Page 66 of Stand Fast

He had no idea how many more years she was going to serve over here, but she was young and had a long career ahead of her. And when he was here with his team, they were bounced around from place to place, often not staying for more than a few days in one spot.

Sometimes she had business in D.C., though. That was better than nothing, and worth a shot because God knew no other woman he’d met could compare with Jaliya. She was a woman worth fighting for.

Good thing he was a warrior at heart, as well as a lover.

“Radio check,” Hamilton said through Zaid’s earpiece, pulling him back to the present.

The team checked their equipment and checked in with Taggart back at the TOC at Bagram. Jaliya was there watching. She and her team had been working on intel for this op all day and feeding it to them at the FOB.

He liked knowing she had eyes on him and the others for the duration of the op. He just hoped there wouldn’t be a repeat of the disastrous op by the SF team.

Zaid didn’t want to die. He wasn’t some reckless cowboy who took stupid risks during a mission. He wanted to live a long, full life, and he wanted Jaliya by his side throughout the rest of it.

But if for some reason the worst occurred and his number came up tonight, he didn’t want her to see it happen.

Chapter Sixteen

In the back of the helicopter he was riding in, Fahim ended the call and leaned his head back against the wall of the aircraft with a deep sigh. The first truck had made it across the Pakistani border, thanks be to God.

“Sir, eighteen minutes to target,” the crew chief told him.

Fahim nodded in acknowledgment but didn’t respond verbally, his mind busy reviewing the logistics of the coming op. One major hurdle had been overcome with that truck making it across. But he needed all four to get across if he was going to have a prayer of coming up with the remainder of the money to pay for Beena’s surgery. If he had to sell his own soul or die to do it, he’d get the damn money.

He motioned his lieutenant over to review contingency plans. If he should be captured or killed tonight, every last one of his men had been instructed to do whatever was necessary to ensure the drugs made it to their final destination.

The only reason he was overseeing this operation personally was because the stakes were too high to leave anything to chance. Guilt needled him at what he was about to do, but he ignored it.

It was too late to stop this now. Things had already been set into motion. He was way beyond the point of no return, and second-guessing himself now was pointless.

This final shipment would allow him to escape the region and join his family in Mexico. It would give Beena the chance of living past his sixth birthday. And it was also part of the deal he’d made withEl Escorpion. Going back on his word would mean his death, and likely that of his innocent wife and child. At least this way, he had a chance of surviving. And if he didn’t, his wife would do everything in her power to take care of their son.

He’d waited until Shah had dropped her and Beena off at the airstrip north of Kabul. Then he’d returned to Bagram, sat in on the mission briefing before going dark and making his own arrangements for tonight. Just before boarding the helo he’d received word that his family had arrived safely in Veracruz a few hours ago.

Now he was on high alert, flying through the darkness toward the Spin Ghar Mountains, ready to launch the fight of his life.

The timing of this was critical. The pressure was on him, the eyes and ears of a half dozen international intelligence agencies looking for clues that would lead them to The Jackal. Fahim had to secure this shipment and make it across the border where allies linked to theVenenocartel would smuggle him down to Karachi and fly him to Veracruz.

But first he had to deal with the members of FAST Bravo and the men from his unit who weren’t loyal to him. Then he could move the drugs and make his way across the border.

The advantage lay in knowing that no one but the men aboard this aircraft knew what was coming. And that the Americans thought Shah was The Jackal. That stroke of luck might give Fahim the edge he needed.

He closed his eyes and leaned back against the helo’s wall, letting the vibrations calm him, and thought of his family. It gave him strength. And courage. Just a few more hours and he would melt into obscurity in the Mexican desert, far away from all the prying eyes searching for him.

****

Jaliya entered the TOC at Bagram to find Commander Taggart and some of the other key players on the taskforce riveted to the video monitors showing a live feed of the helicopters’ progress across Afghan airspace, headed north of the Khyber Pass. Zaid and the rest of FAST Bravo were on one of them, the NIU members on the other.

They had about twenty-five minutes until they reached the insertion point. The most recent intelligence said that The Jackal’s latest shipment was being smuggled across the border within the next few hours, in trucks carrying medical supplies.

“How’s everything look?” she asked the room in general.

“Everything’s on target,” Taggart answered without looking at her as he watched the screen, feet planted apart, arms folded across his broad chest.

Her phone vibrated in her pocket. She pulled it out, and when she saw one of her analyst’s numbers, she answered. “This is Rabani.”

“Your young informant was brought into Joint Craig Hospital ten minutes ago with serious gunshot wounds.”

Her lungs seized. “Barakat?”

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