Page 24 of Undefeated Love
“Do you think we can trust that last doctor?” Tori asked no one in particular.
“I watched his eyes as we showed him the pictures of Jackass. He definitely recognized him,” Nita noted. “I wish he’d been a little more forthcoming about Jack’s requests.”
“The good doctor wanted nothing to do with whatever Jack had planned.” Lei Lu paused in her typing and glanced at her teammates. “Do you think that’s why he’s been sanctioned?”
“No.” Katlin shook her head. “He’s gone rogue, and our governmental powers can no longer control him. He knows too much. He’s also broken their trust by communicating directly with terrorists. Even though he’s disappeared, he’s not gone. They want him gone.”
So did Katlin.
“Part of me is really glad that Homeland Security wouldn’t let us go into the Ukraine.” Grace shivered. “I have no desire to be caught in a war with Russia.”
“We’re too damn valuable to even take that chance and General Standish knows it.” Katlin never looked up from the multiple screens with flashing data. “If I were a Ukrainian fertility specialist stuck in the middle of a war and Jack offered me a way out of the country, I’d sure as hell take it.”
“But why go all the way to South Africa?” Tori peeked out the cabin window to see if they were still refueling.
“Easy. They speak English. This doctor was supposedly educated at the University of Oxford in the UK.” Nita continued texting Daniel.
“Fueling is complete.” Grace headed for the cabin stairs. “I’m going to walk around the outside and check our exterior. It’s a long way to Djibouti for refueling.”
“Katlin, why don’t you sleep and let Tori and Grace fly the next leg?” Nita suggested. “Lei Lu is going to be at this for several hours. You and I can take the next leg.”
Katlin simply nodded as she moved to the fully reclining chairs. “Thank you. I am tired.” She flattened her chair, tugged on the soft sheets, and pulled the thick comforter over her. She was asleep before her second breath.
Voices brought her out of a deep sleep.
“Is Katlin going to be okay?” Although they talked in hushed tones, their voices barely carrying from the front of the cabin to the rear where she pretended to sleep, Katlin heard Grace and Nita discussing her.
“To be honest, I’m not sure.” Nita’s words shocked Katlin. “She passed all her psychological tests in order to come back to full duty, but I’m more than a little concerned about her hesitancy in decision-making. Her TBI is focused in the executive function portion of her brain.”
“She didn’t seem to hesitate that much, did she?”
“A little.” Nita went on to explain, “You know as well as I do that even one second of indecision can get you killed.”
“Or someone else on the team” went unsaid.
Katlin knew when she’d hesitated. And why. It had nothing to do with her brain injury and everything to do with her reproductive organs. For the first time in her life, she was concerned about her physical well-being. She wasn’t the only one who was tired. What they really needed was three straight days of downtime. Running hard for thirty-two straight days was tough on anybody. Perhaps if South Africa was another dead end, she’d contact General Standish for a few days off.
They were all physically and mentally drained. Their lack of success in finding Jack had worn on them more than any other target ever. He knew how to disappear. He’d had the same training as they did. Yet he hadn’t hidden his trail. It was almost as though he didn’t care if he were found. He seemed hyper focused on his project.
Although she wasn’t positive, Katlin thought she knew what Jack was trying to do. He’d failed at impregnating her, then again with Nikkole. She was afraid he was trying to find another woman to voluntarily be a surrogate to her baby. Or babies. He could easily have stolen all her eggs…more than a dozen. Could some other woman already be carrying her child? Their child.
What would she do?
Katlin prayed that she would never have to make that decision.
The plane nosed downward. They were probably over a hundred miles out from Djibouti. Katlin decided she’d get up and shower, take her new meds, and fly the last leg to the bottom of the African continent.
A day and a half later, after visiting fertility clinics, talking with doctors and nurses specializing in the field, Katlin and Nita were about ready to give up.
“I could use an ice-cold beer and a thick roast beef sandwich.” Nita pulled up the next address as they got back into their secure car provided by the U.S. Embassy. Katlin had just turned over the engine when someone knocked on the driver side window.
“Ma’am. I think I can help you.”
Katlin rolled down the window to one of the several nurses who worked at the last clinic. “Did you recognize the man in the pictures?”
“No. But someone else did. She heard about a doctor who might be able to help you.” She nervously glanced around the parking lot. “I can’t talk here. Meet me at four o’clock.” She shoved a torn piece of paper through the window then quickly walked away.
Katlin picked up the paper and deciphered the scrawled writing.
