She felt the flex cuffs being cut free. She tried to move, now was her chance. Maybe her only chance. Her body wouldn’t respond. Then panic overwhelmed her, she felt the men removing her clothes.
Her greatest fear, on the verge of being realized. The men were going to rape her.
Her mind was aware but her body immobile. Whatever they gave her had just about paralyzed her limbs.
They dressed her in a gown as thin as a sheet, and placed her on a cot. Her head resting on a pillow.
She tried again to move. Her legs and arms felt too heavy to lift.
She heard another man enter the room. She felt him lift her gown, exposing her body and knew the moment was coming. She wanted to die. The man’s hand groped at her, pawing at everything that made her a woman. She knew she was in Hell. Then he stopped and pulled the gown over her. When he spoke, she knew who it was — Rotten Teeth.
“Tomorrow we will talk again.” Rotten Teeth said. “If you do not tell me what I want to hear, then you will die. But before you die, I will let you feel a real man inside you. Then I will let each of these men take you as well. And with each one, I will remove a body part, stemming your blood with fire. You will die a very slow and painful death.”
She saw a syringe being inserted in her arm.
Rotten Teeth pushed on the plunger.
Her world went black.
CHAPTER 23
The Land Crusier pulled up to the west end of Yemen's Aden International Airport as the last hint of daylight left the sky. The abandoned hangars were dark. Kaplan could barely make out movement on the ramp.
“I cannot believe I had to make that miserable drive again.” Kaplan said. “They really should work on the roads in this country.”
“You’re kidding, right?” Chase replied. “The road from Sana’a to Aden is one of Yemen’s best. Some of the other so-called highways are nothing but livestock trails.”
“Let’s go check it out.” Kaplan motioned to the shadow on the ramp. “Wiley said the C-130 is about an hour ahead of his Lear.”
Earlier in the afternoon, Kaplan and Chase received a briefing from Fontaine and Wiley. The plan was set in motion, all the arrangements had been made with only two details left unfinished. One minor, one major.
Bentley was only able to secure one aircraft to use to tow the gliders. Oddly enough, the plane had to fly to Aden from Sana’a. Kaplan and Chase were well under way by the time that happened.
A double aero tow, although not commonplace, was still considered safe. It had been years since Kaplan flew a glider, he hoped it was like riding a bicycle and would come back to him.
The major detail left undone was the inability to secure a boat to rendezvous with them in the Red Sea. A detail that should scrub any mission. But Bentley and Wiley were still pushing forward.
Kaplan had been worried about Isabella Hunt. Her fate bothered him more than he first realized. Ever since he learned of her capture, he had a pain in his stomach like he’d been punched.
The Delta team did their part. The recon of the Hajjah Palace and the landscape surrounding it went undetected, all data relayed to Kaplan and Chase, and then to Fontaine via secure satellite uplink. Wiley and Fontaine devised a plan. The final details of which would not be disclosed until Wiley arrived.
Kaplan and Chase arrived at the back of the C-130 aircraft as the crew unloaded the last section of the composite gliders. The cargo bay was lit only with red light, imperceptible more than fifteen feet to the sides of the aircraft.
Within twenty minutes the crew had assembled both gliders and snapped instrumentation harnesses into the cockpits. Kaplan watched in amazement. He and Chase walked over to the two men who stood next to it. In a quiet voice Kaplan said, “You guys look like a pit crew at the Daytona 500.”
“We’ve had plenty of practice,” the shorter of the two said. “Mr. Wiley had us assemble and disassemble these four times this afternoon before loading them. Are either of you Gregg Kaplan?”
“At your service.” Kaplan said.
“Sir. If I may, you’re flying this one here. How about a quick run-down of the sailplane?”
“That would be great, it’s been a while since I flew. I could use a refresher.”
“These sailplanes are Wiley’s special hybrid models. These are the only two. The aircraft are made of lightweight composite. Very tough though, almost indestructible. One of Wiley’s requirements for these aircraft was their structural integrity. They can reach speeds of up to 150 knots — with no ballast. Another feature is they are undetectable on radar. Another one of Wiley’s inventions, the special composite absorbs radar waves so there’s no reflection. Without a visual confirmation, no one knows you’re out there.”
“Black gliders. Don’t know that I’ve ever seen that before.” Chase said.
“Technically, they’re not black. They just look that way in the dark.” The man said. “It’s a very dark gray mixed with an olive drab.”
“Duck blind colors.” Chase interrupted. “Those are the colors most widely used for duck hunting.”
“Better camouflage at night. Even on a full moon, you just can’t see this glider without light. And on a night like this, with a little cloud cover, forget about it.” The man said. “You could fly right down someone’s throat. They could be looking right at you and they wouldn’t see you coming until it was too late.”
“What did you just snap in?” Kaplan asked. “Some sort of portable instrument panel?”
“It’s Wiley’s all-in-one special.” The man pointed to the instruments with a red laser pen. “You got your basic three. Altimeter, airspeed indicator, and heading indicator. You also have this special GPS locator, preprogrammed by Wiley himself. Voice-activated headset here, along with these.” He held up a pair of oversized eyeglasses.
“And those are?” Kaplan asked.
“These are the bomb for night flying. Lightweight. Easy to use. Just flip this switch here.” The man toggled a switch and the eyeglasses lit up pale green. “Night vision made easy. The GPS will line you up, the glasses will make you think it’s high noon. Every landscape detail will be visible.”
“Looks like he’s thought about every phase of the mission.” Kaplan said. “Except one. Who’s going to meet us at the rendezvous point?”
CHAPTER 24
Wiley’s black Learjet lined up its final approach for a landing to the west on Runway 26. Somewhere near on the airfield, Jake knew Kaplan was waiting. The last time they saw each other, they exchanged harsh words. He wondered how Kaplan would react when he saw him.
As the lights from the city of Aden rose to greet him, he tensed in anticipation of landing. The Lear’s tires barked slightly then the Lear taxied off the runway onto the ramp in front of the abandoned hangar, Jake strained his eyes but saw nothing, wondering if the C-130 and Kaplan had arrived. The aircraft slowed, turned around, and then came to a stop. Through the window Jake saw a large shadow looming next to the Lear. They’re here.
It had only been a few days, but it seemed longer since Jake had last seen Kaplan. So much had happened since he met Wiley. He felt different. He realized his anger was holding him prisoner. It had become his crutch to deal with guilt. He was prepared for the mission, Wiley made sure of that, quizzing him on details for nearly two hours during the long flight from Belgium. He wondered why his anger felt subdued. Was it because of Wiley?
He thought about the last few days. Could it be because of her? Like the moon’s playful reflection dancing on the water, thoughts of Kyli mesmerized him. Every time he looked at Wiley, he thought about her. In one day’s time, her spirit had changed him. He was beginning to realize that he had to let Beth go. He couldn’t change the past. He’d killed the man that had taken her life. O’Rourke had paid his penance. Like Kaplan said, it was time to move on.