Sniper Elite: One-Way Trip

CHAPTER 10

Elicia Skelton was a US Army warrant officer attached to the Army Criminal Investigations Command. Twenty-seven years of age, she was half-Chinese and half-Caucasian with a youthful face and dark hair she wore in an army-style chignon. Wearing an army combat uniform with a CID patch on each arm, she marched up the hall and stopped in the doorway of her supervisor’s office, knocking crisply on the doorjamb.

Brent Silverwood looked up from his computer, his mind elsewhere. “Yes, Elicia?” He was a senior civilian investigator with CID, fifty years of age, slender and handsome with brown hair graying at the temples.

“Mr. Silverwood, we’ve got the DNA results on the Taliban bodies from the Sandra Brux abduction.”

Silverwood postured up in the chair, stretching his back and lending her his full attention. “Come in, Elicia. You don’t have to stand there in the door like that.”

She entered, offering him a thick manila file folder, noting the care lines in his face, the dark circles beneath his eyes. “Most of the DNA samples are too common to trace,” she continued, “but we do have a probable match for one of the bodies, a Taliban teenager who was found a hundred yards from the ambush site where he bled out.”

He set the file aside and rocked back in the squeaky chair. “Bring me up to speed.”

She stood more or less at ease with her hands clasped behind her back as she spoke. “Well, it looks like we may have gotten lucky, sir.”

He lifted his eyebrows slightly. “How so?”

“The young man’s DNA is a definitive match with the Kalasha people living in the Hindu Kush. Certain markers in their DNA are unique to them because their gene pool has remained relatively small. Now, it’s not a definite lead to Warrant Officer Brux’s location, but we’re certain this young man is at least related to the people living in the village of Waigal. There’s no way of knowing whether he was operating out of there, but if he was, Sandra Brux just might be somewhere in the Waigal Valley.”

Silverwood sat forward to reach for his phone. “Nice work, Elicia.”

“Thank you, sir.” She started to say something else but hesitated when he began to dial.

“Yes?” he said genially.

“Well, sir… may I… may I ask how your wife is doing, sir?”

He smiled lugubriously and set the phone back down. “She’s still managing, but the pain is increasing almost daily now. I’m afraid I’ll be going home soon to take care of her. She’s decided to stop the chemotherapy.”

Elicia lowered her gaze. “I’m very sorry for you both, sir.”

“So am I. But thank you for asking, Elicia. Most everyone else around here prefers to pretend like I’m my usual self — not that I blame them. It’s never easy to know what to say to someone in my situation.”

“Yes, sir. You’re welcome, sir.” She gave him a tentative smile and left the room.

Silverwood lifted the phone and called Raymond Chou with NCIS. He sat flipping through the file as he waited for him to answer.

“Agent Chou.”

“Ray, it’s Brent. Hey, I think I may finally have something actionable for you on Sandra Brux.”

“Excellent. What is it?”

“Before we get into that… did you make a copy of that video when I was out of the room?”

Chou was silent for a moment, then he said, “I sort of thought that was why you stepped out. I’m sorry if I misinterpreted, Brent.”

“You didn’t misinterpret. I just wanted to make sure you’d done it. Okay, so let’s meet. I’m pretty sure I know where Sandra’s being held and by whom, but it’s complicated. I don’t want to discuss it over the phone. How soon can you be in Kabul?”

“Couple hours.”

“Let’s meet at the usual place then.”

“You got it. See you there.”

Silverwood hung up the phone and then stood from his chair and went down the hall to find Warrant Officer Skelton sitting at her desk in her cramped little office. “May I come in?”

“Yes, sir,” she said, rising to offer him the chair in front of her desk.

Silverwood sat down and grinned at her. “Why are you always so straightlaced with me?”

“Sir?”

He chuckled, perhaps for the first time in months. “You’re more relaxed around the Army brass than you are around me? Why is that?”

She looked at him, very carefully considering her response. “Well, sir… I don’t know. Maybe it’s because I know what to expect from ranking officers.”

“I see. Well, I’m flying home tonight, Elicia. You’ve given me the perfect excuse to leave you all in the lurch here, and I’m going to use it.”

“Sir?”

“I came down here to tell you I’m breaking with protocol. I’m not going to forward those DNA results directly to State. First, I’m giving them to an NCIS contact of mine. I’m guessing he’ll take them straight back to DEVGRU in Jalalabad. Have you kept up on what’s been happening with the Hezb-e Islami movement since we began our drawdown of forces?”

“Yes, sir. The Hezbis are growing like a weed, both the Gulbuddin and Khalis factions. That’s why the Army wanted to remove Aasif Kohistani. To keep him from—” Her eyebrows soared suddenly. “Wait a second! Kohistani has ties to the Waigal Valley — he was born there. But how could he have known we were preparing a raid?”

“Because the ISI guy we arrested yesterday has been feeding him information… and that’s classified, so don’t repeat it.” ISI was Pakistani intelligence, short for Inter-Services Intelligence.

“Holy cow,” she said. “The Hezb-e Islami parties have gained quite a few seats in the Afghan parliament. If they’re the ones who took Sandra, that could end up putting Karzai in a real spot. It could force him to choose sides against the US.”

“Very good,” he said. “You’re thinking. And that explains why his office was so quick with the offer to act as an intermediary for the ransom exchange.”

“You think Karzai already knows who has her?”

“I’m convinced of it, as a matter of fact. That’s why I’m back channeling this intel to DEVGRU. There’s something fundamentally wrong with this ransom demand. Sandra’s worth a lot more to these people than money. I refuse to believe that Kohistani’s too stupid to see that.”

Elicia felt her skin turn to gooseflesh. “You don’t think DEVGRU will act without orders, do you?”

He checked his watch and got to his feet. “Whether they will or not, I’m giving them the option. It’s very possible that DC already knows who has Sandra, and if that’s the case, your brilliant DNA research will likely wind up swept under the rug by the State Department.”

She stood up, a look of disillusionment in her eyes. “It seems all too possible now, doesn’t it?”

“Whatever you do, Elicia. Do not let on that you’ve put any of this together. When you’re asked, tell them you forwarded the results to me like you were supposed to.”

“Okay, sir. But… but if DEVGRU does take action, won’t State eventually figure out you were involved?”

“They might, but that will be my problem.”

She nodded reluctantly, clearly uncomfortable with the idea of him getting into trouble.

“It’s okay,” he said with a smile. “We probably won’t be seeing each other again, but I want you to know you’re an excellent investigator, and it’s been a pleasure working with you. You’ve a bright future with CID. Don’t jeopardize it by trying to cover my tracks.”

She smiled back, shaking his hand firmly. “We’re going to miss you around here, sir.”