Page 20 of S.O.S. Mizzay

Cobble had long ago supplied a composite drawing of the guy to Chuck and Andy, but they’d never been able to match him. Until now.

“So are you going to give me a name?” Cobble finally asked. He couldn’t stand not knowing a second longer.

“Our prime suspect’s name is Abuk El-Umar,” Andy supplied.

Unfortunately, that meant nothing to Cobble.

“We were able to identify him because he’s currently highly visible in the new regime; being hand-in-glove with President Kiir’s sketchy as hell Vice President.”

She practically growled that info before continuing. “A little background on El-Umar; he was previously the shadow, right-hand man to George Athor. Athor was the assassinated head of the SPLA who fomented the 2011 uprising. Duringthatassociation, El-Umar kept an invisible profile, but now he’s basically come out, feeling safe because he’s government sanctioned.”

“I’ve read about that new, highly-suspect VP,” Cobble speculated. “Macher’s his name, right?”

“That’s right,” Andy confirmed, turning onto the interstate.

Apparently, she was taking them far away from the town where Cobble had been hiding.

“Macher was sworn in as Vice President by Kiir in 2011 right after the takeover, but healsohad been purported at the time to be the head of a rebel faction, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-In Opposition. So, nobody trusted him for a few years. But lately, vigilance regarding Macher has lapsed, and the VP is feeling empowered. Hence, El-Umar making his public debut.”

“So El-Umar is working with Vice President Macher,” Cobble sneered. He shook his head. “Where does that leave us? Or me?” he added.

“Well, even though speculation is rife now about El-Umar’s role in the gold smuggling operation, he’s attempting to make it all look legal. At least as legal as anything gets in South Sudan.You, however, arestill the only one who can put him at the UN offices and positively identify him as a killer. So, whoever in the DOJ, CIA, and FBI has their fingers deep in his pies are still dedicated to taking you out of the picture.”

Dandy. Just Dandy.

“What Chuck and Ihavebeen able to uncover,” she let him know, “is that El-Umar is not only ass-deep in orchestrating the gold smuggling for “patriotic purposes”, he’s now been linked to ferrying it out of the country.”

“To…?”

Andy sighed. “Well, we haven’t been able to trace any of those illegal shipments to the US, but we know they’re being sold into other countries. Russia in specific. El-Umar, however,hasto be working with a top-level official—think CIA—who, for a cut, is helping him get the goods out of the region and to the buyer, buyers, or accomplices.”

“People who want anonymity from everything, including certain atrocities—like the slaughter in the UN office,” Cobble supplied bitterly. “I hate it when corrupt governments take over and there’s so little that honest people can do to combat it. Especially when higher-ups in our own country’s agencies join the party just because their palms get greased. Isn’t italwaysabout money and greed,” he stated angrily.

“It is, indeed,” Andy agreed.

What a fucking mess.

CHAPTER SEVEN

They’d been driving for several hours, talking, when Missy…

No.Andy.That’s who she was around Cobble—just as he wasn’t Sawyer when they were together.

Andyknew they were getting close to the destination she’d finally settled on.

Yes, she had the perfect place to stash Cobble.

But before they got there, she owed Chuck a call from her burner phone to his. She picked it up and hit his number.

“Go ahead,” he answered. “I’m in a secure location.”

“We’re all clear of the area. You can send your team in now.”

“Good. And I have a short list of places you can go next with Cobble.”

“Not necessary Chuck. I’ve already got him covered.”

“You’re sure?” he questioned, with a bite in his voice.

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