Tracks (23 page)

She climbed out of the pool on
to the slippery bank and sat for a while to dry. The children had lost interest
and were diving into the pool again, all of them naked as she was
.

She put on a fresh Galabia
offered to her by one of the chief’s wives, washed the rest of her clothes and
spread them out to dry.  Then she fetched Ibrahim, made him take a bath
and washed his clothes.  Jack eventually lumbered to the pool and washed
himself and his clothes.  Clair watched him from afar, soaking his large
athletic body in the pool, but kept her distance, respecting his privacy
.

They all gathered in the
chief’s tent for a farewell supper as the sun disappeared behind the cliffs to the
west.  When they left, they had only a quarter
moon
and an array of stars to guide their way as they carefully treaded in the dark
among the rocks
.

It took the entire night to
reach the road crossing.  Ahmed led the way with Faraj in the back. 
The ten goats they had taken along were now herded in a narrow niche of rocks
feeding on some weeds.  They waited until the sun emerged then Clair and
Ibrahim led the goats down a narrow gorge and across the road
.

“
They will be watching,” Ahmed had said,
referring to the Egyptian soldiers
. 

“
Do not be in a hurry,” he warned, whispering,
looking at Clair who was wearing Bedouin male clothing with a Kafiya around her
head
.    

He instructed Clair to cross
the road very slowly, and to look sideways as if making sure no traffic was
coming.  Ibrahim should indifferently sit on the side of the road while
the goats came down the gorge and crossed in front of him
.

“
They will be watching you carefully and you
must act as Bedouin goat herders,” Ahmed explained
.

“
Once across the road, let the goats lead you,”
Faraj interjected.  “You must climb as high as you can and disappear from
view.  When you have found a safe place to hide, let the goats wander and
wait for us.  We’ll cross at dark
.”

Clair heard the soldiers
before she saw them a few hundred meters away.  They were seated under a
palm tree drinking coffee and smoking, a vehicle parked on the road close
by.  She heard them talk loudly and when she stepped on the road, they
stared at her with binoculars
.

Her heart was in her mouth and
for a moment she felt very weak.  The Dahab prison treatment suddenly
loomed threateningly intense.   She stumbled a little but gained her
balance and began crossing the road slowly looking sideways, as Ahmed had
instructed
.

Once across, she looked back
at Ibrahim and motioned for him to follow.  She continued a few paces
beyond the road and sat, feeling her body shake
.

Ibrahim sat on the other end
and waited for the goats to cross.  The soldiers kept watching through
their binoculars but made no effort to move and inspect.  Two of the goats
wandered a little towards the soldiers.  Ibrahim kept watch but did not
dare move
.

Suddenly a shot rang
out.  It made both Ibrahim and Clair jump to their feet.  The two
straying goats turned and began to hurry after the rest
. 

Then another shot boomed, and
one of the goats hit the pavement, blood oozing from her neck.  The
soldiers were clapping and cheering
.

Ibrahim hurriedly crossed the road,
stumbling behind the herd.  Clair took his hand and they hurried up the
gorge, away from the danger, a goat short. 
A while
later, with the crossing still in view, Clair looked back and saw the dying
goat lying in the center of the road, with the army vehicle approaching.
 
The soldiers were gearing up for a feast
.

They were roasting the goat
over a blazing fire when Black Jack and Faraj reached the top of the gorge that
led to the crossing.  The two began climbing down, careful not to tumble
any rocks.  Easing their way slowly and silently down the gorge, they kept
a careful eye on the celebrating troop.  At one point a vehicle passed by
uphill, toward the soldiers, its headlights brushing the slopes.  It
stopped by the site, its passengers joining the party.  Minutes later
another vehicle rushed by uphill but did not stop by the lookout
.

Jack reached the road with
Faraj close behind.  He squatted for a brief moment making sure no
vehicles were approaching then he sprinted for the other side
. 

The trip wire set off the
fireworks
.

Jack lost his footing and
collapsed hard to the ground hitting his knee on a boulder.  He looked up
to see several flares lighting up the sky.  He tried to get up, to regain
his footing, but his knee buckled and he winced in pain.  Faraj was
nervously squatting next to him
.

“
Go,” Jack whispered to him, pointing toward the
ascending goat trail and safety.  “Go, save yourself and get Clair out of
here
…”

Faraj hesitated a moment
longer.  He attempted raising Jack by his shoulders but could not hold the
weight.  Then he sprinted for the gorge
. 

Jack’s knee could not support
him. He was scrambling, crawling for cover but there was nowhere to hide. The
soldiers were on him like hunters on prey
.

The two military vehicles
screeched to a halt by the road, the soldiers jumping out on the run.  The
flares were still partially illuminating the area and Jack was easily
spotted.  Guns raised, they approached him carefully, shouting commands
and obscenities in Arabic.  He lay face down and felt the first kick
barely miss his wounded knee.  Then more kicks came and he was turned over
to see six heavily armed soldiers staring at him, cursing and spitting, guns at
the ready pointed at him
.

A blinding flashlight
inspected him carefully as he lay on the ground, hands over his head. 
Someone barked an order and Jack was lifted and shoved to one of the waiting
vehicles. Three of the soldiers crammed in the back of the old command car with
him. The apparent ranking officer sat next to the driver barking orders as they
shot up the mountain, the second vehicle following close behind
.

The command car rocked and
skidded over the uneven road causing Jack great pain.  He sat on the metal
floor with the soldiers above him, his knee sensitive to every little bump and
jolt.  He worried it was broken knowing they could use it to inflict great
pain in an interrogation, which he had no doubt, was coming
.

He was in a jam.  They
would pin everything on him and probably lock him away for life.  And they
would do it before anyone had a chance to help him.  It would be days
before Sam would meet Clair and Ibrahim, if they ever made it out.  Maybe
he himself would talk under duress and give them away.  The rendezvous
point, the route
.

It would take a while before
anyone learned of his fate, even if Clair did make it out.  The Egyptians
would not make it easy.  And even if he was found and assisted, he would
not escape trial and most probably conviction.  The Egyptians would see to
that.  They could not lose face.  Jack would pay for the
embarrassment
.   

They reached the Army base an
hour later and were whisked to the local confinement quarters, a tin hut with a
fence and two guards, on the perimeter of the base
. 

It was past midnight, but the
commandant soon appeared with a curious entourage lagging behind.  They
all entered the hut and stood over Jack who was on the ground leaning against
the tin wall
.

A single light bulb dangling
from the roof was all the illumination present
. 

“
I need medical attention,” Jack said quickly in
lame Arabic, as he spotted the high-ranking officer stepping in.  He
pointed to his knee making wrenching gestures
.

The officer looked at the
knee, concerned.  It was swollen and there was a large bloodstain around
the area where the pants were torn
.

“
Your name?”
the
officer said in good English
.

“
Jack Preston,” Jack answered.  “I am a US
citizen
.”

“
Your business?”
the
commandant continued, ignoring the reference
.

“
Official US business.  I demand to see a representative
from the US embassy here
.”

“
Does this business include kidnapping
children?”
the
commandant queried
.

“
I did not kidnap anyone,” Jack said
.

“
Then what is your business?”
the
commandant pressed
.

“
Official business.  I’m not at liberty to
say
.”

“
Is it classified?”
the
commandant continued patiently.  “Maybe you are a spy
.”

“
I will disclose this information only with an
official representative from the US embassy present.”  Jack said, hoping
to somehow get the word out
.

With sudden fervor, the commandant
kicked Black Jack’s ailing knee.  The pain was so sudden that Jack was
instantly sickened, feeling faint, and he slid to the floor unable to
speak.  Two of the soldiers grabbed him and sat him straight making him
face their commander
.

“
You were saying?”
the
commandant continued as if nothing happened
.

Jack could not reply.  He
felt nausea engulfing him and he was suddenly vomiting on himself.  The
crowd of Egyptian soldiers looked on
. 

Jack began to feel the
throbbing pain in his knee subside when another kick landed there sending him
sprawling on the ground.  The two soldiers sat him up again
.

“
Spies get executed in this country,” Jack heard
the commandant saying through a haze of pain and nausea.  “It’s better to
be a child kidnapper
.”

It took a few minutes before
Jack could utter a word.  The Egyptians waited patiently
.

“
I need a doctor,” Jack whispered
.

“
One will be provided as soon as you answer my
questions,” the commandant replied
.

“
I am no spy and no kidnapper,” Jack whispered
.

“
Then state your business here,” the commandant
retorted
. 

“
I represent a US Government agency which
represents parents in dispute over their children with foreign nationals
.”    

“
Does this agency give you the right to kidnap
?”

“
No,” Jack said faintly
.

“
Then why are you wanted by the Dahab police for
kidnapping a boy
?”

“
I don’t know,” Jack said
.

“
Do you know where the boy is
?”

“
No
.”

“
Then what are you doing in these parts
?”

Jack remained silent, preparing
for the next kick, which did not come.  Instead, the commandant took out a
flyer of some sort and flashed it in front of Jack’s face
.

“
This was distributed to me by the police. 
It warrants
your
and your female partner’s arrest for
kidnapping a boy. The description fits you so I will hand you over to
them.  This is a matter for the police, not the military.  You will
be tried.”  With that, the commandant did an about-face, barked a few
orders in Arabic and exited the hut, most of his entourage following suit
.

Jack was left with the two
guards positioned outside and two of his original captors from the lookout site
.

“
I need a doctor,” he whispered in Arabic in the
direction of the soldiers but they ignored him
.

He drifted in and out of consciousness
through the night, the agonizing pain not letting up when finally morning came
and he was again shoved on to the Command car with the three soldiers.  No
food, no drink, no doctor
.

Mouth dry, body weakened, the
knee painfully throbbing, he was finally given some water as the vehicle
skidded and rocked its way down the Katarina ridge to police headquarters in
A-Tur, a ride that would take the entire day
.