One of those scholars was Shari Shasmeen, who had spent many years searching for one of Uthman's Qur'ans, only to have her dream crushed at every turn. That is, until she received a phone call from Abdul-Khaliq, who implied that he might have found something better.
Something so astounding that it dwarfed what she had been looking for.
The guard made all of the arrangements on an encrypted cell phone. He spoke with his crew. He ordered equipment. He coordinated times and places. If this was going to work, there could be no mistakes. Nothing could be overlooked. Everything had to be perfect.
He glanced at his watch and noted the time.
Right on schedule.
Now all he had to figure out was what to do with that bitch archaeologist. She was going to be a problem-he could tell that already. The way she fought back when he tried to take her keys. The way she stared at him. Defiant. Unyielding. The exact opposite of what he expected from a Muslim woman. Weren't they supposed to bend to the authority of men?
In a perfect World, he would slit her throat and dump her in the same place they took Nasir. That would make things much easier, giving him all the time he needed to accomplish his mission. But her death would bring too many questions. Questions he didn't have time to answer. At least for now. In the near future that was bound to change, and the moment it did he would teach her a lesson about the power of man.
Until then, he would simply have to work around her.
22
Payne closed his eyes for just a moment. When he woke up, it was two hours later, and Kia was standing in front of him, quietly whispering his name. Her hair was done, her makeup perfect. A light floral scent filled the air. She wore a tight black sweater and even tighter jeans, which showed off her feminine figure, something Payne hadn't noticed until that very instant. Stylish black boots and simple earrings finished her outfit.
"Wow," he said, searching for adjectives. "You look great."
She beamed at the compliment. 'Thanks." He stared at her for a few more seconds, temporarily at a loss for words, a combination of grogginess and unexpected thoughts. "How long was I out?"
"Not as long as D.J. He's still sleeping in the other room." "That's because he's old and creaky. Not a world-class athlete like I am." Payne held out his hands for Kia to grab. "Now do me a favor and help me up."
She grunted as she pulled him to his feet, pretending it took all the strength she could muster. Despite her tall heels, she was still several inches shorter than he was. "Are you hungry?"
"I'm starving."
"In that case, why don't you get cleaned up and take me out to dinner?"
He laughed. "Wow, you're being kind of forward, aren't you?"
"Not really. You're the one taking me to dinner. So you 're the one who's out of line."
Payne smiled. "I guess I am."
"But don't worry, I'm not going to report you. I mean, you did save my life today."
Thirty minutes later they were walking into one of the restaurants at the Black Stone, where they were given a window seat that overlooked the Yellow Sea. Compliments of Mr. Lee. Payne was dressed comfortably in jeans and a dress shirt, not as formal as the other diners, but nobody seemed to care. Everyone was too busy eating and drinking, soaking in the atmosphere, to pay much attention to them. The entire dining room was bathed in candlelight and romance.
"Thank God we're alone," Payne joked as he helped her with her chair. "If D.J. was here, he'd probably get liquored up and try to kiss me."
"Please don't remind me. Been there, done that."
"That's right. I almost forgot about the kiss! That was, what? Almost two days ago?"
She did the math in her head. "Oh, wow. That seems so long ago. Two days doesn't seem possible. Two weeks, maybe. Not two days."
"Well, that's something you'll learn. Clocks tick at a different rate of speed in the field."
Kia paused while a busboy filled their glasses with water. "Speaking of the field, I'd like to officially apologize for my behavior. I shouldn't have wandered away from the cave without telling you where I was going. I put you in an awkward position, one where you had to swoop in and rescue me. I never should've let that happen."
"Don't worry about it. In fact, I should be thanking you for your efforts. There's no way we could've gotten Kim to talk without your help. He opened up because of you."
She smiled, appreciative of his praise.
"Of course, that being said, you might want to stay a little bit closer in the future."
Her smile grew wider. "Why do you think I'm here?"
It was a rhetorical question but a good question nonetheless. The truth was Payne didn't know why she was there. There had been some innocent flirting during the past hour, but up until then he had viewed Kia as a member of his squad. Nothing more. Now all of a sudden he was sitting across from her, staring at her in candlelight as waves crashed upon the rocky shore, romantic thoughts dancing through his head. He had never been put in this position before, working so closely with a beautiful woman. He wasn't sure where to draw the line.
Hell, he didn't even know if a line was necessary.
In reality, he was no longer in the military, meaning he was no longer bound by their strict rules and codes in regard to social interaction. Still, she viewed him as a superior; there was no doubt about that. However, he wasn't sure if that was even important on such a temporary assignment. For all he knew, their official mission-to rescue Schmidt and his men-was already over. So if something happened between them, was there really any harm?
To him, it was a question that needed to be answered before he'd let anything progress.
"You know," Kia said, breaking the silence, "this isn't my first trip to Jeju. When I was a young girl, my father brought me here to see the haenyo, the women divers of the island." She pointed out the window to the Yellow Sea, where three yachts, their lights twinkling against the horizon, floated on the rolling darkness. "To watch them work was amazing. Most of them were in their forties or fifties, but some were in their sixties or seventies. They'd tie rocks to their belts and jump into the deep water, sometimes sinking more than twenty meters down to the ocean floor, where they'd collect abalone and sea urchins and a variety of other treasures. They'd stay down there for several minutes, longer than I thought was possible to hold one's breath, before they'd untie the rocks and swim back to the surface with baskets full of goods."
She took a sip of water before continuing. "For some reason it's taboo on the island for men to do any diving. No one's really sure why. Some say it's because women have more fat on their bodies, which allows them to endure the cold waters of the deep. Others say it's because women are more buoyant, allowing them to swim to the surface faster after filling their baskets. But whatever the reason, they're some of the best divers in the world. Male or female."
Payne nodded in agreement. He had heard stories about the women divers of Korea but didn't know they were based here. Some Navy SEALs even used their breathing techniques.
"To be honest," she continued, "that's one of the reasons I pushed so hard for this assignment. I've been a translator for many years, working for military bases around the world, but I've always wanted to work in the field. It's something I've always wanted to do. Sadly, I never had the guts to pursue any openings until this assignment became available. As soon as I heard Jeju, I figured a higher power was telling me something. My father brought me here to learn from these courageous women. Now I have a chance to show some courage of my own."