"I have to think about that. You have a phone, Samake?"
"In my shirt pocket."
"Take it out and set it on the ground. Use your left hand."
Samake lowered his left hand and reached into his pocket. He took out the phone and bent over to set it on the ground. Then he moved, fast for a big man. He dropped his right arm and reached behind him.
Selena shot him. The bullets staggered Samake backwards. He fell.
She stood up, lowered her rifle. "He was going for a gun. Stupid, greedy man."
Samake lay sprawled on his side in the dirt, his mouth filled with blood. Nick walked over and rolled him onto his back. A pistol fell from his hand. Carter picked up the phone and handed it to Selena.
"Call Stephanie," he said.
Carter went back into the cave and found a flashlight. He walked past the pallets of cocaine. He kept walking, looking for anything that could lead him to the truck from Sudan. At the back of the cave he came to a pile of loose rocks scattered on the rough stone floor and a low opening. He stooped and entered.
He was in a natural rock chamber. On the floor were scattered pieces of crumbling fabric showing a faded green. A few bits of old wood, dark brown. Scrapes on the floor. Something was written on the dun colored rock.
He went back outside, back to the front.
"Stephanie is sending a chopper to the plateau," Selena said. "There's a Ranger detachment here, advisors."
"Come look at this." Nick led her back into the chamber. He pointed at the writing on the wall.
القيامة
"What does this say?"
Selena looked at the writing. "Judgement."
She picked up a piece of green cloth. It fell apart in her hands. "This cloth is old. See the bits of wood? That manuscript said there was a relic of Muhammad. It must have been here"
"Well it's not here now."
"It could be in that truck."
"Another reason to find it."
The made their way back to the front. "Look for anything useful. Papers, notes, anything that might give us information."
They searched the cave. Carter found a laptop computer and took it.
Selena called out. "I found something. Used pill bottles, prescriptions for Bausari. I think they're cancer drugs."
"Good, take them. We'll analyze it later. Anything else?"
"No."
He looked at the neat bundles of cocaine and stacks of arms and ammo. Selena watched him. Five large cans of gasoline were stacked on one side of the cave. Carter opened the cans one by one and poured gas on the cocaine, the crates of ammunition, the weapons.
"Time to go," he said. He backed out of the cave, trailing gasoline behind him from the last can, down the ravine. It made a dark trail against the yellow rock of the ravine.
"Get in the Toyota and start it up." Selena climbed into Samake's truck. The keys were in the ignition. She started it, backed up and turned so it faced down the slope.
Nick tossed a match at the trail of gas and watched it catch. He jumped into the truck.
"Go!" He slammed his hand on the dash. Selena threw it in gear and they bounced down the trail. They were around the corner when the cave blew. A series of thunderous detonations ripped the air as the munitions exploded. Rocks rained down on the truck.
They took Samake’s Toyota back to the foot of the mesa and scrambled to the top. Harmon had tossed off his cover. His bedding was soaked in blood. He was white, white as February snow, all the color gone from his skin. His breath came in long, harsh shudders. His eyelids twitched.
"Ah, shit," Nick said. "He's bleeding out." He raised his voice. "Joe. Look at me. Open your eyes. Come on, buddy. Chopper’s on the way. You gotta hold on."
Harmon's eyelids fluttered open. He turned his head and focused on Carter's face. It wasn't Nick he was seeing.
"Dad," he said. "You’re here."
"I’m here." Carter felt cold, cold fingers grip his chest. His throat closed up.
"Hey," Harmon whispered. "We had good times."
"Yeah, we did. We’ll have more. Hold on."
Harmon coughed. "Just when I thought I was out…," he said. Then he said, "Oh, fuck."
His fingers relaxed and his hand fell away.
A distant beat of rotors echoed across the brittle sky. Carter looked down at Harmon's body. What a waste, he thought. Another meaningless death in a fucked up war. It made him angry.
He wanted to be anywhere except here. He wanted to kill every fucking terrorist asshole who thought it was fine to murder everyone who didn’t believe in his shitty seventh century fantasy. He wanted to wipe every one of them off the face of the earth.
If he could find him, he'd start with Bausari.
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
A day later Nick and Selena had Stephanie on a secure speakerphone at the US embassy in Bamako. Carter had sent the computer from the cave on to Washington. New sat phones were coming in the next pouch.
"The truck went into Mauritania. We picked them up just over the border but lost them again. I want you to find it. They have to be heading for the coast."
Steph was in Director mode.
"What kind of truck is it?" Selena asked.
"Typical, two and a half tons, square cab, desert colors, like an army truck. Open bed with a canvas cover. There aren't any distinguishing marks on it. Sudanese plates, but they might have changed them. Do you have a map of the region?"
"Yes." Carter spread it out on a long table in front of him.
"From Mali they headed west into Mauritania. There’s nothing there but sand and rock. It's flat, they could drive it. It’s not that far to a town called Bir Moghrain. That’s the first place they could pick up what passes for a paved road. Once on the highway they wouldn’t stand out, like in the desert. They’d just be another truck in traffic."
Carter traced routes with his finger. Stephanie went on.
"They could leave the highway and go overland toward the ocean. Or they could go all the way to the capitol and drive north or south along the coast. A rendezvous with a ship off the coast is the only thing that makes sense. Otherwise they'd have gone up into Algeria. They could turn west at Bir Moghrain into the Western Sahara region, but I don't think they'll do that. The region is disputed and there are lots of border guards and armed patrols. My guess is they’ll opt for the long way."
Stephanie paused. "The country along the north coast is especially dangerous, so watch yourself if you go up there. It’s completely lawless, controlled by AQIM. There are frequent murders. No one's safe."
"Sounds like a wonderful place." Carter pulled on his ear.
"Most western countries have travel advisories against going to Mauritania at all. I think you should start at the Capitol, Nouakchott. You can go north or south from there."
"We need weapons. There's one pistol between us."
"I'm on top of that. Go to Nouakchott, check into a hotel. You'll be met. Then you'll have weapons and a vehicle."
"Why not send in those rangers?"
"Mauritania is going fundamentalist. They don’t like us. If we sent in our military it would create a huge international incident. Unacceptable."
"Unacceptable to whom?"
"The White House, for one. That’s enough."
"Anything else, Steph?"
"No. Be careful."
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
They checked into separate rooms in a hotel in Nouakchott, the capitol of Mauritania. The clerk eyed them with more than a little suspicion. But money crossed all boundaries. Carter ached like he’d been mauled by a cement mixer, then run over by a truck. He lay down on the narrow bed in his room.
Repeated knocking at the door pulled him back from wherever he'd been. Not sleep, more like a black hole of unconsciousness. He looked at his watch. He’d been out for almost six hours. His back was stiff and sore. He got up and opened the door for Selena. She'd darkened her skin and changed into a long skirt and blouse of some dark material. She carried a cloth bag over her shoulder. A brown scarf covered her shoulders. She had a box and a steaming container of tea in her hands.