The Puppetmasters (41 page)

Fields gave a laugh. “Why was he so memorable?”

“Well, I remember listening to him talk about how important data security was to the very survival of the company. He was so passionate about it. It made me want to go to Orion the next day and help him out.”

He smiled at the thought and gave her a hug. “Oh, Darling, I missed you so much.”

Her tone sobered and she whispered, “Paul, was it awful?”

He got a faraway look in his eyes and said, “Well, it wasn’t a five-star resort.”

“But did they mistreat you?”

He frowned. “That’s a matter of perspective. They didn’t do anything physical to me, but they were plenty brutal to others.”

She just couldn’t hold back any longer. “Was there really a woman with you and Glenn?”

He looked miserable and nodded. “Yes. Kendall Radcliffe. That’s why I need to go into the office.”

“What happened to her?”

Fields was lying on his side, his face very close to his wife’s. He stroked the side of her face. “I don’t know. There was so much commotion around getting Glenn and his medical paraphernalia into the helicopter, that she was last in line to board. We were about to come under fire, and the helicopter was forced to take off … “ His voice trailed off into a whisper, “… without her.”

“That’s awful! You must have felt terrible leaving her behind.”

“That would be an understatement. I was enraged.”

“So, she’s somewhere in Afghanistan?”

He looked like he was going to cry. “I don’t even know if she’s alive. The building was blown up seconds after we took off. How could she possibly have survived that?”

She cupped his face with her hands. “I’m serious! What can I do to help?”

“You can continue being the light of my life, and forgive me for not putting you and the family first. I love you, and I promise that I’ll never make that mistake again.”

With that, he gave her a warm, slow kiss and then rolled over his sleeping son to head into the shower. He turned on the television in his huge bathroom and luxuriated in the heated floor, as he padded across the tile and stepped into the oversized shower stall.

He purposely arrived at the office before any of his executive staff. He wanted to avoid any drama. He planned to be up to his elbows in paperwork and on the phone when they started trickling in. In the past, he had insisted on driving himself to work. The independence and freedom at the wheel had been too much of a luxury to give up. Plus, he loved the feel of driving the Bugatti Veyron. It made him feel powerful and omnipotent.

But this morning, a security detail was present in the compound when he exited the front door. They insisted on driving him to the office. He was fine with that, and made a mental note that he would be selling the Bugatti. He was no longer enamored with that car, and in fact, it made him feel guilty, just knowing it was in the nearby underground parking garage. He was a family man whose precious wife and children were more important than even his business. He would now act like it, starting with divesting himself of that ridiculous vehicle.

He actually whistled as he walked into his spacious office overlooking Lake Union and flipped on the light switch. He felt his adrenalin pumping when he methodically walked around turning on his various computers and printers.

His staff hadn’t expected him in the office for a couple days. Upon their arrival, they were shocked to see their boss hard at work. He looked happy and determined, but always with his headset on as if he was on the phone. They tiptoed by his office as they went about their daily duties, curiously and sheepishly peering into his fishbowl-like office …
probably to see if I’d become unhinged during my impromptu adventure,
he told himself. Every once in a while, he would see one of them and wave a greeting. They looked relieved that he didn’t appear to have grown horns or an extra head during his absence.

He finally reached Daniel mid-morning. The young man was ecstatic that his boss was home and anxious to fill him in on what
Prophecy
had learned. Fields made a mental note to tell his wife about
Prophecy.
He was tired of keeping that secret. His wife would know what he should do about it. He smiled, and moved her photo closer to him on his desktop.

Fields listened carefully as Daniel told him that he had found General Omar and staff’s email paths fairly quickly; that they didn’t have any real evidence of sabotage or conspiracy to assassinate President Shazeb. Omar, ever the opportunist, had simply made a power grab in the ensuing chaos following the death of President Shazeb and the destruction of the government building in Kabul. In the absence of government control, Omar became the voice of reason, calming the citizens and assuring them he was in control and restoring order to Afghanistan.

Further, Daniel could tell from the tone of the emails that Omar had never cared for Rashid and jumped at the opportunity to lay the blame at his feet and to basically discredit him in whatever way he could. The emails confirmed that the bodies in the burned-out palace were part of the debris. For days now, the grounds had been raked for bones and other evidence of human remains. Omar had no intention of conducting a thorough examination and analysis of the scene, other than to confirm that the deceased parties were, in fact, the Shazeb family. That would put the general in the clear to assume the leadership mantle over Afghanistan, with no concern for a sudden appearance of one of the male family members.

Once the smoke had cleared from the palace, within twenty-four hours of the fire, the general had given the order for the physician to identify the bodies and then place the president’s remains in a separate coffin to be buried within days. It had been easy to identify the president from the clothing found after the fire. It was clear from Omar’s emails with the physician that no mention was to be made of the huge bullet hole entering his skull in front and exiting out the back.

The rest of the family’s remains would be placed together in several coffins containing a mixture of the fragments. The deceased security detail and any staff who had been at the palace would be buried together in the nearby military
gravesite. The recovery was to be swift and not painstaking. Expedience was the order of the day, so the Afghan people could mourn and move on.

The late President Shazeb would have the full military honor of a flag-draped coffin as it proceeded through Kabul for mourners to see and put to rest. The processional route would end at the outcrop overlooking Kabul’s diplomatic enclave known as “
Swimming Pool Hill.”

Daniel did some follow-up research and discovered that the pool was built by the Soviet military in the 1980s. The large Olympic-sized pool was constructed of concrete that included a concrete diving board. It was never used as a pool, and never contained water. The hill was so steep that no one knew how to get the water up the hill. Instead, it was used by the Soviet army as a lookout. In the 1990s, the Taliban used it against “criminals.” The blindfolded wrongdoer was taken to the highest diving board and given a push, where he fell onto the hard concrete surface below. If the perceived lawbreaker survived, he was deemed innocent and could live. Apparently, as evidenced by the stains on the concrete floor, few survived.

Fields was fascinated at the historical reference and almost wished he had been able to tour Kabul while he was there. He shuddered and blinked when his name was called.

“Paul, are you still there?”

“Yes, Daniel. What have you learned about Kendall … and, of course, Rashid?”

“They are front page news every day. General Omar is keeping them in the news to both warn people about their diabolical natures and offer a reward to kill them and notify the military.”

“Interesting. He wants them dead?”

“Yes. Sick, isn’t it? Obviously, he wants to bury the truth for good.”

“That’s right! The only remaining people alive in Afghanistan who have knowledge of the events at the palace that night are Kendall and Rashid. But how ironic, as it also includes me. General Omar just doesn’t know it.”

“But why does he need them dead?”

“My guess is for two reasons. So he doesn’t have to compete with Rashid, and to obviate the need for further investigation.”

“Ruthless bastard!”

“To put it mildly, Daniel.”

“How is she ever going to survive if everyone thinks she’s behind the assassination and bombing?”

Fields sighed. “I just wish we knew if she was still alive!”

Daniel brightened. “We do know that, and she is.”

The Orion CEO stood up, he was so excited. He stammered, “Why, er … How do you know that?” He sank back down into his plush executive chair.

“Because the Afghan news reported that Rashid and a woman were seen in a town by the name of Bamiyan. They were spotted at some caves—”

“Yes, yes, I know those! That’s where the world famous Buddhist statues are that the Taliban desecrated. Go on … what happened at the caves?” Fields voice was intense as he prompted Daniel for more information.

“The officials claim the two set off a bomb disrupting a local event and causing a boy’s death. Needless to say, the Afghan people are looking for blood now. They also want those two dead now.”

“But how were they identified in Bamiyan?”

“They were living in a cave, and people around them noticed they were different, and that they spoke English.”

“So, were they caught?”

“So far, no. They escaped a few minutes ahead of the military police and have not been seen since. Paul, they seem to be staying a step ahead of the authorities, but just barely. And how?”

“That’s easy! From what I saw of Rashid, he’s intelligent and quick witted. He can also take care of himself. The man would make a perfect CIA operative or Navy Seal. He has the ability to blend in. My guess is that’s what’s keeping them alive. As far as Kendall, do we know for sure that it’s her?”

“No, Paul, but it’s got to be her. If they were speaking English, it’s her. I just can’t believe she survived the bombing of the Afghan government building.”

“I wonder what the Bamiyan bombing thing is, and who got killed? Rashid wouldn’t go around arbitrarily setting off bombs and killing children. There has to be another explanation.”

“So, where do we go from here?”

“Daniel, can you bring up a map of the Bamiyan area for both of us to see? Let’s connect remotely. Oh, and don’t even think about data streaming my computer with
Proph.
Ha!”

Daniel thought,
Hmm! Too late … already done.
He expertly input the various codes, and finally the computers were linked to the same site. They were both seeing identical images but on their own laptops.

Fields studied the map and frowned. “Shit! Bamiyan is in the center of the country! They’re going further into Afghanistan when they need to be getting out! They could head in any direction, including across Shibar Pass, which is probably the way they came. But no way would they take that back into Kabul without running into troops.”

“There’s Herat to the West towards Iran. Hmm. That’s unlikely too, as Iran would love to get its hands on a young American with no passport.”

“Right. The Israelis told me there was bombing all day along the eastward route from Kabul to the Khyber Pass and into Pakistan. General Omar blamed it on Rashid and Kendall, but I don’t know why that area would be bombed.”

“Okay, so we know they wouldn’t be heading west or east. They could go south to Kandahar, but there’s some pretty treacherous-looking unpaved roads between Bamiyan and Kandahar.”

Fields finally offered a theory. “I think they’re headed north to Mazar-e-Sharif, near the border with Uzbekistan. It totally makes sense. But they would need to stay off the main roads and highways.”

Daniel jumped in, “So they lay low for a while at some place that has water nearby.”

The excited CEO jumped up and shouted, “That’s it! Oh my God, I know where they are!”

The young techie squinted at his screen, wondering what the boss was seeing that he wasn’t. “Where?”

“They’re at the Band-e-Amir Lakes! That place has six lakes and lots of camping. It’s part of a National Park.”

“So, it’s good?”

“Well, maybe not. If we can figure it out, surely that pointy-headed General Omar can too, especially after they were spotted in Bamiyan.”

“What happens if they are seen at those Lakes?”

Fields shook his head. “That would not be good. It looks like there’s only one road in and out. Otherwise, it’s over the mountain pass on foot.”

“How long would it take them to get to Mazar-e-Sharif?”

“Probably more than a week. And by that time, General Omar would’ve sent up helicopters, and they’d be spotted. Damn! This is not good.”

“What do we do, Paul?”

“You get back to monitoring Omar and the military’s activities. It sounds like Kendall and Rashid will get cornered. Since they’re headline news in Afghanistan, we should be able to get up-to-date reports on them. I’ll call some of my friends in DC and make sure they know that Kendall is alive, and that both she and Rashid need rescuing.”

Daniel didn’t dare let on that he knew who that person was and their connection with Fields. The call was ended and the link-up terminated. Next, Fields picked up the phone to dial his frat brother, Frank Reynolds, at the NSA.