Page 23 of Cole
“Well, you two take your time,” said Ham. “In the meantime, what the hell was happening in Syria?”
“I was there to find the location of that nuke and report back to the SEAL team I was assigned to. We hadn’t seen one another face-to-face but we were in constant communication. When I heard that a Ranger team was in the area as well, I planned to communicate with them also.”
“And what about the hostages?” asked Luke.
“I stumbled into that, literally. They were being taken from their hotel and I happened to be in the alleyway. I figured I could help them if I were with them, so just slipped into the fray as Mr. Smith.”
“And you broke free?”
“He broke them all free,” smiled Bailey.
“Let’s just say the kidnappers weren’t very bright. I heard them comment that they were going to ask for money, get it, and then kill the hostages. There was a small, narrow window at the back of the hut. I was able to chip away at the dirt around the opening to make it wider, then got everyone out.”
“That was fucking risky, brother,” said Cam. Angus nodded.
“It was but it was worth it. We stole a van and I drove to the closest American hotel. That’s when I bumped into Bailey in the lobby. I had no clue that it was the hotel the negotiators were staying in. Obviously, that was a surprise, and a stroke of luck.”
“I guess it was,” smirked Eric. “So, you were contract with the Special Forces community?”
“Yes,” he nodded. “As we were leaving Syria, we saw that the Ranger team found the nuke site and destroyed it.”
“No, they didn’t,” said AJ walking into the room.
“What do you mean? We saw it,” said Bailey.
“What you saw was them destroying a potential weapons installation but it wasn’t nuclear. It’s still out there somewhere and we have to find the other location. The real location.”
The entire group turned to see Hala standing over Cole’s gurney. She knew they wanted to ask her questions but she wanted to get him to the clinic.
“Go with them, Hala,” said Kennedy.
“Doctor, he needs urgent care,” she said squeezing Cole’s hand.
“He needs to go for a swim,” smiled Kennedy.
“A swim? What are you people thinking? He has potential internal injuries, fractures, things that could impact his entire future.” Cole squeezed her fingers.
“Hala, trust them. Trust me. I need a swim right now. Everyone will explain later.” Hala stared down into his face, then looked up at Bailey and Angus who nodded.
“This place is so confusing,” she said with tears in her eyes. “Alright. What do you need from me?”
She watched as they wheeled Cole to one of the ATVs and they disappeared down a long dirt pathway.
“The nuclear site wasn’t where we thought it was. It was a weapons facility and it was destroyed. But we need to know the nuclear site location.”
“I don’t know,” she said shaking her head. “I swear to you. I have no idea where that is.”
“We believe you, Hala,” said Eric. “We’re wondering if there’s a location that your grandfather visited often, maybe a place where he would go for a few days. Did he ever speak of such a place?”
“I-I’m not sure. He wouldn’t tell me anything. He would tell the men that he was visiting a village nearby or he was going to the city for a few days. When he was going somewhere that he didn’t want me to know about, he would simply give me ridiculous things to do, work to do, and then be gone for a few days.”
“He was trying to distract you,” said Eric. “From your location, which direction would he travel?”
“The mountains,” she said thoughtfully. “He always went in the direction of the mountains. Sometimes he would come back angry.”
Hala looked off into the distance. The views of the bayou and the setting son turning the sky purple, red, yellow, orange, and pink. It was beautiful.
“Did he harm you, Hala?” asked Ham. She nodded.
