Page 27 of Stand Fast

The chief and Jaliya looked back at him in surprise but he ignored them and motioned to Prentiss. Together they rounded the corner of the building and swept the area out back where the targeted vehicle sat smoldering. He already didn’t like Jaliya being exposed out here; trusting that the cops had cleared the compound properly wasn’t happening.

There was no way he was letting either Jaliya or her boss near the explosion site until he was certain it was safe. If militants were responsible for the bombing, it was feasible that more IEDs might be planted nearby. Hitting first responders as they were attending to victims or clearing the site while large crowds gathered around seemed to be a favorite tactic.

His boots crunched over the gravel in the back parking lot as he turned the corner and got his first good look at the vehicle. The fire was long out but the twisted hulk of burned metal that had been the victim’s ride was still smoldering next to the small crater beside it.

Looked like the bomb had been small, and either attached to the undercarriage or maybe planted in the ground beneath it, set off remotely or by pressure plate. Zaid was betting on the former. Whoever had killed him had probably been watching from somewhere on the street, waiting for the vehicle to drive over the IED. One touch of a button on a cell phone, and boom.

Three fire crews stood next to their rigs in full gear while EOD teams scoured the area, looking for other devices. Ten yards from the ruined vehicle, an ambulance crew was busy loading a body bag into the back of a government vehicle. The charred remains of the former chief of special police.

“Got anything?” he asked Prentiss after he’d scanned the surroundings and satisfied himself that everything was secure.

“Negative. We’re clear.”

Zaid turned around and headed back to where the others waited around the side of the building. “Okay. We’re good. Go ahead.”

Jaliya gave him a small smile of thanks and nodded before following the deputy chief toward Zaid. “Could anyone on the force have been behind this?” she asked the man in Dari. “A rival maybe, someone who had a grudge against the victim, or someone who didn’t like his political views?”

“No,” the deputy chief said, his voice adamant. “Absolutely not. He was well-respected by his men and everyone at this office. No, this was done by an outsider.”

She translated for her boss before continuing with the questions. “So then why do you think he was targeted? Could he have been involved with something he shouldn’t have been? Maybe something to do with The Jackal?”

The man paused and threw her a look of complete disgust. “No. They killed him because he stood up to them. He was a good man. A hero to his people.”

Zaid slanted a glance at Jaliya to gauge her response. She was watching the man closely, but her expression gave nothing away about her inner thoughts. She was too smart for that.

He turned his attention back to his security work as she and her boss continued to question the deputy chief. The ambulance holding the deceased’s body drove off.

Zaid kept his back to the group behind him and watched everyone else, taking note of their positions and their movements. He was relieved when Jaliya and the others finally turned back and went inside the building, though he kept watch from inside as well, not about to let his guard down. For all they knew, someone within these very walls had helped plan or maybe even carried out the attack.

Jaliya, her boss and the deputy chief disappeared into an office a couple minutes later, leaving him and Prentiss standing guard out in the hallway.

Prentiss looked over at him from the other side of the door. “Think the vic was The Jackal?”

“No clue.” Was possible though. Maybe there was some serious infighting going on in The Jackal’s ranks.

The minutes ticked by as he and Prentiss stood sentry in the hall. What he wouldn’t give to be a fly on the wall inside that office right now, while Jaliya kept peppering the deputy chief with questions, trying to piece together what had happened, and maybe even catch the other man in a lie.

Zaid wanted to know what was going on as badly as she and her boss did. If the dead guy had been The Jackal, then problem solved for the moment. “Guess we’ll find out within the next few days. If his network and shipments are disrupted going forward, then it was him. It’s possible he’s already got a few lined up that can still take place without him coordinating everything. But if he’s dead, sooner or later, there’ll be a major disruption in the chain of command and the operations.”

The death of a leader like that always left a vacuum in his absence. Maybe it would allow Jaliya’s team enough time to track down someone in the network before someone else took over the operation, and collar the organization once and for all.

Prentiss nodded and went back to scanning the hall as uniformed cops passed them with hard looks they both ignored. “And if it’s not him? They got any other promising leads?”

“They’ve got a few others.” He’d seen the pictures on the wall earlier. “Not sure how promising they are, since I didn’t get all the details.”

His buddy’s mouth twitched in the hint of a grin. “Bet Agent Rabani would tell you if you asked.”

Zaid shot him a hard look but Prentiss didn’t make eye contact, so he let it drop, not wanting to talk about her. Prentiss was observant, and it shouldn’t have surprised Zaid that his buddy had picked up on Zaid’s interest in or protectiveness toward her, but Zaid didn’t want anyone talking about her or speculating about what was going on between them. He wouldn’t allow her reputation to be tarnished.

After about forty minutes, the door finally opened and Jaliya and her boss came out. Zaid looked at her, taking in her self-assured gait and posture. The woman moved with a confidence that was damn sexy. “All done?”

She nodded. “For now. You guys ready to head back?”

“Sure. Just let me contact your driver.” Zaid pulled his cell out and dialed the guy, double checked to make sure everything was still secure outside. “Yep,” he told the others, “we’re good to go.”

Outside on the front steps of the building, Jaliya’s phone rang. Zaid paused to look back at her. She pulled it out and stopped when she glanced at the screen, the overhead lights showing a slight tension taking over her body.

He moved fast, grasping her arm and pulling her into the shadows beside the building, his only thought getting her out of the light so she wasn’t an easy target for anyone lurking out here and hoping to take a shot at her.

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