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“He’s on special assignment,” Maxen finishes, covering for my stumble.
I hadn’t planned on lying to Sambi, but I suppose withholding the truth keeps from muddying the waters.
Sambi gestures toward a banged-up van that looks to be from the stone age and beckons us to follow him inside. “It looks old, but no one will notice it near the border. We’ll meet my associate near Chah Sagak. He’ll have weapons and a vehicle that cannot be traced back to Mr. Knot. Even so, I recommend that you do not get caught. I assume this mission is one of great urgency, so I will personally be on standby to help you escape the country when it is time.”
“Thank you, Sambi.”
“You have no need to thank me, Ms. Phelps. Now, are you ready to depart?”
“Yes.”
We’re soon on the move, making the two-hour drive to the Iranian border. We can’t cross near any of the small towns that hug the boundary on either side and risk arrest for whatever bullshit reason the patrol dreams up. If that were to happen, Maxen would be lost in some undocumented prison, and I’d be married off to some terrorist goat-fucker.
Sambi was right about using a clunker to reach the border. Anything else would seem out of place in the impoverished area. As it is, no one pays any attention to this piece of shit rambling along the road between settlements. It fits in with all the other piece-of-shit vehicles sharing the road.
Nearing the city of Damdam, Sambi instructs Maxen and me to hide ourselves to avoid being seen. We huddle in the tight space between the seats, staring at each other underneath.
I figure now is as good a time as any to plan our next move. Sure, we’d had plenty of time on the long flight to strategize, but after being up most of the night before and knowing we’d land just after daybreak, it was a better idea to get some sleep.
For privacy, I keep my voice around the level of road noise and ask, “What’s our first stop? I don’t think we’ll find anything at the first raid site. At some point, we should check out the cave.”
“I agree with you on the first site. Let’s go to the cave first. I don’t know what we’ll find, but we have to start somewhere.”
Three hours later, we’ve been safely smuggled across the border, gotten the wheels necessary to continue our mission, and been outfitted with weapons to keep our asses alive. My GPS shows that we’re twenty minutes from the small settlement at the mouth of the smuggler’s cave.
The cave where half of Avara’s team was ambushed and killed.
And where Brock died.
Maxen stops the old truck a mile from the cave’s entrance, so we’ll have a chance to check in with Birdie again before storming the site. While I pull out my phone to call home base, Maxen slides his big hand across the bench seat to wrap around my thigh. That definitely never happened during deployment before. Well, it’s never happened that I didn’t knock the guy’s ass out for it anyway.
Birdie’s voice comes through alert and chipper, despite the time being after nine pm am where she is. “Ok. I don’t see any moving cars or bodies. There’s no chimney smoke indicating domestic activities. No thermal signatures outside the cave at all.”
“At this time of the morning, we should see something unless the area is abandoned,” Maxen surmises.
“I concur. I think it’s safe for you to proceed. With caution.”
“Ok. We’ll sign off and get closer. You keep an eye on things and alert us if you spot any activity.”
“Got it. You two stay safe.”
Maxen puts the van in drive and rolls toward the collection of buildings, parking behind the farthest one. We link our satellite communication system with Birdie, even though we’ll lose her once we step into the cave. Our earpieces go in, a specialized design that allows us to monitor environmental sounds and radio transmissions while also serving as ear protection. The system provides bionic hearing but with stop gate technology that detects and suppresses dangerous sounds that could damage eardrums.
Now that we’re connected, we check our gear, focusing on the weapons, and start toward the center of town. “I’m still not seeing any movement between you and the cave entrance.”
“Copy,” Maxen responds.
Despite Birdie’s assurances that we’re alone, Maxen and I remain alert with guns drawn. A brisk dry wind gusts, stirring up a cloud of dust on the dirt path that leads through the collection of buildings. The sight is accompanied by an eerie whistling sound as the breeze passes through the blown-out walls. A small dust devil forms where the wind splits at one stone structure, swirling the sand high up in the air. Though fascinating, I pull my eyes away to watch for more lethal dangers.
We soon reach the patch of dirt where the body of Corporal Masters was found. Blood from the corporal’s wounds is gone, dried up and blown away in one of the many dust storms that frequent the area.
Without thinking, I touch the spot over my ribs that Masters patched up. Another good man lost. Turning away from the area, I look toward the mouth of the cave. “Come on. Let’s keep going.”
Maxen gives my shoulder a squeeze and walks with me to the last place I ever wanted to see again. “Birdie,” his voice comes through clear and strong. “We’re about to enter the cave, so you’ll lose us for a while. Keep an eye on the road to at least five miles out. We’ll make sure that one of us checks in at ten-minute intervals in case anything should come up.”
“Birdie, can you run traces on the numbers from the call logs at the same time?” I ask.
“I can. I ran them as soon as the boss gave them to me, but none of the associated phones were powered on.”