Page 11 of Her Fearless Warrior

Leila nodded. She sure as hell hoped that Landry didn’t end up killing any civilians.

“What should we do?” Katherine asked.

Leila handed over her secure cell phone. “I need you to monitor this. You know the situation; explain who you are, and mention mine and Elijah’s names. They’ll ask you more identifying questions. Just answer them.”

“Got it.”

“Do your best to memorize whatever they say.”

“I still have my notebook and pen,” Annie said as she held them up. “I’m one of those people who still knows shorthand.” She gave Leila a tentative smile.

“That’s great, Annie. Get as much information as you can.”

Leila turned to the rest of the crew. “Okay, men, let’s take our positions.”

3

All four of them were in a resting pose. They’d been like that for over two hours. Landry, of course, had not shut up. Poor Felix had to listen to his incessant bitching. At least she and Sam Phelps couldn’t make out what he was saying.

“So, you were in the CIA?” Sam asked in the softest whisper.

They’d put a folded piece of paper in the lock plate, so that it was open just the tiniest bit. This would allow them to hear if anyone was coming up the steps. Leila would take any advantage she could get.

“Dad was FBI.” Leila started to answer Sam’s question. “I was studying languages and political science. I had a knack for it. My mom’s parents live in Turkey, so I grew up speaking English, Turkish and Arabic.”

“Arabic?”

“Made friends with my nanny’s son when I was really young over in Turkey each summer to visit my grandparents. He didn’t really speak much Turkish, so I worked to teach him, and he taught me Arabic. It helped that my nanny would speak to me in Arabic when my grandparents weren’t around.”

“What else?”

“Languages?”

Sam nodded.

Leila laughed. “Umm, French, Russian and Portuguese. It’s funny, I can only speak Portuguese if I first translate my English to Russian then to Portuguese because I was in a Russian school where I learned Portuguese.”

She saw the blank look on Sam’s face and grinned. That was normal.

“My best is Turkish, English, Arabic, and Russian. I can speak, read, and write in those languages.”

“You’re shitting me.”

“Nope.”

“I’ve seen those alphabets. That’s impressive.”

“That’s what the CIA thought. That’s why they started trying to recruit me during my sophomore year in college. I refused until I got my degree. Then I went to work for them for two years before I bailed. What about you? What’s your story? How’d you get hooked up with Landry?”

“I worked for his father. Now he was a good man. This idiot, not too much, but I promised Mitch I’d stand by Robert’s side. This is the most fun I’ve had since Mitch died.”

Leila shook her head. “Not sure you have your priorities straight, Sam.”

“You sound like my three ex-wives.”

“Three, huh?” Leila said with a grin. “Think you might want to ponder on the fact that all three said the same thing?”

“Nah, don’t believe in introspection. Gives me indigestion.”