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“Okay,” she said, looking away from him. She stared out the window, barely noticing the chaos of Kabul as she thought about her upcoming conversation with Mel.
The Humvee rumbled to a stop in front of a row of circular metal barriers in front of a gate. Two Marines stepped to either side of the vehicle. Cody and Dev both rolled down their windows, and the Marines nodded at them. They clearly knew and recognized them. But they waited for Dev and Cody to show ID cards.
The Marines leaned into the vehicle, and apparently Dev or Cody said something about her and Jase in the box truck behind them. Both of the Marines narrowed their gaze at the truck, and Laila stared back.
“Don’t we have to tell them about the families in the back of the truck?”
“Let’s get inside the gates first.” She saw him glance in the rear-view mirror. “Once we’re safe, we can sort everything out.”
Finally the Marine gave a signal to whoever was in the fortified building on the other side of the gate. The thick metal barriers sank into the concrete. When they’d disappeared completely, the gates slowly swung open and the Humvee rolled through. The Marines waved their box truck through, and as soon as it cleared the barriers, the metal pillars rose from the concrete again. By the time the gate closed behind the truck, the barriers were back in place.
Jase’s SAT phone rang, and he put it on speaker. “You heading over to the processing center and the barracks with your people?” Cody asked.
“Yeah. First stop.”
“We’ll see you inside. We’ll report to Mel. Give her the details about your passengers.” Laila heard the smile in Cody’s voice. “Give her a chance to calm down before she talks to you.”
“Thanks, buddy,” Jase said. “I owe you.”
“Damn straight you do,” Cody retorted immediately.
After Jase hung up, he glanced at her. “Welcome back to the embassy. You’re safe, and so are the girls and their families.”
“Now we have to get them out of Afghanistan,” she said.
“I have an idea about that. I’ll work on it while you get everyone settled.”
“What’s your idea?” she asked.
He shook his head. “Let me figure out some things before we talk about it.”
The Humvee in front of them peeled off to the right. Jase steered the truck toward the left. “The processing center is behind that fence. So are the barracks. I’ll drop everyone off, deal with the truck and take care of some business, then come back for you. All right?”
“That’s fine. I want to stay with the families until they get settled.”
Jase nodded. “When you’re done, I’ll be waiting for you. I’ll take you to Mel’s office.”
“And after that?” she asked softly.
He turned to look at her, his eyes heavy-lidded. “That’s up to you, Laila.”
