Page 19 of What Remains (John Worthy #3)

“What do you mean, she’s not here?” John asked.

“Exactly what I said.” Mac sounded like an aggrieved restaurant patron who’d just found a hair in his vichyssoise. “Driver and I went looking for her an hour ago.”

“Not that there are many places she might have gone,” Driver rapped.

The glare bouncing off the desert beyond the main cavern’s entrance washed the color from Driver’s face, turning him as pallid as new bone.

The skin under his bloodshot eyes looked bruised, yet unlike Meeks and Flowers, who’d been catching a few winks, John and Roni had found him pacing.

“All we know is Musa’s jeep is gone, and she didn’t say a word to anyone.

They must’ve left when we were getting you guys set up.

” To Mac: “I told you, we needed to watch her. She’s been angry ever since we said there was a limit to what we could do.

You know she blames you for this. That you guys didn’t move faster. ”

“The thought,” Mac said, dryly, “had crossed my mind.”

Blames him for what? “You haven’t called her?” John asked.

“No comms, man. Remember?” Flowers stifled a yawn. “Except in emergencies.”

“This doesn’t qualify?”

“We don’t need comms.” Driver’s tone held an almost manic intensity. “We know what she’s doing, if not exactly where .”

“Uh-huh.” Driver was, John thought, pretty wired. How many uppers had he tossed back? “And what is that?”

“ I know,” Roni said, her voice faint. “She’s gathering more boys, isn’t she?”

Mac nodded. “More than likely, retrieving them from wherever she’s squirreled them away.”

“Because she knows we can’t refuse her.” Driver’s fists balled. “That’s the only reason she pulled this stunt.”

“Take it easy,” Mac said, his tone still mild. “There’s no need to get into that now.”

“I’m sorry?” Roni looked from Mac to Driver and then back again. “You know why she did this?”

Okay, that was a surprise. He’d imagined Driver had told her. Flowers certainly had talked himself hoarse on the drive here and told him exactly what that was.

But that was the trouble with guilt of which he had a lot of firsthand experience. Talking didn’t necessarily help. Guilt was the blood Lady Macbeth just couldn’t wash away.

“Look,” he said, making it a point not to so much as glance in Flowers’s direction, “whatever history is between you guys and Shahida is your business. What’s our business is what do we do now? Because we already have a very big problem.”

They listened as he explained about the numbers, keeping it short and simple. After a moment’s silence, he said, “You know where this is going, right? She already snuck in more than she ‘fessed up to, and now she’s trying to strong-arm you into taking even more.”

“We don’t have the room,” Mac said.

“Maybe,” Flowers said, “if me and Meeks stayed behind?—”

“No,” Driver said at the same time that Mac said, “Absolutely not. We are positively not doing leaving anyone behind. That is a setup for disaster.”

“Yeah, Flowers,” Meeks said, “volunteer yourself.”

“Get real. We’re adults. These are just boys.” Flowers shook his head. “But, man, I knew I shoulda gone that diet.”

“Mind you, I’m not volunteering,” Meeks said, “but Flowers does make a good point.”

“About a diet?” Flowers asked.

Meeks rolled his eyes. “We got to get rid of two adults or even three, but that still might not be enough room.”

“So, we need a bigger boat,” John said.

Mac blinked. “I’m sorry?”

“ Jaws ,” Flowers said. “Great flick. It’s criminal how underappreciated Roy Scheider is.”

He really liked this guy. He could imagine cracking a couple brews, popping some corn, and sitting through, say, a Humphrey Bogart marathon. Better yet, Cary Grant’s Hitchcock movies. But what John said was, “We need more vehicles.”

“Which we ain’t got and haven’t a prayer of getting, not in time,” Mac said.

“Unless Shahida brings back another vehicle,” Roni said. “She’s not stupid.”

“Oh, no? Shall I simply chalk this up to her impetuousness?”

“No,” John said, “you should chalk it up to the fact that she knows you won’t do anything about it. Nothing to her, anyway.”

“Whatever she does, we can’t leave kids behind.” When they all looked at Flowers, he shrugged. “We just can’t.”

“I’m open to suggestion,” Mac said.

They all thought about that for a second, and then John put a hand to his head. “We are so stupid.” When they all turned puzzled looks, he said, “We’re so focused on all or none. Why don’t we think in halves?”

“I don’t understand,” Mac said.

“I do.” Roni smiled up at John. “I think it’s the only option.”

Driver frowned. “I still don’t?—”

John cut him off. “We have enough vehicles if one of us takes a load now.”

“What? Don’t be absurd. There’s no time ,” Mac said. “It’s a six-hour trip, one way. You’d never get back to the airport and then back here before the last transport is wheels’ up?—”

“You’re thinking in straight lines,” John said. “If this were a movie, I’d say you’re displaying two-dimensional thinking.”

“I know that movie,” Flowers said at the same time that Mac, frowning, said, “What? What kind of nonsense is?—”

Flowers cut him off. “Man, it’s the old riddle. That fox, goose, and bag of beans puzzle, right?”

Mac’s eyebrows met above his nose. “ What puzzle?”

“Kid’s game,” Meeks put in.

“Yeah, more like a mental puzzle. If you’ve got a fox, goose, and bag of beans on one side of the river and you can only take one across at a time,” Flowers said, “how do you get everything over without the fox eating the goose or the goose eating the beans?”

“I still don’t understand,” Mac said.

“ I do.” Driver had stopped pacing, though his eyes were still just a little too bright. “It’s not quite the same but close enough. One of us takes a full load of kids halfway.”

“While an empty transport leaves Kabul and we meet at the halfway point,” John said. “They bring more fuel so the person who takes them has enough if he has any kind of emergency.”

“Like hiding.” Meeks spread his palms. “Sorry, man, but that’s why we drove here at night. Too dangerous during the day.”

“Do we have any choices that do not involve leaving a bunch of kids?” John shot back. After a moment’s silence which no one filled, he continued, “We transfer the kids into the empty transport and then our guy turns around and comes back here.”

“By which time, Shahida and Musa will be back,” Flowers said.

John watched Driver’s men and Mac all look at one another and then Driver said, “Okay, let’s plan for the worst-case scenario, the max we think Shahida would bring back.”

Before the others could answer, Mac said, “I know how many.”

“You do?” John asked and then he got it. “That’s what you were arguing about when we got here. She wanted to go out for one more truckload, only you nixed it.”

“Yes.” Mac’s tone was dry. “As you can see, my words had great effect.”

“So, how many?” Driver’s lower jaw unhinged when Mac held up both hands. “Ten?”

“I’m afraid so.” To John: “This would mean taking ten boys in one vehicle.”

“Sit on laps?” As the men all swapped looks, Roni said, “Oh, for God’s sake, didn’t any of you ever go partying?”

“ You did?” John was astonished. Somehow he’d never figured Roni as the party-girl type. “When?”

“High school. I wallowed in teenage angst and booze swiped from parents.”

“You’re lucky your car didn’t end up wrapped around a telephone pole.”

“This was in the mountains. We were more in danger of running off a cliff,” Roni said, her tone dry. “Except I was always the designated driver. So, not really. Anyway, my point is we select ten kids. Five can fit on the seats and five in their laps.”

“That would do it.” Flowers, again. “Then even if Shahida brings in ten more, we do have enough room to get everyone out.” He looked at John. “Good thinking out of the box, man. So, who goes?”

“I can do it,” Mac said and then when Driver started shaking his head, the other man scowled. “Why not?”

“You’re in charge,” Driver said. “I was going to say that you’re the only person Shahida might listen to, but I think the point’s moot.”

“Oh, I can do a bit of damage,” Mac said. “Later, though. We still need a driver.”

“I think you just nominated me,” Driver said.

“No way.” When Driver gave him a narrow-eyed look, John said, “And you know exactly why.” From the look Meek and Flowers shared, they did, too.

He was relieved when Driver gave only a short nod in reply.

He had no wish to embarrass the guy, but he’d be damned if he let Driver, strung-out on uppers, behind the wheel.

“I could do it,” Meeks offered.

“Not after driving all night, you won’t,” John said. “And not Flowers either. So, that leaves me.”

Roni, nettled: “ I could do it.”

“No, you work faster than I do. If Flowers or Meeks could fill in all the extraneous paperwork, then all you’d have to do is write a couple sentences for a medical clearance and make recommendations. Same thing if Shahida shows up with more kids.”

“That’s something I can do,” Driver said before either of his men could reply. “They need to sleep and I’m too jacked.”

And then some. “See? When in doubt, delegate. So there,” John said to Mac. “Problem solved.” And more than one . If he took kids or beans or whatever anyone wanted to call them across that metaphorical river, they’d be on their way to the airport in plenty of time.

“Yes,” Mac said, his tone abstracted.

“Don’t fall all over yourself thanking me.”

“What?” Mac looked up then shook his head. “No, no, it’s a fine plan. It’s just that…” Mac turned a look at Driver. “We’ll be breaking protocol.”

John and Roni traded looks. “I’m sorry?” John said. “So?”

“Naw, I get it,” Flowers said.

“I don’t.”

“It means getting someone at the airport on the horn,” Driver said.

“Uh-huh.” He was still confused. “So?”

“ So, they meet you halfway, man,” Flowers added.

“And? What?” He waited. “Don’t everyone talk at once.”

“Ah.” Roni’s face cleared. “Yeah, I hadn’t thought about that.”

“Well, don’t keep me in suspense,” John said.

“Mac will have to transmit a message,” Driver said. “Even scrambled, anyone who’s listening?—”

Might get curious. “How big is the risk?”

“Which one?” Mac asked. “Risk is rarely black or white. Risk usually can be broken down into stages and a series of questions. So, number one.” He held up a finger.

“The risk that the message is heard? More than likely.” Another finger.

“Second, would the message be of interest ? That depends upon who’s listening, yes?

And then the last.” A third finger. “Will the message provoke a response?” Mac shook his head.

“Unknowable, seeing as how we’ve never taken this risk before.

We’ve not given anyone anything to see or hear. ”

“I think this is worth the risk, Mac,” Driver said. “Otherwise, what will this have been for? We’re talking only two transmissions. You call with a request, and they acknowledge.”

“Three.” They all looked at Roni. “You need to tell them where and when,” she said.

“Still worth the risk,” John said. “No more than two, three minutes on the air.”

“My dear boy,” Mac said—at which point John was nearly positive the man had spent time in England, “wars have been lost in less time. But I also don’t see that we have much choice.

Every moment we waste is one more we will never have again.

All right.” Clapping his hand, Mac gave a brusque nod.

“I will contact my people back at the airport and coordinate a rendezvous. How soon can you gather the boys you’ll take, Doctor? ”

John opened his mouth to reply, but Flowers raised a hand. “I just thought of something. If you’re driving and someone comes at you, how are you going to both shoot and drive?”

“He doesn’t have to.” When they all turned, Roni said, “You’re forgetting one thing.”

“What’s that?” John asked.

“These boys,” she said. “They were Shahida’s army.”