Coda? (Mercenaries Book 4) Read online

  “They’ve been trying that for years! I know Sam’s good, but—”

  “I told you she was bright, Sam.” Elena was doing her best not to laugh aloud.

  “Right you are, Amy,” he said. “That’s why they put the protection above the rebellion. There will be a political solution, eventually, and whether Assad or the rebels or Daesh survive, they’ll need the infrastructure.” He glanced at Beckie. “Does Ian really feel that we should protect the… identity?”

  “No. That was me, being too coy by half.” She turned to Amy and gave her a wry smile. “They’re protecting a thirty-six inch natural gas pipeline running from Deir Ali to Al Rayyan. Roughly Damascus to Homs. Far enough south that the Russians aren’t involved. We, Ian and I, think our customer is supplying the gas and wants to keep it flowing.”

  “Yeah, that makes sense. And no matter who wins, they’ll need energy, like you said.”

  They’d reached the dock at Home Cay. With a promise to return in an hour or so, Amy left on her way to Cottage Cay, where she and Dylan were staying.

  Kevin

  After her shower, Beckie had warned Boynton that Amy and Dylan would probably appear for lunch; now, as she relaxed in the warmth of the Bahamian August, her eyes drifted shut.

  A shuffle roused her; she flinched, then was embarrassed when she found not only Boynton, but Amy, Dylan and Beth standing at the foot of her chair, all except Boynton grinning like crazy people.

  Boynton, however… “What’s wrong, Maurice? Did lunch not work out?”

  “Much more serious than that, I fear.” He held his phone out. “Barbara has advised me that Kevin has been injured in an… incident near his parents’ home. Seriously.”

  “Oh, no! What’s he doing there? And what about Shalin? Who’s with her? Is it worth us commandeering Jean-Luc or Patrice—”

  “Patrice is preparing to leave as we speak. He is filing a flight plan to Durban with a stop in Paris for fuel. Mathilde will join you in Paris, coming up from Riyadh, and fly on while Patrice rests.”

  “And Ian…”

  “Suggested, according to Barbara, that you be prepared for rural… encounters. No,” he said in response to her look, “I don’t know what that means either. However, the deVeel’s home is near the Jamse’s, about 55 kilometers west of PMB.”

  “PMB?”

  “Ah. Pietermaritzburg.”

  “Of course,” Beckie said. “I knew that. Sorry.”

  “And both homes are near the Drakensberg Wilderness Area, which certainly qualifies as rural. But I have no information about why Kevin would be there, or how he was injured. Barbara said they are still seeking answers.”

  “Call Sam and let him know. I think this is higher priority than target practice, though…” She giggled. “… I’ll miss sparring with him if we can’t get to do that soon.”

  Amy blanched slightly. “I suppose ‘miss’ is one way to say it.”

  “I don’t think you and—”

  The look on Amy’s face warned Beckie. “I’m not sitting on my ass while Kevin’s hurt and something’s going on with his parents. Shalin’s been too good to me to flake out on her!”

  Well, that’s not a surprise. Shalin’ll probably need support, too. “Not Dylan, though. I don’t think this is…”

  Amy’s expression wasn’t as definitive as a second ago, but Beckie believed she read it correctly before Amy slid her arm around Dylan’s waist and walked him to the far end of the lanai, out of earshot.

  Boynton hurried back to the lanai. “Sam says to tell you you can’t get out of his training session that easily; he’ll join you.” His glance took in the couple talking at the end of the lanai.

  Beckie followed his look. “I suspect Dylan will… Well, let’s see.”

  Holding each other tightly, Amy and Dylan returned to the group. “Dylan allows me to go, and he will fly back to Chatham—”

  “Holding my sat phone close to my heart for whatever updates come along.” He brushed a kiss along Amy’s cheek before fixing her with a stern gaze. “There will be updates, or my promise is off.”

  Amy nodded with quick firm motions.

  “I’m in,” Beth said. “I’ll head over to get my gear. Who’s calling Elena? And Willie? He won’t want to be left out.”

  The 737-700ER was not crowded, though everyone seemed to congregate near Shalin’s seat. The deVeel twins were back at the Nest, staying with one of Millie’s nurses.

  Patrice came out of the cockpit about five hours out of the Nest. He directed Beckie and Willie toward the back of the plane, away from the others. “Barbara just called. Kevin didn’t make it.”

  “Damn!” escaped both Beckie and Willie together.

  Beckie gave the two men a quick embrace; they’d both known Kevin longer than she had, but her memory turned back to the sleeping bag in Arizona, when Kevin had given her the support she hadn’t known she’d needed. And all the help and camaraderie the two of them had shared since then.

  “I guess we better talk to Shalin,” she said. Willie nodded and Patrice preceded them up the aisle. When they reached the others, he kept going, back to the cockpit.

  “What is it? What did Patrice want?” Beckie was pretty sure Elena was just curious, but both Beth and Shalin seemed more… prescient.

  “News,” she said, adopting Ian’s laconic approach. Willie worked his way to the seat behind Shalin, and Beckie took one of her hands.

  “It’s Kevin,” Shalin said, her voice catching on the name.

  Beckie bowed her head. “Barbara said he… he didn’t make it.”

  Over the murmured expressions of shock and sympathy, Beckie heard, “Any other details?”

  She can’t take it this well. “Patrice didn’t say.” She squeezed Shalin’s hand. “You gonna be… okay?”

  The look of surprise on Shalin’s face threw Beckie for a loop, until she recalled the stabilizing influence the woman had had on everyone at the Nest. “Of course. We had good years together, Kevin and I, and of course, the twins. I will mourn him, and remember him, and forever love him, but he always warned me that his career choice, as he put it, might end badly.” She looked around, meeting each of the other’s eyes. “But I would like some time alone, I think.”

  Willie offered his hand over the seat back, and led her to the last row of seats. When he gave her a quick hug and whispered to her, she reached up to brush his cheek with her fingers, then dropped gracefully to sit. Willie came forward a few seats and made himself comfortable—“As if anything in this situation could be comfortable,” Beckie muttered.

  “Patrice said nothing else?” Beth asked.

  “No. Guess we’ll find out soon enough.”

  Elena stretched in her seat. “We’re going straight to Durban, right?”

  “Yeah. Well, except for the fuel stop in Paris. Mathilde will take us the last ten hours, Patrice said. Maurice made reservations at some resort between King Shakta Airport and the city. I didn’t want to head into the scene until we talked to Ian, and he wasn’t available before we left.”

  “Why a resort?” Beth asked. “Not gonna be a lot of playing around.”

  “That’s for damn sure. But we figured sleep would be necessary after eighteen or nineteen hours flying. And the six hour time change, too, like Cairo.”

  Beth grimaced, then curled into her seat.

  Beckie dropped next to the seat where Amy was still asleep. Like Sam, the girl hadn’t roused during the exchanges with Patrice or Shalin. However, the impact of Beckie in the adjacent seat opened her eyes and brought her head up. “What?”

  Beckie told her, and after Amy’s trip back to whisper condolences to Shalin, they curled up together and by turns, cried and dozed.

  Patrice woke her before they started the descent into King Shakta, teasing her with an offer to join Mathilde in the cockpit, “to see how it could be done,” but she declined with a half-laugh, seeking out a container of orange juice and a cup of coffee instead.

  Her p
hone told her the time in Durban was seven and a bit, a look out the window said it was evening. She plodded the length of the cabin, rousing the others, ending with Shalin, now sitting with Elena. Looks like she hasn’t slept much.

  In two hours, they’d cleared customs and immigration, at least with the baggage they intended to carry. As they looked for the hotel shuttle, her phone buzzed.

  “Ian!” Her voice broke and she stepped away from the others. “Ian, I’m so sorry! How—”

  “As well as can be expected, love. I will meet you in about…” A pause, maybe looking at a clock? “… in about an hour. I hope you will be able to remain awake.”

  “If I’m asleep, wake me with a kiss!” She caught her breath. “Shalin’s with us; we told her what Barbara said, and she wants more detail. So do we all, but her need is… exigent.”

  “I understand. I will share with all of you, and her especially.”

  “Do we need a car? I think Maurice arranged the hotel shuttle to pick us up, but we could also get a car or two. There’s like eight or nine of us, including Patrice and Mathilde.”

  “We can arrange that in the morning. We will need off-road vehicles, so the airport rentals would not suit.”

  Beckie felt a hand on her arm; Amy was pulling her toward the now arrived shuttle. “Bus is here, love. We’ll see you at the hotel in a bit.”

  During the twenty minute ride, Beckie told the others that Ian was on the way, and that he’d shared nothing else with her.

  Beckie recoiled out of a strange dream when something touched her shoulder. She shook off the fading memory of… whatever it was, to find Sam waiting for her to wake. “Ian’s out front,” he said.

  That cleared her head better than anything she could imagine; she ran ahead to the front room. They embraced, crying into each others’ neck, then shared a hard, fervent kiss. “God, I’m happy to see you,” Beckie breathed into his ear.

  “Believe me, no happier than I am you!”

  Wow, never heard that kind of feeling from him. I love him… “I love you, Ian. Never forget that!”

  She leaned away to see his face; his eyes were alight as well as somber. “I never shall. I love you.”

  Sam cleared his throat and in another moment, they separated—slightly. “Sorry, Sam. But first things first,” Beckie said.

  Ian gave them his wry smile, then stepped back. For the first time since entering, Beckie noticed that all the others were in the room with them. Makes no difference. “Well, let’s sit down and get started, okay?” She took Ian’s arm and headed toward the empty love seat.

  For an hour, Ian explained as much as he knew about Kevin’s trip and the action that had eventually claimed his life. “For several weeks, his parents had dealt with transients on the back edge of their property. He was convinced they were smuggling dagga from Lesotho.”

  “Dagga?”

  “Marijuana. It is illegal in South Africa, and the smugglers are well-compensated, at least in comparison to farming, say.” He waited another second. “My parents have experienced similar incursions, though not as close to their home. In any event, he and I, with Barbara of course, decided to pay a visit to his family, and determine if the police should be involved, or what steps might be appropriate or prudent.”

  He stopped and caught Shalin in his gaze. “Would you prefer… waiting before…”

  “No, Ian, thank you. As I said to Beckie, the two of us kept the possibility of sudden death in mind… Recall how we met, after all.”

  Beckie thought back to Kevin’s description of his introduction to Shalin: she’d been blown into him by a suicide bomber—her brother—in Tel Aviv.

  Ian bowed his head in acknowledgement. “He and Barbara went to his parents while I visited mine.

  “Barbara called soon after I arrived. The intruders came to the house and in the guise of insurance, demanded first, money and valuables, and second, that everyone depart for the next two weeks.”

  “I’ll bet Kevin didn’t take that well,” Shalin said.

  “He did not. He signaled Barbara to keep the family members safe and slipped out the back door. She believes he intended to flank them, possibly taking them out one or two at a time. Five or six were all she saw.

  “Even before the first shot was fired, Barbara got all five of the family down into the basement where—”

  “Five, Ian?”

  “His parents and sister, and her two daughters. They are visiting from Johannesburg.”

  “Oh, okay. Thanks.”

  “Barbara held her position where she could defend the entry to the basement and still monitor the front doorway. A minute or so after the shooting ended, several more shots destroyed the locks. The two men who kicked the door open afterward were not as cautious as they should have been; Barbara terminated them.

  “She waited several minutes before moving. One of the intruder’s weapons she gave to Kevin’s sister before using the back door. Light from the house was sufficient to find Kevin; he was near the front door. During an admittedly cursory examination, she found three bullet wounds in his torso. She applied rudimentary first aid and continued to investigate. He had eliminated four, and with the two in the house, she believed the entire force had been neutralized.

  “She called me; we brought my parents after advising the police.”

  “Where’s… Oh, Millie’s still with Jimmy, right? In Syria?”

  “Indeed.”

  “Hmm. And the police?”

  “Since moving Kevin to hospital, they have been investigating the events, with no resolution so far except that Barbara has been ‘asked’ to remain available for questioning.”

  “They aren’t charging—”

  “While they will not commit, the sense is that they agree she acted in self-defense, since the door was damaged from outside.”

  “Okay, I guess.”

  “Very well,” Ian said. “The hour is late and I do not wish to leave either the deVeels or our parents alone longer than necessary. Though the police are watching them both tonight,” he finished, to forestall Beckie’s obvious complaint.

  Beckie waited until the others had dispersed to their individual rooms before leading Ian to hers. No, I won’t tell him just yet, she decided of her own news. He has enough to worry about for now. They gave each other great pleasure, then slept the sleep of the just.

  Beckie woke when her back chilled. Ian had risen; he was looking at his phone. “What’s the news?”

  “Nothing to concern yourself with. Mother would like Shalin at our home early, for Kevin’s family, and for settling how the service will be held.”

  “Should the twins be here?”

  He finished dressing before speaking. “They are old enough to understand what has happened. However, arranging their transport… We should allow Shalin to decide how best to handle it.”

  “Yeah. But I think Patrice and Mathilde between them could make the trip back to get them, so that shouldn’t be the issue.”

  “Indeed. You should sleep for another two or three hours. I will drop Shalin off and return—”

  “No!” Beckie rolled out of the bed and ran toward the bath. “Give me five, six minutes. I can go with. If I need to sleep, I’ll do it in the car.” She knew the closing door cut her words off.

  In four minutes, she threw open the door and ran to her bag. The towel went in the direction of the chair as she snatched underwear and garments, then raced to dress.

  Three minutes later, Ian said, “An entrancing several minutes. I expected you would need another two minutes, but…” He opened the door and with a hand on her back, bade her lead.

  On the terrace, the buffet was in full swing and with her glance, Beckie pleaded with Ian for coffee. He nodded and while she went there, he continued to the table where Shalin and Elena waited.

  “… hope you have not waited long,” Ian was saying as Beckie approached. She tipped her head to acknowledge the women, then sipped from her cup.

  “
We’re fine,” Shalin said. “After I speak with Kevin’s mum and dad, I will likely ask about how we could arrange for the twins to be here.”

  “Certainly. Rebecca suggests that Patrice and Mathilde should be able to make the return flight, then with some time off, bring them here. However, are you certain that… that the interment should be here?”

  “No, but I suspect the deVeel’s will press for that. We can place a marker at the Nest, as we did for Abby, so the kids will have something tangible to focus on. But, we’ll see. There’s no need to launch Patrice just yet.”

  She’s way too calm about this. I could never even think if I lost Ian, let alone be rational. I’ll ask Elena to see if she’s really okay. Or Millie; she should be arriving soon.

  “That seems a good plan. Now, if you are ready, we should leave. You have visited the deVeel’s, I believe?”

  “Yes, before the twins. And they visited the Nest just a year ago.”

  Beckie rode with Ian, along with Shalin and Elena. Since Beckie chose not to sleep in, Sam thought they all should follow Ian; he quickly arranged another rental and trailed Ian’s car. “We’ll get whatever we need later today,” he said, waving away Ian’s half-hearted protest.

  Ian drove; he gave no travelogue. The hotel about split the thirty-five kilometers between the airport north of Durban and the city, and Beckie recalled that his parents’ home was another hundred or so kilometers west of the city. Since the deVeels were staying with Ian’s parents while the police and repair work was completed, that was their destination. The hundred and twenty-five kilometers passed quickly enough, and the green of the countryside was repeated on the farm where Ian had grown up. Trees still outlined the fields, which remained fallow.

  Beckie followed close on Ian’s heels once they arrived. Hardly surprising that the atmosphere’s kinda tense. Not only is everyone dealing with the emotions from Kevin’s death, but we’ve brought people no one here knows—a bunch of them—and none of us knew Kevin’s sister Tamryn and her girls, Mikeala and Courtney, before Kevin’s parents introduced them.