Hail Warning

Snake Island, Nigeria

Kornev awoke to discover Kara was not lying next to him. He stretched, checked the time on a clock next to the bed and considered going back to sleep. Although Kara didn’t have much to gain from snooping around the jihadi’s compound, Kornev didn’t feel comfortable with her out of his sight. He climbed out of bed, located his clothes from the day before and hurriedly put them on. He spent a few minutes in the bathroom and bedroom, closing the door.

Kornev heard sounds coming from the large living room down the hall. He saw two men dressed in fatigues exiting the elevator with the two black cases Kornev had brought to Diambu. Victor saw that Afua was seated at a large glass table adjacent to the kitchen area eating breakfast. Two black women were in the kitchen either cooking or cleaning. They wore jeans and T-shirts, but Kornev couldn’t tell if they were hired help or more of Afua’s extended family members.

The men toting the cases opened the sliding glass doors and took them outside and set them down on the deck. Afua waved Kornev over.

“Please sit and have some breakfast,” Afua said.

Kornev walked over, pulled out a chair and sat. One of the women in the kitchen placed a plate of eggs, bacon and toast in front of him. Afua poured Kornev some coffee and some type of red juice. He put the glasses in front of Victor.

“What’s up with the—” Kornev paused, not sure if he wanted to say the words in front of the women. He decided on the word, “cases.”

“We are going to do a little testing this morning,” Afua told him.

Kornev didn’t immediately understand what the jihadi was telling him.

“What kind of testing?” Kornev asked, concerned.

“Live testing, of course,” Afua said, taking a sip of his coffee.

“Live testing here? Now?”

“Yes,” Afua said. “You see I only need one of the missiles for the mission I have in mind. The other missile I bought from you is a test missile. I need to know that I am getting what I paid for.”

Kornev didn’t know what to say. He knew that the guidance had been altered on the missiles by Hail’s people. If the modified missiles didn’t hit their mark,

Kornev could be in big trouble. Sure, he could try to shrug it off and blame it on many factors outside his control, but people like Afua typically didn’t take excuses in stride, especially considering the exorbitant prices Kornev charged him for the weapons.

“I can assure you that these missiles are from the same stock as the one you used in Venezuela. And, if I’m not mistaken, that missile worked perfectly.”

Afua waved his hand at Kornev, as if he were erasing his words from an imaginary chalkboard.

“It has been many years since then, and weapons can deteriorate over time. It’s also important for my men to see me fire the missile. They need to understand that I am still — still—” Afua searched for the right word. Then, as if Afua suddenly realized that he didn’t owe the Russian any type of explanation, he simply stopped talking.

Kornev was quiet for a moment before asking, “Don’t you think that the Nigerian authorities would be upset with you launching a missile?”

“It’s my island. They don’t mess with me if they know what’s good for them. If they do want to get involved in my affairs, they understand they will no longer be in authority for very long. You can’t be an authority of anything if you are no longer breathing.”

Kornev looked around for a moment. He checked the deck outside, scanning the long wooden framework from one end to the other.

He asked Afua, “Do you know where Tonya is?”

“She is down on the beach with my brother. We will be joining them after breakfast. Please eat up. I have many things to do this morning.”

Kornev put some toast in his mouth and began to chew. His stomach was too upset to swallow it.