Chapter 3 #2
Heath made a note of the time. It would be at least a thirty-minute drive to the port from here. “Will they set sail in the dust storm?”
“I heard someone say the storm doesn’t extend far over the ocean. They can use instruments to make sure they don’t hit anything.”
“Are there many more containers to load?”
“No. They’re done. The cranes can’t operate in a storm.”
That wasn’t great. “Can you delay them?”
“No, sir. I don’t have any authority.”
“Can you get us close to the ship? Is anyone guarding the entrance to the port?” Could they even get there in time?
No answer.
“Hello?” He glanced at his phone. The call had ended. He called back but got an error message. Networks were down. The government had shut down communications. He swore and handed the phone back to Adnan.
“Heath?” The quiet question in Zoe’s voice made him turn to her. She waited, her hands clutched together.
“Communications are down,” he said in Arabic so they all understood. “The ship with the children on board is due to set sail soon.”
“Can we do anything?”
“Maybe.” He wouldn’t promise anything. “But we need to get to the port.”
A burst of gunfire outside made Heath dive for Zoe, covering her body with his and pushing her away from the window.
Her shriek was cut short as he shoved her against the wall, his gaze going to the window. From here all he could see was the dust cloud.
Zoe gave a slight groan, and he realised he was pushing hard into her soft body. He shifted away and looked down at her. “You OK?”
She nodded, her eyes wide. Was that a flicker of awareness in them?
Before he could fully process it, one of the children whimpered.
He spun to find Nisha and her family on the floor, looking at him for direction.
Perhaps it was just a protester letting off his frustration. He held up a hand for them to stay where they were and shifted to the window to peer outside.
At the edges of visibility rushed a body of people, and he could hear the cries of alarm over the wind.
Really not good.
Who were they fleeing from?
He didn’t think they would have reached the suburbs so quickly, unless they were the protesters who’d been outside the US embassy.
They could have made it in time.
There was no way the American soldiers would have opened fire on the protesters. That would have started an international incident, so it had to be someone else scaring the workers away.
“Do you have a back door?” he asked Nisha.
She nodded. “But it leads to a small courtyard. The only way out of the complex is through the front.”
“What about over the wall?”
“It’s into the opposite apartment’s courtyard.”
Of course.
He continued monitoring the situation outside as an army truck rolled past with armed Qatari soldiers in defensive positions.
They must have protected the US embassy, but they wouldn’t have done so for nothing. Perhaps the US government had promised help in exchange for their people’s safety.
It didn’t matter. What mattered now was getting out without being shot and reaching the port in time.
“Do you have a vehicle?” He couldn’t risk getting to the one parked outside. Chances were high that the street was blockaded.
“No.”
Damn. Without his team, he had no extra eyes, intel or backup.
If the ship wasn’t leaving, he would stay here until the situation blew over. But the children were in danger.
There was no way the Australian government would greenlight a mission to rescue a few non-citizen children from a cargo ship, or even from the destination port. If he didn’t get to them now, they were lost.
Would Zoe be safer here or with him?
Who knew what the military might do? Some governments had been brutal during the Arab Uprisings in 2011, but Qatar had not.
If he left Zoe here, it might be difficult to come back for her, and he wouldn’t be able to protect her.
And that was his mission. If they couldn’t get into the port, he’d head for the border with her and they would be safe.
“We need to go,” he told her. “It won’t be pleasant. We have to go on foot until we find another vehicle.”
“Can’t we use the one outside?”
“Street will be barricaded and they might open fire on anyone trying to leave.”
“What about those leaving on foot?”
He pressed his lips together. “I’m hoping we’ll be fine.”
“Hope?” Her expression was justifiably incredulous.
“There are no guarantees, but we need to take calculated risks.” And he hoped the dust storm would hide them and that the military had only left a small guard at the street entrance. He turned to Nisha and Adnan. “If we get the children, can your son bring them home?”
“He catches the work bus, but they should be able to take them,” Nisha said.
All right. That meant they could head for the border from the port.
The plan crystalised in his mind, and while he didn’t have the time to plan for every option like he would for a normal mission, he had enough fallbacks that he was comfortable.
“We won’t be able to contact you after we leave,” he said.
“But we’ll do everything we can to get those children. ”
Nisha clasped his hand. “Thank you. May God shine over you.”
Adnan nodded his agreement.
Heath turned to Zoe. “Goggles on, scarf up, and same goes. I move, you move.”
She nodded though she was a little more wary.
He flashed her a smile. “Don’t worry. I can do this with my eyes closed.”
Her smile was a little forced, but at least it was there.