The Puppetmasters (20 page)

Mossad Director Benjamin Zimmerman smiled as he let the last ring on his phone go to voice mail. He was in charge. Things were developing as planned. Those who thought they were “in the know” were frustrated and shut out.

R
ASHID WALKED INTO THE IMPROVISED
workout facility and was instantly pissed and anxious to find that Kendall was not there. He searched both inside and outside the crude building and found no trace of her. He was beyond concerned at the possibility she had been discovered and taken by the military or, worse, some passing soldier who just happened to stop and satisfy his curiosity about the strange, run-down building barely visible between the trees.

He ran his hand over his stubbly chin and willed himself to think about the options. He decided to drive back to the military compound, just over five miles away, on the off chance that she was there. He couldn’t imagine she would have returned to the compound on her own, but nothing about Kendall surprised him these days. He drove like a madman toward the compound and found it busy and bustling, with jeeps driving in and out of the entrance and troops assembling in the courtyard for the next shift.

As he entered the main gate, General Omar was giving instructions to several soldiers nearby. The general put up his hand to stop Rashid and walked over to his jeep. The younger man could not mistake the twinkle in the general’s eyes. “Are you perhaps looking for your lost girlfriend, Rashid?”

Rashid was very careful and cautiously threw back his head and laughed. “You caught me. Is she here?”

“Oh, yes, Rashid. She looked like she had been on a long distance run and came through here about thirty minutes ago. I’m glad she’s made herself at home here on the base. She looked tired, but was smiling. She waved at me and went right to her room.”

“Thank you, General Omar. I’m greatly relieved that she is here and okay.”

“I’m going to kill her!”
he thought.

“Tell me. How did you two become separated? Weren’t you supposed to look out for her at all times? Why did you leave her alone?”

Rashid wracked his brains for a quick and appropriate answer. “As a matter
of fact, I am helping in planning a special family dinner tomorrow and needed to stop by the palace kitchen to speak to Taheem. I left her with the royal horses in the meadow and expected her to wait for me.”

General Omar laughed at the younger man’s unease. “Well, you better reign her in, Rashid. She seems to have a mind of her own. It is not a good idea for her to be literally running around the countryside by herself.”

Rashid thanked him again and headed toward the barrack housing the Orion people’s rooms.

“Hey, Rashid, where are you going?”

He looked confused and pointed towards their rooms. “You told me she went to her room.”

Omar nodded. “Yeah, she did. And then she came out and went into the infirmary.”

“Shit!”
Rashid thought. He, too, didn’t want her wandering around the place. But he was also nervous that she might pick up a bug in the infirmary. He ran toward the two-story building and headed to Glenn Carson’s room. He saw Kendall before she saw him. She was talking to a nurse. He didn’t know if he should hug her or shake her. He was so relieved, yet angry. Kendall caught the motion of him hurrying towards her, and turned to look at him. She was quite alarmed when she saw the spark of anger in his eyes.

The nurse turned away from them to go look for the doctor.

Rashid grabbed her arm and hissed, “Where have you been? I looked everywhere for you. Do you know how worried I’ve been?”

Kendall yanked her arm away. “I’m sorry, Rashid. But I had such a good workout and practice at the range, that I decided to run back to the base. You constantly leave me for extended periods of time. This time, you left me for hours. I had no idea when or if you were coming back. So, I jogged back.”

“Did you run into anyone on the road coming back?”

“Yes. Several times. Each time, I could see them coming, and I hid behind a tree or boulder. See, I can take care of myself!” She was indignant.

“Well, you could have been killed, kidnapped, or worse!”

She looked at him defiantly, and her eyes blazed. “I don’t know what’s worse than what I’ve already been through. People have been murdered before my eyes, and I hear men being tortured almost every night. I don’t think I have much to lose, Rashid.”

He knew he wasn’t going to win this round with the level of emotion she was displaying. He was just too glad to see her to stay mad. He gave her another intense look. “What are you doing here, anyway?”

“I’ve come to see Glenn Carson.”

“And? Have you seen him?”

“I just got here. I’m waiting for the doctor. I think they want me to put some sort of mask and gloves on before I go into his room.”

Rashid quickly thought of something. “Oh, perfect! Keep them occupied for the next few minutes. Ask a lot of questions.”

“Wha—Why?”

The doctor and nurse reappeared. The nurse was carrying the gown and mask. Rashid hurriedly blurted out, “I’ll just run along then.” He turned to Kendall, winked, and indicated he would be back for her in a few minutes. She shrugged. He was getting really pissed at her nonchalant attitude. She had no idea what she would be in for in forty-eight hours. She had better get mentally prepared, or he wouldn’t be able to save her. Her very life was at stake.

Rashid ran down the hall and turned into the room that housed the infirmary drugs. He shook his head in disgust when he saw there was no one guarding the place. The door was wide open. He knew what he was looking for … a soporific. He wanted to induce sleep, and nothing more. He went down the few rows of pharmaceuticals and saw three bottles of Valium. He quickly grabbed the front bottle and pulled the other two to the front so that no empty space was visible.

Pushing the bottle into his side pocket, he looked around, and then seeing that the coast was clear, sauntered back to Kendall and the medical staff. Because he was considered part of the Shazeb “family,” Rashid pretty much had the run of whatever place he visited. People did not question him. He never overstepped his bounds or mistreated others. He treated them with respect. Consequently, both men and women were very amenable to let him wander around as he saw fit. They were eager to gain his trust and sought his friendship. He knew that someday he would need their loyalty too. So, he, in turn, often brought bread, nuts, fruit, or some treat for their children. Rashid was well liked. He fully intended to use that loyalty when the time was right. He would need all the loyal friends he could find in the very near future.

The doctor was arguing with Kendall. He had urged her not to see Carson, and now that she had, she was extremely upset. She looked like she was going to cry. She saw Rashid and ran to him, grabbing the front of his jacket with both hands. “Rashid, Glenn looks terrible! He looks as if he’s going to die in a few days.”

“Oh, Kendall. I’m sure it’s not that dire. The doctor is very competent, and Mr. Carson is getting the best attention.”

“Then why is he in a coma?”

Rashid grabbed her arm and spun her around toward the exit door. He quietly hissed into her ear, “I don’t know, but perhaps there is something we can do about it. Follow me!”

With that declaration, she was curious about his statement and followed him mutely out the door. He walked so fast ahead of her that she had to break into a run to catch up with him. He climbed into his battered jeep. “Get in!”

Kendall was so curious about his comment that she let pass the bossiness of his order. Rashid drove out the main gate, passing a genuinely amused General Omar at the guard house. They drove to the palace stables, and Rashid declared that they were going riding. “Do you know how to ride, Kendall?”

“Barely.” In fact, she was terrified of the horses’ giant heads and large bodies. A horse had kicked her in the knee once, and she had been careful to avoid them after that.

“Well, let’s see how you do.”

They walked into the barn. He chose an Arabian stallion for himself and a young female cross mare for Kendall. “Your mare’s name is
“Laleh.”
That means tulip in English. She is sweet natured and gentle. She is not too young and will not be easily startled. She will hold her head and do as you command if you show confidence. Can you do that?”

“I’ll try.”

“Good. My horse’s name is
Papaver,
which means poppy in English.” He rolled his eyes at the irony.
“Papaver
is Ahmad’s horse. He rarely rides it. That’s fine with me, since he doesn’t take good care of it.”

The young stable boy, Poya, helped saddle up the horses and lead them out of the barn. Both horses were ready, and Rashid helped her mount
Laleh.
He winked at Poya, produced a soft drink from his pocket, pressed fifty
Afghanis
into his hand, and ruffled his hair. Poya responded with a huge grin and a look of devotion for Rashid.

They walked the horses out to the pasture, and then broke into a gentle canter. Rashid could see that Kendall was inexperienced and unsure of the proper seat. He urged her into a trot, and that only looked worse. She almost fell, but righted herself at the last second. Well, now he knew. He would not plan on using horses during their escape. They slowed to a walk and headed to a nearby stream just over the rise. This would give them plenty of privacy, plus they could hear anyone approaching from quite a distance.

They were sitting on a couple of large rocks by the stream, with the horses grazing nearby. Rashid produced two pieces of
naan
bread from his pack, along with a container of the savory lamb stew, and fresh fruit. Kendall could not believe how flavorful it all tasted. She turned to him.

“What did you mean by your comment that perhaps there was something we could do about Carson’s condition?”

“The time has come, Kendall, for us to act.” He decided to emphasize the seriousness of Carson’s health. He felt like a heel, but it couldn’t be helped.
He needed her fully on board to support him all the way. “Carson needs more medical assistance than he’s getting in Afghanistan. We’ve got to get him moved very soon.”

Her heart skipped a beat at the news, but she totally agreed with him. “I agree, but I’m almost afraid to ask. Wha-what do you have in mind?”

“We are going to have a dinner with the Shazeb family in two nights. One way or another, the president and his two sons will die. While the rest of the family is indisposed, we will move Carson out of the military infirmary.”

“What about Fields? Where will we all go? What’s going to happen to the rest of the family? Are you planning to murder the president and his sons?” She stopped long enough to draw a breath.

Rashid jumped in. He held up his hands. “Stop! I’ve got everything planned. Yes, Fields will be with us. He knows and is ready to assist. I have the finest medical team standing by, and without them, Carson will not survive the next week.”

He spun her around and grabbed both of her arms. Her eyes got wide. “Kendall, you must trust me. Do you?”

She reluctantly stated, “Yes, but I’m scared about how it will all play out.”

He nodded. “Good. So am I. That means we’ll be extra careful and watchful as it plays out. I have friends everywhere. They will not hesitate to help me. You must believe me. It’ll all work out okay.”

What he really thought was that if they die in the process, it will have been for a good cause. He doubted that President Shazeb was planning to keep the Orion people much longer. Given the number of people that had already been killed just to bring them to Afghanistan, it wouldn’t work to simply let the Orion people go home. There was already the distinct possibility that Carson would not survive the rescue attempt.

Kendall weighed his words and slowly came to the realization that there was really no other choice. She swallowed the lump in her throat and declared, “My mom will be so glad to see me. I hope she’s doing okay.”

Rashid looked away, uncomfortable with the topic. “Yes. You’ll feel much better once you are home.”

She thought his response was odd. No mention of her mother. She went white. Something’s happened to her mother. He knows. That’s why he didn’t respond appropriately. She felt herself choking. “What’s happened … t-t-to my mother? What haven’t you told me?” she demanded. Her eyes were wide and she was breathing hard.

He couldn’t believe that his body language had betrayed him. He was a spy … a member of the Mossad. He was a practiced liar. Damn! He was disgusted
that his personal feelings were going to betray him now … just when he needed her to keep her wits about her. He quickly analyzed the situation, shifted his focus, and took a deep breath.

He looked her right in the eyes, “Yes, Kendall, your mother had a heart attack and died yesterday. I’m so sorry. I wish there was something I could’ve done.”

She collapsed to her knees and held her head. The tears flowed freely. She looked up at him with rage and spewed, “I hate this awful country, your people, and you. Look what you all have done to me. My mother didn’t do anything to deserve this. I didn’t do anything either. I wasn’t even there when she needed me. In fact, she probably had the heart attack from worrying about me.” She collapsed into sobs.

Rashid frowned and remained silent. He let her cry for five minutes before he handed her a wrinkled tissue. It was thick and scratchy, but Kendall wiped her eyes and blew her nose. She hiccupped and looked up at him. In a bitter tone, she said, “I have nothing now. My mom was everything to me. You’ve ruined my life! It can’t possibly get any worse.”

He sat down beside her, and they both stared at the flowing creek. “Kendall, I’m sorry these things have happened to you. But we’ve all had tragedies in our lives. My parents died when I was young. I’m trying to fix things for you and the others. Can’t you see that?” He didn’t dare tell her that things could indeed get worse. The U.S. intelligence community suspected her of collaborating in the disappearances of Carson and Fields, and she could very well get herself killed during the escape. Oh yes, things could get worse.