Trinity: Military War Dog (11 page)

“God has your back.” Toes dangling off the edge of the stage, Heath stared out at the faces of those who put their lives on the line. “You aren’t alone. He’s there. Always. And I pray you find the strength to reach out to Him.” He drew in a long breath and smiled. “Just because things don’t go the way
you
planned, doesn’t mean God left you. He may have just put you on a new course. Follow the adventure!” He held up a hand. “Thanks for listening to me tonight. I’ll be around to talk if you have questions.”

Jibril took the stage to explain A Breed Apart a little more, then turned over the stage and night to one of the soldiers, who dismissed everyone.

A steady stream of admirers walked by Trinity, but—thank goodness—they remembered he’d warned them not to mistake her for a domestic dog they could pet. Trinity was working. Always.

He shook hands, signed some miniature scrapbooks, and took pictures with others. All the while, he searched the crowds for Jia. Where had she gone? Heath hoped he hadn’t said something from the stage that scared her off. Being brutal-honest with the audience opened himself up to ridicule. But … the thought of her thinking worse of him rankled.

Weird. Why would he care what some chick thought? He never had before.

Yeah, and you’ve never tried to soften up a woman since your life wrecked
.

Man, his head felt like someone drove a tent stake through it. What happened? Maybe it was just all the excitement of the night. Or that collision with the chair. He pinched the bridge of his nose.

“Great job,” Jibril said as the crowd petered out. “You’re a natural.” His smile rivaled the lights on the stage. “I knew I picked the right man.”

“Thanks. Hey, have you seen—?”

“Your Chinese friend?”

Heath jerked, stunned.

“I saw you two talking before the show.” Smoothing his beard, Jibril studied him. “Is she stationed here?”

Heath clipped Trinity’s lead on. “She’s not military. Civilian with military contract to scout for minerals. She’s leaving in the morning.”

“I am sorry,” Jibril said, his expression somber. “I saw her leave about halfway through your presentation.”

“Oh.” What did that mean? “Maybe she got a call.”

“It is possible.” Jibril patted his shoulder. “Are you okay? Your head is hurting?”

“Just too much excitement, I guess.”

Jibril looked unconvinced. “This has been a long but good day. Now, I must rest. We head south tomorrow, so be sure to rest up. I’ll see you in the morning.”

“Right. Okay.” But Heath’s brain cells were engaged on wondering why Jia had left.

He tugged Trinity’s lead toward the tents where contractors bunked. Maybe Jia wasn’t feeling well. As he stared down what looked like an endless row of tents, he realized the futility of his personal mission.

Gutting up the disappointment, he headed for his own tent. He rounded a corner and almost stopped, but his old training kicked in and kept him moving. Jia stood with a general, hovering in deep conversation. Jia, a contractor with a
geology
team. With a general. He’d like to hear the explanation for that.

The general’s face darkened beneath the large, powerful lamps that shattered darkness in the compound. He stabbed a finger at her, his voice loud but unintelligible.

What’s up with that?

Trinity pulled taut, watching the showdown, too. Heath didn’t like it, and apparently Trinity didn’t either. She stopped short, as if she’d gotten a hit—on Jia. Good thing he’d tethered her, or Trinity would’ve taken off.

“Trinity, come.”

Jia glanced over her shoulder and saw him. She said something to the general, then walked toward Heath. She let out a long sigh as she approached. “Sorry I missed the last part of your presentation.”

Heath shrugged. “No worries.” He nodded to the general who disappeared into the command building. “What’s with that? He looked ticked.”

“They’re giving us grief over our paperwork again. And I think Dr. Colsen, who’s the lead geologist, is being less than gracious—again.” She smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “So, still up for that walk?”

“Absolutely.” Heath headed toward the canine practice field, knowing they’d have the area to themselves. But her story didn’t sit straight with him. Why would the military hassle them over paperwork if the team already had been here for three weeks? And why did she seem buttery-sweet all of a sudden?

What was she trying to divert his attention from?

            Seven              

Copper Mine, Jalrez Valley
Wardak Province, Afghanistan

H
ear no evil, speak no evil, do no evil
.

Carved out of stone, the statue before him epitomized the old proverb, since its head and hands had crumbled and disappeared with time beneath the harsh elements in which its temple sat. And yet, some might think the armless and headless condition of the statue indicated the broken power of the gods.

To the left, another broken stone figure stood on the other side of an entrance. Through that opening lay the mine China had begun to excavate copper from. Frustrating China, the mine bore the great tragedy of being situated at a 2,600-year-old Buddhist temple. What should have been a quick insertion of Chinese progress through mining ore morphed into a nightmare in preserving the reputation of the People’s Republic of China by protecting the Afghans’ history through archaeology.

Colonel Zheng Haur glanced once more at the crumbling relics. Was it a bad omen?

“So much for the power of their god.” Captain Bai smirked.

“No god has power. Only man.” How many times had General Zheng said that?

“Colonel.” A Chinese lieutenant rushed into the open. The sun struck him as if illuminating his presence. Was that a sign as well—was a god shining on this man who saluted him? “I did not know you were coming. What can I—?”

“I am here to speak with Colonel Wu.” Haur kept his focus like steel.

The man’s gaze darted around the area as he frowned. “I … so sorry, sir. But the colonel left a week ago.”

Cold spread across Haur’s shoulders. “What do you mean he left?” The orders given to Jianyu had been to remain here till the general sent for him. “His orders were to oversee this mine.”

The man nodded and half bowed. “Yes, sir, but he said he was recalled to China.”

Haur raised his gaze once more to the stone god. What secrets lay beneath his lap besides archaeological finds? Did Jianyu send this errand boy up here to deceive Haur?

He glanced to his left, where Captain Bai stood ready. The look in the eyes of the man he’d trained and worked with bespoke the suspicion Haur felt. “Search it.”

In Chinese, the captain shouted, “Search it!”

A dozen men climbed out of the deuce-and-a-half and trotted through the narrow opening with their weapons in hand.

“You will not find him, Colonel. He is not here.” The man shifted nervously. “Please—this site is very old. Your soldiers will disturb the relics and archaeologists.”

“We respect your work here, but we have our orders.” Haur considered the implications if Jianyu actually had left.

As Haur’s men returned to the truck, tension rose.

“When did Colonel Wu leave?”

“I told you, one week—”

Impatience snapped through Haur. “Date? Time? What direction?”

The lieutenant cowered. “I … I don’t—”

Captain Bai lunged. “Do not—”

“No!” Haur held up a hand to his captain, then redirected his focus on the lieutenant. “A week ago. Was it Thursday? Or Friday—right before the holiday?” Chinese New Year had always been important to Jianyu.

The man’s eyes widened. “Yes, yes. He said he was going home just in time to celebrate with his father.”

Haur studied the man. There was more to this story, but whether the old man knew it or not was another thing. “Morning or evening?”

“As soon as the sky lightened.”

“Let us both hope you are telling the truth.” Haur would prefer that this man was not telling the truth, because the implications were too great otherwise. If Wu Jianyu was not here, where was he? What was he doing? And with a group of China’s elite, the Yanjingshe warriors?

Haur returned to the Lexus SUV and closed the door. He pulled out his phone and dialed. When it connected he said, “General Zheng, he is not here.”

The long pause stretched painfully. “Explain.”

“Jianyu left a week ago. He told the miners you called him back.”

Silence choked the connection, but as the car pulled over the dirt road, Haur thought he heard hard breathing. No doubt his brother had yet again disappointed the general. He ached for the pain that stretched through the silence. “Should I return—?”

“Find him!”

Haur’s chest tightened at the rage in the general’s voice. “Find him and bring him back to me.”

“Of course.” Haur ended the call and slid the phone back into his pocket. Hand fisted, he pressed it to his mouth and propped his elbow on the window ledge. Staring out over the rugged landscape, he probed the possibilities of where Jianyu had gone. What intention did he have in this game he had begun?

Watching Jianyu collapse beneath the weight of the general’s scorn after the spy had been discovered—

Haur diverted his gaze. Even though the incident was in the past, the general refused to discuss the breach and the records had been sealed. Beyond their building at Taipei City, nobody knew of the American spy who had penetrated their so-called secure and advanced systems.

And Jianyu’s heart. Something Haur never thought possible. He had wished to have met this spy, the one who broke his brother.

Since the day she had fled back from wherever she had come, Jianyu had become a stranger. His father refused to speak to him. Refused to acknowledge he had a biological son. In the last thirty-six months,
son
became a term applied not to Jianyu but to Haur.

And Jianyu despised him for it.

“This is bad. Here, so close to American and British soldiers …”

Plucked from the past, Haur nodded at Captain Bai.

“The general will kill him.”

The words hung ominous and true. There was no wrath like that of the enraged General Zheng. Ruthlessly powerful. Yet … so gentle and kind—to Haur.