CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR
Al Ghaydah, Yemen
Today was a strange day, Omar thought to himself as he rode in the passenger seat of a Land Cruiser leaving the city. First, he had received information that one of the local fishermen had seen what looked like Westerners come ashore east of the village. Mohammad had been forthcoming with the information when a little pressure was applied. The fisherman he had seen with them, Amir, was not in town, but a patrol eventually picked him up heading back from the border checkpoint.
He had been more difficult to break, and considerably more pressure needed to be applied. He took the beatings fairly well. So well, in fact, that Omar had begun to doubt the man’s guilt. He continued, just to be thorough, and when the man began losing fingers, his story changed. He had picked up the Americans and taken them north. When Omar asked why, the answer was simple. They had paid him.
Omar believed him, and didn’t disagree with his reasoning. Yemen was a very poor country, particularly out in these parts, and Amir was looking to make a living like everyone else. It was a business transactionand Omar harbored no ill will toward the man for that, despite what had happened to his brother at the hands of the infidels. His questioning of the fisherman was business as well, as was the death of Amir when Omar slit his throat. He needed to be punished for his insubordination to the local Al Qaeda rule, plain and simple, and they hung his body outside his house as a warning to the rest.
The second out-of-the-ordinary thing to happen to him was a phone call. A Russian who spoke Arabic had phoned him. He had been given the number by Omar’s business partners in Oman, who helped provide his group with arms and supplies. The man had offered Omar a business proposition. There were Americans in the area who had come through Al Ghaydah, and he wanted them dead. If Omar had any information as to their whereabouts, he would pay him for it. If Omar killed them, he would pay him for that as well. It was a win-win for Omar.
At first he was suspicious, although the fact that his partners on the other side of the border had made the introductions eased his most dire concerns. They were true believers and would never betray him, which meant that this offer was legitimate and that they trusted it to not backfire on him. It seemed almost too good to be true, but here it was. The Russian wanted to help Omar kill the Americans,andhe wanted to pay him for it.
Naturally Omar had agreed and said that he would provide any information he had and allow him to operate in the area, in exchange for half a million dollars. If Omar killed the Americans, he would want a full million. The man agreed but said he would need to see the bodies.Foolish foreigner, Omar thought. Omar and his men would certainly withhold information to ensure that they killed the Westerners themselves, and then they would provide the bodies, making double the money.
Which is why he didn’t call the Russian back when he received a call that his group had lost contact with a checkpoint up north. He dispatched men to check on the roadblock, as dead phone batteries were not uncommon. However, he had received a call a little while ago confirming that all three fighters at the checkpoint were dead, stripped of their equipment, and laid out in a ditch.It must be the Americans, but where were they going?Omar and the local Al Qaeda forces had very little resources up north.
Then a thought occurred to him. Omar had sent several men north to the village of Al Kharkhir, just across the Saudi border. They were supposed to shake down the locals for money and supplies, which they usually did once or twice a year. It was an easy target, since the Saudi government rarely made it out to the isolated town, instead choosing to stay in their border compounds like they were medieval fortresses. That must be where the Americans were headed, to attack his men.
The cell leader called the group he’d dispatched and ordered them to go north a ways, and hopefully the Americans would give chase. Then they were to head east a ways before turning south. They would intercept the Americans and catch them by surprise. Omar took another dozen men with him from the village and headed toward the area. With any luck, while the Americans were chasing his men, Omar would surprise them in the early morning, capturing them between his forces, and adding another million dollars to their cause.
CHAPTER FORTY-FIVE
Najran Province, Saudi Arabia
Nate and his companions reached their goal and made it across the border into Saudi Arabia as the sun was hanging low in the sky. The border itself was practically nonexistent, with a simple sand-covered road being the only indication they had moved from one country to the next. The road ran east to west and was more likely to be patrolled by Saudi forces than the open desert, so they stuck to off-roading. The two-vehicle convoy traveled another twenty miles into the desert before stopping for the evening.
They had wanted to place a significant distance between themselves and the checkpoint they attacked, but they also hoped the border would discourage any pursuit by the terrorists. Traveling at night in the desert was dangerous, particularly as the terrain began to change. Whereas they had previously traveled through primarily open, flat ground, they had recently crossed into terrain that more closely resembled the classic image of the Arabian Desert. Sand dunes, some hundreds of feet high, dotted the landscape. While it was significantly more picturesque, it was also more treacherous, and one wrong turncould send a vehicle rolling over the edge of a dune or sinking deep into the sands.
It had been considerably more stressful to drive through, and Nate was relieved when they finally stopped and made camp for the night. They set up shop between two large dunes, parking the trucks on the solid terrain in the middle. The high ground on each side allowed them to see in multiple directions, and they put up two individuals for security at all times. It also allowed them to build a fire, the dunes shielding the light that emanated from the flames. In the desert, a simple fire could be seen for miles if unobstructed, and because of this they took extra precautions. Shane built a Dakota fire, which involved the flame being created in a hole in the ground, with a second hole dug that connected to allow air to feed the flame. Nate and Tim took the first watch, then came down when Wally and Shane relieved them.
“Soup’s on,” Shane said. “Rice mixed with dates and questionable chunks of meat that might be goat. Enjoy.”
Nate grabbed a bowl of food and sat on the tailgate of one of the trucks. Ana did the same and came to sit next to him. Tim chose to stand by the truck while he ate his. Nate took a bite of the stew and was surprised by the flavor.
“That’s not half-bad,” he said.
“Yeah,” Tim agreed. “Kind of reminds me of that dish we had at that place in Beirut. The one with the waitress.”
“Hashweh,” Nate said.
“Was that her name?”
“No,” Nate laughed. “The dish. The dish was called hashweh.”
“Right,” Tim said. “My mistake.”
“The waitress’s name was Iman,” he murmured. Ana raised an eyebrow and looked sideways at Nate.
“Oh really?” she asked. “I’d like to hear more about this waitress.”
“Well, it’s not really…” Nate stammered. Tim looked around sheepishly and pointed his finger off in the distance.
“What’s that, Shane?” he asked the empty night. “Yep, be right there.” He turned to the couple sitting on the tailgate. “Gotta run. Enjoy the lovely evening.” With that, he walked off back toward the fire and Ana laughed.
“It’s fine,” Ana said after Tim had left. “I’m only teasing.”
Her relaxed attitude put Nate at ease. She really was the full package, and he found himself liking her more and more, despite their recent argument. It was a misunderstanding, and they had worked through it in a healthy way that was new for him.
