“Typical PETA stuff?”
“More of an international flavor these days. Some kind of loose alliance between BUAV, Animal Aid, SHAC and the Animal Liberation Front. Where did they finally send you?”
“Paktya Province.”
“Is that where the tularemia outbreak was? Where is it?”
“Eastern border with Pakistan, maybe an hour southeast of Kabul as the crow flies. The tularemia thing turned out to be nothing. Hey, could I ask a favor of you?”
“Anything for a sailor. Did you want me to steal a couple hundred lab mice or something?”
Camp laughed as he watched Raines cradle a cup of hot tea with her soft hands.
“Would you mind checking up on my parents some time, you know, just give them a call or something and see how they’re doing?”
“I’d be happy to, Camp. I’ll give them a call. Should I tell them about the bandages on your hands or just lie?”
“Save the bandages for another day. Well, General Ferguson wants to see us in a few minutes, so I’d better get going.”
“Us? Have you replaced me already?” Raines protested with an exaggerated upper lip pout.
“No one could replace you, Leslie. Ferguson sent a retired FBI agent out to work with me. Billy Finn — he’s actually a decent guy.”
“Hmmm… that makes a lot of sense… send an FBI agent out with the trauma doctor SEAL who burned his hands while making French fries in the DFAC. Some things never change, do they Camp?”
“You look beautiful, Leslie… talk soon?”
“I miss you Camp… not so long between calls next time, okay?”
General Ferguson and his coffee-pouring majors were already sitting in his office. The video posted on Chad Banks’ Facebook account was up and playing as a young woman from the US Embassy watched it. Finn and Camp took their places.
“Tina, this is US Navy Captain Campbell and retired FBI special agent Billy Finn,” Ferguson said. “Tina works in the public affairs office at the Embassy. She is fluent in dactylology.”
“Dacty what?” Camp feigned.
“Sign language for the deaf, captain,” Tina said. “There’s really not much to see in the video, and I wasn’t sure if his hand gestures were intentional or coincidental, until this part. I’d say it was coincidental if it weren’t for the letter z.”
“Z?” asked Finn.
“Major Banks’ fingers spell four letters, k-a-z-i. The k, a and i are very discreet and could be random. The thumb between the index and middle finger for the ‘k’, the fist with the outward thumb for the ‘a’, and the fist with the pinky finger up for an ‘i’ could all be random. But the sign for z basically requires that you trace the outline of the letter in the air. You have to make three distinct movements with your finger to communicate the letter z.”
General Ferguson stood as did all of the other men in the room.
“Thank you for coming over here on such notice, Tina. We really appreciate it,” Ferguson said as Tina left. One of the majors walked her out and closed the door.
“So what the heck is kazi?” Ferguson asked.
“Could be the name of the village they took him to,” Camp guessed.
“Could be an acronym, could be a weapon, could be random just like the lady said,” Finn added.
“Maybe it’s a name. Maybe he got the name of the kidnapper,” Camp speculated.
“Why don’t you run that name past Miriam… see how she responds when you say it,” Ferguson suggested.
“Maybe that’s a nickname,” Finn added. “Or then maybe this is all random, a red herring and a waste of our time.”
The remaining major in the room raised his hand as though he was in school and needed permission to contribute to the discussion.
“What is it, major?”
“His file… I’ve been reading Major Banks’ file, and I just found something interesting. His wife… Peggy… she’s deaf.”
“Well, that eliminates random. So was he trying to communicate some type of love code to her?” Finn said as he stood up and paced the room. “Maybe they do the ‘kazi’, or something.”
“General Ferguson, Miriam said we could find her husband in Datta Khel, Miran Shah District. If her husband is there, maybe there’s a good chance that Major Banks is there as well,” Camp said.
“Where’s the village?”
“North Waziristan region, sir, in Pakistan,” Camp explained.
“Okay, so we send some drones over and look for them.”
“Jim, with all due respect, no one in Datta Khel, Miran Shah District thinks Miriam is still alive. They have no idea that we know anything. If drones all of a sudden start snooping over their heads we might lose the element of surprise,” Finn reasoned with his old friend General Ferguson.
Ferguson got up and walked over to the classified maps on his wall. The major had already planted a red push-pin flag on top of Datta Khel, Miran Shah District.
“Element of surprise, Billy? What element of surprise? Do you think you two are just going to head over to Hertz, rent a sedan, drive over a few miles of IEDs, pass by the Afghan Border Patrol, present your passports to the Pakistani ISI border agents, then conduct an unauthorized incursion into a sovereign nation, while you go knocking cave to cave looking for a dude named Kazi and our Major Banks?”
Camp and Finn looked at each other and considered the scenario without speaking a word.
“Something like that, sir,” Camp finally said.
Ferguson removed his glasses and rubbed his forehead and eyes.
“Make it small. Minimal team. No fireworks. In and out. If it goes bad, you two need to know this mission was never officially sanctioned. If it goes well, it never happened either.”
“Roger that, sir. What about the Terp?”
“What about her, Camp?”
“She can’t stay at Lightning. If she goes back to her village, she’ll be dead within an hour. If she helps us, we need to do something for her.”
“Helps us? Hell, she’s probably neck deep in the whole damn plot. Camp, she was trying to be a suicide bomber. She tried to kill everyone in the hospital. As far as I’m concerned, send her back to her village and let them administer some Sharia Law on her ass,” Ferguson gruffed as he paced the room.
“Sir, I can use the leverage of her son to make her talk, to make her cooperate. But if she talks, and if she leads us to Major Banks, I want refugee status for her,” Camp said.
“SIV? Right, the Ambassador’s staff is going to love that. She failed in her suicide attack, so we’d like to bring her to the states so she can be a greeter at Wal-Mart. You’re asking too much this time, Camp, too much.”
Camp stood and headed to the door as Finn followed behind.
“Finn, how fast can you grow a beard?” Camp asked as Finn turned around and smiled at Ferguson. “Looks like we’re going hiking in the Hindu Kush.”
“Campbell, I never said I would officially sanction this,” Ferguson yelled as Camp walked out.
“Sanction what, sir? This whole thing never happened!” Camp’s voice trailed off down the hallway as Ferguson lit up another cigar.
11
University Hospital, Clinic and Research Center
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
The nurse walked Seabury and Ruth Campbell into Exam Room #3 and opened the window on Dr. Blauw’s computer screen so the doctor could look at the results from the CT, MRI, and PET scans when he arrived.
“Dr. Blauw will be with you in just a few minutes,” she said as she closed the door behind her.
Old Sea Bee tapped his fingers relentlessly on his thighs. Ruth reached out and grabbed his hand to stop the fidgeting.