Page 95 of Good Enough

“Her eyes.”

Midas zoomed in tight on the eyes of the girl. They were a golden-brown, lighter than normal for an Egyptian woman.

“No,” Kubrick whispered. “It can’t be.”

“You know her now?” Waters asked.

“She’s older, obviously. But I think that’s Zahra Kader.”

Midas’ keys were clacking in the background, and another photo popped up on the screen. It was a casual, large group photo of mostly adults who were laughing and toasting the camera. Some were clearly Egyptian dignitaries, but others were clearly civilians, including Kubrick’s adoptive parents.

Waters couldn’t help the grin that spread across his face. There was his woman perched piggyback on an older teen, her index and middle finger in a “V” shape over his head. The adopted siblings appeared to be in the Egyptian embassy’s courtyard. Her signature blonde ponytail was in a braid that was wound around her head like a hairband, blue ribbons waving in the breeze, but the edge strands were just as flyaway then as they were now. And the smile was full of absolute joy. She had always been beautiful. And it was also clear from the laughing face of Ka-Bar trying to look backward at her that he adored his adopted sister.

“Well, aren’t you just as cute as a button,” Midas chided.

“Zoom in on the girl two over on Ka-Bar’s left,” Waters ordered.

“Your wish is my command,” he quipped. Instantly, the picture enlarged to a young Egyptian girl’s face, her eyes focused on something to her right. Then, he put the two photos side-by-side on the screen.

“It is Zahra,” she whispered.

“Who’s Zahra, baby?” Waters asked.

“She’s… well, she was… my brother’s girlfriend. I think. I was ten in this picture, so as far as I was concerned, she was. I caught them kissing once.” She smiled at the memory. “I thought Ka-Bar was mad at me when I teased him about it. He actually shook me until my teeth rattled. Made me promise never to breathe a word to another soul. He made it sound like he’d be killed if anyone knew. So dramatic.” Her smile faded. “But my ten-year-old heart couldn’t bear the thought of losing my beloved big brother, especially after all I’d already lost. So I kept my promise.” She shook herself out of the bad memories. “We left the embassy shortly after that picture was taken. James, our adopted dad, was sent back to New York, and that was the end of our stay in Egypt until Ka-Bar’s home base became Cairo.”

A low whistle came from over the monitor. “Bossman, we’ve got potential problems.”

Waters frowned. “What is it, Midas?”

The photographs disappeared and were replaced with a newspaper article. The story was in Egyptian, approximately six months old, but the photo was Zahra in an olive hijab and a fashionable yet modest matching robed dress of the same color with gold accents. “The article is about her being missing. And that’s not all.” Another picture appeared on the screen.

Kubrick inhaled.

Waters swore.

Zahra appeared in a photograph holding her very pregnant belly.

God spoke up. “We found the package, gentlemen.”

Four hours later, Waters was still online with his team, coordinating all efforts. Kubrick had nearly collapsed from the adrenaline rush and shock. Demon had realized it was coming, so he left his post in the medic trailer and brought over a sedative to give her. Once it had been administered, Waters lay with her until she was asleep. When he returned to the War Room, it was to see that TB and Nemo had shown up.

“How long until everyone comes back to the house?” TB asked.

“The actors are out with the second unit director doing some distance shots. We have a couple of hours, maybe. Sunset tops.”

“We lost Big Bird in all the excitement. Do we have any idea where he is?” Nemo asked.

“Not our concern right now,” God barked. “Focus.”

Waters was gazing intently at the screen, but he didn’t appear to be looking at anything in particular. “Something’s wrong.”

“What do you mean?” God asked.

“If Zahra and the baby are the package, then why did someone break into Kubrick’s trailer and then the house here?”

“Maybe they wanted the picture,” Nemo suggested.

“Doubtful. Wouldn’t whoever is looking for them know the package was a person and whom they were looking for? We’re missing something. We’ve got to be.” Waters blew out his frustration with a loud exhale. “And how do Big Bird and all the film stuff fit into this? Nothing makes sense.”

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