Chapter Ten
Mar 19, 2020
When Ravi knocked on the door at one of the two apartments being used by Dhanial and the others, there was no answer. This was not good. He quickly went to the other apartment and knocked on its door. When it opened, he rushed inside without waiting and, after a quick look around, immediately demanded to know where everyone was.
Only Saeed and one other man was supposed to be over at the warehouse. The other nine men in the group were supposed to be holed up in these two apartments, laying low. It was obvious Dhanial and three others were not there.
After questioning the five remaining men, he realized Talib had been right to be worried. Dhanial intended to carry out the next phase of their planned attacks. He was picking up some of the bombing devices at the warehouse and would be bringing them to their next target, a club in Frankfort, using one of Talib’s vans. After learning Candace Axtell and her group had checked out of the rooms they’d been staying at and had left Berlin, Dhanial had convinced himself and the three who had gone with him there was no reason to delay any longer.
Ravi immediately called Talib and let him know.
After some heavy cursing, Talib said, “I just talked to Saeed. He didn’t say anything about Dhanial being at the warehouse.”
Ravi said, “Well, Dhanial can be rather intimidating. He claims he’s got friends high up in the organization back in Afghanistan. What were you talking to Saeed about, anyway?”
“He had me send a tow truck out there to pick up a car and the two women who were in it when it broke down. You better get out there right away. Bring the five guys you have there with you. I want everyone together in one place. I’ll call Saeed and insist he stop Dhanial from going anywhere until you get there. I’d go myself but we just got a delivery here at the store which I need to take care of before I can leave.”
“Okay,” agreed Ravi. “I’ll try to keep everyone right at the warehouse until you can get out there later on. I’ll remind them all that you are getting orders directly from Mullah Ahmed Kahtar.”
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Oliver and Gene had parked their car two blocks away from where Ravi had parked. Then they’d made their way back on foot to the apartment building Ravi had entered. They had no difficulty identifying the building and found they could walk inside without any problem; they were in a poor section of town and the lack of security wasn’t a surprise.
Following Ravi’s scent, they made their way up to the two apartments which he’d visited. Gene spent several minutes outside of each one scenting the various persons who had recently been into these units. In addition to Ravi and the three others Gene had noted at the liquor store, he scented there were eleven more men total but no women. He knew one apartment was empty at the moment with Ravi inside the other one with five of these eleven men. Since they’d been briefed by Linda while driving over, he knew about the warehouse outside the city and guessed that was where the missing six guys might be.
Just as they were leaving so they could call Linda with what they’d learned, they heard the apartment door open. They ducked out the door at the end of the corridor and waited. Sure enough, Ravi and the five others all came out and headed towards them. They quickly went up one flight of stairs to keep out of sight. After the others went down and left the building, they followed after them. They waited until Ravi’s car along with one other car started up and drove away. Then they exited the building and walked back to their car.
Oliver called Linda so she could arrange for surveillance at this apartment, in addition to the unit they knew was Talib’s across town. When she asked if they could follow Ravi to see if he was going out to the warehouse, he said, “No problem. I have his energy signature and can follow that to wherever he’s going.”
Linda explained, “If he’s going out to the warehouse, I hope he doesn’t arrive until after Amanda and Tracy have left. They’re out there right now, waiting for a tow truck. Ravi will recognize them if he gets there before they’ve left. I’ll text them and alert everyone else what’s happening while you and Gene are following Ravi.” Then she gave him the address for the warehouse.
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When Amanda and Tracy were finally led out back and shown where the restroom was, they took a good look around the warehouse. It was mostly wide open with a ceiling about thirty feet up. Along one side, they could see there were four loading bays which lined up with the doors they’d noted on the outside. Three bays were empty but the one closest to them had a van parked inside. The warehouse contained many crates and stacks of boxes along with shelves filled with more boxes. They could see there were a few doors along the opposite side of the warehouse which probably were for offices or storage rooms. They assumed that was where the other guys had gone.
Once inside the restroom, Amanda said, “I can scent four men are here besides the two we’ve already met.”
Tracy nodded and said, “Yeah, and one of them must be Dhanial. I heard Saeed mention his name when he told Tariq to have everyone hide from us.”
“Wait, isn’t that the name I heard Talib mention back in the liquor store?” asked Amanda. “I didn’t understand what he was saying but …”
“Talib was saying Dhanial was supposed to be at home. That’s who he asked Ravi to go and check on. I don’t think he’s supposed to be out here today. Let me text Linda with what we’ve noticed so far.” Tracy pulled out her phone and saw she had received a couple of texts with the most recent one being from Linda. “Hey, she just sent both of us a message … let’s see what she’s got to say.”
Amanda pulled out her phone and they both read how Ravi was now headed out in their direction. She said, “Oh, oh! We might need to fix our car and leave before that tow truck gets here. We don’t want to be recognized.”
“Let’s see what else we can learn about this warehouse before we do that. We have some time yet. I’ll see if I can distract Tariq while you sniff around with that wolfy nose of yours.” Tracy unbuttoned the top two buttons on her blouse. While she didn’t have the biggest boobs in the world, she knew the curves she did have would still be of interest to Tariq from the way she’d been ogled when she’d removed her coat.
“Good idea,” agreed Amanda. “I’ll start with that van. Send your text and then let’s go.”
Tracy quickly sent Linda an update and then lead the way back out of the restroom. Sure enough, as she sidled up to Tariq and began talking nonsense in French, she totally had him mesmerized. When she began asking him questions, pointing at some of the boxes stacked nearby while invading his personal space with her closeness, he was definitely affected and paid very little attention to where Amanda was.
Amanda quickly headed over to the van and began registering everything she could scent. She distinctly noted the four individuals she’d not seen yet who had just been in the area. While she could not see inside the van, there was an odor coming from it which she had learned to associate with munitions and explosives. It was quite unique and different from all the various odors in the warehouse from beer, wine and liquor bottles and she began tracking it back away from the van.
Just as she was approaching one of the storeroom doors where the unique odor seemed strongest, the man Tracy had been distracting finally noticed where Amanda was going and began yelling at her. She quickly turned back and headed towards him and Tracy, feigning innocence. She said, “My cousin said she wanted a few moments alone with you …” She let that thought hang there, unfinished, hoping whatever act Tracy had been putting on had been convincing enough.
Tracy grabbed the guy’s arm and hugged it tight, up against one of her breasts, and said something in French which neither she nor the man understood. Tariq did notice her firm breast pressing against his arm, however, as she led him back towards the office. Amanda followed along behind with the guy again paying her very little attention. Yea, Tracy!
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