Gerrit watched the second helicopter lift off, carrying his uncle to the nearest hospital in Seattle that handled medevacs. Beck and Jack should be here soon.
As darkness swallowed up the helicopter, his gaze caught a figure standing on the edge of the cliff.
Alena.
He took a deep breath and walked toward her. She stood with her back to him. He drew near. “Hey, they just airlifted Joe out of here kicking and complaining. I think he’ll be all right.”
She didn’t say anything, nor did she move.
“I think we put a real dent in Kane’s operation-or whoever’s pulling his chain.”
“There will always be someone else trying to kill us.” Alena’s words seemed laced with bitterness and tiredness.
“Then we just keep on fighting. We can’t give up.”
She finally turned toward him, grief and regret filling her eyes. “I’m so sorry, Gerrit.”
He shrugged. “Joe gave me a quick rundown on what happened. That you tried to save my dad.”
She ran a hand through her hair, sadness seeming to be pressing down on her. “I tried to think back on all the information I gave Kane about your dad. Before I came to know your folks. It haunts me that that information might have been used to kill them.”
“How did you get mixed up with Kane?”
Alena faced the water again. “It is a long story, Gerrit. And not a very pretty one.”
“I need to know, Alena. I need to know if we’re going to continue to work together.”
She looked back, inquisitive. “You would still work with me? After…”
He let her words wing their way into the night, thinking about what her question implied. “All I know is that you tried to save my father. That you turned away from Kane once you learned the truth about him. I need to know about Kane and his group. To help me put everything in perspective.”
Alena looked at him for a moment, then turned to gaze at the water once again. “Kane found me in Russia. I was much younger, and my boyfriend-if you want to call him that-used me in his gang activities. Used me to get information. To help the gang set up scores. And he taught me how to fight. How to use weapons and to create false identifications. How to exist in a society in which violence and power were the only commodities others respected.”
“How did Kane find you?”
She turned toward Gerrit. “His group-whoever he was working for-would use my boyfriend’s connections to get information and access to Russian organized-crime leaders. My boyfriend used me in these operations, and I caught Kane’s eye about the same time my boyfriend was killed.”
“I think he had plans for me way back then. Got me out of the gangs by arranging a visa for me and my folks to move to Israel. Once there, I was recruited into the Israeli army at Kane’s direction. Spent a few years learning how to fight, and then an opportunity came up to work intelligence. Again, I think Richard pulled the ropes.”
“Pulled the strings.” Gerrit gave a half smile. He saw the strain on her face as she dredged up the past.
“One day, he asked if I would like to join a unique unit of people working for him. He said they were trying to create a global community between nations, to help bring peace and stability on an international scale. After my parents were killed by terrorists, it was not hard to persuade me to work for peace. Kane got my Israeli handlers to approve my transfer to his outfit.
“He started working on me the first moment we met, luring me away with promises of a new life, a chance to live in the United States.”
“That’s how you got connected to my father?”
She nodded, her shoulders sagging. “Later, after I’d been with Richard for a few years and participated in some of his clandestine operations, he assigned me to make contact with your father through Thomas’s work and to assess whether he might be a threat to our overall operation. We hit it off right away. Before I knew it, Thomas had me coming over to his house, having dinner with him and your mom.”
Her words seemed to choke her. It took a moment before she brought herself under control. Finally, she took a deep breath and continued. “It was the first real home I had ever been in since my folks died. That’s where I first saw you…your pictures all around the house. They were so proud of you, Gerrit. Off serving your country.”
He thought of the last conversation he had with his dad, fighting over the fact he was returning to combat. His father didn’t seem proud at the time.
She turned, her eyes glistening as light from the helipad shone on them. He thought she might have been crying, but he could not be sure.
“Your mom even mentioned that you and I should meet when you returned home.”
He shook his head, not knowing what to say.
“She was worried about you. That you never took time to enjoy life. To date. Any of that normal stuff.”
“She seemed to share a lot about me. Little did she know-”
“-she was talking to the woman who betrayed them.”
“But Joe said you changed. That you told them about the threat.”
Alena nodded. “At first your dad was shocked. And your mom…well, let’s say her idea about us getting together just flew out the chimney.”
“Window, out the window,” he said, trying to smile. “And yet, here we are.” His joke didn’t seem to lighten the moment.
“Then your dad seemed to pull things together. For some reason, he became concerned about the threat against your uncle. He tried to warn Joe, but something happened.”
“Yeah, Kane’s men tried to force him to walk on air. A life-changing event that made him back away from Dad.”
“Until after the bombing. Then Joe had a change of heart. We started running from that day until now.”
“You probably saved his life, Alena. Joe has faith in you.”
“Actually, Joe saved me. Did you know your uncle is a Christian? A believer?”
Gerrit must have looked shocked.
“It is true. He is the one who got me going to church. I was carrying a lot of guilt after your folks. He helped me straighten out my head.”
“From what I could tell, Joe believed in you from the time you first met, Alena. I could tell by the way he urged me to give you a chance.”
“And you?” Her eyes searched his. “What do you think of me now?”
He cleared his throat. “I think we’ve all made mistakes. I include myself in that group.” He briefly thought of his father’s face that day, clouded with frustration. “I walked away from my own father when he needed me most. He may have died because I was not there to protect him.”
“He was trying to protect you, Gerrit.”
“I never got a chance to clear things up. And now, it’s too late.”
He heard the whirling thump of rotor blades. Another chopper headed in their direction. “That must be Beck and Thompson. Maybe they have some news.” He welcomed this intrusion. He didn’t want to dwell on memories he was powerless to change. Nor did he want to talk about a future that might have been.
It was like the last time he saw his folks before returning to the battlefield. Putting his personal affairs in order and placing everything on hold until-or if-he ever returned from war. One never knew whether he would survive the next conflict.
Again, after his houseboat was bombed and his friends were killed, he found himself in the same mindset. Putting his affairs in order. Placing his feelings on the shelf. As far as he could determine, he would never be able to enjoy a normal life again.
It was not his destiny to settle down, have a family, and live as if life offered more tomorrows. He had become a warrior, first in defense of his country and now for his country’s survival. He would be fighting a war the rest of the nation-the world-might never hear about. A war fought in the shadows, in the night, in those dark places that are only known by those like him-living and dying in that gray shroud of a secret war.
Take this skirmish tonight. People died, dreams became crushed, and tomorrow-no one would even know they’d been here. A news blackout would drop an impenetrable curtain over this whole affair. The only ones who might wonder would be medical staff watching the wounded and dying carried into their emergency rooms.
He and Alena watched in silence as the helicopter drew nearer, as if the past no longer existed, his folks and
