Thorpe and Khalif had been friends a long time. They’d studied together at Oxford, both men of extraordinarily high intelligence. It was a friendship that had lasted through difficult times and one that had been beneficial for both. More weapons to Pakistan would leave a bigger footprint and a much larger paper trail.
The mess surrounding the Iran-Contra affair had been a major blight on one senator’s career. If not for having several fall guys in place, it could have been catastrophic. The latter gave Thorpe an idea. He could do the same thing, put names in place that would be there just in case information came to light.
He’d be careful. He always was. And with his term ending in the coming years, having his legacy untarnished was of increasingly great importance.
“I’ll figure it out, Omar. You’ll get your weapons. I have connections that can make it happen, as always.”
Khalif bowed low. “Thank you, my friend. I know it is a great risk for you to do something like this. But it is appreciated.”
“It’s no problem. Just remember, take out Qafar. And let the world know you did it.”
Thorpe turned around and left the room. Khalif lingered for a moment, considering what the senator had asked.
Eliminating Qafar would be problematic, especially since Khalif had been the one to give him safe haven while the United States and the rest of the Western world’s militaries were scouring the globe for him.
If Thorpe was correct and the U.S. military knew Qafar’s location, it was possible they could have connected the dots back to Khalif.
He shook off the thought. Were that the case, the Americans would have arrested him the moment he set foot off the plane. The fact that they’d found Qafar, however, meant that they could also find out about Khalif’s connection with him. If that happened, everything he’d worked for would come crashing down. That was something he could not abide.
Khalif called in his assistant and whispered into his ear. “I have an assignment for you. It would appear that our special guest has overstayed his welcome.”
5
Sean knew the dust-covered Range Rover was their ride before Agent Fitzsimmons ever got out of the driver’s seat.
The flight into Julius Nyerere International Airport had been comfortable enough. From the first sight of the antique SUV, Sean doubted their ground journey would be the same.
The door flung open with a loud creak, and a ginger-headed, freckled young man stepped out. He wore an eager, toothy grin as he greeted Sean and Emily. God, he looks like a Boy Scout, thought Sean.
“Welcome to Tanzania,” he said. “I’m Patrick Fitzsimmons. You can call me Fitz. How was the flight?”
“Patrick Fitzsimmons? Went a little heavy on the Irish there, don’t you think?”
“Yeah, I have my parents to thank for that. My grandparents were from Ireland, so there you go. I’ll take that,” he pointed at Emily’s baggage, and before she could protest had scooped it up and was heading toward the vehicle’s rear.
Sean started after him and glanced back at Emily. “Seems like a nice guy.”
After the luggage was loaded, the three jumped into the SUV and took off amid a throng of glowing red lights.
“Sorry about the traffic,” Fitz said. “It’s crazy this time of night around here.”
Emily looked over at him from the front passenger seat. “How long have you been here?” she asked.
“Just a few weeks now. The director had me come over here to monitor the strike team that went in last week. But that wasn’t the only reason.”
“He sent you here as a backup plan, didn’t he?” Sean chimed in from the back seat.
“You know the director. Always have a Plan B. His idea was that if something should go wrong with the strike team, we would already have a cover in place to disguise our movements.”
“Smart,” Emily commented.
“That’s why he’s the director.”
Fitz steered the car around a slow-moving truck loaded down with people in the back. “Our compound is fairly close to Mbeya. There were a few locations that were closer, but we figured setting up nearby would draw too much attention on top of posing an obvious safety risk.”
“Safety risk?” Sean asked.
Fitz gave a nod and glanced back in the rearview mirror. “Yeah, Toli’s soldiers have been branching out. Four days ago they hit a village about ten miles from our compound. In a few more weeks they’ll be brazen enough to go even farther.”
“I can’t believe the government isn’t doing more to stop this,” Emily piped in.
“This little quarter of the country isn’t a high priority. They’re a growing nation and are too focused on the big cities. A military presence has been sent out to patrol certain areas, but they never see anything. That means when they report back, the government hears nothing but good news. It’s almost like Toli knows when to venture out and when to stay hidden.”
“Sounds like he has someone working on the inside,” Sean said.
“Probably. But he won’t know you two are coming.”
The drive to the compound took nearly ninety minutes. After traveling on paved highways for half the drive, the remaining forty-five minutes were spent on bumpy dirt roads leading out into the savannah.
Eventually the outline of the Axis compound rose up from against the starry backdrop. Out so far away from civilization, billions of stars twinkled in the night sky. The Milky Way was in full view like a cosmic soup of dust, gas, and celestial bodies. So much beauty above a country so drenched in blood, Sean thought with a grimace.
Fitz pulled up next to a wooden building with a tin roof and stopped the SUV. Sean stepped out and gazed up into the sky.
“You don’t get a view like this in Atlanta. That’s for sure.”
The others exited the vehicle and shared the moment, staring up into the heavens.
Fitz cut the silence. “I have rooms for you two in this building here,” he pointed at the closest structure. “It isn’t much. No air conditioning, but right now the temperatures at night are bearable.”
“So long as there aren’t any mosquitoes, I’m good,” Emily said.
“Yeah, what she said,” Sean agreed. “There aren’t going to be, are there?”
Fitz chuckled. “We have nets set up to keep them out, but now and then one slips through. Have some extra bug spray just in case, but for the most part, those guys are not easily deterred by that stuff.”
“Great!” Sean smirked.
“Come on,” Fitz said, laughing again. “I’ll show you to your quarters.”
He led the way up a simple set of steps and through the front door. Inside he pointed to two doors on opposing sides of the hall. “Take your pick. They’re both the same. Bathroom is down the hall on the right. We have a shower here from rainwater, and electricity all comes from solar and batteries. We’ll go over everything in the morning. You should plan on leaving here at one in the afternoon local time. That should put you close to Toli’s compound near dusk.
“For now, get some sleep. You’re going to need it. Let me know if you need anything. I’m in the building across the way.”
“Thanks, Fitz,” Sean said.
“Yes, thank you,” Emily echoed.
“No problem. See you guys in the morning.”
He spun around to leave, but Sean stopped him. “Hey, any chance Tommy Schultz is around here? I heard his archaeology group was in the area. We’re kind of using them for cover if I’m not mistaken. Correct?”
Fitz nodded. “Yeah. They were here, but most of them headed out yesterday to investigate something in the hills. What they were looking for, I have no idea.”