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Authors: Mack Maloney
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copter was still waiting. By this time, Li was already packed and on the helipad.
She was standing on the edge of the landing platform, the black helicopterâs downwash making her long hair flow wildly behind her. The noise from the copter was deafening. Murphy was at her side, in a very animatedconversation with her. Fox and Ozzi, her two fellow DSA agents, were also there.
Ryder went right up to Murphy. âPlease tell me whatâs happening,â he shouted over the roar of the copter.
Murphy gave it to him straight. The agentsâ requestâand their threat to fold up the strike team if they didnât play along.
âI thought they wanted
you
,â Murphy told the pilot. âWhen they asked for Li, I was sure weâd be able to wiggle our way out of it. They might want her, but they could never take her against her will. They would sleep with the fishes if they did.â
âSo what happened then?â Ryder demanded to know.
Murphy just shook his head. âShe
wants
to go. They wonât tell us what their plan is exactly, but she feels itâs her duty to help them. Plus, she knows it will preserve the team. And no one can talk her out of it.â
But that didnât mean Ryder wasnât going to try.
Fox and Ozzi saw him coming and backed off the helipad, hoping Ryder could succeed where they had obviously failed.
Now it was just Ryder and Li on the helipad, yelling over the noise of the helicopter.
âThis is a
very bad
idea,â Ryder said to her while the two CIA agents waited anxiously inside the copter. âThis Diamond Prince guy is dangerous. He controls a lot of armed people. He has access to lots of weapons and deals with his enemies without mercy.â
âI know all that,â she replied.
âAnd these guys?â Ryder said, pointing to the pair of waiting CIA agents. âTheyâre as bad as the mooks. Murphy doesnât trust them. I donât trust them.
No one
trusts them.â
Li just shook her head. âI know that, too,â she said. âAnd everything about it seems wrong. But how can I say no? This is my job, as a citizen of my country. I can neutralize one of the big fish of Al Qaeda. One of the people who was instrumental in pulling off 9/11. Plus the team will be allowed to stay together. Isnât that what we were just talking about? How important all this is?â
Ryder couldnât believe this was happening. It was like a bad dream come true. Not an hour ago, theyâd been sitting on the nose of the ship, getting wet and falling for each other. Now she was standing here, bags packed, getting ready to leave him.
He looked deep into her eyes and she was looking right back at him. Tears were forming. âBesides,â she said. âThis way I can earn my stripes. To get my uniform. My patch.â
She reached over and touched the side of his face for a moment. Her hand was cold and trembling.
Then she climbed aboard the copter and it took off, just like that.
The last Ryder saw of her, she was looking out the side window, waving good-bye.
Chapter 4
Loki Soto, West Africa
The prison ran on gasoline. Two generators, powered by a pair of old Ford truck engines, provided electricity for the old fort. These engines ran 24 hours a day and were notoriously inefficient. Spark plugs were always fouling, gaskets blowing, oil leaking. Two prison guards were assigned around-the-clock just to keep them going. The surrounding city of Loki Soto had no infrastructure, no power grid. Without the engines turning, there would be no electricity to light the lights, warm the ovens, or run the torture devices.
The Ford engines were incredible gas-guzzlers. They had to have their fuel tanks refilled every two days. This meant four hundred gallons of gasoline had to be delivered to the prison, by tank truck, every 48 hours.
This was a downside for the terrorist named Shaheen Faheeb. He was the commandant of the prison, a
She was standing on the edge of the landing platform, the black helicopterâs downwash making her long hair flow wildly behind her. The noise from the copter was deafening. Murphy was at her side, in a very animatedconversation with her. Fox and Ozzi, her two fellow DSA agents, were also there.
Ryder went right up to Murphy. âPlease tell me whatâs happening,â he shouted over the roar of the copter.
Murphy gave it to him straight. The agentsâ requestâand their threat to fold up the strike team if they didnât play along.
âI thought they wanted
you
,â Murphy told the pilot. âWhen they asked for Li, I was sure weâd be able to wiggle our way out of it. They might want her, but they could never take her against her will. They would sleep with the fishes if they did.â
âSo what happened then?â Ryder demanded to know.
Murphy just shook his head. âShe
wants
to go. They wonât tell us what their plan is exactly, but she feels itâs her duty to help them. Plus, she knows it will preserve the team. And no one can talk her out of it.â
But that didnât mean Ryder wasnât going to try.
Fox and Ozzi saw him coming and backed off the helipad, hoping Ryder could succeed where they had obviously failed.
Now it was just Ryder and Li on the helipad, yelling over the noise of the helicopter.
âThis is a
very bad
idea,â Ryder said to her while the two CIA agents waited anxiously inside the copter. âThis Diamond Prince guy is dangerous. He controls a lot of armed people. He has access to lots of weapons and deals with his enemies without mercy.â
âI know all that,â she replied.
âAnd these guys?â Ryder said, pointing to the pair of waiting CIA agents. âTheyâre as bad as the mooks. Murphy doesnât trust them. I donât trust them.
No one
trusts them.â
Li just shook her head. âI know that, too,â she said. âAnd everything about it seems wrong. But how can I say no? This is my job, as a citizen of my country. I can neutralize one of the big fish of Al Qaeda. One of the people who was instrumental in pulling off 9/11. Plus the team will be allowed to stay together. Isnât that what we were just talking about? How important all this is?â
Ryder couldnât believe this was happening. It was like a bad dream come true. Not an hour ago, theyâd been sitting on the nose of the ship, getting wet and falling for each other. Now she was standing here, bags packed, getting ready to leave him.
He looked deep into her eyes and she was looking right back at him. Tears were forming. âBesides,â she said. âThis way I can earn my stripes. To get my uniform. My patch.â
She reached over and touched the side of his face for a moment. Her hand was cold and trembling.
Then she climbed aboard the copter and it took off, just like that.
The last Ryder saw of her, she was looking out the side window, waving good-bye.
Chapter 4
Loki Soto, West Africa
The prison ran on gasoline. Two generators, powered by a pair of old Ford truck engines, provided electricity for the old fort. These engines ran 24 hours a day and were notoriously inefficient. Spark plugs were always fouling, gaskets blowing, oil leaking. Two prison guards were assigned around-the-clock just to keep them going. The surrounding city of Loki Soto had no infrastructure, no power grid. Without the engines turning, there would be no electricity to light the lights, warm the ovens, or run the torture devices.
The Ford engines were incredible gas-guzzlers. They had to have their fuel tanks refilled every two days. This meant four hundred gallons of gasoline had to be delivered to the prison, by tank truck, every 48 hours.
This was a downside for the terrorist named Shaheen Faheeb. He was the commandant of the prison, a
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