On re-entering the office, Saeed barked at Tariq in Pashto, “What took so long?” Then, without waiting for an answer, he continued, “Stay here with these women while I go back and talk to the others. Talib called and is very upset. He wants me to make sure they stay here.”
“You better hurry then,” replied Tariq. “I think Dhanial is almost ready to leave. They were just finishing up when I asked them to get out of sight.”
Saeed cursed and rushed back into the warehouse without paying any attention to Amanda or Tracy. Amanda walked over to the chair behind the desk and sat down, taking advantage of how Tracy was now again keeping Tariq occupied. When she glanced at the monitor, she could see several surveillance views of both the exterior as well as a couple views showing inside the warehouse. In his haste to go talk to the men back there, Saeed had been too distracted to hide these views.
Tracy worked her way over to one of the two chairs in front of the desk, pulling Tariq along with her and getting him to sit down in the other chair which Tracy dragged up close to hers. Amanda looked away from the monitor whenever Tariq glanced in her direction but then returned to study it closely whenever he focused back on Tracy. One of the views showed Saeed was currently in heated conversation with another man, whom she assumed was Dhanial. With her enhanced hearing, she could hear them arguing back there but since she didn’t understand Pashto, she could only guess Dhanial and the other three wanted to leave in the van.
Sure enough, the bay door in front of the van began to open and, moments later, the van headed out leaving Saeed standing there all alone. Amanda then watched the exterior views which showed the van leaving the warehouse and driving away.
Since she knew Saeed would be returning to the office, she quietly got up from the chair and strolled leisurely over to the area on the other side of the counter. She then looked out the window and, after a quick glance back at Tariq, asked in German, “How much longer before our tow truck gets here?”
Tracy had noted Amanda getting up and so she also stood up and followed after her. Tariq followed Tracy, of course, but answered Amanda by saying, “Maybe Saeed will know. He will be back soon.”
Moments later, Saeed did return. He was very upset and, on being questioned about the tow truck, had nothing to say. Instead, he went over to the desk, picked up the telephone and called Talib. His day had now gone from complicated to totally screwed up.
Chapter Eleven
Mar 19, 2020
When the van with Dhanial and the others drove away from the warehouse, Jesse told Lieutenant Saunders to have one of his vehicles follow it, being careful to not be noticed. The lieutenant quickly made the call and the van was put under surveillance. Meanwhile, Jesse called Linda.
“We just spotted a van leaving from inside the warehouse. It’s headed west, away from Leipzig. Lieutenant Saunders has some of his men following behind and they will keep us updated on where it goes.”
“Any sign of the girls?” asked Linda.
“Not yet.”
“I got a text from Tracy a few minutes ago. She said there were six men in there. Two were helping them and called Talib to arrange for a tow truck but the other four kept out of sight.”
“I’m guessing Amanda was able to scent them,” said Jesse. “Were they in that van?”
“Well, Amanda was able to scent they were hiding in one of the back rooms when she and Tracy went to use the restroom. But, Tracy said she heard Dhanial being mentioned as one of them. He’s the guy Talib was worried about and sent Ravi to check on.”
“Well, you told us how Ravi was now headed this way with five other guys.” Jesse paused to consider things. Then he said, “Talib must have sent them here to stop Dhanial. I’ll bet he’s now in that van and headed somewhere to cause trouble.”
“Assuming you’re correct, Talib won’t be happy. I’m starting to worry about the girls being caught in the middle of this. They might not be allowed to leave, even if their tow truck gets there before Ravi and the others arrive. How many armed men does Lieutenant Saunders have out there right now?”
“Well, in addition to him and the driver in this car, there’s one other vehicle still here with four of his guys,” answered Jesse. “Including me, that’s seven. I’m sure we have plenty of firepower, if needed.”
“Okay. Good to know. I’ve been keeping Colonel Schermerhorn in the loop. I know he’s been in contact with someone in Germany’s anti-terrorist group. Once we can confirm Talib and his men are holding any explosives, we can get the German authorities to move in. However, it might be necessary for you to act beforehand.”
“Right. Understood. We’re ready and can do that. It all depends on what Tracy and Amanda are finding out at this point.”
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When Saeed explained how Dhanial had left, headed for their target in Frankfurt with some bombing devices, Talib got really upset. Their conversation got very heated with Saeed on the defensive, claiming he’d not been able to stop anything, especially in front of the two women.
“What two women?” yelled Talib. “Wait … you mean the ones I called that tow truck for?” In his excitement, he’d almost forgotten about them. Suddenly, he got suspicious. “Are they still there?” He realized there had not been enough time yet for the tow truck to have arrived. “What do these women look like? Describe them to me.”
Although Tracy and Amanda were with Tariq on the opposite side of the counter and a good distance from where Saeed was sitting, when Saeed’s voice had risen that allowed Tracy to hear him describing her and Amanda. She left Tariq and moved closer toward Saeed, realizing the situation might suddenly be getting out of control. She grabbed her phone but kept it hidden.
Sure enough, after hanging up the phone, Saeed reached into one of the desk drawers and pulled out a handgun which he aimed at her. Then he yelled at Tariq to grab Amanda.
Recognizing it was time to call for help, Tracy dropped to the floor where Saeed couldn’t see her and pulled out her phone. Amanda kept Tariq busy while Tracy quickly sent a text to John, signaling it was time for the Army guys to come to their rescue. Then she put her phone away, raised her hands, slowly stood up and faced Saeed. In Pashto, she asked, “What about our tow truck? Why are you holding a gun?”
Saeed was surprised at her speaking in Pashto but quickly answered, “Talib has cancelled your tow truck. He has instructed me to hold you both until he can get here. Come and sit down in one of these chairs.” He waved his other hand at the two chairs in front of his desk.
Tracy glanced at Amanda and saw Tariq was now holding her arms and pushing her around the end of the counter, intent on forcing her towards a chair. With Saeed threatening them with his gun, she thought it best to play along until the reinforcements showed up. She followed behind Amanda but told her in English, “Let me know when I should make a distraction.” She knew Amanda would sense when the guys were outside and ready to burst in.
