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SEPTEMBER 17, 2022

Haskell

The guards placed her, rather unceremoniously, in what looked like a control room. They had climbed approximately five staircase levels, which appeared to be halfway to the ceiling of the cavern. Once there, one of the guards patted her down, looking for wires or surveillance devices, and he made sure to check extra long at her breasts and between her legs. She withstood it stoically. He also painfully dug into her ears, found the earbuds, and crushed them under his foot.

The second guard pulled a broken-down chair on wheels from in front of a workstation and half tossed her into it once the search was done. Afterward, they both stood on either side of the door, staring at her, rifles across their chests as if they believed she would suddenly spring a weapon out of her skintight shirt and leggings .

Ka-Bar came into the room a few minutes later. “Leave us,” he growled. “You can assume your regular schedule.”

Without a word, the guards exited the room, and she heard them begin the climb upward to the surface.

Ka-Bar set the chunk of rock on the workstation table, shuttered the large plate glass windows overlooking the cavern, and then perched on the edge of the tabletop in front of a series of dials, switches, lights, and monitors. Microphones on flexible stems sat in front of each chair at the long shelf-table. None of it appeared to have been turned on in ages.

They sat, staring at each other.

Finally, Ka-Bar broke the silence. “No one can hear us.”

Haskell hissed at him. “What the fuck, Kent?”

“I didn’t have any choice. They had Zahra.”

“There’s always a choice, asshole! They’re kids!”

“They had pictures of Zahra. Proof they had her before I could hide her. I didn’t know it was a lie.” He cursed under his breath, then began to pace the small space, running a hand through his hair. He turned to Gem. “Have you seen him?”

Gem’s anger dropped. “No. I only heard he’s healthy, and they’re safe.”

“Good. It doesn’t matter as long as she and the boy are safe.”

“Jacques died protecting her,” Gem told him. “What happens now?” she asked.

“My orders are to hold onto you. Insurance.”

“And Nemo?” she asked, trepidation in her voice.

“Pharaoh Kader wants him. The boys were taking him into the B tunnel. It has a cart that goes to the surface about five miles out. They’re transporting him to the old Murphy Mine in South Africa.” His look at her was pointed. “He’s going to use him as an exchange chip—him for Zahra and the boy. ”

“Tribe will never trade for him,” Gem whispered. Her fear was taking over now.

“I think part of Pharaoh wants that. Either outcome gets him what he wants. They are pissed about something they interfered in a while ago. Not sure of all the details. They were hoping for someone named TB, or the boss, Waters, but they’ll settle for your friend, Nemo.”

“But you know, and I know, that he’ll never let Nemo go.”

Ka-Bar shook his head. “No, he won’t.” He looked out the window at the open cavern where normal activity was resuming now that their quarry had been caught. “They found additional deposits at the Murphy Mine, lower in the stratum. They’re planning to blast down farther to access them.”

“They’re using kids there, too?”

Ka-Bar nodded. “Yesterday, they took half of what we had here down to that mine.”

“Explains why the cavern seemed so empty and why the original tunnel was abandoned.”

“Yes. They took all of the men they had here as well, save for about a dozen. It’ll take them today to get to the mine. I’m honestly not sure how ready that facility is for workers, so they may not reach out right away, but they won’t give it more than a couple of days.”

Haskell hung her head.

“You love him… don’t you?” Ka-Bar asked.

“Yes,” she admitted, defeated by the unfairness of it.

“For what it’s worth, I am sorry, Haskell.”

She nodded. “I know.” She pleaded with him. “Ka-Bar, get the hell out of this before it becomes worse for you.”

He smiled sadly. “You know I can’t leave.”

“Why? They don’t have Zahra, and they aren’t going to get to her! There’s nothing holding you to this atrocity.”

“But what if they do get to her, Haskell? I need to be here to try and prevent that from happening. Or else be here to prevent the outcome.”

She looked at him, swallowing hard. “So the Kaders have turned, then. That’s why they want Zahra and the boy. They’re going to kill her as a show of loyalty, then raise the boy as a Salieri?”

Ka-Bar nodded. “That’s why it was so important to get Zahra to safety in the States. I figured once I got her there, I could contact Tribe and get her under their protection. That went off the rails almost as soon as I got the photo to Kai.” He paused again. “Is she happy with him?”

Gem nodded, her eyes still shiny with tears over Nemo’s fate. “Desperately missing you but hopelessly in love with Waters.”

He nodded. “Good. She deserves someone in her life like that.” Slowly, he rose from his perch and headed to the door. When he got there, he turned his head over his shoulder. “Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” And then he was gone.