Discoveries (Mercenaries Book 5) Read online

  Contents

  Title Page

  About the Cover Image

  Author’s Note - Daesh

  Description

  Previously

  The Nest

  Chapter I - Planning

  Chapter II - Al-Shazar and Friends

  Chapter III - Ralf Eoin Jamse

  Chapter IV - A Letter to Beckie

  Chapter V - Lisa’s Graduation

  Chapter VI - From The Nest to Pakistan

  Chapter VII - Surab Base, Pakistan

  Chapter VIII - South of France

  Chapter IX - South Florida

  Chapter X - Surab Base, Again

  Chapter XI - En Route The Nest

  Chapter XII - The Nest

  Epilog

  Appendices

  Glossary

  The Nest

  Cast

  Acknowledgements

  About the Author

  Coming Soon

  Discoveries

  By

  Tony Lavely

  Copyright © 2016 by Tony Lavely

  Cover Image: “Dancing girl. Mohenjodaro” by Ismoon Own work.

  Licensed under CC0 via Wikimedia Commons - http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dancing_girl._Mohenjodaro.jpg#/media/File:Dancing_girl._Mohenjodaro.jpg

  All Maps by Tommi Salama

  [email protected]

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Edition 160711.1

  All rights reserved.

  This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to your favorite e-tailer and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

  No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from Tony Lavely.

  About the Cover Image

  I came on the idea of Beckie and Ian taking a protection job in Pakistan at an as yet un-investigated archeological site from seeing the image of the “Dancing Girl” some time ago. The following article, found via Google, reawakened a desire (as yet unfulfilled) to join those digging in old dirt, but it also provided a backdrop against which I could craft this story. While the story touches only briefly on the excavations, without the backdrop, the story would not exist.

  I hope the following excerpt from Ms Hirst’s article inspires you as well.

  The Dancing Girl of Mohenjo-Daro

  By K. Kris Hirst

  Writing at http://archaeology.about.com/od/indusrivercivilizations/a/dancinggirl.htm

  By and large, Indiana Jones notwithstanding, archaeologists deny any real attraction for specific artifacts. It’s the assemblage, we’ll argue, the collection of artifacts from any one site that is really interesting. It’s the context, we’ll say, the location of the artifacts within a particular room or area or part of the world, that fascinates us. No, no, it’s the settlement patterns, the way the assemblage fits, or doesn’t fit, the prevailing theory of the way humans organize their living areas.

  Well, that’s all true, most of the time. But sometimes, we are lucky enough to run across a single artifact that seems to speak to us across the ages, seems to express a culture both distant and not so far away from our present day, in one lovely concrete moment.

  So it would seem to be the case with the ‘dancing girl,’ a 10.8 centimeter high bronze statuette, sculpted using the lost wax method around 2500 BC, and excavated in 1926 from a house in the ancient city of Mohenjo-Daro, Pakistan….

  [ … ]

  She was British archaeologist Mortimer Wheeler’s favorite statuette, as you can tell in this quote from a 1973 television program:

  There is her little Baluchi-style face with pouting lips and insolent look in the eye. She’s about fifteen years old I should think, not more, but she stands there with bangles all the way up her arm and nothing else on. A girl perfectly, for the moment, perfectly confident of herself and the world. There’s nothing like her, I think, in the world.

  John Marshall, one of the excavators at Mohenjo-Daro, described her as a vivid impression of the young … girl, her hand on her hip in a half-impudent posture, and legs slightly forward as she beats time to the music with her legs and feet…

  The artistry of this lovely statuette crosses time and space and speaks to us of a seemingly unknowable, but at least fleetingly recognizable past. As author Gregory Possehl says, We may not be certain that she was a dancer, but she was good at what she did and she knew it.

  [ … ]

  The quotes from this article come directly out of the book by Gregory L. Possehl called The Indus Civilization: A Contemporary Perspective, available from Altamira Press, and published in September 2002….

  Attribution for the image used on the cover: “Dancing girl. Mohenjodaro” by Ismoon. Own work.

  Licensed under CC0 via Wikimedia Commons

  http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Dancing_girl._Mohenjodaro.jpg#/media/File:Dancing_girl._Mohenjodaro.jpg

  Text of the Creative Commons Zero license may be found at

  http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/deed.en

  Author’s Note - Daesh

  Because the below Opinion piece in The Boston Globe makes sense to me, and language does matter, I’ve chosen to use the term Daesh to refer to the group in the Middle East which may be more familiar to readers as ISIS, or one of many other names.

  Words Matter in ‘ISIS’ War, So Use ‘Daesh’

  Opinion by Zeba Khan, The Boston Globe, October 9, 2014

  THE MILITANTS who are killing civilians, raping and forcing captured women into sexual slavery, and beheading foreigners in Iraq and Syria are known by several names: the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham, or ISIS; the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, or ISIL; and, more recently, the Islamic State, or IS. French officials recently declared that that country would stop using any of those names and instead refer to the group as “Daesh.”

  [ … ]

  Whether referred to as ISIS, ISIL, or IS, all three names reflect aspirations that the United States and its allies unequivocally reject. Political and religious leaders all over the world have noted this. French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius said, “This is a terrorist group and not a state… the term Islamic State blurs the lines between Islam, Muslims, and Islamists.” President Obama made similar remarks saying, “ISIL is not Islamic… and [is] certainly not a state.”

  Muslim scholars around the world have denounced the group’s attempt to declare a caliphate. Egyptian Islamic theologian Yusuf al-Qaradawi published an open letter to Muslim scholars explaining, “A group simply announcing a caliphate is not enough to establish a caliphate.” The Syrian Sufi leader Muhammad al-Yacoubi called the group’s declaration “illegitimate” and that supporting it was “haram,” or forbidden.

  The term “Daesh” is strategically a better choice because it is still accurate in that it spells out the acronym of the group’s full Arabic name, al-Dawla al-Islamiya fi al-Iraq wa al-Sham. Yet, at the same time, “Daesh” can also be understood as a play on words — and an insult. Depending on how it is conjugated in Arabic, it can mean anything from “to trample down and crush” to “a bigot who imposes his view on others.” Already, the group has reportedly threatened to cut
out the tongues of anyone who uses the term.

  Why do they care so much? The same reason the United States should. Language matters.

  [ … ]

  Khan, Zeba (2014, October 9) Opinion: Words matter in ‘ISIS’ war, so use ‘Daesh’ The Boston Globe. Retrieved from https://www.bostonglobe.com/opinion/2014/10/09/words-matter-isis-war-use-daesh/V85GYEuasEEJgrUun0dMUP/story.html on Dec. 10, 2015.

  Description

  Beginning as Coda? ends, Beckie Jamse has signed a contract providing protection for an archeological dig in Baluchistan, Pakistan, but even with her experience, it leads her places she never expects. And provides a reward she hadn’t negotiated.

  A quiet winter and spring at The Nest allows Beckie to prepare for her baby; monitor the several jobs Ian Jamse, LLC, had already undertaken; provision the new protection contract, and plan an appropriate response to Ian and Kevin’s murders. The calm evaporates like early morning dew when Ralf Jamse arrives, full of sound and fury and other baby specific needs.

  Events in Pakistan only seem calm. Unbeknownst to her, the protection contract in Pakistan develops a complication neither she nor the scientists expected: the terrorists of Daesh (Islamic State) are targeting the region.

  Even before Beckie’s doctor allows her to leave the hospital, a letter arrives that changes everything.

  Discoveries is a thriller with romance, set in an approximation to the real world, intended for readers 15 up. It contains real language. For the most enjoyment, readers should be familiar with Coda?.

  Previously

  To paraphrase William Goldman: There’s really too much. I’ll encapsulate: purchase Coda? and read it first.

  If you can’t afford your reading, the author may be able to help.*

  *Some restrictions apply. See About the Author.

  Chapter I: Planning

  NUREDDIN AL-SHAZAR TWITCHED once as his phone vibrated. He rolled over to reach his pocket and dig it out. A text. From… from Kalil. “Call at your earliest convenience.”

  “Damn. Just what I needed,” he muttered. He checked the time. Quarter to one. I will instruct him again about the time difference. He sat up and looked out the window on the Pakistani town of Surab. Looks like we’ll get all of January’s rain tonight. Unless it turns to snow.

  He scrolled to Kalil’s number, imagining the phone ringing in the Syrian desert where Abdul-Nur el-Asad had installed their base, far from allied forces’ attacks.

  Finally, he heard the young soldier’s voice in the ritual greeting. He answered the challenges, then asked to be certain, “This is a secure link?”

  “Of course!”

  Of course. What else would it be? “Good.” He yawned. “What do you need?”

  “A small thing you should be aware of. Yesterday, a contact made through our Tor web site offered to join us after his conversion. He claims much knowledge about a mercenary group. His handler warns that he exaggerates, but still, he wondered if you would be interested.”

  Al-Shazar shook his head in disbelief. “Why are they asking me a recruiting question?”

  “We know the mercenary group. You know them. Ian Jamse, LLC.”

  He stood and stared out the window at the heavy dark clouds. Ian Jamse’s group. He had some small familiarity with those people, some good, some… not so good. Perhaps…

  “Instruct them to discover what he knows. Information of that sort is always useful. I expect an update no later than tomorrow.”

  A cypher-laden message arrived late the next day. Al-Shazar smiled as he read about Jamse’s high-school age recruit, Lisa Grove. He found Grove’s girl friend even more interesting. She might be vulnerable to a well-placed threat to her social standing, thereby reflecting on both Grove and Jamse’s group.

  He sent his return message: “This is excellent! Maintain the contact and find out how much more he knows. Names, dates, anything. Promise him whatever will keep information flowing. Allāhu Akbar!”

  Beckie Jamse’s flight home from Paris was uneventful; she even managed to nap sporadically. Willie met her on the tarmac with current news. By the time they joined Maurice Boynton on her lanai, he’d gotten through almost everything. “And last, Rou told me Jones and Brody’s money for the Pakistan job’s on the way. Given any thought who you’ll assign?”

  “I had a couple ideas I’d like you gentlemen to vet, but first,” she said to Boynton, “how about some coffee?” He rose and went into the house. When he returned with the tray, she continued, “Who do you think? And who should we not send?”

  “That’s a little easier.” Willie leaned back, hands behind his head. “Sam would be good, but I think he’s better in Syria.”

  “Yeah. Freddie, too, I think. In Vietnam,” she said in response to his raised eyebrows. “His team should continue the mine clearing effort there. How about Ben? Ben Daley?”

  Boynton nodded as he finished distributing the cups and spoons. After Beckie thanked him, she again gazed at Willie.

  “To be honest,” he said, “Ben’s a little… not young, but he’s only been in charge once or twice. If he wants to do something like this, he should be second or third in command. And I’m not sure he’d want to leave Syria for a straight protection kind of job.”

  “Yeah. Jimmy would have been…” She allowed her voice to trail off. I’m not gonna futz around moping because he left.

  “Well, he’s not⁠—”

  Her wave cut him off.

  “Well,” Boynton said, “here’s a thought: Leonid and Fedor.”

  “That might work,” Willie said. “The contract in Nigeria is about to expire and there’s no hint that they want to extend it.”

  “Huh?” Beckie said. “I didn’t hear that Boko Haram promised to play nice again; what happened? There’s no problem with our guys?”

  “While I’ll know better in a couple days, no, no problems. We only had a chance for a quick conversation when Leonid called, but he believes the government isn’t willing or able to pay the bill any longer.”

  “Damn! I’d carry them a couple of months, but not if there’s no future to it. Let’s ask Leonid if there’s anything they need to wrap up before they disengage if the contract’s cancelled. Now, what other things have been going on?”

  They spent the next half-hour on the team’s other activities before Beckie sipped the last of her coffee and asked, “I assume you both think a woman would be out of place in, you know, Pakistan? Especially in the mountains?”

  Willie and Boynton stared at her, both with wide eyes and open mouths. Wow, I got both of them. “What?”

  The two men glanced at each other, then both began to speak. Beckie waved and pointed to Boynton.

  He glanced again at Willie, then said, “I fear… You can’t be thinking of going⁠—”

  “What! Me?” She chuckled her disbelief. “Not likely! You guys have wrapped the Nest up so tight I can barely get on the plane to see my doctor.” She choked off her laugh at the men’s relief. Maybe I’ve been even more… obstinate than I thought. “No, I was thinking Barbara. I don’t think Beth’s any more ready than Ben, but…”

  “Okay,” Willie said. “I do agree, with both of those. But Barbara’s just getting into the bank job; she’s perfect for it. So, the more I think about it, the more Leonid looks like a good choice, especially if that contract lapses. And Fedor will come with him. They’re both from the southern reaches of what used to be the USSR, so Pakistan’s not too far from their old homestead, so to speak.” He finished his coffee as well. “We might move Ben to fill in for them in Nigeria, if you still think that’s viable.”

  She nodded. “Ask them to disengage and come back here. We’ll all talk about it.”

  As the men relaxed, Beckie did also, then sat back up. “I know we talked to Beth about her contact in South Africa just after New Year’s; did anything come across while I was in Paris?”

  “Not a word. Tjaart has reported every other day or so, and it’s all the same. He’s still trying
to get permission to visit the smuggler who’s in jail, but he has low expectations. It’s more like making sure all the i’s are dotted and the t’s crossed than anything he expects to be useful.”

  “Yeah. And if they killed the other two⁠—”

  “Huh?”

  “The cop and the doctor.” Willie nodded his recollection. “If they killed them, there won’t be a money trail to follow.”

  “That’s an idea, though,” Boynton said. “When he calls, I’ll ask about their finances. In case they did die accidentally.”

  “I’m okay with that, I guess, if there’s nothing better for him to do. We don’t really expect anything?”

  “No, but just to make sure.”

  “Right. Speaking of Beth, I assume the silence from the Groves means Lisa’s training went well?”

  “All reports were positive,” Boynton said.

  “Cool. I’ll track her… Beth, down and see how the other stuff is going, too.”

  The rest of the day, she caught up with Shalin deVeel and Millie Arden, mostly to reassure them nothing really bad had happened in the Parisian suburbs. Shalin told her that Willie had been ready to fly everyone he could grab to rescue her, but she’d managed it herself before they could deploy. Beckie laughed. I’ll have to talk to him a little more, I guess.

  The next day while Beckie sat nibbling her breakfast, Willie entered, his hands full of papers. “Apparently, Jones and Brody⁠—or Brody anyway⁠—didn’t get enough of our company in Paris. He’d like to meet with us again. I agreed, but said if he wanted you in attendance, he’d have to come here. It took an hour, but he agreed. I’ve asked Janni to arrange meeting him in Nassau, once his schedule is firm. He thought it would be a week or so.”