Isaksen had insisted on paying for the ticket. “She saved my life. Let me do something.”
“Thanks, man.”
Isaksen had stitched together a string of one-way flights to get Malik here—Denver to D.C., D.C. to London, London to Cairo, Cairo to Lagos. Lagos to Abuja. Ten hours of layovers and twenty hours in the air. It wasn’t as nice as traveling in Cobra’s private jet. That much was for damned sure.
Malik had used the time to study the intel packet Shields had put together for him.
She’d caught him in the hallway on his way out, handed him a manila envelope. “This is everything I could work up on short notice. I hope it helps. I activated one of Cobra’s assets on the ground there. You remember David Ayodele Olatunji?”
“Of course.” Cobra had worked with him on all of their Nigerian ops. “Cool guy.”
“He’ll meet you at the airport in Abuja. He’ll have weapons for you and transportation. He’ll also take care of all the paperwork—credentials, firearms permits.”
Malik had been touched and surprised. “Thanks, Elizabeth.”
“Take these GPS tags. If you tuck one in your clothing, we’ll be able to track you if you go missing.”
Malik had taken the small plastic case from her. “Are you going to get yourself in trouble by giving me these?”
“Let me worry about that. I want you to come home alive with Kristi. You know how to reach me. Call or email if you need anything. I’ll send you any new intel that comes my way and assist however I can in my downtime.” Then she had hugged him. “Good luck, Malik. Be careful.”
But Tower had been another story.
Malik had gone to his office to turn in his resignation.
Tower had unleashed on him. “Do you have any idea how risky this is? You’re a kickass operator, a true warrior, but you could end up dead on this one. You won’t have backup or air support or even an eye in the sky. There will be no one to watch your six, no one to pull your ass out of the fire, no medic standing by.”
“I know.”
“Damn it, Jones! Just wait! Wait until we get back from Burkina Faso. I’ll do everything I can to get Cobra into this fight, but I need more time.”
“Kristi might not have time. What if the State Department still isn’t interested then? I’m sorry, sir. Working for Cobra has meant more to me than you know, but I can’t abandon her.”
For a moment, Tower had said nothing, the tension thick between them.
Then he’d picked up Malik’s letter of resignation. “I’m not accepting this—not now. If you cause an international incident or get arrested, I might have no choice.”
“Understood.”
“Make sure your vaccines are up to date. Come back in one piece, and we’ll talk about your future with this company.”
It was more than Malik had expected.
But the real surprise awaited him when he’d climbed into his car.
In the backseat, he’d found a small, state-of-the-art infrared mini-drone, still in its box. It had probably cost the company tens of thousands of dollars. It would give him eyes in the sky, help him to see through the canopy of Nigeria’s forests to know what lay in his path.
The drone was now packed into the biggest suitcase Malik owned and padded with bubble wrap. He’d also brought ten grand in cash in his carry-on and a second bag with his own gear—boots, clothes, a K-Bar knife and ankle rig, body armor, helmet, night vision goggles, a trauma kit, and enough MREs to feed two people for a week. He just hoped Nigerian Customs didn’t search his bags.
All that money and military gear would lead to awkward questions like, “What the fuck are you planning to do while you’re here?”
The flight attendants went through their pre-landing routine, Malik watching out the window as the glittering lights of Abuja, Nigeria’s capital, came into view. Built in the 1980s to replace Lagos as the capital, it was a beautiful, modern city surrounded by a rural landscape. Kristi was out there somewhere in the darkness far to the north.
And Malik would find her.
* * *
Kristi changedthe gauze in Jidda’s wound again, hooked up the last bag of IV antibiotics, and gave him another dose of oral pain meds. Around them, several men were bedding down for the night, including Peter.