FIVE
Jade
Once we arrived back at the base I went directly to my sleeping quarters. They had given me an entire double-room dwelling because they did not want me bunking with the men.
I sat at a plain wooden desk in the room and stared at the blank page on the laptop screen for a few minutes. Memories of the villagers running through my head.
What had Aamir meant about showing Cooper samples? Were the rumors about soldiers running a drug smuggling operation true? They had to be, but I needed proof.
As I waited for inspiration to strike, I heard two men laughing as they walked outside. It reminded me of the seriousness of my situation. I banged out a few words.
The questions on the page laughed at my ignorance, but I wasn’t ready to give up on solving the mystery. With only two weeks, I needed to make progress.
I sighed, unable to work, and dug my expensive satellite phone out of my messenger bag. The debate over whether to call my dad or my best friend Laura lasted about two seconds.
“Hello?” Laura answered.
I smiled, loving the sound of her voice.
“Hey, you. It’s not too late, is it?”
“It’s early,” she said then yawned.
“I’m sorry.”
“Yeah, it’s like eight-thirty in the morning or some crazy shit.”
“That’s not early,” I said. “You need to get up and talk. Grab a coffee.”
“Nag, nag, nag. Even from halfway around the world, you’re nagging me.”
“You love it,” I said.
She sighed.
“I do. Hold on.”
“I don’t have much time on this phone,” I said.
“I’m back. What did you say?”
“Just that I don’t have much time on this phone over here. Afghanistan is crazy.”
“You doing okay?”
“Not really,” I admitted.
“So, traveling to some godforsaken country halfway around the world wasn’t a smart idea after all, huh? I think I remember telling you that.”
“It’s not bad,” I said. “Just strange and different. Oh!” I sat up in my chair. “You’ll never guess what happened. I almost got kidnapped by the Taliban!”
“Get out of here. You’re not funny.”
“I’m serious. When I went into the city on my own without a military escort to do some intel, they saw me and grabbed me.”
“How did you get away?”
The sound of water hitting water hit my ears.
“You are not going to the bathroom while talking to me, are you?”
“I’m sorry. Your phone is dying, and I couldn’t wait. I’m done now.”
“You’re something else,” I said, rolling my eyes just as I would if she were right in front of me.
“Tell me what happened, crazy woman.”
“Well, this guy rescued me. I don’t remember any of it. They knocked me out.”
“Is the guy cute?”
“Is that all you ever think about?”
“Does anything else matter?”
“I think so. Why else would I have traveled to some godforsaken country halfway around the world?”
“He’s a dog. Okay, I get it.”
“No, he’s not. I think he’s hot. He’s got the buff body of a soldier.”
“My, oh my, look at Jade’s new interests in Afghanistan.”
“Shut up,” I shot back.
She sighed again.
“I miss you so much. When are you coming back?”
“In two weeks,” I said. “And I miss you too.”
“Are you there…” Crackle. “…Jade?”
“Hello?” I said into the static.
I lowered the phone and thought about trying to call her back. Instead, I set the phone down and typed up a description of Cooper to maybe use later for my story.
If he was involved in something bad, he would make it into my final story. I reasoned with myself as I wrote my observations of him, mostly bad traits. Some good slipped in.
Before I finished the writing session, someone knocked on the door. Who could that be? I closed the laptop and stood up, ready for anything Afghanistan threw at me.
“Hold on.”
I turned the doorknob and saw Cooper standing outside. His bulging muscles were about ready to rip his olive-green tee-shirt. He grinned that cocksure grin of his.
“Hey, Cooper. What’s up.”
“The CO wants to see you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know why?”
He glanced to the left then right then said, “Do you have a sat-phone with you?”
“No. It’s against the rules.”
“We intercepted the signal going out. You’re dealing with the U.S. Army, not a bunch of idiots.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I insisted.
“Can I give you a tip?”
“Sure.”
“Tell the truth, okay? If you do, he won’t restrict you in your quarters.”
“He can’t do that to me,” I said. “I’m a private U.S. citizen.”
“Look, Jade. I’m just trying to help you out. He has a lot of power out here.”
“Yeah? What kind of power? Anything going on I should know about? Like those samples?”
His eyes widened almost imperceptibly, but I saw the surprise on his face.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Let’s go.”
“Yeah, just like I have no idea what you’re talking about with the sat-phone you said you saw me using. Right?”
“Come on,” he said, turning. “I have to bring you to him.”
I took a deep breath then walked outside into the cool evening air. With dinner in an hour, he wouldn’t yell at me long. And making Captain Jeffries upset might work to my advantage if he got heated and let something slip.
As I followed Cooper across the central plaza in middle of the base, I planned out answers to the questions he would ask me. No matter the situation, I liked to be prepared. It’s what had gotten me through college and made it possible for me to find freelance assignments around the world.
Cooper slowed down as we approached the Captain Jeffries’ office.
“Just be honest, okay? It’s for the best.”
“Like you being honest with me about the samples, huh?”
He frowned.
“Like I said…”
“Forget it,” I interrupted. “Don’t worry about me. I can handle myself.”
We stopped and turned to face each other. I stared into his blue eyes, betting many women had fallen prey to them over the years.
“Suit yourself,” he said as he pointed to the door. “I’m off to enjoy my downtime.”
“Good for you,” I said, tired of the back and forth with him.
I walked up to the door and opened it without knocking. Tony looked up from his desk with a look of terror on his face. He was a man easy to manipulate.
“The CO wanted to see me?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. “Hold on.”
“I’ll go back.”
He looked at me like a frightened mouse as I walked past his desk and went into Captain Jeffries’ office. By the time he stood to stop me, I’d closed the door of the CO’s office.
“Sit down,” the grizzled commander practically growled.
“Is this about my phone call?” I asked as I walked over. “I know it’s against the rules, but I had to call my father. He’s dying.”
Captain Jeffries leveled his icy stare at me.
“If there’s one thing I hate, it’s liars.”
“I’m telling you the truth.”
“You didn’t call your father.” He glanced down at a paper on his desk. “You called someone named Laura Johnson. Who is she? Your contact? Were you speaking in code?”
I crossed my arms over my chest as I stood in front of his desk.
“You were listening to my call?”
“I said sit down.”
With a sigh like a miffed teenager, I sat down and crossed one leg over the other.
“You’re in a warzone, Ms. Hart. I know modern journalist blogger types like you don’t respect the unspoken agreements between the media and the military, but you’re not going to endanger the lives of me and my men while you’re here. Do you understand me?”
“Yes,” I mumbled.
“I can’t hear you, Ms. Hart.”
I repeated the word louder.
“That’s better. If I could get you the hell out of here tonight, I would do it, but it’s not possible. The Taliban are making a move because of the firefight you caused yesterday.”
“That I caused?”
“Shut-up and listen,” he said. “You would be out of here tonight, but I can’t risk bringing a transport copter in to take you to the Kandahar airport. That said, you’re out of here in a few days or a week at most.”
“No,” I said, moving to the edge of my seat. “That’s not fair. The agreement said two weeks.”
“And you broke the agreement, Ms. Hart.”
The smugness in his voice told me he enjoyed the strict discipline of the military way too much.
“Fine. I’ll just have to finish earlier. You can’t stop me from doing my story.”
“Your story on the villagers here in the province?”
He stared into my eyes. I used my many years of practice to lie.
“Yes, that story. Why else would I be here?”
Don’t push him!
“Get out of here before I change my mind and fly you out of here over the enemy for the fuck of it.”
I stood and saluted, which he hated.
Outside, I saw Cooper standing a few feet away.
“How did it go?” he asked.
“He’s making me leave a week early.”
He stared at me like he wanted to say something.
“Spit it out,” I said. “I’m running out of time.”
“There’s things going on here you don’t know about.”
“Yeah? Tell me more.”
“I can’t right now.”
“Fine. I’ll ask Max and some of the others.”
“You need to stay away from Max.”
“I do?”
He nodded.
“He’s not a good guy.”
“I have to decide that on my own,” I said stepping away.
He put a hand on my shoulder.
“Jade, wait…”
I spun around. He stared into my eyes.
“What is it?” I asked, lips barely moving.
“Just be careful, okay? Afghanistan is a rough country.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said then turned and walked away.
Fucking men always trying to control me.
He was hot, but only hot enough for a possible one-night stand.