He started to ask how Shields knew that, but she stopped him.
“Tower is right behind me,” she whispered.
The conversation over for now, Malik and the others followed Shields into the conference room, where Dylan Cruz, Nick and Holly Andris, and Quinn McManus were already waiting. Cruz had served with DEVGRU—Seal Team Six—and was Malik’s closest buddy in the company. Andris had joined Cobra after a career with Delta Force. Holly, Andris’ drop-dead gorgeous wife, had done secret work for the CIA. Quinn McManus, a redheaded Scot who’d fought with the British Special Air Service, was Shields’ husband.
Cruz gave Malik a fist bump. “I heard, brother. I’m sorry.”
“Thanks.” Malik took a seat.
Tower walked in, followed by Gabriela Marquez Cruz, another defector from the CIA and now Cruz’s wife. “It looks like we’re all here. Let’s get started.”
He sat at the head of the table, while Gabriela, with her big brown eyes and long dark hair, went to sit by her husband. Somehow Cruz had talked her into marrying him after the two had escaped a drug cartel in Venezuela, where Gabriela had been working undercover as a nun.
Yeah, that mission had been a clusterfuck.
Tower punched a button and Javier Corbray’s face appeared on the wall-mounted flat-screen. “Good morning.”
“Morning? It’s almost noon.” Corbray, also a former SEAL, grinned. “This assignment to Burkina Faso is pretty basic.”
Malik willed himself to focus. Cobra would act as security for a delegation of executives from a US mining corporation that was hoping to develop Burkina Faso’s vast manganese deposits. The trip would include two scheduled visits to the proposed mining site. They would spend the remainder of the week in meetings with government ministers in Ouagadougou.
“Shields has a risk assessment prepared for us.” Corbray handed the floor to her.
Shields went over the very real dangers this trip would pose due to the constant threat of terrorism. “The two trips to the mining site will be the most perilous. We have strongly encouraged the mining company to travel via helicopter, and they have agreed. Traveling via armored vehicle comes with too high a risk of ambush and abduction.”
Abduction.
Just like that, Malik’s concentration shattered, his mind ricocheting to Kristi. He fought to rein in his impatience while Shields finished the risk assessment and Nick Andris, who had just been promoted to operations manager, went over the security strategy in detail. But there was only one thing Malik wanted to hear.
What was Cobra doing to free Kristi?
Finally, after more than an hour, they moved on.
Tower’s gaze met Malik’s. “I’m sure by now most of you are aware that Kristi Chang, the RN who cared for Isaksen at Amundsen-Scott when he was shot, has been abducted. Corbray, Shields, and I have been on the phone with the State Department, hoping to get our guns into this fight. At this time, the US officials are working through other channels to secure Ms. Chang’s release.”
“What does that mean?”
“They’re hopeful Ms. Chang will be released without further bloodshed,” Corbray said. “Boko Haram has denied involvement. Witnesses said the men who took Ms. Chang forced her to steal medical supplies. They think she was abducted by bandits for her nursing skills. They expect a ransom demand and want to see how this plays out.”
Malik gritted his teeth to keep from shouting, helpless rage churning inside him. “So, that’s it. We wait.”
Tower nodded. “I’m afraid so. I know that’s not what you and Isaksen wanted. We’ll keep this on our radar. If there’s a chance to get in on a rescue operation, we’ll take it. You have my word on that.”
Malik nodded. “I appreciate that.”
But this meant that Kristi would be a captive for weeks, perhaps months, or even longer. Kristi with her sense of humor, sweet face, dark silky hair, and dangerous curves. He could see her smile, feel her soft skin, hear her voice.
The men who’d abducted her had killed the security guards. Though it would be in their interest to keep her safe, that didn’t mean they wouldn’t starve, torture, or rape her in the meantime. The last time Cobra had been in Nigeria, Malik had heard a radio report about four hostages taken from a seminary. Their ransom had been paid in full. Despite that, three had ended up in ICU, and one had been murdered.
“I request permission to take an immediate leave of absence, sir.”
Tower glared at him. “You think you can go after her alone? Request denied.”
Malik knew what he had to do.
He stood, cutting off whatever Tower had been about to say. “You’ll have my resignation within the hour.”
Ignoring the astonishment on everyone’s faces, he left the conference room.