Freedom Does Matter (Mercenaries Book 2) (7 page)

“It sounds good to me. Kevin?”

“Yeah, that sounds fine. I’ll follow you, then.”

They exchanged phone numbers, just in case, and set off north.

Following Haleef wasn’t too difficult until they reached Alexandria’s outskirts, when the increased volume of traffic, the same orderly, well-mannered traffic Beckie recalled from Cairo, made it all but impossible. Kevin pulled over as Beckie pulled out her phone.

“Come get us, Haleef. If we’re going on in, we’ll ride together.”

In what Haleef called an iconic seafood restaurant—Beckie wasn’t so sure; it was in an industrial area behind a gas station, though it was on the water—Kevin looked at the menu and handed Beckie the Jeep’s keys. “I’m going to try some of these beers,” he said, “so you can get us the rest of the way. Okay?”

She nodded as Haleef agreed. “The police are very… unforgiving with drunk driving.” He shook his head. “A product of our Muslim heritage, rather than because it is the intelligent thing. Still…”

“Not to worry, Kev, as long as we can get the seat moved up!”

Beckie guessed the restaurant Haleef had chosen, while not obviously a tourist trap—and the food was too good for that—still depended on European visitors. A couple of times, she caught Haleef admiring the attractive server assigned to their table. The third time, she touched his hand and grinned; his expression was a study in embarrassment. Even Kevin, enjoying his beer, gave him a sympathetic look. She pointedly focused on her food from that point and allowed him to describe the two previous visits he’d made there, both with family.

After lunch, Haleef drove them along El Gaish Road past the lovely, modern looking, Bibliotheca Alexandrina, the New Library of Alexandria. Beckie looked at the angled disk shape, covered with skylights, and pulled her phone to check the time. With a sigh of regret, she wished they could stop, but shook her head. Kevin reached over the seat to pat her shoulder. “Maybe coming back,” he said.

The rest of the drive was intended to teach her some lesson, Beckie thought. The first hour and a bit, the road headed south of west, but once she’d passed the Marina at El Alamein, it turned more northerly; the sun shone through the tall windshield and eventually dropped low enough that even her sunglasses didn’t help all that much. Several times she favored Kevin with a dirty look, but he blithely ignored her. Ten minutes from their arrival, bluffs to the west hid the sun’s final gasp as it set.

Once they’d checked in, Beckie decided to stay in her room for dinner; she invited Kevin—“Please bring a nice Chardonnay”—and Haleef, who both chose to join her. During the meal, Haleef suggested they join him the next day when he planned to drive into the Qattara Depression to continue his research into the land his grandfather and al-Kassis were negotiating for.

“I hope you won’t take this the wrong way,” Beckie said, “but one of our team thought the smart thing might be to bargain for less land, not more, and try to parlay that into higher reparations in return.”

Haleef laughed. “I expect that was Mr. Hamilton. He said the same to me after making his own travel.” With a shrug, he set down his fork. “And he may be correct. Certainly, I have found no outcroppings that would imply a valuable deposit of mineral, or a hint of an oil reserve of any size.”

“So, what
is
there?”

“Besides the sand and hamada, you mean?” He chuckled and said, “There may be salt in marketable quantities, and I believe I have found a place where water may be found. Either of those would require development, and the return might not justify that expense, no matter what my grandfather or Sheikh al-Kassis would like to believe.”

Beckie finished her glass of wine and set it down. “I don’t suppose you’d plan your trip around those places.”

This brought the first guffaw she’d heard since entering the country. Haleef quickly regained control; as he did, he said, “With your forgiveness…” He snickered again. “I fear not. Grandfather asked me not even to return to those places until the talks are complete.” He touched his cell phone. “He fears technology as much as he uses it.”

She nodded. “So, what will you show us?”

“A territory I haven’t seen yet, so… I don’t know. I have small expectations.” He set down his water and rose. “After the drive today, I’m beat, I think you say. Thanks for an enjoyable day, and evening. Shall we meet about… Well, I will have breakfast before sunrise, which is far too early— ”

“Why? If we all eat then, we’ll get a good start. If your grandfather is right about how far we’ll have to go?”

“She’s right, Haleef. And we won’t spend all the hot hours walking around,” Kevin said with a laugh.

“I don’t know about that, but I’ll make sure the water can is full.”

When the door closed, Kevin offered more wine, and while he poured, said, “How does this all sound to you?”

“All? All what? Haleef, his opinions—”

“Yeah. Start with his opinions. I haven’t listened too closely during the meetings, but I don’t recall him saying very much.”

“That’s right. I was surprised that Ms Al Sahaf acted for Al Hosni, because I thought there would be no better way for Haleef to move up in the tribe…”

“Unless he intends to return to London.”

“I suppose,” Beckie said finally. She stretched in her chair, then stood up. “I see we’ve killed that bottle, and I don’t think I’m up to opening another one, so…”

“I agree. We can talk about Haleef’s other qualities later.” He got up and walked to the door. “Besides, I think your eyes must be tired after staring into the sun all afternoon.” He slipped out before she could throw a cushion at him.

Chuckling to herself, she gathered the dirty dishes on the table closest to the door and looked around. The interior reflected the glimpse she’d had of the facility driving in; the claim of five stars surely had justification. She kicked her shoes under the table with the dishes and dragged her sock feet off. When she wriggled her toes in the rug, it felt like her father wanted his lawn to feel: thick, deep, and luxurious.

She dropped to the sofa, but only stayed a moment. I’ll sleep right here if I don’t get up! Patting the back of a matching chair on the way by, she went to the huge window that overlooked the beach. Before she drew the drapes, she stared out over the beach and the water, reflecting the lights from the buildings in little sparkles.

She dreamed of Ian and his recovery.

Chapter Nine

Day Ten - Almaza Bay

BECKIE HADN’T HAD ENOUGH WINE at dinner to suffer a hangover in the morning, but Kevin’s call at four-thirty felt way too soon after she’d fallen asleep, dreaming of Ian and hoping against hope that something good would happen. The shower was first; she selected a white
abaya
from the stuff Dan had handed her as she packed her overnight bag. A tee shirt and shorts for underneath it, and, remembering the sun beating down during the drive yesterday, she rooted until a hijab found its way to the top. The bottle of sunblock was the last necessity she grabbed.

As prepared as she would be, she found her way to the restaurant to meet Kevin and Haleef. “Eat hearty,” Kevin said. “I asked them to fix some food that we can take along, but it’s not going to be this quality.”

Beckie had to agree, looking at the silver coffee service. Beside it was a tray holding a plate of what had to be the resort’s top of the line breakfast: an tender steak along with eggs and a variety of more local delicacies Beckie recalled from the Marriott.

“Well,” she said with a laugh, “in the room I found these little packets of sweet snacks made of sesame seeds. Pretty good. Maybe they’ll put some of them in.” 

While the food was excellent, Beckie finished in less than fifteen minutes. She walked to the window, sipping her coffee as Haleef and Kevin finished theirs.

The drive was as boring as Haleef’s grandfather had suggested. Haleef explained the route, programmed in his GPS, during the two hour drive on the Matrouh-Seiwa Road, but Beckie was more interested in the conditions. Derek’s comment had interested her; if the territory was so bad, why were people fighting over it?

The excursion didn’t answer the question. The corner of the disputed territory that Haleef drove to was beautiful, in a rugged, moonscape way. On the way back, she sat looking out the window, thinking about the land they’d seen, when her satellite phone rang. She had to wriggle around in her seat to pick the small case up from the floor.

Heart in her mouth, she answered. “Hello, Millie. What word?”

“Hi, Beckie. I’ll be quick. The specialists want Ian kept under for at least another week. They don’t believe the damage is as bad as I feared. Then, when the brain swelling goes down, they want to do more scans.”

“That sounds like good news. Is it?”

“If it pans out, it is excellent news, such that you will never hear better. And even if they aren’t completely correct, it’s better than I thought. I gotta go now, but I wanted to tell you to stay away for another week or so. And don’t get yourself in any trouble, hear?”

“I’ll behave. Thanks! Talk to you soon.”

She replaced the phone in its case as she sagged in relief. She shared the gist of Millie’s message with Kevin, making him as happy as she.

Back in the resort, Beckie threw herself on the sofa that she’d eschewed the night before. She was never much for TV, and nothing she’d seen in Cairo left the impression that Egyptian offerings were any better. The third time she picked up her head from lying on her chest, she forced herself to stand.

Wow, I have no idea why I’m so exhausted. 

Her phone rang, but this time, ‘Kevin’ appeared in the display. “Yeah, Kev?”

“Dinner? Haleef’s got a table in about fifteen minutes.”

She looked at the clock. “Meet you there.”

The discussion at dinner dealt mostly with the food and how enjoyable the tastes were. However, Kevin asked an interesting question that Haleef received with surprise: “Is it possible one or both of the sheikhs believes the land will have greater value in the future, not because of any of its current features, but because the project to flood Qattara may eventually come to pass?” Beckie stared for a second before following his gaze to Haleef, who was sitting slack-mouthed with his fork between the plate and his mouth. She touched his hand.

He came out of the trance and set the fork down. He took a deep breath, and then another, followed by a gulp of his water. “Please don’t mention that in the conference rooms. It’s barely possible that that project will come to fruition, and less well understood is the possibility of any reparations resulting from the loss of land occasioned by such a development.” He took another drink, more measured this time. “However, I suspect it is in the back of both their minds, though I keep trying to dissuade Grandfather from putting any stock in it.”

“Because of the low likelihood?”

He turned to face her. “Mostly. But also because possibilities still exist as the land is now.”

Both Beckie and Kevin nodded, then in the quiet, Beckie said, “We came through El Alamein on the way here from Alexandria, if I read that sign right?”

“Yes,” Haleef answered.

Kevin perked up. “I wanted to see that place. Relative of mine from Australia, he’s buried there.” He paused and looked into Beckie’s face. “Be nice to say a word over his grave, y’know.” Beckie reached over and touched his arm.

“It is just off the Alexandria road, and going back, before you reach the marina,” Haleef said.

“You can’t join us?”

“No, I have a couple of days’ work in the administrative offices in Mersa Matruh. Though I expect you will have more fun in the cemetery… even given it is a cemetery, than I will in the offices.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” She stifled a small giggle, but Haleef was laughing at her anyway.

“I’m sure you are.”

“I am,” she insisted. “And thank you for the trip today. I’m a little on Derek’s side, you know.”

“Try and keep your reservations quiet,” Haleef said.

“Oh, I will. Not really any concern of mine. I just want to lead them to water, so to speak. If they don’t drink, or do, I don’t know that I should affect that.”

“And on that note, I think we’re off,” Kevin said as he stood and offered Beckie a hand.