Midnight Sun (52 page)

“
No, no, no, no. No
way,
”
he
replied
adamantly.
“
Do
I
look
like
a
guy
who
would
shave
this
lovely
hair
for
a
job?
”

“
What
were
you
doing
in
Iraq,
then?
”

“
Killing
people.
”

Lonnie
crunched
her
eyebrows
and
looked
at
Hilde
as
if
to
ask
if
the
man
was
serious.

Hilde
replied
to
the
unspoken
question.
“
He
was
a
CIA
agent.
”

“
And
you've
retired
to
Anchorage?
”
Lonnie
asked
.

“
Retired?
”
Kharzai
screwed
up
his
face
in
contemplation
of
the
word.
“
Retired.
Hrm.
Interesting
concept,
but
no,
I'm
too
young.
And
besides,
there
are
still
bad
guys
out
there,
too
much
work
yet
to
do.
”

“
Are
you
on
a
mission
up
here?
”
Hilde
asked
.

“
If
I
was,
I
couldn't
tell
you.
”

“
As
I
understand
it,
the
CIA
is
not
supposed
to
operate
on
US
soil,
”
Lonnie said.

“
There
are
always
exceptions
to
the
rules,
”
Kharzai
replied
with
a
wave
of
his
hand.
“
And
no,
I
am
not
on
a
CIA
mission
up
here.
Or
any
mission
in
the
strictest
sense.
”

“
Then
what
are
you
doing
up
here?
”
Mike asked.

“
Vacationing.
”

“
What,
like
a
fantasy
cabbie
tour?
”
Lonnie asked.

“
No,
silly,
”
Kharzai
said
with
a
smile.
“
I
suppose
I
can
tell
you
because
these
other
two
already
know
what
I
do.
Of
course,
the
knowledge
comes
with
the
requisite,
'if
you
repeat
it,
I'll
kill
you'
clause.
”

The
baby
kicked hard
into
Lonnie's
diaphragm.
She
winced
and
let
out
a
grunt,
then
said,
“
Uh,
maybe
I
don't
want
to
know.
”

Kharzai
squished up his face and said
in
a
high-pitched
‘church lady’
voice,
“
Too
late.
” It was
a good imitation of Dana Carvey’s old Saturday Night Live character.
“
I
have
been
working
undercover
in
a
well-known
terrorist
organization
for
several
years.
Last
year,
they
attempted
to
set
off
a
nuclear
bomb
in
Ohio.
I
managed to get myself assigned as one of the leaders
of
the
team
that
was
to
do
it,
and
with
the
rather heroic
help
of
Pastor
Mike
here,
we were able
to
send
all
the
other
team
members
to
their
virginal
reward.
Which,
by
the
way,
did
you
know
that
not
very
many
of
those
jihadi
guys
are
actually
aware
of
that whole
seventy-two
virgins concept,
and
a
lot
who
are
aware
of
it
are
actually
scared to death
by
the
idea
because
the
ones
who
grow
up
in
the
terrorist
camps
and
madrassas
are
usually
taught
that
women
are
evil
creatures
only
good
for
making
baby
martyrs,
and
they
only
do
that
right
fifty
percent
of
the
time?”