Tess Awakening (38 page)

She loved Aara, Amir’s daughter but barely
knew the boy, the fruit of Amir’s seduction of Tess. Fadime
considered their lovemaking during that fateful night in England as
the epitome of passionate eroticism. Not only she had secretly
videotaped their entwined bodies in action, but she had played the
video every time she felt in the mood for serious entertainment.
Amir burned one copy of the video after he fell in love with Tess,
but Fadime kept a spare and did not tell him about it.

Now she was bored to death. She had
reluctantly agreed to look after the children as a favor to her
older brother which she loved with an incestuous passion. This
obligation and the necessity to keep a low profile prevented her
from seeing one of her many local lovers and she missed his
company. She couldn’t wait for things to go back to normal.

The team got into position at dusk. They
deployed to the perimeter. Fortunately, it was a moonless night,
and their dark clothes made them practically invisible.

Using infrared equipment, John Powers, the
weapons guy, spotted two security guards. Others appeared to be
kitchen staff and servants. There was no sign of the children.

Jake and Tess wanted to avoid violence and
decided to attempt a face-to-face confrontation with Fadime first.
The team would stay in place on the perimeter in case things got
nasty.

Tess and Jake walked to the gate. A guard
immediately rushed toward them. “We would like to talk to Madame
Fadime,” Tess announced.

The guard looked at them suspiciously. “There
in no one of that name here.” He adjusted the strap of his Uzi over
the shoulder to make a point. “You go away; now!” Jake raised his
arm as a signal. Ken Ross appeared behind the guard and hit him on
the head to put him out. Then he took the keys and opened the
gates. The other guard was on patrol behind the building. John
Powers whacked him on his head as well and sent him napping along
with his colleague at the front gate.

The coast was clear and Jake and Tess rushed
to the front door which was not locked. They charged into the
house, followed by the men who quickly started to sweep the various
rooms for signs of the occupants. Then they ran upstairs. Fadime
was in her bedroom reading a book.

Tess signaled the team to stay back and
entered the room. “Hi, Fadime, remember me?”

Fadime was startled, but quickly recovered.
“Tess, what a pleasure to see you again! Are you looking for Amir?
I am afraid he is not here.”

“You know why I am here, Fadime. I want the
children. Where are they?”

“What children? Alas, you know that I don’t
have any of my own, Tess. You must be mistaken.”

“Fadime, I don’t want to make things
uncomfortable for you, but I can change my mind if I have to. I
repeat, where are the children?”

“I already told you that I don’t know what
you are talking about. There are no children here.”

“Then you don’t mind if we look around a
bit?” This was an unnecessary question because the team was already
combing the house.

Fadime assumed a relaxed pose on the sofa.
“So, how have you been, Tess? I understand that you gave birth to
Amir’s son. I know that he is deliriously happy about finally
siring a male heir.”

Tess felt anger build up. “Fadime I don’t
want to hurt you, but I will beat you senseless if you don’t stop
evading my question.”

“Tess, Amir called me from Geneva and told me
that you beat him badly. The poor man, I did not know he is now
enjoying S&M. I hope you were not too rough on him.”

“Actually, I was very rough on him; he is
going to spend a lot of time reconstructing his face. You might not
recognize him when he is finally patched up.”

“That was mean, Tess; and to think he loves
you so. Don’t you remember the incredible night of passion you
spent with him? Shame on you.”

Jake walked in, holding little Morgan in his
arm. “Found them, Tess.”

Little Morgan recognized his mother and
sprouted a huge smile. Tess tore the child from Jake’s arms and put
the child on her breasts, hugging and kissing him, her eyes tearing
with joy

Tess now thought of the other child. “Jake,
do you have Aara too?”

“Yes, she is just outside the door. Tess
handed the boy over to Jake. Carmen had Aara by the hand. Tess went
to her and opened her arms to welcome the child. The five-year-old
Aara did not respond. She put her thumb in her mouth and stared at
Tess with her haunting eyes.

“Aara, it’s me, Tess. Don’t you remember
me?”

The child remained impassive. Tess tried to
take her in her arms, as she had done before, but the child did not
move.

“Aara, I know that I hurt you when I had to
leave you before, but I am back now. Please come to me.”

The child hesitated for a moment and then ran
to Tess, who picked her up. Aara put her arms around Tess’s neck,
squeezing as hard as she could. “Miss Tess, don’t leave again.”

“I will not leave you, sweetheart. I will
take you with me.”

“Forever?” asked the child.

“Forever.”

Fadime walked toward them. “Tess, there is
something that you need to see.”

“I am not sure I am interested in anything
that a liar wants to show me.”

“You better see this, in private. Send the
others away.”

“Okay, Fadime, I will humor you this one
time.” The women walked into the bedroom and Tess told the team to
leave them alone.

Carmen and the men looked at her with a
puzzled expression but complied. Fadime closed the door.

“Please sit, Tess,” said Fadime while she
pushed a button on the DVD player. The video was in high-definition
color and initially showed the interior of Amir’s bedroom suite at
the house outside London. Tess appeared and Amir took her toward
the bed. He started to inspect her like a horse at a market. She
finally dropped her robe and Amir expressed his admiration. The
next few scenes displayed their lovemaking in exquisite detail.
Tess was horrified.

“Stop this Fadime, I have seen enough. It’s
hard to believe that you are so depraved to do this to me and your
brother.”

“Oh, Tess, my brother was the star performer.
He enjoyed making this video immensely, and we played it together
many times. It is very entertaining, no?”

Tess grabbed Fadime by the throat. “Tell me
why I should not strangle you right now!”

Fadime waited for Tess to take her hand off.
The woman was strong. Her throat hurt, but Fadime was not
dissuaded. “Tess, I am sure you understand that I can post this
video on the Internet any time I choose. I have another copy that I
made specifically for that purpose. What I propose is a
bargain.”

“Do you really think that I care about this
video hitting the internet? What would it prove?”

“It would disclose to the world that an
American officer and the daughter of a celebrated General
fornicated with abandon with a Muslim man. It would create a
scandal; are you ready to endure the consequences of a seriously
pornographic video being sent to all the important people that deal
with your father? How about your husband? He has already been
humiliated by your having Amir’s child. How much can you ask him to
bear?”

“What’s the point, Fadime? What do you
want?”

“I want you to leave us in peace, with the
children, of course. I want you to stay away forever. If we detect
any evidence of interference, we will release the video.”

“Don’t you think that the video would
embarrass the great General Al-Saadi as well, Fadime, especially
since he has prospects of becoming the new Saddam of Iraq?”

“Alas, things are different for men. Amir’s
star would actually rise. He will be viewed as a virile, strong man
that can rule a country in the same way he ravishes a woman. The
people will elevate him into a God.”

“Fadime, I am not impressed. I am sure you
know that I almost killed Amir. I ruined his face, and he will
suffer the fires of hell before he can show himself again in
public. As for you, you are a useless, corrupt parasite with no
sign of human decency. Why should I not kill you?”

“Because you don’t want your legacy and that
of your father destroyed. Because your husband would not be able to
live with the shame of your disgrace. Because the world would look
at you like a whore, and would hold you in contempt for the rest of
your life.”

“Fadime, there is no way I am going to give
up my son, even if I end up living in a cave. And I am going to
take Aara away from you and your brother — sick and depraved
people.”

“Tess, you know that Amir never gives up. He
will be an incubus for the rest of your life until he gets what he
wants. You know that what I say is true.”

“I have made a mistake of not killing him,
but it can be fixed. In the meantime, I will start with you.” Tess
grabbed Fadime by the throat and tossed her across the room. Fadime
slammed against a cabinet and fell on her back, waiting for the
pain to start. Tess had broken her arm.

Jake came in and saw the scene play out.
“Tess, you have done enough. Let’s get the hell out of here.”

“We can’t yet. Fadime showed me a video they
did about me and Amir. They are going to post it on the internet. I
personally don’t care if they do, but I don’t want to put you and
my father through what would happen afterward. We must find all the
copies of the video and destroy them.

“Tess, once the cat is out of the bag, it’s
almost impossible to put it back in. We will take whatever video
disks they have here, and Joe will figure out how to kill any
broadcast of that video. Let’s take the kids and go.”

Tess went to Fadime, who was still on the
floor, writhing in pain. “Fadime, this is how it’s going to go. I
will take the kids. If you attempt to release the video, I assure
you that I will find and kill you after I break every one of your
bones. If you don’t believe me, talk to Amir. Of course, it will be
some time before he is able to utter a single word. Do you
understand me?”

Fadime nodded her head, for the first time in
her life experiencing real pain.

“Let’s get out of here, Jake,” Tess walked
out the door. She picked up little Morgan in her arms and reached
for Aara, but she was no longer there. She went around the corner
and saw Carmen lying on the floor. Nicola rushed to her.

“She got hit in the head. She passed out.
Let’s get her out of here.” Nicola picked Carmen up and they headed
for the exit; one of the men carried little Morgan. Tess stayed
behind.

Jake and Tess sent the team away and went
looking for Aara. On the back of the house, they saw a concealed
elevator to the beach below. Two women had boarded a motor boat and
started the engine. They had Aara with them and sped off, leaving a
wake in the water.

Tess screamed in frustration. “No! Not again.
I can’t leave Aara behind a second time!”

“Jake looked at her. “Tess, there is nothing
we can do now. We must leave before the Police come.”

Back at the hotel, they called a doctor to
look after Carmen. She had a large bump on her head but was
otherwise okay. Carmen took Tess’s hand. “I am sorry, Tess. I
didn’t see it coming.

“We are all sorry, Tess,” said Nicola, “We
did not anticipate that the other women would be a problem.”

Tess hugged little Morgan with tears in her
eyes. Her joy to have him back was overwhelming, but she was
haunted again by the big sad eyes of Aara. “I let her down again,”
she sobbed. “She will believe that I have abandoned her for a
second time and will never trust anyone.”

Jake sat next to her and put his arms around
her shoulders. “We need to go, Tess; the police will be here
soon.”

They all went back to the hotel, packed and
drove to the airport in Naples. General Turner’s plane picked them
up and flew them to London. The team needed to put some distance
between them and the Italian police that most certainly were
already looking for them.

The two couples checked into the Churchill
Hotel. After an overnight in the British capital, the rest of the
team boarded a commercial airliner back to the United States. The
only exception was George Kimmel. He flew to Iraq to help implement
Plan B.

Tess couldn’t stop hugging and kissing little
Morgan. She forgot her despair that she felt when she thought he
was gone forever. Her happiness would be complete if she also had
Aara with her.

Chapter 63

The events at Fadime’s house had drained
Tess emotionally. She was enormously relieved to have little Morgan
back and heartbroken that she was not able to take Aara with
her.

Tess got in bed first. When Jake sat on the
edge to remove his socks, Tess kissed him on the back of his neck.
For the first time since the accident, her coma and the loss of her
child, she needed to make love.

Jake got into bed and kissed her. Tess took
off her nightgown and lay on her back, waiting for Jake to caress
her. Jake touched her breast lightly then stopped.

“Tess, do you think of Amir when we make
love? I am sorry. I need to know.”

She sat on the bed, shocked. “Jake, how can
you think of such a thing? Amir is evil and I hate him. You know
that I almost killed him.”

“Even so, you had a night of great passion
with him, and they made a video of it. That bothers me a lot.”

“Jake, I had no idea that they were filming
us. I was even more shocked than you are when I saw part of it play
out. It’s incredibly humiliating.”

“Nevertheless, it’s obvious that Amir is a
very skilled lover and that he made you delirious with
pleasure.”

“Jake, it happened and I can’t change things.
I can’t lie, it was an incredible night, but Amir did nothing that
you couldn’t do if I asked you to. The anger that I now feel
against Amir and Fadime is so intense that I resolved to erase
every vestige of that experience from my mind. I would die before I
give in to Amir again. You know why I did it and you know that Amir
set me up by withholding the fact that Aara was his daughter.”