The man grunted. “I don’t know why he’s willing but he obviously needs the money and I don’t care why. All I am certain of is that this is a great opportunity for us.”
“Agreed. How do you plan to proceed?”
“I’ve asked my contact to get more information about him, and how he wants to do the money exchange. It will have to be done on base in a casual setting so as not to raise suspicion.”
Safir wasn’t convinced it would work, but it was worth a shot. “And then?”
“Once I have the intelligence I need from him, I can begin my preparations.”
Sounded promising. “What time frame are you aiming for?”
“As soon as possible.”
The man’s confidence and enthusiasm were a welcome change from the low morale Safir had been dealing with for the past few weeks. Stepping into Rahim’s shoes had not been easy and aside from the security issues, lifting his followers’ spirits proved the most difficult. They all supported and rejoiced in the foreign attacks happening abroad by their fellow jihadists and the continued combat deaths of coalitions forces still in Afghanistan. It wasn’t enough. And after today’s defeat, a decisive victory was more important than ever.
Safir gazed out across the wide valley below. The dying rays of the sun glowed along the edge of the western horizon, painting the landscape blood red. The same color of the blood they planned to spill in America with this next critical operation. “Contact me once you have a plan in mind and I’ll review it.”
A taut silence crackled over the line for a long moment. The seasoned and well-respected commander was known as a lone wolf who didn’t like to involve others and certainly hadn’t answered to anyone since he’d taken command of his men. But he was well aware of what Safir could offer if they worked together. “All right,” he grudgingly agreed, and hung up.
Safir followed the others back to the truck. Qasim was quiet but Safir could tell his friend was curious about the conversation. He’d fill him in later, when they were safely hidden away. As they reached the valley floor the driver glanced at him in the rearview mirror. “Where shall I take you?”
“To the drop off point near the village where I stayed last night.” He, Qasim, and Anwar would stay in Behzad’s village one last time.
The man frowned. “Is that wise? Staying in one place for more than—”
“It’s fine. One more night won’t endanger us any more than we already have been.” In fact, it was likely that three or four more stays there wouldn’t be a problem. This area was so remote that no enemy patrols had been sighted in over three weeks. Probably why they’d had to send a spy up here.
As long as he did what he could to limit his exposure to drones and satellites, he’d be fine. Unlike Rahim, he wasn’t in this fight for the fame and the glory. Besides, he liked the old man Behzad. Staying amongst the villagers and their strict interpretation of Islam was a comfort. It reminded him of the family he’d lost, the old-fashioned values he’d been raised with that he was now fighting to defend.
He would avenge them soon enough.
****
Liam covered a yawn and sat up straighter on the bench seat as he added another plate to the leg press machine. He’d slept for shit last night and though he was tired enough to attempt a nap this afternoon, he knew it was pointless. His mind was going a million miles an hour and had been since he’d left the hospital yesterday afternoon.
He’d thought about going to see Honor at her B-hut, then thought better of it. He’d seen her injuries with his own eyes so he knew she’d be okay, and she’d made it clear she’d wanted him gone. Maybe in a couple days he’d reconsider it. Right now he just wanted to stop thinking about her and clear his head before the mission tonight. Because soon enough he’d be out hunting the cell responsible for the attack yesterday.
The gym was busy as always, nearly every machine occupied. He did five sets of ten, gritting his teeth on the final set as the damaged muscles in his left leg screamed in protest. By the time he was done he was coated in a thin layer of sweat and his legs felt weak. He got up to stretch his back and walk around a bit to loosen the muscles in his thighs, and noticed someone walking toward him.
Ryan Wentworth, a combat controller he knew from around Bagram. The guy had raised some eyebrows when he’d gotten together with a female Spectre pilot. Ace was a Senator’s daughter, and one of Honor’s hut-mates.
Wentworth nodded at him and Liam nodded back, wiping at his face with a towel while the other man approached him. “Hey, man,” he said to Liam, pausing next to him. “Heard I missed some excitement yesterday.”
“Yeah. You just get back in?”
“About an hour ago.” He twisted the cap off a water bottle and took a pull. “So, Honor hopped on the minigun, huh?” At Liam’s nod he grinned. “Knew I liked that girl.”
Liam knew he didn’t mean anything by it, and was well aware that Wentworth’s loyalty lay with Ace. He still didn’t like hearing him talk about Honor with that kind of intimate tone. “She did great.” And he couldn’t stop thinking about her.
Wentworth tipped his chin at the leg press. “May I?”
“Sure, be my guest.” He shifted from one foot to the other and tried to think of a segue that would allow his next question to seem nonchalant, but came up empty, so he just went with it. “You hear anything else about her? How she’s doing?”
The CCT shot him a funny look as he seated himself at the machine and rubbed a hand over the reddish-brown scruff on his face. “Thought you were with her at the hospital yesterday.”
“I was, but I left before the doc could see her. Sounded like she might have a concussion on top of everything.”
“That’s what Ace said, yeah, but it’s mild and you know Erin’s gonna be all over her like a mother hen for the next few days.” He added another plate to the weights. “Other than a bump on the head and some stitches, she’s okay. Just lying low for a day or two, until she gets clearance to go back to work.”
Liam disliked having to find that out from someone else, let alone someone who barely knew her. He made himself nod, pushing back the irritation that was slowly driving him insane. He could compartmentalize with the best of them but yesterday’s events had messed with the locking mechanism in his brain. All he could think about was how close she’d come to dying.
“That’s good.” He didn’t know why he was still standing there, hoping Wentworth would feed him another crumb of intel about her. Freaking pathetic.
“You know,” the other man said slowly, setting his feet on the metal plates to begin knocking out his first set of reps, “if you wanted some privacy to see her for a while, Ace could make it happen. I’ll talk to her about it if you want.”
Liam’s gaze sharpened on him, the beginnings of a scowl creasing his forehead.
The other man kept his eyes on his quads as he kept pumping out reps. “Just saying. Ace could figure out the logistics and I could pass it on to you.”
Liam stared at him, the scowl deepening. “Why would I want either of you to do that?”
At that Wentworth raised his hands in a pacifying gesture. “Whatever, man, it’s your business. I was just offering.” Liam opened his mouth to tell him he didn’t need or want help where Honor was concerned, but the man’s next words made the retort die in his throat. “It’s just…if you were willing to go to the hospital and stay with her, then I figured you’d probably want the chance to see her again before she leaves,” he added with another shrug, like it didn’t matter to him one way or the other.
“Leaves?” Liam echoed, a wave of dread washing over him. He hadn’t thought her injuries were severe enough to warrant sending her stateside.
Wentworth looked at him, legs still pumping. “Yeah, Ace said her whole unit’s being sent back to JBLM in another week or so. You didn’t know?”