Page 65 of Stand Fast

David was beside her, watching her intently. “It’s Shah,” she said, only a tiny part of her questioning whether Barakat was telling the truth. The fear in his voice had been all too real, as was his reluctance in telling her. And all their evidence backed it up.

He cursed under his breath. “No one else can know outside of our agency team. It’s too risky—we can’t afford anyone to leak it. I’m not going to lose Shah now.”

Before she could respond, her phone rang again. This time it was one of her analysts. “Tell me you’ve got something on Shah,” she said.

“Got a ping from a security feed at an airstrip north of the city.”

Shit. The bastard must have figured out that they were onto him and escaped the city. “Where did he fly to?”

“He didn’t.”

“What?”

“He dropped a woman and kid off. Loaded them onto a private jet at noon, then drove away.”

That didn’t make any sense. Shah was unmarried, and had no close relatives that they knew of. “Who were the woman and child?”

“We’re working on it.”

“Where’s the plane heading?”

“Turkey to refuel, then Portugal and on to Mexico.”

Mexico? “Where?”

“Veracruz.”

She sucked in a sharp breath. My God. TheVenenos. Shah must be working with them directly somehow. “Who is the plane registered to?”

“A private company based out of London.”

“Alert our people in Veracruz. Have them intercept the plane when it lands. I want to know what the woman and kid are doing there.”

“Will do.”

She hung up and told David the latest. “I need to contact Commander Taggart,” she said, dialing his number. He was the only one who could green light a mission based on this intel. “Barakat said there’s a shipment going through near the Khyber Pass tonight, and Shah is supposedly going to be there in person.”

“Taggart.”

Just hearing his voice on the other end of the line made her feel better. She quickly relayed the update and conversation with Barakat and started back toward the office building, her mind whirling.

David was right beside her on a call of his own when she finished with Taggart. “We’re meeting him at Bagram in two hours. FAST Bravo is being placed on alert right now,” she told him.

He nodded and covered the bottom of his phone with one hand. “Then let’s get a move on.”

Yes.They were finally going to nail this sonofabitch.

****

In the frigid darkness Zaid gripped his weapon and waited for the command to disembark as they descended toward the LZ. Cold air rushed in through the helo’s open starboard side door as they neared the ground. Seconds later the Blackhawk went into a low hover. The door gunner and crew chief verified that the area was clear, then the chief tossed the fast rope out the door.

Everyone knew the mission. They all knew the terrain and the topography through this part of the Spin Ghar Mountains, along with possible hiding spots for enemy fighters and likely ambush sites.

But as he waited for the order to insert, Zaid thought about Jaliya.

He hadn’t seen her in a few days but she’d been on his mind constantly. Her smile, the way her eyes sparkled or flashed, and those sweet sounds she’d made as she’d come against his tongue and fingers.

Though he’d sworn to avoid any romantic entanglements while he was over here, she’d gotten to him, and the thought of letting her go now was unbearable on every level. He’d been trying to figure out a way to convince her to take a stab at a long-distance relationship with him, but in all honestly he wasn’t sure how it could ever work long-term, with him only coming to Afghanistan once a year for four months.

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