Private Rogue

Chapter 67

The Mil Mi-24 Hind was fully fueled and packed with weapons and equipment. Floyd went through the gear bags while I flew north, tracking the contours of the valley. If the mountains had been beautiful when we’d been touching death near the summits, they were even more magnificent now viewed from the comfort of the chopper and in the knowledge that we had come through a situation where survival had seemed impossible. We were alive and on our way home, and that thought alone was all the warmth and rest I needed.

“I’ve found a satellite phone,” Floyd said, joining me in the cockpit.

I recited one of the few numbers I knew by heart, and he dialed.

“Go ahead,” he said, handing me the phone.

He took the controls. I removed my headset and held the phone to my ear. I heard a long and distant ringing tone.

“Hello?” Justine said. Her voice sounded weak and strained and I knew from that one word that she thought I was dead. “Hello? Who is this?”

“It’s me, Jus,” I replied.

There was nothing but silence and I didn’t know if the line had cut out.

“Justine?”

“Jack?” she replied in disbelief. “Jack?”

“Yeah. It’s me,” I said, and felt a lump rise in my throat. “I guess Dinara and Feo thought we’d been—”

“They said you were dead,” she interrupted tearfully. “I thought you were gone.”

“I’m not,” I responded. “We managed to escape.”

“We? Is Joshua Floyd with you?”

“Yes,” I said. “He’s with me. We’re coming home.”

“Is Beth there?” Floyd yelled at me above the sound of the chopper.

“Did you hear that?” I asked.

Another pause, but this time I knew the line hadn’t gone dead because I could hear Justine sobbing.

“Jus?”

“She’s gone, Jack,” she replied. “And the children too. They were taken.”

“I see,” I said flatly. “Can you connect us to Dinara?”

“Uh-huh,” Justine said, before putting me on hold.

“Is she there?” Floyd asked.

I shook my head. “Justine isn’t at the safe house.”

His smile fell. Could he sense something was wrong? I felt terrible lying to him, but until I had the full details I wasn’t going to share the bad news. It would only lead to worry, and there was nothing either of us could do about it from here.

“Jack?” Dinara sounded astonished.

“Dinara,” I replied. “You bailed on us.”

“I’m so sorry, Jack. We saw you...” Her voice trailed off.

“I’m kidding,” I said. “You did the right thing. Where are you?”

“Kabul,” she replied. “Getting ready to go back to Moscow at first light. Where are you?”

“Kom Valley, near Kamdesh,” I said. “Heading your way. Wait there. We’re a couple hours out. We’ll meet you at the airport.”

“OK,” Dinara replied. “I’m so glad you’re alive, Jack.”

“Me too,” I scoffed. “Justine, are you still on the line?”

“Yes,” she replied.

“Can you arrange transportation home from Kabul?” I asked.

“With pleasure.”

“And send Dinara a full report on what’s happened in my absence, so I can get up to speed,” I said carefully, so Floyd wouldn’t become suspicious.

“Absolutely,” Justine replied.

“I’ll see you soon, Dinara,” I said.

“We’ll be waiting for the luckiest men in Afghanistan,” Dinara responded before hanging up.

“Jack,” Justine began. “I... When I thought you were... I realized how much you...” She was having trouble getting the words out.

“I know,” I said, when it became clear she couldn’t continue. “I love you too.”

“Uh-huh,” was all she could manage.

“I’ll call when we get to Kabul,” I said.

I hung up, handed the phone to Floyd, and put on my radio headset.

“Everything OK?” he asked, his voice tinny in the headset.

I nodded and gave him a thumbs-up. I hated being less than entirely honest, but I needed to find out exactly what had happened to Beth Singer and the children before I could figure out how to get them back.