird, Bradford, Lampedusa, and Van Dyke. That left, for the second go, Murdock, Dobler, Kat, Holt, and Jeru. It should work.
It took Jeru two more hours to get her affairs in order, to check out with friends, and to decide what to do with the apartment. It was furnished and rented by the CIA, but she had some personal items as well. She sent the cook-housekeeper home as soon as she arrived for work at 0700. They destroyed the SATCOM. Broke it up and trashed it in a three block area.
“Now, all I have to do is cut my apron strings and I’ll be gone from here while I’m still alive. That missing Secret Policeman is going to set off a firestorm here. His superiors must have known he was watching either Martha or me. She will be able to alibi her way out of it. I would be in Tolkif, the central jail here in Kabul, before noon if I stay here.”
It took Jeru a half hour at two different airline ticket counters before she had their tickets exchanged. It cost extra, but they had enough of the funny-looking money.
Murdock stayed right beside Holt every step. He was ready to grab his arm if he wavered. He didn’t. They sat in the seats waiting. Murdock, Holt, and Kat took the first flight. They were on Iran airlines. They had seats assigned. Holt stumbled on the ramp, but Murdock caught him and they made it to their seats, a three-across grouping with Kat on the window and Holt on the aisle. Murdock sat between them, watching them both like a mother hen.
Kat had yelped once as she walked into the airport, but had been close-mouthed and quiet since then. Once in the seat, she gave a long sigh. “Just a damn little scratch on my shoulder and a small fratulogical hole in my leg,” she whispered to Murdock. “Sailor, there ain’t no fucking way those little scratches are gonna keep down a SEAL.”
Murdock laughed softly, and reached over and kissed her cheek.
“Hey, SEAL, you may win your gold trident yet” he said. “Now settle down and try to get some sleep. Best way to pass the time.”
Kat grinned. “Yeah, you’re right. ’Course, it depends on who you’re sleeping with.” She reached over and kissed him on the cheek, then turned away from him and closed her eyes.
Murdock tried to relax. He had checked both waiting areas for planes leaving for Tehran, and hadn’t found any SEALs waiting. They must be on their way. Good.
The last five should be in the air within a half hour. Now, if he could keep Holt from going critical, all would be fine. Anywhere but here, he would have requested a special doctor to be on board in case Holt turned sour. Now he’d just have to take his chances. SEAL lungs were always strong from all the underwater training they did. Still, lungs were tricky. They could collapse for a dozen reasons. A bullet through one must be high on the list.
Murdock watched the loading. He figured all of the passengers were on board. The attendants were closing overheads and checking seat belts. Then two men in suits came on board, and walked up and down the aisle staring at each person as they passed.
A scream jolted through the air, and a man dove from his seat and scrambled up, running full speed down the aisle. The suit from the other way blocked his way, knocked him down, and handcuffed him. They dragged him off the plane.
No notice was made of the incident, and no PA apology for the delay. Moments later the doors closed and the plane rolled out on the taxi strip.
Murdock watched Holt. The doctor said the decreased air pressure of the cabin, set at about six thousand feet, might trigger a reaction by Holt. Murdock talked with him quietly.
“Look, Holt, this is the tough time. The cabin will be pressurized at the same as six thousand feet as we take off, and remain that way until we land. You let me know if you have any twinges, or if it’s hard to breathe, anything at all.”
“Yeah, sure, Cap. Hey, I’m a fucking SEAL, remember? No little scratch like this gonna hurt old Ron Holt. You can count on that.”
He frowned.
“What, you hurt somewhere?”
“Yeah, my shoulder burns like hell. Not all that bad a hit either. Doc told me it would hurt, but my buddy Morphine is a big help.”
Murdock could tell when the plane stopped climbing. Cruising altitude was maybe 31,000 feet or so. He looked over at Kat. She was watching him.
“So far, so good,” she said. “Ron seems to be making it fine.”
“For now, just so he doesn’t try a hundred-yard dash.” He watched her. “Pretty lady, how are you doing?”
“Better. That morphine did help.”
“So will a Purple Heart. I don’t see why we can’t put you in for one.”
“Because we’re covert, that’s why. Where would I wear it, on my jogging bra?”
“Good place.”
“We aren’t done with this one yet, are we? There’s that Chinese destroyer with all the rest of the warheads.”
“True. And there was some worry that the chopper we missed in Athens airport might have been bringing in more than just one warhead for sale. It could have had four or five. That has to be checked out. NATO was running a trace on the chances.”
“We might have three or four more Afghanistans to deal with?”
“We could.”
It was the deluxe flight with lunch served. It came in the form of a plastic-wrapped sandwich, a cookie, and a cup of coffee.
They landed in Tehran, and Murdock watched Holt like he was a precious jewel. He never flinched or burped. Many passengers left the plane, but through passengers could not.
Murdock watched the usual two Iranian police work up and down the long aisle. They didn’t talk, just stared at the people. Kat had gone back to sleep. Murdock tried, but couldn’t. When the cops passed him, he stared back at them as fiercely as they looked at him. The plainclothesman eased up on his stare, grinned, and said something, then passed on by. Murdock let out a held-in breath. One more milepost passed.
They stopped in Ankara, Turkey, and as they came down, Holt wheezed and grabbed his chest. Murdock came alert at once and leaned over him. Holt could hold it only a few seconds before he began guffawing.
“Gotcha, Skipper,” he said. Then he frowned and stopped laughing. “Hey, that laughing hurt more than anything. Remind me not to do that for a while.”
“You must be feeling better if you can play the clown. Easy now, and we’ll have you in white sheets within a few hours.” The hop from Ankara to Athens wasn’t that long. Murdock wished he had a cell phone or the SATCOM so he could have NATO meet them at the airport with an ambulance. There must be one on duty there close by. He’d raise all sorts of hell at Athens until he got an ambulance to that hospital they had used before.
On the last hop to Athens, Kat watched him. “Hey, this is the first time that I’ve slept with you.” She grinned. “In a manner of speaking. I wanted to tell you it was extremely good for me.” Kat laughed. “I’ve always wanted to say that to a man. Yes. Now for your sparking comeback.”
“Hey, it was good for me too.”
They both laughed.