“Al Udeid is about fourteen hundred miles southwest of Aliabad.” Luna scrolled down some more. “The Persian Gulfseparates Qatar from Iran, so moving them over land would be a long and difficult trip.”
She zoomed out the map to show the areas they would have to travel through.
“Yeah, he would have to somehow get on a military transport flight to Al Udeid”—Boone tapped his finger in the approximate area where the air base was located—“travel from there to Saudi Arabia, then go through the Taftan-Mirjaveh crossing to Iran here.” He dragged his finger along the map to show the route.
“Good luck with that.” Hawk was a former Marine recon scout with tons of combat experience.
“Exactly. There are significant security risks, including increased Taliban activity and all kinds of sectarian violence. But let’s assume he does make it through the border crossing and through the Balochistan province.” Boone traced the journey. “Now he has to find a way into Pakistan.”
“I read that Pakistan has indefinitely closed all of its borders with Iran.” Luna had been working on expanding her knowledge of areas the team might end up being deployed to.
“That’s correct. They did it because of the dust-up between Israel and Iran.” Boone added, “And by dust-up, I mean Israeli airstrikes.”
“Sounds like his only viable option is to fly them into the Gilgit Airport.” Cole propped his elbows on the table and threaded his fingers together. “Luna, what airports offer flights into that airport?”
“Let’s see.” She tapped a few keys. “The only ones are Islamabad and Lahore in Pakistan. With Islamabad being the shortestflight time. It says here that American citizens are welcome and both of those areas are generally considered to be safe for visitors. Of the two, Islamabad appears to be the most popular for Americans.”
“I’ll check on the status of the investigation into Udall’s escape.” Cole’s intensity was always amplified when he was in mission mode. Then again, all of these folks were intense when they were talking about, preparing for, or involved in a mission. “Good work, Luna.”
“Thanks. I’ll let you know when I hear back from Emily and if I find any more surveillance videos of Udall.” She finished up and sent the secure email to Emily, grabbed the remote, and clicked a button. The screen went dark, and the lights came up. “Knowing her, she’ll have something by this afternoon or tomorrow.”
“Looks like we’re headed to Pakistan.” Calliope rocked her chair ever so slightly, her excitement building in anticipation of what looked to be their next mission.
Luna’s stomach clenched, and adrenaline pumped through her system, too, but with dread, not anticipation.
Something about the way Boone looked when he talked about Udall concerned her. There was a furious fire in his eyes, something she’d never noticed in him before. Rightfully so, of course, but anger could cloud a person’s judgment.
He’s a trained professional, she reminded herself. One who had been on multiple military deployments as well as several missions as part of the Dark Ops team. The man was highly skilled and knew what he was doing.
Then why did Luna feel like something terrible was going to happen?
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
WatchingLunaatwork,witnessing her skill level in real time, was incredible. She wasn’t just a whiz with computers who had a knack for creating technology specifically tailored to covert operations. She also understood the inherent risks and larger ramifications of the type of dangerous work OSI and Dark Ops performed.
Perhaps that was the reason for her sudden quiet fretfulness as she gathered up her laptop and cables. Her mood had shifted when Calliope mentioned heading to Pakistan.
“You don’t have to wait for me.” She avoided looking at him. “I can manage all of this.”
“I know I don’thaveto wait for you—Iwantto.”
She gave him a quick sideways glance with a tight, forced smile.
“Hey.” Boone tilted his head to see her face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. I’m just—”
He reached over and placed his hands over hers to stop her from fidgeting with the cable.
“Talk to me, Luna.” He curled his fingers around her wrist, leaned his ass against the edge of the table, and drew her over to stand between his legs. “Come on.” He skimmed his fingertipacross her forehead and softly tapped her temple. “Tell me what’s going through this brilliant mind of yours.”
“I’m almost afraid to say it out loud.” She chewed her bottom lip, then threw up her hands. “I’m worried. Okay? There, I said it.”
“What are you worried about?” He’d been on at least five missions with the team since starting at Dark Ops and had never seen her like this before.
“Your past with Udall makes this mission personal—for both of you.” She looked away, back at him, then squeezed his hands. “You put him in prison—he’s not going to let that slide. Which makes this mission even more dangerous for you.”
Boone reached over, grabbed the arm of a chair to roll it closer, and sat down.
