The madam ignored it. Kept fighting.
As you wish…
Range had her pinned and reared back with his Glock.
“Okay,” she breathed. Chest rising and falling raggedly, she went still, hair askew, eyes wide. “Okay.”
Surprised she had surrendered, he frowned down at the woman.
Her lip was split at the corner. Cheeks flushed from the sparring. A knot rose on her temple.
Pike and Landry moved in, grabbing her hands. Flipping her over.
Range shifted back onto his haunches as the men secured her. Put a sack over her head. Propped against the wall, he wiped his nose on his sleeve, ticked. Found his feet as they dragged her onto hers. Funny, he’d expected a harder fight. Not surrender as easily. Or at all.
Between the two special operators, the madam seemed unusually small.
Range started for the rear door again. Glanced at Landry and Archer. They had a handful of females on their knees under a tree. He angled to the side, catching an exchange of glances between Osuli and two women hugging each other.
“OTG,” Eclipse said, “you have two vehicles inbound with at least twenty fighters. Recommend immediate exfil.”
“Good copy,” Pike replied, shaking his head. “Base, we are exfil-ing now and heavy six packages.”
CHAPTERTHREE
CIA Safehouse, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan
“Something eating you?”
Arms folded as he propped against the wall outside the interview room, Range trained his focus on the woman sitting on the other side of the one-way glass. “She gave up too easy.”
Pike joined him. “Who cares as long as we have her, and now a couple dozen women and children freed of her.”
Though Range nodded, it still didn’t add up.
“What?”
“Something’s not right.” He peeled off the wall and faced the onetime master chief. “You’ve seen it—these women are terrified to flee. Yet we infiltrated a heavily fortified compound and find them … what? Escaping.” He shook his head. “Doesn’t add up.”
Pike studied him for a long second.
“I’m not overthinking it.”
“It’s what you do best.” Laughing, he slapped Range’s shoulder. “Relax. We got them—her. She’s there and she’s not going anywhere.”
Hijab back in place, Jazani kept her gaze down, her mouth closed as she sat alone in the interview room.
“We’ve got people working to get the girls to safe havens until they can be reunited with their families,” Pike said. “Meantime, we’ll get the madam talking once we let her sweat it out a while. Find out who’s who. Make some connections to the supply chain.”
Ranged wanted to reach through the glass and strangle her. “Then burn her at the stake.”
Pike snickered. “Clearly, the people who said you were the nice Metcalfe were wrong.”
“Being nice doesn’t get results.” Pushing off the wall, Range slid his hands onto his tac belt. “How much longer? I could go in there—”
“Relax, Landry’s bringing an interpreter.”
Range frowned, knowing they wouldn’t bring in just anyone. “Why aren’t you using analysts?” And he’d thought he’d read something about the madam being bilingual or multilingual.
