Hail Warning

Termez, Uzbekistan

Kara thought the Russian would place high priority on having sex, but as they emerged from the tunnel and entered his home, Kornev appeared highly distracted. She was relieved sex was not on the arms dealer’s mind. Initially, she thought the pain in his hand was the reason for his lack of libido. But that was not the case. Once inside, Kornev told Tonya to make herself comfortable while he packed, and he let her know she was welcome to make herself a drink.

“Where are you going?” she asked, foregoing the drink. Instead, she began walking around the room, taking it all in.

Kornev had disappeared into a room she assumed was his bedroom.

He called out, “The better question is where are we going?”

Kara looked around the room and saw nothing of any personal significance. He had no pictures hanging on the walls. No tchotchkes, books, framed photos or anything to indicate a human lived here. The living room was a good size and appeared to have comfortable leather furniture. The floor was a black slate material that was too masculine for her tastes. A thick sliding glass door opened to overlook a courtyard that had colorful bushes and flowers. A few wooden Adirondack chairs bookended a small matching table on the balcony. An open kitchen with modern appliances was in plain view. A few unlit hallways led to other rooms, but the doors were closed.

Kornev was not gone for long. Just minutes later, he reemerged from his bedroom dragging a small suitcase on its wheels. He stood his black bag next to the door leading to the tunnel.

The Russian looked around the room momentarily — the type of look one gave when leaving for a prolonged period.

“Where are we going?” Kara asked with more bluntness.

“It’s someplace wonderful, I promise you. In a few hours, we will have our toes in the sand at a very private resort home.”

Kara shrugged, understanding that was the extent of the explanation. Kornev looked disappointed because she didn’t appear more enthusiastic about their impending trip. His tone changed when he said, “You understand we can’t possibly stay here. Those flying machines could arrive at that very window at any time,” he said, pointing at the sliding glass doors.

He continued, “We need to go, and we need to go now. And I have some business I need to attend to as well, so—”

“This is just all too crazy,” Tonya said, doing her best to portray a party girl who had found herself in a situation way over her head.

Victor looked compassionate and said, “I understand how you feel, but I guarantee by tomorrow, you will have long forgotten all about this. Just you and me and some drinks and other fun stuff.”

Kara was not enthused about the fun stuff the Russian was referring to, but keeping in character, she responded with a sigh and said, “OK, but so far, this is not what I expected. Can I have my cellphone back?” she whined. She thought it was a natural thing for someone in Tonya’s shoes to request.

Kornev looked apologetic and explained, “I’m sorry, but that’s not a good idea. We don’t know if our phones are being tracked. I have them both shut off, and I also have them in a lead-lined pouch, so there is no way they can send a signal. These modern cellphones have all sorts of signals they send out, even when they’re shut off.”

Kara gave Victor a disappointed look, as if he had again let her down, but she thought that was about all she could do for right now. Tonya Merkalov would probably be happy to be headed to a resort, even without access to her cellphone. Kara simply shrugged, gave a little smile of contrition and joyfully said, “OK, let’s go.”