Black Smoke (11 page)

“Then how the hell did you know what they were saying?”

Sam just looked at him, then turned and went back to her spot among the rocks. She couldn’t lie to him if she didn’t answer him.

But Kong wasn’t having it. “Tell me damn it, how the hell did you know they were Taliban, and they were looking for Americans?”

“I can only ask you to trust me,” Sam said with a softer voice.

“Trust you? You’re keeping secrets from us and you expect us to trust you? Good one.”

Instead of Kong’s anger ebbing, it was growing. Was she taking risks with their lives? Sure she kept them away from the Taliban in the desert, but if she couldn’t speak their language, how did she know they were Taliban? Then another thought crossed his mind, one that disturbed him even more. Were there actually men there? Was she working her own agenda on her own private mission? Couple this together with the way she seemed to be talking to someone on the plane and he was sure she was up to no good.

Kong looked to his two companions, he could tell her “trust me” statement had them disturbed as well. Even Boomer who thought she walked on water seemed perplexed. Well, he’d just have to keep her in his sights tomorrow, let one of the other two take point. That would royally piss her off, but at this point in the game, he didn’t care.

When he looked back at her, she was eating and paying him no attention. Well, he thought to himself, if that’s the way she wants to play it, so be it. He walked over to the area where Ricochet and Boomer were seated and sat with them.

“What do you guys think?” he asked in a whisper.

Ricochet shook his head. “I don’t know man. She’s skilled and from what I hear, damn good at what she does.” He shrugged again. “Still, I don’t like not knowing how she knew who those men were if she doesn’t speak their language.”

Kong looked at Boomer. “What about you?”

Boomer sat a moment staring at his meal. He trusted her and from what he’d heard, she’d keep them from getting killed, but something inside him was beginning to doubt. “She hasn’t really let us down yet, has she? I mean, you’re pissed because she did something that any of us would have done. Why is that?”

“That’s not the point and you know it,” Kong ground out between his teeth.

Boomer just shrugged. “I think it is. I think you’re looking for something to bust her on and that’s your problem. But I’m like Ricochet, something bothers me.” He shrugged again. “Maybe I’m just tired.”

“Yeah.” Kong got up and went to retrieve his pack. He took a quick glance over at Sam and saw she seemed to be sleeping. She was stretched out with her bare feet crossed and her left arm was slung over her eyes. Her right hand was lying on her stomach and she was breathing in a deep steady rhythm.

He stood and watched her for a few moments, taken back by the sight of her. Even though he questioned her motives, his body still reacted to her. Angry with himself, he swore under his breath and returned to his men.

“Ricochet, you take first watch tonight. Boomer, you take second, I’ll take third,” he said pulling a bottle of water and a granola bar from his pack.

“What about Sam?” Boomer asked.

“I’m not sure I trust her to watch over us while we sleep,” Kong replied dryly.

“Okay boss.” Ricochet stood, grabbing his gun and found a position to watch from. Kong and Boomer settled in for a few hours of rest.

Sam lay still listening to the men. She knew Kong thought she was asleep and that was the way she wanted it. Tears stung at her eyes while she listened. His words cut deep into her, much like the knife did to her back when she was eight. She had no idea why it mattered so much what he thought of her. But it did. She wanted to cry, she wanted to get up, march over to him and tell him everything about her so he’d understand. But she couldn’t.

What did it matter anyway? In a few days this would all be over. He’d move on and she’d take another job. Only the next one she would work alone. She’d had enough of teammates to last her a lifetime. All it got her was heartache.

Clear your mind Samantha. Rest. Tomorrow will be a new day.

Sam didn’t argue. She just wanted to sleep and disappear into nothing for awhile. Maybe he’d feel differently tomorrow morning. Maybe he’d feel bad for making her feel so alone. Yeah and maybe Bin Laden would walk into camp tonight and surrender. Sam closed her eyes and drifted off into darkness.

* * * * *

When it came time for Kong’s turn to watch, he grabbed his pack and gun and sat in the dark.

He pulled an MRE from his pack and began eating. He always liked having a full stomach before he started out the day. A guy never knew when he’d get to eat again. While he blindly ate his food he thought over the day ahead. He’d put Ricochet on point, followed by Boomer, Sam, then himself. That way he’d be able to keep a close eye on her. Somewhere inside he felt a little guilty about the way he jumped her last night, but he quickly corrected that by reasoning that she had it coming.

A soft whimper came from behind him. He stopped chewing and listened. When he heard it again, he stood, this time the whimper came along with a gasp. Kong grabbed his gun ready for a fight. As he walked around the group of rocks, he heard a sob. His heart began pumping wildly inside his chest. It was Sam.

Making his way to the spot where she was sleeping a new wave of feeling flooded through him.

What if someone made it into camp? If they found her, they’d do horrific things to her. Panic made him crouch down and walk faster. When he reached her, he heard her sob again. She was still asleep, dreaming. He thought about waking her up, but then decided he’d just watch for a while. See what he could learn. Sweat glistened on her forehead in the moonlight, her fists were balled tight and her breathing was shallow. Whatever she was dreaming about had her fighting. In some twisted way, he was proud of that. She even put up a fight in her dreams.

He watched as her body jerked and twisted. Then he heard her sob, “Mommy.” Her voice was small, meek. Like a child’s. Was this the same dream she had on the plane? Did this have to do with how she lost her parents? Was she haunted by her childhood?

“No, please. Mommy, Daddy,” Sam whimpered.

Kong nearly reached out to wake her up, but she jerked her legs up and cried out in pain. It startled him to the point of freezing with his hand in midair. Her breathing became deeper, like she was struggling for breath. Then she bolted upright with a gasp. Her face was pale, sweat trickled down over her skin. Her eyes were open, but she wasn’t awake. Without so much as a word, she flopped down on her back.

His own heart racing, Kong watched her for a few moments to make sure she was resting. He scrubbed his face with his hands, then stood and went back to his watch spot. God, how awful it must be to be plagued by nightmares every night, he thought to himself. This little ball of fire carried a lot of baggage with her. He wondered if Cannon had any idea she suffered so badly at night, then decided it wasn’t any of his business. In a few days, they’d never see each other again.

Sam woke drenched in sweat. The sun wasn’t up yet, so she figured she had time to sneak away to wash off in the stream. Remembering that Kong was the one who had last watch, she crawled through the rocks soundlessly. He was the last thing she needed at the moment.

When she reached the stream, she pulled her shirt off, then leaned over the water and began splashing herself. The cold water felt good against her sticky skin. It also soothed the sores the sand had begun to make under her arms and down at her trouser line. When she realized she’d forgotten to bring her first-aid kit with her, she scolded herself for letting Kong distract her.

Nonetheless, she enjoyed her bath and meant to make the most of it.

Kong stood to stretch. While he did, he walked over to have a peek at Sam, just to make sure she was resting peacefully. When he saw her spot was empty, panic slapped him. He did a quick look through the rocks, then scanned the open desert. There was no way she could have gotten out of camp without him knowing it, he thought.

Kong leaned down and shook Ricochet, then Boomer. “Wake up. Sam’s gone,” he told them. “Wake up.”

“What’d you say?” Ricochet asked.

“Sam’s gone.”

Boomer sat straight up, then grabbed for his gun. “How long?”

“Hell, I don’t know,” Kong grumbled.

The three men stood looking around. “I’ll go check by the other group of rocks,” Kong said walking away.

Boomer remembered what she’d said about a stream being over there and shouted after Kong, “Wait, she might be cleaning up in the stream.” But Kong didn’t hear him.

“Well if she is, we’ll know it soon enough,” Ricochet snickered.

As Kong got closer to the stream, he saw her. She stood facing it, her bare back to him. With the moon light he could see three large, rough-looking scars on her back. The skin was puckered and pale compared to the rest of her silky smooth back. He sucked in his breath at the sight and knew they were knife wounds. He’d seen those before. Some of his friends had them on their legs and arms, but he’d never seen any on a person’s back.

Anger welled deep inside, along with that overwhelming, annoying need to protect her. But there was nothing to protect her from. These wounds happened a long time ago and he’d be willing to bet that she repaid the favor. Still, their location was deadly. Two were placed over her lung area and the third was lower on her back. The fact that she survived such a stabbing amazed him.

Chapter Nine

Who the hell would knife someone in the back? From the looks of them they were old, she’d had them for a long time. He thought a moment, about the way she acted when she was dreaming, her parents dead. He didn’t have all the answers yet, but they were coming together, piece by piece.

When she reached over to grab her shirt, he caught the side view of her bare breast and when she leaned over to rinse it out in the water, he almost lost his breath. The view she was giving him, with her firm round behind sticking out toward him and her bare back, made him hard instantly. Without a word, he began to creep backward toward camp. He didn’t want her to know he’d seen her like this. She’d really hate him then. Hell, he was hating himself. This was a sight he wouldn’t soon forget.

By the time he’d reached camp, he’d thought about everything he could to bring his body back under control. When Boomer saw him, he gave Ricochet a slow wide smile. Ricochet turned toward Kong and shook his head.

“Guess you found her. Was she at the stream?” Ricochet asked.

“Yeah,” Kong grunted. His face was flushed and sweat was now running down his face. He held his gun in front of him to conceal the hard bulge in the front of his pants.

The three men were leaning against the rocks when Sam returned from her bath. The way Boomer and Ricochet were smiling, she knew she’d missed something. Kong on the other hand still looked like he’d sat on a cactus. She knew she wouldn’t be let in on the joke, so she went to her pack and pulled out her first-aid kit.

“Is everything all right?” Boomer asked with concern in his voice.

Without looking up she answered, “Yeah, everything is just wonderful.”

“You need some help with something?” he asked. By now the other two were curious enough to look over at her.

God, couldn’t she get a moment’s peace? At least she had her bath alone. Deciding not to let them make her feel uncomfortable, she lifted the side of her T-shirt and began rubbing some ointment on her sore spots.

When Boomer saw how raw they were, he winced. “That looks sore.”

“It is. That’s why I’m taking care of them,” she snapped.

Ricochet looked away, but Kong’s brow creased. He hadn’t seen the sores when she had her shirt off.

“How’d you get those?” he asked sympathetically.

“When I was crawling through the sand yesterday to see how many of the Taliban we were walking into. The sand gathered in my shirt, the sweat and the movement rubbed me raw,” she told him.

The mention of the Taliban put Kong right back in his foul mood. “Ricochet’s on point today, followed by Boomer, you, then me.”

“Want to keep a close eye on me?” she asked with an attitude.

“Damn right I do,” he replied with the same attitude. “We move out in ten,” he said then walked away.

The four of them trekked through the desert toward the small town that was supposed to house the kidnapped victim. The sun was blistering hot today, around one hundred and two Sam figured. So far everything was going smoothly. Ricochet led well and Kong was stuck to her backside like glue. No matter she thought, if that’s the way he wanted it.

Four men ahead Samantha. Not your Taliban. Trouble nonetheless.

Sam’s step faltered.
What kind of trouble?
she asked.

Deadly.
The answer was short but to the point.

“Ricochet. Trouble ahead. Keep your eyes peeled,” she said into her radio.

“How the hell do you know?” Kong sneered.

“Four men.” She replied without answering Kong.

“I don’t see nothing,” Ricochet answered back.

They see him Samantha. He is in danger.