CHAPTER THIRTEEN #2
“If he’s willing to do all of that, he must be working with someone stateside.” Luna would do what she could to figure out who that person might be. “I could be wrong, but I don’t see how he could pull this off on his own.”
“You’re not wrong.” Boone pushed back his chair, walked over to the screen. “As Lucas mentioned, there’s a small city in the valley called Aliabad. Luna, could you please zoom in on this area?” He pointed at a section in the upper right corner of the map.
“Sure.” She used the mouse and zoomed in on a small town sandwiched between a mountain range and a river.
“Perfect, thanks. The Hunza River runs along the south side of Aliabad, this little town right here.” He pointed to a cluster of buildings nestled in the valley and partially surrounded by jagged peaks covered with snow.
“This is the Karakoram Range.” He dragged his finger along the range of mountains on the north side of Aliabad.
“It’s rugged and has some of the highest peaks on Earth.
K2 is part of this range, which makes this a popular destination for mountaineers, trekkers, and tourists. ”
“If that piece of shit is bringing girls back here, he’s going to need a way to transport them,” Lucas said. “It’s not like he can just put them on a commercial flight.”
“Hang on a second.” Luna’s fingers flew across the keys.
“Okay, the nearest airport to Aliabad is Gilgit Airport, and it’s one hundred and five kilometers away.
” She scrolled down the screen to read the details.
“According to this, it’s just a tiny domestic airport and is only suitable for smaller passenger aircraft.
Apparently, the weather is pretty dramatic there and can affect flights coming and going. ”
“Al Udeid Air Base is in Qatar, but it’s a hell of a long haul by land, and that’s assuming he has someone at the base helping him.” Lucas stared at the map.
“He was dishonorably discharged, so it’s not like he has access to any US bases anymore,” Hawk said. “Not legally, anyway.”
“Al Udeid is about fourteen hundred miles southwest of Aliabad.” Luna scrolled down some more. “The Persian Gulf separates 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 shortest flight 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?