Chapter 22
Ahmed looked at the man who was still sitting in his home. He had shown his credentials and explained what he could...which wasn't much, but then, he had said that he would be watching until it was ascertained that there was no danger to Ahmed because of what had apparently just happened.
And that meant that Ahmed couldn't go and help his sister or her children. He was stuck here in his apartment, knowing that she was in danger.
He had got permission to work from home today, explaining to his boss that he was needing to stay home but that he could still do his job, but he wasn't really getting much done. His mind kept returning to Zahara. While she was married and thus under the protection of her husband, Ahmed still felt a responsibility to protect her... but he couldn't. It was extremely frustrating.
Finally, after making no work progress for an hour, he turned away from his computer and looked at the agent.
"How long will this be? Surely, whoever is after zowj akhtī will not think to come after me."
"You've been with them out in public for the last few days," the agent said. "It's obvious that you're connected. They may decide you're useful... or they may not."
"Do you think they will?" Ahmed asked.
"No, I don't. But I'm not willing to risk it and neither was your sister."
Ahmed grimaced at that. It was the reverse of how things should be. Zahara had enough to worry about that she didn't need to worry about some nebulous danger that might involve her brother.
"How long will it take to be sure?"
"Not long, I think. I've been watching the area and I haven't seen any sign of people attempting to come to your building. Once backup arrives..."
"What backup?"
"From the States. There are people on their way here and once they arrive, they'll be able to make a better determination of the risk level. For now, just try to be patient. I know you're worried about your family, but keeping you out of harm's way will help them immeasurably."
Reluctantly, Ahmed sighed and nodded. He turned back to his computer and started to work.
But his mind still kept wandering back to Zahara and what she was going through.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Ziva sat, looking out the window of the plane. They had got moving as quickly as they could, but there was only so fast a plane could fly and nothing she could do would change that. Tony was dozing in the seat beside her. The other CIA agents were sitting elsewhere, some asleep, others working. Agent Andrews was not part of this team, unfortunately. Ziva would have liked to have someone she knew going along on this mission. However, with the exception of Tony and one other agent, they all were people who would easily blend in with the native Egyptian population. This was a CIA plane but it wasn't being advertised as such. It was simply a private plane with a number of friends on board who were coming on a holiday. This would allow them to travel around, looking. Their first stop was going to be the hotel where they would investigate what had happened and see if they could ascertain where Tim and his family had gone.
"Edwards, we have a problem," one of the other agents said.
Agent Edwards, who was the agent in charge of the mission, got up and walked toward the cockpit.
Ziva nudged Tony and he came awake with a start.
"We there yet?" he asked.
"No, but there's a problem," Ziva said.
"What?"
"I don't know. Agent Edwards was just summoned to the cockpit."
They both sat, watching. And the other CIA agents were watching as well. Everyone was tense.
After a few more minutes, Agent Edwards came out of the cockpit.
"What's up, Edwards?" another agent asked.
"Some issue with the flight plan," Edwards said, "but it was really just an attempt at bribery by some officials. We'll grease the skids when we touch down and it'll be fine."
There was a subtle release of tension.
"Any changes to the plan?"
"Only one for now. We'll head to the hotel first, but Agent DiNozzo and Agent David, I'd like to have one of you go elsewhere."
Tony and Ziva glanced at each other for a moment.
"Where?" Tony asked.
"To the home of Mrs. McGee's brother. We have some indication that there should be an agent on guard there and I believe you've both met him?"
Ziva nodded. "We have not seen him in a few years, but we have both met him."
"Good. We may need to assure him that we are who we say we are. If one of you are with us..."
"I see," Tony said. "I haven't been to Egypt before. How strange would it be if Ziva was traveling as a woman with a group of men?"
Agent Edwards smiled. "It wouldn't be a group. That would be a little odd."
Ziva smiled at Tony. "You are better at investigating."
Tony laughed. "About time you admit that. Okay. I'll go with the rest of your team to the hotel and Ziva will go to Ahmed's place."
"Good."
With that much decided, Agent Edwards went back to his seat and Tony and Ziva were no longer part of any conversation.
"Are you okay with that?" Tony asked.
"Yes. I would like to see that Ahmed is all right. You know that Tim's greatest fear is that his life will hurt someone else."
"Yeah. It's just that we're starting with so little to go on. We only know that he was free enough to make a phone call, but if he was going on the run, he's not safe. And where would he go? Why not try for the airport? Or the U.S. consulate?"
"Unless these people are more organized and powerful than we know."
"Maybe." Tony shook his head. "I don't like going in blind, but we have to here. We need to get Tim and his family home. As fast as we can."
Ziva nodded in agreement. This was not good as far as Tim's mental health was concerned. What if Tim couldn't take the stress? She worried that this would be too much for him and perhaps even his family wouldn't be enough to keep him from running away from it all.
The plane landed an hour later and while they weren't excited about working with the CIA, Tony and Ziva got off the plane and headed out to start the search.
x.x.x.x.x.x.x
Tim sat silently, staring at the altar of the small church. He had never been especially religious, but Zahara was and that had rubbed off on him to an extent. He had left the small room and walked out to sit alone for a few minutes. He just didn't know what to expect... beyond fear, anger and anxiety. He was sure that those would be with him for a long time. He just didn't know which one would last the longest and which would cause the most harm to those he loved. If it would help, he would make a run for it right now and leave his family in Suhayl's capable hands. However, he knew that these people, whoever they were, knew who his family was and they wouldn't be worried about what they might do to his family to get at him, whether he was with them or not. It was a no-win situation and he hated it.
A hand on his shoulder startled him out of his hopeless thoughts and he turned, expecting Suhayl or Zahara. It wasn't.
It was the priest who was giving them sanctuary. Possibly risking his life to help Tim and his family escape.
"Yabdū anak mudtarib."
Those were not words he'd heard before. Or else the priest had a different accent from Zahara and so words he should know he didn't recognize. Either was possible given his low Arabic proficiency.
"Sorry. I don't suppose you speak English?"
The priest looked politely uncomprehending.
"Al-inglayzī?" Tim asked without much hope.
The priest smiled a little and shook his head.
"Al-'arabī?" he asked in return.
Tim searched for the right words and then smiled helplessly and put his finger and thumb very close together.
"Qalīlan faqat."
"Ah," the priest said with a slight smile. He seemed to think about it for a moment. "Anta khā'if?"
That word Tim understood. Afraid. It was wholly inadequate for how he was feeling right now, but that would likely be the best he could get with this man when neither of them really spoke the other's language. Oh, well. It wasn't the first time he'd been at a major disadvantage because of the fact that his brain seemed to process computer codes much more easily than spoken languages. He could at least clarify that it was about family.
"Na'am," Tim said with a sigh. "'alā... uh... 'alā 'ā'ilatī."
The priest nodded solemnly. For a long moment, he was silent and seemed to be thinking about something. Then, he closed his eyes, put his hand on Tim's head and began speaking in a language that was definitely not Arabic. Even with as little as Tim knew of that language, he recognized it when he heard it spoken. Whatever language it was, it wasn't Arabic.
He's praying for me, Tim realized after a few seconds.
Even though he couldn't understand a single word, Tim found himself captivated by the prayer. It was almost a song. The cadence was beautiful. It had a soothing quality to it even as he felt the same anxiety that he always felt.
Finally, he heard a word, he knew.
"Amen," the priest said and then opened his eyes and removed his hand from Tim's head.
Tim smiled.
"Shokran," he said, softly.
The priest patted him on the shoulder and then turned when the door to the small room opened again. The whole group came out.
"Time to move?" Tim asked.
"Yes," Suhayl said.
"It's still light. Won't that be dangerous?"
"We will keep you disguised. So far, it seems they do not know who I am, so they will not know where to anticipate us fleeing. They know that you will want to get back to the States and they will not expect you to go farther from home to escape."
"You hope," Tim said.
"Yes."
"All right." Tim took a breath and stood up. The priest did as well. Tim looked at him. "Shokran," he said again.
The priest nodded and moved out of the way. Tim walked over to Zahara. She was holding Jonathan and Salma was holding tightly to her clothes. Tim knelt down.
"Salma, can you walk with us?"
She nodded.
"Then, I will hold Jonathan and if you get tired, I will help you, all right?"
"I'm scared, Baba," Salma said, her eyes filling with tears.
Tim hugged her tightly.
"I'm a little scared, too, Salma, but we'll be all right. We'll be together and we'll get home again. We'll be together, okay?"
Salma held him and he wasn't sure she'd let go. Then, she sniffled loudly and stood back.
"Are you ready?" Tim asked.
"Yes, Baba."
"Good." Tim stood up and reached out his hands. "Jonathan, will you let me carry you?"
Jonathan leaned against Zahara for a few moments. Then, he reached out and let Tim take him. He didn't know how much this might be affecting Zahara's pregnancy and almost the last thing he wanted was for something to go wrong in that respect. Giving her a break from carrying Jonathan would likely help. Salma shifted her grip to Tim's robes instead of Zahara's, but Zahara walked beside her. Tim looked at Zahara for a moment and she reached out and brushed her fingers over the scars around his eye. Then, she kissed him quickly and lifted the hood of his robe onto his head.
"We are well, Tim. It will be fine," she whispered.
"I hope so," Tim whispered back.
One more deep breath and Tim looked at Suhayl.
"We're ready," he said.
"Good. We will go," Suhayl said.
Together, they cautiously left the little church, Suhayl in the lead, Omar behind and the McGees together.
They began walking south and east until they were able to get a ride from someone in one of the small villages they passed through. They made it to the banks of the Red Sea before nightfall.
