Stormy Weather
by matahari2
Summary / Disclaimers, etc.: See Chapter 1
Chapter Five – Darkness and Light
Paktia province – Afghanisan
Jamie was having the strangest feeling. . .not quite awake, he wondered why he couldn't stretch his arms, and how his pillow had slipped out from under him. These hotel beds could be so hard. He'd put in for an assignment in London or Paris next time, he promised himself, as he struggled to roll over onto his side.
Thin shafts of sunlight began to pierce through to his consciousness. He blinked several times and shuddered, suddenly remembering what had happened. . .yesterday? Or had it happened the day before? He wasn't sure. . .he'd lost track of what day it was. He seemed to remember that he'd hitched a ride with a guy who'd been friendly with some of the soldiers he'd met. . .Seehra, his name was, right? Yeah, that was it. Anyway, they'd just left the little roadside stand where they'd picked up a couple of bottles of water, and two or three miles down the road, a sniper had shot holes in one of their tires. The last thing Jamie remembered was the crash of shattering glass as a rifle butt broke through the car window. . .then everything had gone black.
Jamie rolled onto his back, pulled up his knees and pushed his feet against the hard stone floor to move himself into a sitting position, his back leaning against a cold, flat wall. He cast his gaze around the dimly-lit, square, near-empty room, finally settling on a young man dressed in traditional Afghan garb, sitting on the opposite side of the small space. He saw that the young man's hands were tightly bound, much like his own, with some kind of heavy-duty wrapping tape.
Seehra's eyes were closed, but he didn't appear to be sound asleep, so Jamie took the chance to call out to him, whispering, "Psst! Seehra! What is this place?"
"What?" he replied aloud, opening his eyes and squinting in Jamie's direction. "Oh. . .you mean, our 'accomodations'?" he said in a hushed voice, glancing around the room and rolling his eyes. "Well, I think it's some kind of fort. It might've been abandoned, though. There didn't seem to be anyone around when we got here. . .just the five men who grabbed us."
Jamie nodded and made a futile attempt at pulling his hands apart as he asked, "How long you figure we've been here?"
Bob appeared to do a mental calculation before answering. "I'd say by the number of sunrises I've seen so far, it must be about two and a half days. I guess they must've hit you pretty hard. . .this is the first time I've seen you awake. You feel all right?"
"I've been better," Jamie admitted with a rueful smile.
**********
Stetson Residence, Middleburg, VA
No less than three times, Amanda had awakened to Jenny's screams. Each time, she'd done her best to calm her, cradling her daughter's shaking body in loving arms, rocking her and gently stroking her hair, whispering assurances that everything would be all right. In her heart, she believed it would be, somehow, but that didn't stop her from worrying. The last time her troubled eyes had stared at the red numbers on the alarm clock, it was 3:30 a.m. It had to be much later now. As she turned over in bed, she became aware of the pinkish glow of sunrise filling the room. She wasn't terribly surprised when she opened her eyes to find an empty place where her husband should have been. 'Bless his heart, ' she thought, sliding her fingers across the cool surface of his pillow. 'I bet he's been up and down all night, trying to find out about Jamie.' As she pulled on her robe and started down the stairs, she offered up a silent prayer that their son would be found soon and their family would be whole again.
Reaching the bottom stair, Amanda caught sight of a decidedly uncomfortable- looking Lee, reclining on the family room sofa, his legs extending at least six inches beyond its length. A frown creased his brow and his lips were pressed into a tight line. As quietly as she could manage, Amanda pushed his shoes aside and seated herself in front of him on the edge of the coffee table, touching his shoulder softly and whispering, "Lee. . ."
He moaned in pain before blinking his eyes open and turning his face toward her. "Morning," he croaked.
"Long night, huh?" she asked, her fingers lightly brushing back wisps of hair that had fallen onto his forehead.
"Yeah. . .I guess you could say that," he admitted, reaching out to take her hand in his and rubbing his thumb across her fingers. "Yours wasn't much better, was it? Seems like I heard you up with Jenny a couple of times. She's takin' it pretty hard, isn't she?"
"Well, yes, but. . ." Amanda started, as she watched Lee struggle to sit up on the sofa and rub his free hand across his forehead. "She has been through an awful lot lately."
"That she has," he agreed, dropping his hand self-consciously and pushing himself up off of the sofa. "It's kinda hard to understand, though. When she was. . ." he hesitated, raking his fingers through his hair and beginning to pad across the room, coming to a stop beside an overstuffed rocking chair. He turned back, looking into her eyes as he continued, "well. . .last month. . .she handled herself so well."
"Right," she answered, rising from the coffee table and starting to walk into the kitchen. "But then again, she was busy trying to figure out how to get away, or how to get word to us. I suppose she just feels helpless this time."
"Yeah. . .I know the feeling," he muttered as he followed her, reaching into the refrigerator for a bottle of water.
Amanda saw him get out the bottle of pain reliever from the cabinet, too, but she didn't say anything about it. 'Not now', he'd said. Instead, she busied herself putting the coffee together and asked him, "Any news from the Agency?"
He swallowed the pills and a sip of water and leaned back against the counter, replying, "I'm afraid not, Amanda, not the kind we want anyway. So far it seems like we're taking one step forward and then two steps back."
"Haven't they found anything at all?" she asked in desperation, as she set out bowls of cereal and a couple of bananas on the kitchen table.
"There was one thing," he began. "Bob Seehra had a tracking device in his car. . .but when our people found the car, it had been torched, and he and Jamie were nowhere near there."
A sad frown passed over her face as she asked again, "There's nothing else?"
"No," he answered, shaking his head slightly. After pouring coffee into his mug, he gazed out through the kitchen window, and appeared to be reconsidering his answer. "Well, at least we're fairly sure they haven't crossed the border, and they're still in Paktia province."
Stirring the sugar into her coffee and staring into the steaming liquid, she said, "That's the good news, isn't it?" She picked up her mug and took a sip, brushing her other hand across the island's countertop, dusting off imaginary crumbs and avoiding his eyes.
"Yeah. . ." he admitted in a quiet voice, placing his mug on the counter. "And I know. . .that's not much. It's all rough terrain, with all the mountains and thick forests." At her sad, distracted expression, he came around to stand beside her, slipping an arm around her shoulders, rubbing her arm and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. He touched her cheek with gentle fingers, turning her face toward him, forcing her to meet his determined gaze. "But Amanda, we'll find him. . .you have to believe that."
She nodded silently, and said in a barely audible voice, "I know, I know."
TO BE CONTINUED
by matahari2
Summary / Disclaimers, etc.: See Chapter 1
Chapter Five – Darkness and Light
Paktia province – Afghanisan
Jamie was having the strangest feeling. . .not quite awake, he wondered why he couldn't stretch his arms, and how his pillow had slipped out from under him. These hotel beds could be so hard. He'd put in for an assignment in London or Paris next time, he promised himself, as he struggled to roll over onto his side.
Thin shafts of sunlight began to pierce through to his consciousness. He blinked several times and shuddered, suddenly remembering what had happened. . .yesterday? Or had it happened the day before? He wasn't sure. . .he'd lost track of what day it was. He seemed to remember that he'd hitched a ride with a guy who'd been friendly with some of the soldiers he'd met. . .Seehra, his name was, right? Yeah, that was it. Anyway, they'd just left the little roadside stand where they'd picked up a couple of bottles of water, and two or three miles down the road, a sniper had shot holes in one of their tires. The last thing Jamie remembered was the crash of shattering glass as a rifle butt broke through the car window. . .then everything had gone black.
Jamie rolled onto his back, pulled up his knees and pushed his feet against the hard stone floor to move himself into a sitting position, his back leaning against a cold, flat wall. He cast his gaze around the dimly-lit, square, near-empty room, finally settling on a young man dressed in traditional Afghan garb, sitting on the opposite side of the small space. He saw that the young man's hands were tightly bound, much like his own, with some kind of heavy-duty wrapping tape.
Seehra's eyes were closed, but he didn't appear to be sound asleep, so Jamie took the chance to call out to him, whispering, "Psst! Seehra! What is this place?"
"What?" he replied aloud, opening his eyes and squinting in Jamie's direction. "Oh. . .you mean, our 'accomodations'?" he said in a hushed voice, glancing around the room and rolling his eyes. "Well, I think it's some kind of fort. It might've been abandoned, though. There didn't seem to be anyone around when we got here. . .just the five men who grabbed us."
Jamie nodded and made a futile attempt at pulling his hands apart as he asked, "How long you figure we've been here?"
Bob appeared to do a mental calculation before answering. "I'd say by the number of sunrises I've seen so far, it must be about two and a half days. I guess they must've hit you pretty hard. . .this is the first time I've seen you awake. You feel all right?"
"I've been better," Jamie admitted with a rueful smile.
**********
Stetson Residence, Middleburg, VA
No less than three times, Amanda had awakened to Jenny's screams. Each time, she'd done her best to calm her, cradling her daughter's shaking body in loving arms, rocking her and gently stroking her hair, whispering assurances that everything would be all right. In her heart, she believed it would be, somehow, but that didn't stop her from worrying. The last time her troubled eyes had stared at the red numbers on the alarm clock, it was 3:30 a.m. It had to be much later now. As she turned over in bed, she became aware of the pinkish glow of sunrise filling the room. She wasn't terribly surprised when she opened her eyes to find an empty place where her husband should have been. 'Bless his heart, ' she thought, sliding her fingers across the cool surface of his pillow. 'I bet he's been up and down all night, trying to find out about Jamie.' As she pulled on her robe and started down the stairs, she offered up a silent prayer that their son would be found soon and their family would be whole again.
Reaching the bottom stair, Amanda caught sight of a decidedly uncomfortable- looking Lee, reclining on the family room sofa, his legs extending at least six inches beyond its length. A frown creased his brow and his lips were pressed into a tight line. As quietly as she could manage, Amanda pushed his shoes aside and seated herself in front of him on the edge of the coffee table, touching his shoulder softly and whispering, "Lee. . ."
He moaned in pain before blinking his eyes open and turning his face toward her. "Morning," he croaked.
"Long night, huh?" she asked, her fingers lightly brushing back wisps of hair that had fallen onto his forehead.
"Yeah. . .I guess you could say that," he admitted, reaching out to take her hand in his and rubbing his thumb across her fingers. "Yours wasn't much better, was it? Seems like I heard you up with Jenny a couple of times. She's takin' it pretty hard, isn't she?"
"Well, yes, but. . ." Amanda started, as she watched Lee struggle to sit up on the sofa and rub his free hand across his forehead. "She has been through an awful lot lately."
"That she has," he agreed, dropping his hand self-consciously and pushing himself up off of the sofa. "It's kinda hard to understand, though. When she was. . ." he hesitated, raking his fingers through his hair and beginning to pad across the room, coming to a stop beside an overstuffed rocking chair. He turned back, looking into her eyes as he continued, "well. . .last month. . .she handled herself so well."
"Right," she answered, rising from the coffee table and starting to walk into the kitchen. "But then again, she was busy trying to figure out how to get away, or how to get word to us. I suppose she just feels helpless this time."
"Yeah. . .I know the feeling," he muttered as he followed her, reaching into the refrigerator for a bottle of water.
Amanda saw him get out the bottle of pain reliever from the cabinet, too, but she didn't say anything about it. 'Not now', he'd said. Instead, she busied herself putting the coffee together and asked him, "Any news from the Agency?"
He swallowed the pills and a sip of water and leaned back against the counter, replying, "I'm afraid not, Amanda, not the kind we want anyway. So far it seems like we're taking one step forward and then two steps back."
"Haven't they found anything at all?" she asked in desperation, as she set out bowls of cereal and a couple of bananas on the kitchen table.
"There was one thing," he began. "Bob Seehra had a tracking device in his car. . .but when our people found the car, it had been torched, and he and Jamie were nowhere near there."
A sad frown passed over her face as she asked again, "There's nothing else?"
"No," he answered, shaking his head slightly. After pouring coffee into his mug, he gazed out through the kitchen window, and appeared to be reconsidering his answer. "Well, at least we're fairly sure they haven't crossed the border, and they're still in Paktia province."
Stirring the sugar into her coffee and staring into the steaming liquid, she said, "That's the good news, isn't it?" She picked up her mug and took a sip, brushing her other hand across the island's countertop, dusting off imaginary crumbs and avoiding his eyes.
"Yeah. . ." he admitted in a quiet voice, placing his mug on the counter. "And I know. . .that's not much. It's all rough terrain, with all the mountains and thick forests." At her sad, distracted expression, he came around to stand beside her, slipping an arm around her shoulders, rubbing her arm and pressing a soft kiss to her forehead. He touched her cheek with gentle fingers, turning her face toward him, forcing her to meet his determined gaze. "But Amanda, we'll find him. . .you have to believe that."
She nodded silently, and said in a barely audible voice, "I know, I know."
TO BE CONTINUED