Chapter 15
Helena stared in awe as they stopped at the large iron gates of Desert Sun Farm. Armed soldiers met them and it was clear from the technology around them that surveillance was intense. It wouldn’t be a surprise if her face was being run right now before deciding to let her in or not.
“Ms. Diakos. Welcome to Desert Sun Farm,” one of the soldiers said less than a minute later as he stepped from the guardhouse. Yup, facial recognition. “Hey, Nolan. Kori said to meet him at the security center.”
“Thanks.” Nolan gave a wave and put his pickup truck in gear as the iron gate slowly opened. “This is the Rahmi royal family’s farm. Since they still do a lot of diplomatic work, it’s also an embassy and considered foreign soil. Hence the Rahmi soldiers and not the Secret Service.”
Helena nodded. She remembered meeting the family during her first visit to Keeneston and learning more about them after heading back to New York City.
They were a pretty big deal politically, even in U.S.
politics. They had powerful friends on both sides of the aisle and were well respected internationally.
They drove down a tree-lined drive that would be shaded by leaves come spring. Beyond the trees were fences rolling along with the hills and pastures filled with horses. Then they approached an immense white mansion with a broad staircase leading to the front doors. The Rahmi flag flew above it.
“That’s where Mo and Dani live,” Nolan told her as they turned at the house and drove a short distance away to a barn that looked to be made of concrete. “This is the security building.”
It was easy to see why. It was a fortress of thick cement and security cameras. The windows were most likely bulletproof and the shutters, which matched the barns, were not wood like the horse barns. They were metal pretending to be wood.
“Does the house have the same security measures?” Helena asked, glancing back at the mansion.
“Yup. And then some. It’s why I wouldn’t mind if you stayed here.”
Nolan parked and the security barn door opened. Kori held the door open. Nolan got out of the truck, and even though Helena was opening her own door, Nolan came around to help her down.
“Hey Kori,” Nolan said as they approached.
“Welcome to Desert Sun Farm. We have everything set up for your witnesses and also a spare room set aside for you in case you want it.”
Nolan nodded and shook Kori’s hand. “I have to get to work,” he turned to Helena and placed a quick kiss on her lips. “You good? Do you need me to stay?”
Helena shook her head. She didn’t think she’d ever had a boyfriend offer to skip work to make her feel better before. “I’m good. I’ll see you after work.”
“I’ll protect her and bring her back safe and sound tonight,” Kori swore. He and Nolan did that man-hug thing that was half hug, half chest bump, and a back slap, and then Nolan left. She watched as he got into his truck and waved at her. “Right this way. I have an NDA for you to sign.”
Helena chuckled. She’d signed so many NDAs in her life that it was as common as telling someone your name. After signing the NDA that promised not to tell anyone the layout or capabilities of the security center or the operation of Desert Sun Farm, Kori took her on the tour.
Yes, it was clearly a safe house, but it was obvious that someone had gone to a lot of effort to make it homey.
Clothes were in each room and even televisions, magazines, and board games were set out.
The bunk beds were comfortable and clean.
She also saw the gym her witnesses would have access to and the break room and kitchen for security—all of which would be accessible to Lamya and her group.
“We thought they’d like to go to Keeneston High School once things settled down,” Kori told her at the end of the tour.
“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I don’t want them at risk.”
“The Davies brothers, Ahmed, and his wife, Bridget, have all agreed to be there during the school day. They’ll be perfectly safe.
In fact, it would be good because Garang will attempt to take them and we’ll be able to pluck off some of his soldiers, if not him.
The two older ones, Lamya and Kuol, can hang out here and do some online learning or we can ask around about some jobs for them. ”
“You seem giddy about Garang making an attempt here.”
Kori gave her a wink. “I might be. Ahmed is too. Garang has slipped through both of our fingers.” Kori’s phone rang and he frowned as he answered it.
“Hey, Greer. No, I can’t. I’m with Helena Diakos.
” Helena tried and failed not to eavesdrop, especially when Kori kept his eyes on hers.
“Are you sure? Okay. I’ll ask. See you soon. ”
“Is everything okay?” Helena asked.
“You’re marrying Nolan, right?”
Helena almost choked as she tried to swallow. “What? We just started dating!”
Kori looked like he wanted to roll his eyes. “But if he asked you, you’d say yes, right?”
“It’s only been—” Helena was cut off by Kori’s glare. He must have learned it from Ahmed. She swallowed and then nodded. “Yes, okay. I would say yes. Which is totally crazy, right?”
Kori began to text as he shook his head. “Pretty normal around here, actually.”
But now Helena was on a roll and her mouth didn’t know how to stop.
“I mean, I haven’t been able to stop thinking about Nolan ever since I first met him.
He’s so different from the other guys I’ve been with.
It’s like the universe is pointing a giant arrow at him going ‘This one! He’s the one!
’” Helena took a breath as Kori looked up from his phone.
“You don’t mind signing another NDA do you?”
“No,” she said slowly as she was feeling the emotional vulnerability of dumping out all of her feelings. “Thinking of you signing one after what I just told you.”
“Don’t worry about it. I already placed my bet. Now, let’s go.”
Helena watched the countryside as they drove out even farther.
She could hear gunfire if she wasn’t mistaken.
“Where . . .?” Then it was answered for her.
A sign announced their arrival at the Keeneston Training Center.
“Oh my gosh. This is the training center? I’ve heard so much about it.
” She looked off to one side to see men and women racing through a vicious-looking obstacle course.
They drove farther into the land and buildings came into view.
People were walking around carrying books and laptops.
Kori drove by them all and deeper into the property surrounding the facility.
There was an outbuilding with a sign in front of it reading Maintenance and Storage Building 3.
There were several other cars parked in front of the building as they walked inside.
Sure enough, it looked like a maintenance and storage building.
There was a woman behind a desk talking to an electrician about one of the smart boards in a conference room.
“Hey, Sally.” Kori winked and the woman who looked to be fifty and had seen some shit in her life. Sally winked back before telling the electrician she’d have his balls if it wasn’t fixed in the next thirty minutes, bless his heart.
“What can I do for you, Kori?” Sally eyed Helena and her hand moved to rest on her lap under the desk. She looked like a grandmother, all round and soft, but she also looked like she’d grab a switch and take you to the shed if she had to.
“Need an NDA for Helena Diakos. And Helena, give Sally your cell phone.”
“Ah, this is Nolan’s girlfriend. I take an NDA as a good sign, honey.” Sally slid the paper to her and Helena read over it. Okay, so it was a tighter NDA than most. Like, it mentioned undisclosed locations should she ever say anything.
Helena signed and was then surprised by a flash camera that Sally pulled out of nowhere to take her picture. Then she handed over her cell with a questioning look to Kori. “You didn’t turn your phone over.”
“My phone is heavily encrypted.”
“Go right on in. And, honey, Nolan is a good one. I’d lock that down before my granddaughter gets back to town,” Sally said with a wink but also with a warning. Helena didn’t doubt the granddaughter story one bit.
“Yes, ma’am,” Helena replied. Sally was intimidating. A button was pressed and storage shelves to the left, filled with various cans of paint, slid silently down into the ground exposing a staircase behind it. A staircase that led downward.
“What . . .?”
“Right this way,” Kori told her, stepping into the darkness of the hidden staircase.
Helena hurried after him, not wanting to get lost. This was some crazy spy stuff right here.
The storage shelves rose silently back into place behind them and they were trapped heading down the stairs.
At the bottom of the stairs there was a security pad.
Kori put his hand on it, then his eye level with it, and spoke.
Finally, the metal door unlocked. He opened it and bright lights filled the staircase.
“The stairs are a giant X-ray along with facial and body recognition too. Also, heat sensors and a lot more. You come in with an unauthorized threat and gas is released. You’d be unconscious before you even registered something was wrong.”
Helena looked around at giant computer server racks, offices, and whiteboards. “What is this place?”
“This is the headquarters of Bluegrass Ops. We are an off-the-books black ops group for the President of the United States and our global allies, like Rahmi. We work together to stop global threats.”
“Bella would totally freak out if she knew about this,” Helena said with awe.
“Who is Bella and why would she even know about us if you signed an NDA?”
Helena spun around. She hadn’t heard the door open behind her.
A woman stood there pushing a double-wide baby carriage with two babies inside it.
The babies were napping and looked adorable.
The mother looked fierce and somewhat familiar.
“Do I need to remind you of the undisclosed location should you speak about us? So, can you keep your mouth closed or do I toss you into a pit and tell everyone you took a nice vacation to Iran?”