Monster (67 page)

“In my defense, there ain’t a living creature could have snuck up on us like that. Jed’s wrong. You have to have a heart for it to be cold. This payback for the messages?”

“How is she?” McDaniels ignored the question.

“Right as rain, Sir,” Lieutenant Dominguez replied. “I talked with her myself. Since they found Reskova, Kay has not left her side. He’s annoying the hell out of her. Kay says she will be well when you return or he will be dead. I’m glad you received our second message before you cut short your wonderful visit to Syria.”

“We almost figured you bought it, Cold.” Bocelli gestured angrily for the rest of the Marines to quit standing around and get back on lookout. “It was great getting your signal.”

The wind howled over them, causing a moment of silence. The men turned away from the blast.

“It sure ain’t my idea of an early spring,” Dominguez remarked.

“Best enjoy it while you can,” McDaniels said. “I like the cold a hell of a lot better than the damn heat. Let’s get on back to camp and I’ll make my report. Is Martinson still in charge?”

“Yes Sir. He still thinks it would be best for you to give him daily updates while on mission. I think he’s come around to the fact that ain’t goin’ to happen. Hopefully you’re not planning on another plunge into Syria.”

McDaniels chortled in good humor. “Daily updates, huh? I understand though. You Marines ain’t into this covert crap. Kick ass and let God sort ‘em out, right?”

“Ooh-rah!” Both Marines barked.

* * *

“Nearly three months without word, Colonel,” Martinson said after shaking hands with McDaniels. “Don’t give me that crap about satellite phones on the fritz either. You acknowledged the two messages about AD Reskova’s kidnapping and rescue.”

“That was nearly three months ago, John,” McDaniels reasoned. “Anyway, if I made calls every day I wouldn’t be standing here. You would have been watching me kneeling on a mat with a black bag over my head on Al Jazeera TV. Some wanker with a blade would be standing behind me getting ready to cut my head off.”

Colonel Martinson laughed. “Abe told me what you did to them when they linked up with you last night. Those kids are as good as we got and you make them look like they just came in country yesterday.”

“They’re good as I’ve ever seen and they don’t whine at all. I’m glad they were all in one piece still.”

“We’re getting pulled out of here until the elections later in the year, Cold. They want the guys to get some time stateside until then. I haven’t told them yet because I think the whole thing hinged on your safe return and what you came back with.”

“That explains why they weren’t all dancing in the desert making short timer jokes.”

“Yep, there ain’t nothin’ worse for moral than telling a guy he’s going home for a while and then screwing him out of it.”

“Man, they’ll be happy about that.” McDaniels ran a hand over his shaved face, unused to having it bare. “It’ll be the first real break they’ve had other than that little visit back in November. When do you leave?”

“We’ll probably be going on the same flight as you. Don’t quote me until I see the orders in my hand,” Martinson warned. “Did you contact AD Reskova yet?”

“No, I wanted to see what it was like without an inch of filth on me. Man, did it feel good to get rid of that beard and get Bocelli to buzz cut my hair. I’m contacting her as soon as we’re done.”

“You didn’t want her to see how bad you looked last night, huh?”

“Not after what almost happened to her. I’m not even going to get on her about being taken by a couple of dweebs like the Hughes brothers.”

“I didn’t know Lieutenant Dominguez told you who had taken her. In fact, I didn’t know Dominguez knew.”

“The agent who figured out who had done it also was the one who E-mailed Abe. Why, what’s the difference? I would have found out anyway.”

“What are your plans, Cold?”

McDaniels smiled. “Oh, I get it, John. You don’t want anything to happen to those two poor old rubes.”

“Hell, you know better than that. I’d help you hunt the bastards. I’ve heard the suits will be watching you every minute when you get stateside.”

“I want to be with Diane. They’ll catch those guys one of these days.”

Martinson looked hard at McDaniels’ eyes. Although McDaniels’ face was a mask of disinterest and he grinned as though he had not a care in the world, Martinson saw a different story in McDaniels’ eyes.

“They’ll kill you in prison.”

“I guess I’ll have to stay out of prison, John. Let me know when you tell the guys they’re going home.”

“I will. Stick around with them for a few days will you? Make sure nothing stupid happens.”

“Although I believe you’ve overestimated my abilities, I’ll do what I can. Does that mean I’m under orders to…”

“No!” Martinson cut him off. “I think last night’s materialization out of thin air was enough for this time in country. I meant if you have some time I’d appreciate it if you looked them over and see if they’re losing a step.”

“Will do. I’ll be alone in my quarters for a while.”

“I can’t wait to meet this Reskova. You can freelance around here until we leave.”

“Thanks, John, see you later.”

* * *

Reskova began crying and inwardly cursing herself for doing it as McDaniels’ digital form pixeled into clarity on her screen. “I…I’m sorry… I…”

“Don’t worry about it, Red. I need AD Reskova for a moment though.”

Reskova visibly straightened, wiping her eyes and blowing her nose. “You’re all cleaned up. It looks like you’re forty pounds lighter. Your face looks like the skull of death and…”

“Heyyyyyyyyy…” McDaniels interrupted. Reskova laughed at her own send up of his appearance. “I shaved and everything so you’d swoon in delight at how good I look. For your information I only lost five more pounds this time in.”

“Sorry, Skeletor, I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

McDaniels laughed, but then looked intensely at the screen. “First, did you get all the details I flashed you about setting up my two new friends? Secondly, did you get those bozo’s that took you?”

“Yes and no. I passed everything for setting up a new info network to CIA. Jen built up a database addition for the information you’ve already given us. Any agency with information remotely tied into any of the names or places you collected will be flagged immediately. Anything else we come up with will be added to the database automatically. CIA will take over your recruits. Everyone is ecstatic over what you’ve begun, Cold.”

When Reskova stayed silent after the last sentence, McDaniels gestured at the screen.

“And?”

“And we don’t have the bozos. They went to ground. We don’t have a clue where they went in to the mountains at. No other property or land is under their name. They probably have some place out in the middle of nowhere we don’t know about. If we could have traced where they went in, Dino could have run them down. On an upbeat note we did recover my missing Honda.”

“Please, don’t think about them. It’s been three months. Kay picks me up at my door every morning and drops me at my door at night. They’ll come down one of these days. We just want you back with us. I want you back with me and not in a prison jumpsuit.”

“Let’s not talk about that anymore. How’s the kid working out I sent back?”

“He’s living at Kay’s house until Kay thinks he’s ready to move out on his own. Tom has him working with Kay and loaning him out when the need arises for his language skills. Mehmed has already been on live stake-outs of the Syrians. He can’t get enough of it. You can sure pick ‘em. We’ve settled the Nakhuda family into witness protection. Hashib has given us a wealth of information. It may be one of the biggest breakthroughs yet on how al Qaeda recruits, trains, and coerces their forces. There is one problem though.”

“What?”

“Kay says Suraya is in love with Mehmed.”

“Jesus, the kid ain’t long for this world, Red. You better get him the hell out of Kay’s house quick.”

“Don’t worry. He refuses to speak around Suraya and will not meet her eyes. He follows Kay around like Dino follows you. Kay’s helping him look for a place now.”

“The sooner the better by the sound of it. Tell Kay to give Mehmed the keys to my place when he thinks the kid’s ready to be on his own. Will you be able to get him on the team permanently? If CIA needs a hand with his friends in Syria, Mehmed would be on hand to help. His friends heard he disappeared. They’re anxious to hear from him as a condition for them to keep feeding us info. I think they just want to make sure he ain’t dead.”

“We’ll get it done. Mehmed came in the first morning, regaling everyone of your exploits over the border. He thinks you’re superhuman. Tom and Jen had him laughing with what you did to us the first time we met up. I told Aginson Mehmed was twenty-one. Jen made him up a birth certificate to back me up. How old did he tell you he was?”

“Twenty.”

“He’s only seventeen.”

“Figures. It should make Kay feel a little better about Suraya taking a fancy to him though.”

“When are you coming back?”

“Soon. They’re keeping it under wraps for the time being.”

Reskova looked around behind her. “I have a little surprise for you.”

“Don’t do it, Red.” McDaniels held his hands up in pleading fashion. “I’ve been in the bush too long.”

Reskova displayed an item in front of her camera. When she pushed something on the side, it hummed. “I call this my Cold substitute.”

“Don’t do it, Red,” McDaniels whispered, as Reskova began to disrobe. “Please?”

“I love it when you beg.” Reskova smiled at the camera.

“Oh, you will so pay for this,” McDaniels threatened, unable to look away from the screen.

“Promises, promises,” Reskova replied, leaning over her chair.

* * *

“Well, boys, what’s on tap this morning?” McDaniels exited his quarters to find Dominguez and Bocelli waiting for him at a discreet distance. They saluted him formally. McDaniels returned their salute crisply.

“You look a little flushed, Sir.” Lieutenant Dominguez pretended concern.

“Never mind how I look, pinhead,” McDaniels growled. Bocelli turned away, trying to keep from laughing. “Martinson told me to go freelance with you guys for a while. If you want to play cowboys and Indians for the remainder of my stay…”

“No, Sir!” Dominguez barked out, giving Bocelli a slap to the back of the head.

“Too bad. I thought you guys would be lookin’ for some payback.”

“We know better than that, Colonel,” Bocelli complained. “You ain’t human.”

“We gave up on retribution. We’ve settled for lamo digs at your personal relationships,” Dominguez added.

McDaniels laughed, eyeing the surrounding small compound professionally. “You boys don’t have much in the way of entertainment out here. Haven’t you been working on what I showed you before I left?”

“Three months,” Bocelli stated, “and you still ghosted in on us like we was a bunch of boot camps.”

“No one else has,” McDaniels observed with some satisfaction. “Otherwise, you all wouldn’t be here. They’ve built your little Motel 6 up into more than just an encampment, I see. How many times you guys moved since I’ve been gone?”

“Six,” Bocelli answered ruefully. “If we’re around in one place for more than a few weeks the local troublemakers start zeroing in on us. They target any incoming helicopters.”

“The only reason they’ve contented themselves with booby traps and homemade bombs is when they did come out to play we nearly wiped the pricks out,” Dominguez explained. “Except for some sniping and shit it’s been relatively quiet since we hooked up with you the last time. We tried making friendly appearances, but all we did was stir up shit for the folks who were friendly to us.”

“This one wild looking Cleric we nicknamed Rasputin really has a grip on the locals,” Bocelli continued. “He comes out of his hole when we’re around, gives everyone the Darth Vader look, and in seconds the streets are empty. Then the prick gestures at us like he has an army at his back instead of his mouth and a bunch of thugs.”

McDaniels looked around in all directions, feigning a look of utter confusion before returning his gaze back to the two Marines. They shifted uncomfortably, knowing what was coming.

“Wow, for a moment there I thought I was with the United States Marines,” McDaniels said with a very disconcerting look of wonder on his face.

“We’re here for one purpose, Colonel,” Dominguez replied defensively. “Recon the area and support your mission. We have orders not to cause any trouble with…”

“I’m only raggin’ you, Abe,” McDaniels cut him off with a wave of his hand. “I’m back. The mission’s over. Let’s frag this puke.”

Bocelli sighed. “We wish. You know we can’t just waste anybody we feel like. Martinson would…”

“Martinson told me to freelance you guys. That means I have a training mission in mind for you boys. Now, are you Recon Marines or the Campfire Girls?”

“I’m going to lose my bars for this and Jed will get busted so low he’ll be saluting boot camps fresh off the plane,” Dominguez muttered.