A week had passed since Payne and Jones wrapped up their mission in Jeddah. Afterward, they spent several days in Taif, tying up loose ends and dealing with the political mess that their unauthorized trip to Mecca had caused. Harrington was the lightning rod in the whole ordeal, taking the blame for Schmidt and the massacre in Jeju but being congratulated off the record for saving die Great Mosque and capturing several terrorists who could be linked to the Soldiers of Allah.
Payne wasn't privy to what Abdul-Khaliq and his men had revealed during their first few days of questioning, but Harrington hinted that Hakeem Salaam would soon be in their grasp.
As for the Saudi government, they were furious when they first learned the identity of Schmidt's crew. They demanded an explanation from the United States, wanting to know why Special Forces soldiers had threatened their most sacred city. Obviously, the Pentagon responded in the only way they could: they lied. They claimed that Schmidt and his men were actually Muslims and had been sent to Mecca to rescue the lives of American archaeologists who were being threatened by terrorists. While they were there, they stumbled across a bigger plot and eventually saved the day.
The Saudis didn't believe it for one minute but were willing to overlook everything when the Pentagon sweetened the deal. They told the Saudis about a stone crypt they had recently discovered that was filled with dozens of documents that were written by Muhammad's closest companions. Transcripts of Muhammad's revelations. If the Saudis were interested, the Pentagon would be happy to let them study it as a token of goodwill. The Saudis were so excited about the possibilities that they allowed Shari Shasmeen to participate on the research team.
Eventually, when Payne and Jones were permitted to leave Taif, they decided to take the long way home. Instead of flying west, toward Pittsburgh, where it was cold and snowy, they flew east, toward the Pacific, where it was warm and sandy. Besides, Kia Choi had told them they were free to visit anytime, and they wanted to take her up on the offer before she forgot.
The plane landed on a familiar runway and eased to a stop near one of the main hangars. The temperature was in the low eighties but felt cooler due to the tropical breeze that blew across the Kwajalein atoll. Jones glanced out the tiny window and admired the sapphire sky.
'Wow, would you look at that sun! I can't wait to work on my tan.'
'Yeah,' Payne joked. 'You've been looking kind of Caucasian.'
Jones smiled as he grabbed his bags and headed for me open hatch. Taking one step outside, he suddenly stopped in his tracks. A beautiful island woman, wearing a coconut bikini and a hula skirt, stood at the bottom of the plane stairs. A flower lei swayed in her hands as she moved to the rhythm of a Don Ho song that played over the hangar's loudspeakers.
'Welcome to the Marshall Islands,' she announced.
Jones stared at her, then glanced back at Payne, who was struggling to hold in his laughter. He'd been dying to tease Jones about the kissing incident with Kia for several days, and now he had managed to do it in style.
'You know what?' Jones said. 'Screw you and screw Kia. That's
'You're right,' he said with a laugh. 'It's hilarious.'
'Ha, ha. I get it. Make fun of the pale black guy.' He dropped his bags and glanced into the cockpit, where even the pilot was laughing. 'Driver, I've had enough. Take me home.'
Which made Payne laugh even louder.
'Fine,' Jones said. 'Be that way. But I'm telling you, I'm marching down there and slipping her the tongue.'
'You better not,' said Kia, who had snuck up the stairs behind him. 'She'll charge me extra.'
'She's a hooker?'
Kia laughed and gave him a hug. 'She's not a hooker, but she
'In that case, we can stay.' Jones turned toward the cockpit and shouted. 'Bellman, change of plans. Please get my bags. I'm going downstairs to make a friend.'
Payne waved him off, glad he was being such a good sport.
'Wow,' said Kia, who had set everything up at Payne's request. 'That worked well.'
He nodded in agreement. 'Perfect. Simply perfect. No way you can top it.'
'You don't think?' she flirted.
Payne smiled at the possibilities. 'Honestly, I can't wait to find out.'
AUTHOR'S NOTE
Even though
(Payne and Jones showed me the blueprints. They look amazing!)
Anyway, when I first started researching this book, I quickly realized an important fact: I can't read Arabic or Korean. Heck, I can barely read English. That meant I was forced to rely on translated documents to provide several details in my story. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but there was one major issue that kept popping up over and over. Translators tend to disagree on the spelling of proper nouns. I swear, to this day I still don't know the official name of Jeju. Some call it Jeju-do. Others use Jejudo. Then there is Jeju Island. And Cheju-do. And Cheju. And, well, you get my point. After a while, I realized that I needed to choose one spelling for every location-even if many linguists disagreed with my choice- and stick with it throughout.
Then again, I guess that's what writing is. A series of choices.
That being said, I think the riskiest choice I made was the concept of a terrorist attack in the holy city of Mecca. My goal was to entertain, not to offend. If I crossed any lines, I sincerely apologize. As I mentioned during my story, there are a number of similarities between Islam and Christianity. That might seem strange, considering the clear cultural differences between Saudi Arabia and the United States, but if you take the time to examine the sacred texts of the two religions, you will find many shared beliefs.
Obviously, it would be great to live in a world where everyone got along.
Until that day, stories about terrorism will continue to be written.
