Authors: Keith Hoare
Sir Peter looked round at the three other senior army officials in the room, then back at the Captain. “For your information, and that of you all, Karen is not in the army as such. She’s only just eighteen, was a civilian just over a week ago until she agreed to help get the girls out. Mainly because she knew Saeed, his mother and a number of other unsavoury characters.”
“Then it’s your own fault. You should have told us. You presented her as an officer and she was treated as such. She had a meeting with a man called Sirec and it was agreed between her and him to use local soldiers.”
Sir Peter shook his head in despair. “Why in god’s name didn’t you contact us? Sirec is a gunrunner; he’s also the man who chased the girl halfway across the Lebanon in an effort to take her back. He paid forty thousand dollars for her, believes he owns her, and you have just handed Karen back to him on a plate.”
The Captain shook his head. “No that’s not true, the Lieutenant had moved off with local militia before we left. Whatever you think, or know about this gunrunner, he is helping her at this moment. Besides, we were already in a compromised situation, they were waiting for us and without serious loss of life we couldn’t have re-taken the helicopter. Whatever we did would have been a compromise. They could have taken the Lieutenant, or whoever she really is, and we could have done nothing about it.”
Sir Peter said no more but left the de-briefing of the Captain to be continued with the other senior officers. Making his way to the communications area of the ship, he entered a small room off the central communication wing of the carrier. A lady was busily keying in coordinates.
“Well is she transmitting still?” Sir Peter asked.
“She is Sir Peter, and moving steadily north. Does she know you have a tracker on her?”
“No, of course not, in fact I have two. Not that any of the army personnel know. This is for our ears only; it doesn’t under any circumstances get out of this room.”
“I understand, Sir Peter. My brief before leaving GCHQ and that of the other Communication Officer with me was that this operation is classified at level five and you were our only contact on this ship. We will be monitoring 24 hours and feeding back to GCHQ where they will be mapping the route she’s taking.”
“Can the bug be scanned for?”
“Yes but they are very sophisticated and will detect a scan. They automatically turn off until the threat is gone before re-starting. Provided she keeps wearing clothing the tracker is attached to, we will know where she is at all times.”
Sir Peter smiled. “The girl’s not only wearing one on her clothing, she’s also got one buried in her body. It is a very low power one good for around a thousand yards but it will allow us to find her if we can get close enough. It was fitted during what she thought was a health check and injected under her skin. I’m taking no chances with her, she’s far too valuable and it would seem, with her joining up with Sirec, she might just lead us to where he’s living.”
The lady pulled out a communication from the UK. “I received this while you were in the meeting. Two more members of Special Forces are already en route from the UK. They expect to arrive later tomorrow. I thought we already had Special Forces involved?”
“We do, but these two are specialists in covert work. If Karen’s in trouble and I believe she is, they will bring her out.”
She turned to look at Sir Peter. “You’re going all out to look after this girl, is she that special?”
He stood for a moment before replying and then smiled. “Yes she is. Karen has everything to live for but is still prepared to lay her life down besides now apparently give up her freedom to help others. In my book she’s very special indeed.”
“I can’t help but agree with you, Sir Peter; we will do our best not to lose her.”
“Thank you, keep me informed of any developments from what’s expected please, day or night.”
Then he left the room.
After Karen had left Sirec, and explained to the Captain the problem of where the other girls actually were, she climbed into a Land Rover along with Halif, Sirec’s right-hand man, and they set off, soon arriving at a small compound. The amenities were very basic, but she had a good meal and was given a bed in a two-bedded room to sleep in. The following morning they were on their way, but not before Halif had told Karen to remove the British insignias and Lieutenant’s label. Karen had no trouble removing them as they were just peel off-on Velcro and she pushed them into her pocket.
The first leg of the journey was long, uneventful and particularly uncomfortable. The vehicles were old, with little suspension, and seating for the gunmen riding in the back was boards and for her, alongside the driver, a very worn leather upholstered seat. After close on ten hours of travelling Karen was glad of the odd stop just to stretch her legs and allow the numbness in her bottom to go away. But it was already dark before camp was set up for the night and after dinner she was left alone. The majority were not able to speak English or French and the ones that could kept away. But the night was warm and she sat on a collapsible chair outside her tent, listening to music on a small MP3 player she’d brought. It was about an hour later when Halif joined her, pulling up another chair and lighting a cigarette.
“We enter an area of the country tomorrow that is controlled mainly by marauding groups of fighters,” he began. “I told Sirec you shouldn’t be here as a girl is at high risk of being taken, for shall we say, entertainment.”
“What do you want me to do?” she asked.
“I want you to keep your cap on, stay back and within the main group if we are stopped. Hopefully they won’t really think a girl is with us but as a precaution I’m putting you in the back of the lorry with the men. If we’re stopped don’t look at any of them directly, look down or away. You’re unfortunately quite distinctive, but hopefully they will not expect a girl among the gunmen in the back.”
“I understand, will the other men know you’re doing this?”
“Yes, and they will bunch around you. By late afternoon, if we have no delays then we should be at the first house. It’s where one older girl and the little girl were taken. I know of this man and you should prepare yourself. His sexual perversions are not nice and the little girl in particular could well have suffered very badly. The older girl has cost him a great deal of money, compared with his normal purchases, so she might have been treated better, but with him you can never tell, he’s awash with money in his business. Either or both girls will need you, depending what they have endured, they will almost certainly be very wary of us, but you should give them confidence that we are here to get them out and not to take them somewhere else. As for security this man deals in drugs, mainly shipping them through this country en route to the US. There will be guards at the gate and one or two around the compound. The security is not that tight, unless he has a shipment in, then it’s very tight. You have to remember this man needs to keep in with what he’ll believe we are, militia, and so would always offer refreshments. While this is going on you and I will enter the house to meet him. You say nothing; and again keep your hat on.”
She looked concerned. “Is this very risky for you as well?”
“Life’s a risk, Karen, particularly in the gun running business. But to make money in this country it’s the only way. So to answer your question, just coming into this region will always be dangerous. The people who live here don’t like intrusion; they keep to themselves, unless you are part of a faction that opposes one thing or another, that is. You see there is little opportunity for work, if you want a family or are even trying to raise a family they have to be fed. So gun running, moving drugs or even people is okay, so long as someone is paying.”
She said nothing more. Halif finished his cigarette and stood. “I’ll say goodnight, we leave at dawn.”
The small convoy came to a halt; Halif looked into the back of the lorry. “Put your hat on, keep close to the others, we have company,” he told Karen.
She sat there listening to Halif and two other voices arguing. Then a face looked into the back of the lorry, saw all the gunmen and backed away. It seemed an age before the lorry started up once more. Halif climbed aboard and slammed the door. Moments later they moved on.
“It was only a small group looking for something they could sell. They didn’t realise the truck was full of armed men, changed their tack completely then,” he shouted back to her.
“Have we far to go?” she called back.
“No, about an hour, but I’ve been informed there are no drugs there so he’s only got basic security. That is good.”
The hour was more like two before the lorry slowed then finally stopped and the engine cut. They had arrived in a compound and she could see through the back, as the flap was pulled away, many people milling around. All had guns.
She climbed out with the rest, glad to be able to stretch before joining a small queue for the toilet. Once inside she wished she hadn’t, the room was infested with flies and smelt terrible. But Karen needed to go and held her breath, getting out as quick as she could.
Halif came up to her. “Okay the men are going to eat, I’ve been invited to go to the house, you’ll come with me. Leave your pack and gun in the lorry along with your ammunition belt. You can keep your waist belt, with the handgun, that’s acceptable. Remember, speak only when I speak to you, women have little value and know their place. His name’s Salem. I’ll introduce you as Sirec’s girl, which you are now. I’ll tell him you’ve been sent with me to, I believe, keep an eye on things for Sirec. He’ll understand that as he knows Sirec likes to know what’s going on all the time.”
They went inside; the guard at the door just gave them both a cursory glance. Inside, the house was the height of luxury and a man, around his forties, small with a large belly, came to meet them and shake Halif’s hand.
“
It is good to meet you again, Halif, you are well?”
Salem asked in his own language, which Karen couldn’t understand.
“Very well, Salem. This girl with me is Karen, I asked her to join me to meet you, I hope you don’t mind?”
He looked at Karen for a minute.
“Not at all, can she understand us?”
“No, she speaks only French or English,”
Halif replied
.
“She’s a pretty girl,”
Salem replied looking Karen over once more.
On Karen’s part she felt decidedly uncomfortable with the way this man kept looking at her. Why that was she didn’t really know, but she certainly didn’t like him.
They all went into the dining room.
“So why is she with you, is she your woman?”
Salem asked as the soup was served.
“
Karen is Sirec’s girl, he is away for the moment and because we have some private business for Sirec in the area, he said she should come with us. I think she also reports back to him regularly. I had no problems in that, besides, at times his girls can be useful to entertain special guests,”
Halif lied.
Salem smiled to himself as he listened to Halif’s lies. He was not stupid and knew exactly why this girl was here. However, he had no intention of saying anything to Halif.
“I was told by Saeed, you have purchased two girls recently
?” Halif asked, when Salem didn’t comment.
“
Saeed shouldn’t be telling you about any of my dealings with him. But it’s true; I’ve two and purchased them at one of Saeed’s auctions. One of them is just eighteen, the other fourteen. They are lovely girls, both work hard to please me after their, shall we say, initiation.”
Halif noticed the change in Salem’s tone of voice, displaying pleasure when he mentioned the word initiation.
“What do you call initiation
?” he asked.
Salem grinned, more than happy to explain his pleasure at what he did to the two girls.
“It’s something I always do with girls for my pleasure to show them who is the boss around here. She is always taken into the punishment room on day one. Stripped and strung up, where they experience my leather strap across their bottom, quickly learning what they can expect if they step out of line. I’ve never had a girl ever step out of line after that induction. Take Sammy the older of my new girls. She was very strong willed and needing sedatives to control her, before she met me. Now she is perfect works hard to please and can’t do enough for me. I never normally offer her out, but as you’re Sirec’s main man you may have her for the night in exchange for this girl with you. My Sammy is still learning but, unlike the ones from the brothels, she’s clean, looks after herself and is very affectionate.”