Tracks (37 page)

“Why did she hide him from
you?”

“She said she was afraid he
would want to stay only with me.  She was so afraid of losing him she
panicked.  But eventually she realized that she had made him only more
miserable.”

“So what happens now?”

“The boy needs a father and a
mother so I’ve forgiven her for this and we agreed to spend time with him
equally, except of course when I travel.”

“This is the best news I’ve
had all year!” Sam exclaimed.  “It makes up for whole lot of grief.”

“I want to thank you for your
support,” Rio said simply.  “Now it’s my turn.  I will help the
Ortegas.” 

Sam nodded and embraced Jose
Rio warmly then they both proceeded towards the Ortega residence.

When Sam returned to Hotel
Cuzco in Madrid, he had a message waiting from Elena on behalf of David
Kessler.

CHAPTER
THIRTY FOUR

Harley had the Indian security
services check thoroughly for bugs before calling a meeting in his room.

He had waited an extra day to
make sure everyone had arrived safely.  It proved valuable for the few
whose flights were delayed into Delhi.

All twenty-one people easily
fit in the huge suite Harley had secured.  It had a living room, two
bathrooms, a study, a dining room, and two bedrooms.

“We leave for Kathua
tomorrow,” he declared as everyone convened.  “Long-John, you guys all set
up?”

“A few minor issues we should
settle tonight,” Long-John informed the crew curtly.  He and Copeland had
spent the last three days meeting with Indian Special Forces securing the
needed equipment.

“How do we get it up
there?”  Harley inquired.

“They’ll ship it up there for
us on a cargo plane.  John and I are invited to escort it,” Copeland
pitched in.

“Well, you certainly do
that.  The rest of us fly Jet Airways,” Harley acknowledged.  “Where
do we meet up with the equipment?”

“The military airfield is
adjacent to the civilian one in Kathua.  We’ll arrange to bring you
there,” Long-John informed him.

“That is fine by me,” Harley
accepted. “See if you can arrange a hangar we can use to pitch camp there.”

“There are barracks in the
Army base they’ve offered us,” Copeland advised.  “They’ll take us up to
the border in trucks from there.”

“Splendid!”  Harley
exclaimed.  “Then this meeting is over.  You all make sure you’ve got
the airline tickets,” he said and moved to have a quiet word with Devlin and
Rolston.  The team relaxed and went into small talk mode then began
drifting out primarily to look for food, making sure they remained either alone
or with their traveling companion, unattached to the rest of the team.

Ali pulled Mai-Li out to the
street.  It was early evening, the sun just converging with the
horizon. 

The intense humid air was
almost unbearable.

“Let’s eat out,” Ali
suggested, threading her way among the vendors and beggars sprawled about on
the narrow path.  In the mayhem outside the hotel the humid air was filled
with scents, a mix of spices, sweat and stench of the sewer flowing openly on
the street.  Cars were honking, vendors were offloading products from
wagons tied to bulls, sacred cows were roaming around free and scooter bikes
were nimbly making their way around obstacles.   

Ali stopped at one of many
food stands to taste a reptilian-looking creature cooked the color of
orange. 

Mai-Li caught her arm before
she could toss it in her mouth.

“I wouldn’t do it if I were
you,” she warned. “Not unless you are prepared to spend the rest of our tour in
the toilet or worse in a hospital.”

“I’ve had these things before,”
Ali objected. “They’re pretty good.”

“If we were here trekking,
then I guess you can risk it, but at this point we need to stay healthy.”

The small Indian vendor was
following the discussion with interest.  Realizing he might lose a
customer, he began urging Ali to taste his food with hand signs.  Ali was
now hesitating.

“Let’s eat at the hotel,”
Mai-Li suggested, still holding on to Ali’s arm.  “Food poisoning is no
laughing matter.  Our systems need time to adjust to the food here.”

Ali dropped the meat back on
the stand but handed the vendor a few rupees for his trouble.  Fighting
off a flock of beggars, they headed back to eat at the hotel.

Two members of the crew, Gavin
Willard and Carey Clark, both in Rolston’s backup team, did catch food poisoning
and were forced to remain in Delhi while the rest made their way up to Kathua
in various Jet Airways flights the next day.  Long-John and Copeland made
it up first with the cargo plane and were supervising the transport of the men
in small groups from the domestic terminal to the adjacent military base. 

Ali and Mai-Li checked in to
the local Sheraton to meet up with the media and nervously await the outcome of
the mission.

*****

Natasha flew to Washington DC
to meet with George Metzger and Annie Green to report on the latest
developments and ask for more money.  Sam had called from Spain, on his
way back to Israel, asking her to perform the uncomfortable task, which was
normally his prerogative.  She took the US Air shuttle from La Guardia and
was at the selected Georgetown Café at the designated lunch hour.

The two major Center sponsors
were ten minutes late.  Natasha knew them
both,
having met them at various functions over the years but had never been directly
involved with them on business matters.  Now it was up to her to convince
them to further spend a large sum of money to free Jack and report on the
mishaps in the Sinai.

Annie Green was a plump
fifty-five year old, petite in size, quite dynamic and animated.  She wore
a dark business suit with pants and her look conveyed kindness. Her skin was
satin white; her pretty face was softly made-up with contrasting bright-red
lipstick.

Big George Metzger looked dull
next to her.

They ordered sandwiches and
red wine for lunch.  The café was known for its sandwich menu and
prompt service.

“Tell us all about it,” Annie
said unceremoniously, as Metzger poured Cabernet Sauvignon in their
glasses. 

“It’s pretty dismal,” Natasha
said, putting a dampener on the proceedings.

“We can handle it, dear,” Annie
said.  “We’ve been there before.”

“You know about Clair - the
French mother who got herself in trouble trying to get her son back from the
Sinai.”

Metzger and Annie
nodded. 

“Sam briefed me about it,”
Metzger said, “before he sent Ortega.”

“Well, Ortega went looking for
Chris and Jack in Dahab where Clair and the boy were held,” Natasha went
on.  “Chris and Jack managed to free Clair but then decided to take the
boy as well.  They fled to the mountains with the Egyptians in pursuit. 
Meanwhile, Ortega showed up in Dahab unaware of what transpired and the local
police and the judge wanted to pin the matter on him.  When he tried to
escape, they shot and killed him.”

“Shocking,” Annie murmured
,
Metzger shook his head in disgust. Natasha had their
sympathy.

“They obviously tried to cover
it up but after stiff negotiations between ambassadors agreed to release the
body in return for total immunity and a media gag order."

Natasha fell silent for a
second looking sideways, checking her flanks.

“No one will be charged for
Ortega’s murder,” she stated gloomily.

The waiter came by with the
food and the discussion was ceased while they each organized their bulky
sandwiches on the plates.

“Please go on,” Annie said, cutting
her vegetarian sandwich into small, edible pieces.  Natasha did the same.

“Sam attended Ortega’s funeral
near Madrid yesterday and is now heading back to Israel,” she continued. 
“Christine managed to slip through to Eilat and Harley sprung Clair and the boy
but Jack was caught.  He apparently injured himself up in the Sinai
Mountains and the Egyptians caught him.  Now he will be
tried.”   

“Tried for what? 
Where?”
Annie asked, exasperated.

“Our guess they will charge
him with kidnapping Clair’s boy and probably find other things to pin on
him.  They were trying to blackmail us into paying them big money for
Clair and the boy.  Jack stole the pot and now they’ll seek revenge. 
He doesn’t stand a chance in court.”    

“What proof will they have if
the boy is gone?”  Metzger asked bluntly.

“These people have their own
justice system over there, Sir.  They’ll find their proof.”

“Then I guess I’ll need to
make some phone calls,” Metzger sighed, addressing Annie.

“We don’t believe there’s time
for diplomacy,” Natasha pointed out.  “We believe he will be brought to
trial in a matter of days.  The Egyptians want to make sure their plans
are not sabotaged.”

“How do you know that?” 
Annie asked.

“Our Israeli contact alerted
Sam.  It’s why he’s hurrying back over there. This guy is extremely
reliable.  He assisted us getting Chris out and Clair and her boy.”

“You said Jack doesn’t stand a
chance in court,” Metzger observed.  “Where does he stand a chance?”

Natasha checked her flanks
again then lowered her voice.

 “We believe we can get
Harley to snatch him out before the trial.”

“Out
of an Egyptian prison?”
Annie mused.

“Not quite, but I don’t have
all the details,” Natasha said.  She was beginning to wonder whether to
discuss with them her Romanian affair as well. 

“So what will it take?” 
Metzger asked after a pause.

“A half a million dollars,”
Natasha stated nervously.

Annie and Metzger exchanged
glances. 

“Is it for bribes?” Annie
asked.

“Possibly, I don’t know. 
Sam won’t talk about it over the phone.  I doubt he’ll know the full plan
before he gets back to Eilat.”

“Is it for Harley?” 
Metzger inquired.

“Some of it is
,
I’m sure.”

“Where is he, by the way?”
Annie asked.

“About to enter Kashmir,”
Natasha lowered her voice to a whisper. “The mission is planned for
tomorrow.” 

The waiter returned to offer
desserts.  They all declined the sweet stuff but ordered coffees. 
Natasha waited silently for the verdict.

“Well, we can’t leave Jack to
rot out there, can we?” Annie sighed, looking mischievously at Metzger,
reaching for her purse.  She pulled out a checkbook and wrote a check
payable to the Center for two hundred and fifty thousand dollars, signed it,
and handed it to Natasha. 

Natasha looked at her
astonished. 

“Just like that?” she
marveled.

“Just like that,” Annie
replied then added, “Look dear, we can sit here and second guess you or we
could support you when times get tough.  It’s a rough profession you’re in
and mistakes are costly but humans make them.  You can’t anticipate
everything and this one backfired.  I trust you’ll only be more careful
the next time.  Meanwhile, I’m not here to judge you.  I need to
trust you and I can either back your actions or use my money elsewhere. 
In my book there’s nothing more worthwhile than what you’re doing and giving
you this money proves my trust.” 

Metzger nodded in agreement
and said he would wire his half as soon as he got back to his office.

“Damn shame about Ortega,” he
remarked once again as they got up to leave and he bent to sign the lunch bill. 
“Did he leave anyone behind?”

“Elderly parents and a
brother,” Natasha said clutching her own handbag.  In awe of their
generosity and trust, she was acutely aware of the hefty check she had slipped
in there.  Never before had she handled such a large sum of money on a
single piece of paper.  Afraid she would lose it, she wondered how often
had Annie handed out such checks. 

“We’ll need to pay them a
visit,” Annie said.

 “Indeed,” Metzger said
as he led the women out the café’s swing doors.

Natasha thanked them earnestly
as she stepped into a waiting
cab
that was to take
her to the airport, thinking that additional funding for the Romanian affair
would have to be put on hold.

They now had money to try and
get Black Jack out.

CHAPTER
THIRTY-FIVE

Mai-Li received the call past
midnight and for the second time it caused her to alter everyone’s plans. 
She raced to Ali’s room to wake her and the two slipped out of the hotel to
find a taxi.

They turned up at the military
base at two in the morning and demanded to see the foreigners.  The Indian
corporal at the gate who was unaware of the covert activity in the base hastily
called his sergeant who called his lieutenant who still had no idea of what was
going on.

“There’s a team of foreigners
at your base,” Mai-Li tried to explain.  “Leader’s name is Harley. 
We need to talk to him urgently!”   

The three soldiers looked at
each other ignorantly.