Oath of Loyalty (Mitch Rapp #21)(65)
If Legion saw through this, they were a hell of a lot more observant than he was.
Cyrah Jafari was behind the wheel of her rental car two rows from where Mitch Burhan had parked his recently repaired armored SUV. Following him there without being seen was a trivial matter because she didn’t have to follow him per se. All she had to do was follow the team of Americans that hounded his every step. Why they were so interested was still a mystery. None had the look of operators, making them poor choices to move against or protect him. They appeared to be content to just spectate.
The police had publicly stated that no charges were being brought against Burhan and with predictable misogyny, made the assumption that the Guatemalans had been after him and not Claudia. What could a pretty little Frenchwoman possibly have done to anger a Central American drug lord? Surely she was an irrelevant bystander, someone whose role was limited to stifling her tearful screams while her man protected her.
Which, admittedly, he’d done with disturbing competence. As was always the case with Claudia Gould, she’d chosen wisely. Finding someone both willing and capable of dealing with her past wouldn’t be easy.
Cyrah sank a little deeper in the leather seat and let out a long breath. So many unknowns. In reality, too many. But she could feel the blood pumping through her veins and the intoxicating trickle of adrenaline mixing with it.
One of Burhan’s watchers suddenly scurried from his position at the front of the airport and Cyrah focused on the doors. A moment later the trickle of adrenaline turned into a flood.
It was her.
The return of Burhan, the flurry of activity at the house, and the appearance of a middle-aged woman who seemed to be some kind of servant had been encouraging, but far from conclusive. With Marroqui neutralized, the hope had been that Claudia would feel safe enough to return and take control of the renovations of her home. On the other hand, the fact that Legion had been contracted suggested that Marroqui wasn’t the only person looking to settle an old score with her. Would she be aware of that? Apparently not.
Cyrah followed them with her eyes as they made their way across the parking lot. Claudia looked quite lovely in a dusty red dress, leather boots, and straw hat. Her companion was equally attractive—vaguely Arab-looking with long hair, a neatly trimmed beard, and an athletic gait.
There was a barely perceptible bulge beneath his arm, marking him as armed and left-handed. Claudia stayed to his right so as not to interfere if the weapon should become necessary. He was taking in everything around them, whereas she seemed oblivious to her surroundings. Clearly, Claudia Gould had found a man she believed she could trust.
Sadly, the girl, Anna, was still missing. Caring for a child tended to cause people to drop their guard. Having said that, it was hard to complain. Over the course of the last few days, the situation had gone from unproductive boredom to rather promising. Claudia was within reach and the as-yet-unidentified servant seemed to work and run errands on a predictable schedule.
Cyrah smiled and turned the key in the ignition. Finally, something they could work with.
The gate was more or less functioning again and Rapp pushed a button on his key chain to start it grinding slowly open. Cleaning products were neatly lined up inside the wall, suggesting that Bebe was still hard at it. Sadie had remained in character the entire drive, expressing her relief that the Guatemalans were dealt with, throwing out ideas about the house renovations, and lamenting Anna’s absence.
As they pulled in, Bebe appeared on the front porch, her short gray hair hidden under a bandana and broom in hand. She leaned it carefully against the wall and walked across the recently mowed lawn to greet them.
“It’s so nice to meet you,” Sadie said, smiling warmly and offering a hand. Her already amazing accent seemed to improve every time she opened her mouth. “Thank you so much for coming to help us. I know these aren’t ideal conditions but I’m certain we can get things back on track.”
“It’s nice to meet you, too, Claudia. And don’t worry. I like a challenge.”
Sadie put a hand on her back and began ushering her toward the house. “Why don’t you give me a tour of the damage and tell me a little more about yourself? Mitch has hardly said a word. You know how he can be. Or if you don’t, you will soon.”
He was about to return to the SUV for Sadie’s suitcase, when Bebe glanced back at him and mouthed, “Wow.”
Wow indeed.
CHAPTER 30
NORTH OF CAPE TOWN
SOUTH AFRICA
CYRAH Jafari glanced at the odometer and confirmed that she was now ten kilometers from the nearest paved road. The land around her was largely flat and covered with low, dusty foliage. Roughly two hundred meters to the east, a shallow canyon dropped to a river that provided enough water for tightly packed trees to replace the brush.
The rain against her windshield was light but starting to create a layer of mud on the dirt track. If she stayed out there too long, the nondescript hatchback might have problems getting her back to civilization. A good excuse to keep the conference quick and efficient.
Deeming the location sufficiently remote, she shut down the engine and stepped out into the mist. This time she limited herself to a range of no more than ten meters from her vehicle. What she didn’t need was to replicate the disastrous spectacle of her last staff meeting. While the mutilation of those two men had been immediately blamed on gang violence, involving herself in their deaths had been a careless mistake. And she wasn’t in the business of making mistakes—careless or otherwise.