Chapter 6: Lost and Found
Kurz loved Japan. The food. The people. The language. It was a land of adventure for him. After two years, it had come to feel like home. He found himself hoping that Angela would never be transferred so that he could stay here forever. One day, though, the General called for pilots to volunteer to take a team into some little country in central Asia that he had never heard of. His heart sank when Angela signed up. Who knew how long she would be gone.
As the plane took off into the sunset, he wondered at the sense of foreboding he felt.
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"So you're our chauffeur this time?" Jake said crookedly when he spotted her.
"Would you trust anyone else to get you there and back again?" Angela retorted.
"Hell, yeah," he shot back. "But none of them are as easy on the eye."
"Careful there, pal. I'll tell your wife you've been flirting with me again."
"She's heard that one so many times, she almost expects it by now."
She chuckled as she settled into the cockpit and began her preflight checklist. "Everybody buckle up," she told her passengers. "There's a crazy woman in the driver's seat."
She heard a "Yee ha!" from Jake as she steered the plane down the runway.
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Kurz nearly jumped out of his seat when he heard the principal's voice over the intercom summoning him to the office. Something's happened, he thought. I just know it. Sure enough, he found the General waiting for him in the principal's office, looking grave.
He steeled himself for the worst before speaking. "Something went wrong, right?"
"I'm sorry, son," the General began. "Your sister's plane went down a couple of hours ago."
"Is she…?" He couldn't say it.
"We don't know. All we can do right now is wait."
"Mr. Weber," the principal said quietly. "You're excused from classes for the rest of the day."
"Thank you."
The General placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'll take you back. Who are you staying with?"
"Captain Tobin's wife. Does she know?"
"Yes."
Kurz merely nodded and let the General lead him out of the building. Please let her come home safe, he thought to anyone who might be listening.
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Angela awoke, slightly dazed. What the hell happened? Slowly, awareness returned. Right. The plane had crashed. Some kind of electrical malfunction.
She began to take note of her surroundings. She was lying on a hard dirt floor in a small cell. Grace, her copilot, Jake and one of his men were in with her.
"Welcome back," Jake said grimly.
"Where the hell are we?"
"In jail."
She resisted the urge to smack him. "I can see that, genius."
"We're not exactly sure. Our equipment was confiscated."
"The rest of your team?"
His face hardened. "They didn't make it."
She was silent for a moment. "Any idea how to get out of here?"
"Not yet."
At that moment, three of their captors opened the cell. They spoke in a language she couldn't quite make out. It sounded like a mixture of several different Asian languages. She would have to listen carefully to pick it up.
The guards hauled Grace and herself to their feet. Jake tried to stop them, but he was knocked unconscious by a rifle butt. Angela knew what was coming next. She would endure as she had before. She only hoped that Grace could do the same.
They were taken to a foul-smelling chamber at the back of the prison. There was a third woman already there, lying on the cold floor. Her hands were bound above her head and her uniform was in tatters. The men had obviously already taken a turn with her, but her eyes remained fiercely defiant.
Grace was only just beginning to understand what was happening, and she started to panic. One of the men, apparently the leader, slapped her. Angela tried not to wince as the sound echoed off the stone walls.
It seemed that Grace's outburst determined which of the two of them would be used first. Angela did her best to close her ears as the man began tearing at her friend's clothes. She noted the man standing nearest her. He was paunchy and appeared to be slow-witted, watching the scene with sadistic glee. She focused her attention on him.
Foolishly, they had not bound her hands when they'd collected her, and she used them to her advantage. The man responded instantly. With one hand she distracted him, while slowly removing his pistol from its holster with the other. He looked surprised when she put a bullet through his heart. She dropped the other two just as easily. Two more guards came to investigate the noise. One. Two. Right between the eyes. They fell before they knew what had happened.
Angela untied the stranger first. "Are you all right?"
"Yes," the woman replied in a heavy French accent. "I will be fine."
Grace became hysterical. Angela went to her and slapped her hard across the face. "Gracie! Freak out later. Right now we need to get out of here."
Grace nodded shakily.
Angela turned to the stranger. "What's your name?" she asked in French.
"Boudreau. Yours?"
"Weber. Are you alone?"
"No. There were two men with me."
"Us as well."
"We will free them all then. It is right that men should be rescued by women, n'est pas?"
Angela grinned despite the grim situation. "Agreed. Yours have obviously been here longer. We'll get them first."
Boudreau nodded. "Tres bon. This way."
Angela took the keys off one of the guards, dragged Grace to her feet and headed after the French woman.
"Lieutenant," Boudreau whispered when she reached the cell.
"Here, Sergeant," a man's muffled voice came through the door.
"We're going to get you out."
The man's voice seemed familiar. Angela shook off the feeling and fumbled through the keys until she found the right one. The door swung open and she stared in shock at the big man who stepped out. "Alejandro!"
He stared back at her, unable to speak.
"Lieutenant!" the other man barked. Alejandro jumped. Angela was startled again when she recognized the symbols on his uniform. "We have to get out of here."
"There are two of ours in here too," Angela said sharply. "Your Sergeant agreed to help us free them."
Alejandro nodded. "Right. Let's go get them."
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Once outside the prison, Jake and Alejandro agreed that the two teams should work together to escape the country. Alejandro's people had a safe house in a town in the region, but it would take some time to get there.
After setting up their first camp, it quickly became clear that the two groups didn't trust each other. Jake and Alejandro sat and stared daggers at each other in the moonlight. Well, Angela thought with a sigh, I didn't study diplomacy for nothing.
"You two want to beat each other senseless right now and get it over with or are you going to sit there and beat your chests all night?" They both jumped when she spoke.
"You're out of line, Lieutenant Weber," Jake said dangerously.
"Am I, Captain? Remember, you agreed to work with these people."
"We're your only hope to escape this country alive," Alejandro added.
Angela turned on him. "You stay out of this!" She turned back to Jake "We have no choice but to trust them."
"I don't trust mercenaries."
"You'd better start, Captain, because if they decide to leave without us, we're screwed."
"That's enough, Lieutenant," he said, rising from his seat.
"I'm not finished yet. We're all injured. My copilot is almost catatonic. We can't get out of here on our own. So sit down, shut up and put that thing away before you hurt yourself," she shouted, pointing to the gun he had picked up.
Evidently, her words had finally sunk in, since he sat back down and let go of the gun.
"Now we all need some rest."
"We will need to set a watch," Alejandro added.
"Agreed," Jake answered much more calmly.
"Since neither group completely trusts the other," Angela began, "one person from each team should stand watch." She turned to Alejandro. "Care to join me for first watch, my old friend?"
He nodded.
"Flag me for second watch," Jake ordered.
"Yes, sir."
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After the others were asleep, Angela spared a moment to look up at the full moon. She could almost imagine herself back on the veranda in Venezuela with Alejandro just a few steps behind.
"Alejandro," She said softly as she had so many times before.
"Yes, Senorita?"
She smiled to herself as the script replayed itself. "What's your last name?"
"Guerra."
She repeated the name, allowing it to flow off her tongue. "Were you with Mithril even then?" she said turning toward him. "When we first met."
He nodded. "Yes."
"You were sent to spy on Carlos."
"Yes."
"Why?"
He paused briefly, as if considering his words. "My superiors believed he may have been involved with others trying to control the Whispered."
"The Whispered. I heard my father talk about them a few times, but I could never figure out what they were."
"They are a group of people born with knowledge of concepts of physics and engineering which is decades beyond the technology that is currently available. Some organizations have used them to make weapons of frightening power."
"Like Arm Slaves?"
"Yes, among others. It is said that these people hear voices whispering inside their minds."
"Hence the name." Could it be? she wondered.
"Indeed. It is also rumored that they can communicate telepathically with each other."
Angela was silent for a moment, considering the implications.
"There are reports that certain governments and terrorist groups are gathering lists of names of people suspected of being Whispered."
"Any idea who?"
"Not with any certainty. You should know, Senorita, that your name is on one of those lists."
"My name?" Is it true? "Why would they suspect me, I wonder."
"I don't know, Senorita, but you should proceed with caution now that you know. It is possible that elements within your own government may also be involved."
"I will."
They sat in silence for a time, listening to the sounds of the night.
"Alejandro," Angela said once more.
"Yes, Senorita?"
She turned to look at him. "My name is Angela."
He smiled crookedly at her. "Yes, Senorita."
She could only glare at him in exasperation. Soon, however, she began to laugh quietly, and he joined her. They both stopped short at the sound of a stick breaking nearby. It was Jake. "Second watch, Lieutenant."
She glanced at her watch. He was a good half hour early, but she decided not to make an issue of it. "Yes, sir." She rose and turned once more to her friend. "Goodnight, Alejandro."
"Goodnight, Senorita," he replied, bowing his head slightly.
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Jake found himself unable to sleep. He lay still and tried to force his mind to rest, but it stubbornly refused. After a while, he heard Angela and the big mercenary talking like old friends. How does she know this guy? He was confused by much of what was said. Did she just mention her father? I thought she didn't know who he was. And who the hell is Carlos?
And what were these Whispered they were talking about? He listened carefully as the man explained the whole thing. This could be bad. I'll need to report this as soon as possible.
They didn't speak for some time. When he heard their voices again, he looked at his watch. It was early for his turn, but he decided to get up now.
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They reached the safe house, but it had taken longer than expected. Alejandro immediately contacted his people, informing them that they had picked up four U. S. Air Force officers who would need a ride back to Japan. It would be roughly thirty six hours before the transport helicopters arrived.
Angela found Alejandro alone, sitting in a corner in one of the back rooms. She entered quietly and closed the door behind her. He looked up, startled. "Senorita?"
"Alejandro. How many times do I have to tell you? My name is…"
"I know your name, Senorita. I don't wish to say it."
She knelt down beside him. "Why not?"
The look he gave her was the same as that night in her father's house.
"I see." Even after all these years, his heart still belonged to her. Hesitating only briefly, she took his hands in hers."
His breath caught.
"Please say my name, Alejandro."
She could feel him begin to tense up. "A-Angela."
The sound was like music. She smiled softly at him and leaned over to kiss him. He resisted only a moment before returning the kiss with interest. His hands were so gentle. The sensation was thrilling. No man before had ever touched her like this. For the first time, she understood what her friends meant when they spoke of "making love". For the first time, a man gave her pleasure instead of taking it from her.
She had tears in her eyes when it was over.
"What's wrong?"
"I never knew," she answered quietly. "I never knew it could be like this."
He wrapped his arms around her. Another new and exciting sensation, to be supported by someone else's strength. "You have been hurt by more than Carlos Espinosa."
"Yes," she whispered, burying her face in his chest to hide her shame.
With a gentle hand, he drew her out to look into his eyes. "It is nothing to be ashamed of, my angel. It has made you strong. And there is beauty in strength." He kissed her gently.
"I never knew you were a philosopher."
He smiled. "I have many talents."
They said nothing after that and eventually fell asleep.