JACK FORD is a novelist and is the author of six gritty British crime novels published under a pseudonym. Having studied global political Islam and American politics, Jack went on to take a Master of Science degree in counter-terrorism and will further those studies next year by tackling a PHD focusing on radicalisation and extremism. Jack lives in a quiet part of England and has three children along with lots of dogs and horses.

For Darley Anderson, my hero – the Alex Ferguson of the literary world.

Forever love, Jx

Acknowledgements

I loved writing this book, it was so much fun and I met so many wonderful people during the writing of it but a big thanks especially must go to Dr. Mark Faulkner and Dr. Zoe Marriage from SOAS, University of London who gave up their free time to answer a thousand questions on the DRC. A shout out to Dr. Dale Mineshima who somehow made American realignment and the Presidential doctrines a huge amount of fun. A special thanks to the US veterans who sacrificed so much of their lives and their mental well being for their country. A huge thanks to everyone at the Darley Anderson agency and of course a massive thank you to Louise Page, who is just awesome. Thanks also goes to Sally Williamson, my editor and Lisa Milton, who encouraged me to put the kick ass into Maddie. And never ending love to my family, friends, horses and dogs. But most importantly of all to the thousands upon thousands of forgotten street children accused of witchcraft in the DRC who inspired this story – you are forever in my heart.

‘It is estimated that between 26.4 million and 36 million people abuse opioids worldwide, with an estimated 2.5 million people in the United States abusing prescription opioids’

- US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

‘You said I killed you – haunt me then. The murdered do haunt their murderers. I believe I know that ghosts have wandered the earth. Be with me always, take any form, drive me mad. Only do not leave me in this abyss, where I cannot find you!’

- Emily Brontë – Wuthering Heights

Contents

Cover

About the Author

Title Page

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Seven years ago

Present Day

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Eight miles outside Buziba, Sud-Kivu

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Chapter 30

Chapter 31

Chapter 32

Chapter 33

Chapter 34

Chapter 35

Chapter 36

Chapter 37

Chapter 38

Chapter 39

Chapter 40

Chapter 41

Chapter 42

Chapter 43

Chapter 44

Chapter 45

Chapter 46

Chapter 47

Chapter 48

Chapter 49

Chapter 50

Chapter 51

Chapter 52

Chapter 53

Chapter 54

Chapter 55

Chapter 56

Chapter 57

Chapter 58

Chapter 59

Chapter 60

Chapter 61

Chapter 62

Chapter 63

Chapter 64

Chapter 65

Chapter 66

Chapter 67

Chapter 68

Chapter 69

Chapter 70

Chapter 71

Chapter 72

Chapter 73

Chapter 74

Chapter 75

Chapter 76

Chapter 77

Chapter 78

Chapter 79

Chapter 80

Chapter 81

Chapter 82

Chapter 83

Chapter 84

Chapter 85

Chapter 86

Chapter 87

Chapter 88

Chapter 89

Chapter 90

Chapter 91

Chapter 92

Chapter 93

Chapter 94

Chapter 95

Chapter 96

Chapter 97

Chapter 98

Chapter 99

Chapter 100

Chapter 101

Chapter 102

Chapter 103

Chapter 104

Chapter 105

Chapter 106

Chapter 107

Chapter 108

Chapter 109

Chapter 110

Chapter 111

Chapter 112

Chapter 113

Chapter 114

Chapter 115

Chapter 116

Chapter 117

Chapter 118

Chapter 119

Chapter 120

Chapter 121

Chapter 122

Chapter 123

Chapter 124

Chapter 125

Chapter 126

Chapter 127

Chapter 128

Chapter 129

Chapter 130

Chapter 131

Chapter 132

Chapter 133

Extract

Copyright

Seven years ago

Kenya’s northern coast – 30 miles south of the Somali border

How long does it take a man to realize his life is going to change forever? For Thomas J. Cooper it was barely a moment. Just a flicker of a stare to trace the angles of dark stretching shadows against the oak cabin walls. The slightest of turns towards the fluctuating sounds of the lapping waves. And that was all. Yet it told him everything he needed to know… They were in trouble.

‘Jackson…! Jackson…! What the hell…!’

Knocking over the glass of iced lemonade, Cooper scrambled up from the cream leather recliner he’d been asleep on. Took the yacht’s wood and chrome stairs three at a time. Charging along the highly polished deck of the sleek, white vessel. Cursing to himself as he slipped on the wet.

Bolting forward, he spotted the tall, sun-drenched figure of Jackson leaning against the bow rails. A bottle of whiskey in hand. A grin on his face. And a half cut look in his eye.

‘Hey Coop, is this the life or what? Nothing but open waters. Reckon I should get myself a job on the high seas…’

Cooper could see he was drunk. And God knows, it was the last thing he needed.

He watched Jackson step on to the top rails of the yacht.

Take the last slug of whiskey.

Throw the bottle casually into the sea.

Stretched out his arms shouting loudly. Forcing his slurred words to rise high above the sound of the sea. ‘Name the film, Coop… But I’ll give you a clue… I’m king of the world!’

But Cooper said nothing. Instead, he instinctively squinted up at the African skies.

Slipped off his watch to lie it flat on his palm.

Lined up the hour hand to point at the sun.

Giving him a crude idea of the direction they were sailing in.

And the knot in his stomach told him it was as he’d feared. North. They were heading north.

Swaying precariously on the bow rails, Jackson didn’t sense or notice or care or see or feel Cooper’s alarm. ‘Oh come on man, you gotta know. Coop, it’s easy… Titanic. Even my dog could’ve got that one. Maybe I make a better Rose though. What do you think? Can you see me playing opposite DiCaprio…? I love you Jack. I love you. Never let me go!’

‘Get the hell down! Now!’

Cooper yanked on Jackson’s arm. Hard. Real hard. Dragging him to the safety of the deck. And with the smell of alcohol heavy on his breath and a look of indignation he said, ‘Hey! What’s got up your nose Coop? All that… ’

‘Listen to me… ’ Cooper stopped suddenly as a cold uneasiness came over him like a sudden temperature drop. His eyes darting across the cerulean sea. ‘Jackson, I need you to start turning the boat round. We’re going to have to jibe her, but we gotta to do it fast.’

Jackson stared at him in astonishment. ‘Jibe? You’re crazy. The crosswind’s too strong to try to turn downwind. You’ll capsize her for sure.’

‘What’s going on?’ Ellie Granger, Cooper’s long-term girlfriend, stood bleary eyed behind them. She asked the same question which was on Jackson’s lips.

Cooper turned to her. And although his words were quickly spoken, he made sure they held warmth. He said, ‘Hey baby, look there’s no need to panic, but we’re going to have to turn the boat round. We’ve got to get back to Lamu as quickly as we can.’

She pushed her blond hair out of her big blue eyes and looked around puzzled and said, ‘I don’t get it. How long have I been asleep, Tom? I thought we were anchored up?’

Giving a side-glance to Jackson, Cooper spoke more to himself than her. ‘So did I, honey, so did I.’

Upon which his attention snapped back to Jackson. He barked out orders. Short. Sharp and precise. ‘Start pulling in the main sheet, I’ll come and help you but I’ve got to go and radio in our position.’

A veil of fear crossed Ellie’s face. She’d known Cooper since high school. Childhood sweethearts. Inseparable from the very first day. Fifteen years ago. Give or take a month. Yet in all that time she’d never seen him look the way he did now.

Her voice edged with anxiety. With unease. ‘Tom, you’re still not making sense. Why do you need to radio in? Is something wrong with the engine?’

Taking her hands, Cooper stared into her eyes intently. Locked into her gaze. And gave her a reassurance which he didn’t feel. ‘It’s just a precaution baby, okay.’

‘Tom, please. You’re making me nervous.’

‘Trust me honey, it’ll be okay. I promise.’

Jackson, beginning to sober up, grabbed Cooper’s arm. ‘Listen man, I didn’t mean anything by it. You guys were asleep so I thought it’d be fun to sail her. No harm done. Right?’

Shaking himself free from Jackson’ grip and not wanting to spend any more time explaining or talking or reassuring, Cooper began to hurry back below decks to where the mounted chart table was. His reply to Jackson was lost in the wind.

*

At the chart table, Cooper quickly scrutinized the radar screen. Watched the sweeping beam detect the flashing targets approaching their yacht at speed. And without hesitation, he picked up the radio. Selected the emergency maritime frequency.

‘Mayday, mayday, mayday! This is the Yankee Girl requesting urgent assistance from any US naval vessel. I repeat, this is Yankee Girl requesting urgent assistance. We are at 0-2 degrees, 21 north, 26-41 west. Mayday, mayday.’

There was a brief interval of silence before the radio crackled loudly. ‘Affirmative. I understand the vessel’s name is Yankee Girl. Break. Break. Vessel Yankee Girl. Vessel Yankee Girl, this is USS Abraham Lincoln. Request to know if you are in need of assistance. Over.’

‘Roger. In need of urgent military assistance.’

Cooper paused. Glanced at the target approaching on screen, adding. ‘Potential piracy situation. Over.’

‘Pirates? Oh my God, Tom, is that why we have to get back to Lamu?’

Ellie stood on the stairs. Her face drained of the softness of color as the voice on the radio cut through the air.

‘Yankee Girl, please identify yourself. Over.’

‘Ellie, please. Just go back to Jackson. I promise, I’ll explain everything. Let me just sort this out.’

Her voice trembled and she said, ‘Not until you tell me exactly what’s going on.’

‘Yankee Girl, I repeat. Identify yourself.’

‘I’m sorry baby, I got to do this.’

He turned his back on her. Not wanting. Not being able to deal with the hurt. The fear in her eyes. He raised the handset to his mouth. ‘This is Lieutenant Thomas J. Cooper of the US Naval Special Forces. Over.’

He heard a hint of surprise in the voice on the other end of the radio.

‘Lieutenant Cooper? This is Petty Officer Monroe, you are aware that this is an open radio channel and contrary to naval protocol for military personnel. Over.’

Cooper clenched his jaw as well as his fist. Tried to keep his composure. But it was tough. And he heard the strain in his own voice. ‘Affirmative, Officer Monroe, I am fully aware of protocol, but I repeat, urgent assistance required. Over.’

‘Lieut…’

Cooper cut him off as he heard Ellie walk away. The authority of rank speeding into his voice.

‘I repeat! This is a mayday call and as such, Monroe, you just need to listen and do your job… Over.’

‘Sir, yes sir! Please stand by, Yankee Girl.’

Placing the radio handset on the table, Cooper grabbed the binoculars before running back up the stairs to the deck. Two at a time.

He could see Ellie had now joined Jackson, who was pulling on the ropes. Struggling. Hauling in the main sheet as it billowed in the oceanic winds.

Pointing at the flapping sail, Cooper yelled, ‘Pull her tight! Jackson. Keep pulling her tight!’

Then through his binoculars, he scanned the horizon whilst listening to the desperate cries of Jackson.

‘Cooper…! Cooper! I need your help! She’s going to capsize!’

‘Hold her down Jackson. Just try to keep her steady… Ellie, take the slack up from behind him. I’ll come and take over in a minute… Whatever you do, just hold on.’

Chasing back down below decks, Cooper picked up the radio again to a different, but familiar sounding voice. A voice he could’ve done without.

‘Come in Yankee Girl. I repeat, this is Captain Neill. Do you copy? Over.’

‘Copy, sir. Requesting urgent assistance.’

‘Lieutenant Cooper, I understand you’re at 02 degrees, 21 north, 26-41 west, though presumably, Lieutenant, you’re aware it’s a high risk area with a code two situational alert.’

Cooper glanced at the flashing targets on the navigational screen moving closer. So close. Too close to the yacht. And the strangling panic wrung tighter and his words singed with anger. ‘With respect sir, both of us know it’s my business to be aware of all situational alerts, and therefore I understand the likelihood of a pirate attack is real, and most likely imminent.’

‘Have you had visual?’

‘Negative sir, but radar shows targets – likely to be pirates – heading straight for us at around 35 knots. ETA, just under ten minutes. Over.’

The captain’s voice was closed. Hostile. And it took every bit of restraint inside Cooper not to rip out the radio from the wall.

‘Cooper, let me get this straight. You’ve had no visual, yet you’re expecting me to send out my men on the likelihood.’

That was it. The wall invited him to punch it. And he accepted. Gratefully.

Frustrated, his tone still held discipline. He said, ‘That’s correct, sir.’

A pause.

A hush.

A silence which sounded like a ticking clock.

And eventually. Tightly. Captain Beau Neill said, ‘Lieutenant, request understood… and approved. I’m passing you back over to Petty Officer Monroe… But Cooper, don’t think I won’t speak to you about this when you get back on the ship.’

A couple of drawn, long seconds, followed by the voice of Officer Monroe. ‘Yankee Girl, have you had visual yet, sir? Over.’

‘Negative, but targets nearing.’

‘Are you on your own?’

‘Negative Monroe, two adult civilians on board. One male, one female.’

‘Are you armed, Lieutenant?’

‘Affirmative.’

Then the words Thomas J. Cooper had been waiting for.

‘Air support on its way. ETA twelve minutes. In the meantime, I advise you to get the civilians below decks… And Lieutenant, good luck.’

*

‘Ellie…! Ellie…! I want you to go downstairs to the cabin, lock the door, hide in the closet. Anywhere you’ll be out of sight.’

Charging towards her, Cooper watched as she shook her head, terror sketched and engraved into her features. She stood portside behind Jackson and, taking up the slack of the rope, she raised her voice to compete with the wind,

‘No, Tom! No way, I’m staying up here to help.’

Before he had time to argue, Jackson began to jibe the boat. Forcing the yacht to make the hazardous one-eighty turn. It tilted dangerously. Rolling treacherously in the waves. Cutting sharply through the water like a blade on silk as he expertly coaxed in the mainsail. Fighting. Battling the surging wind.

And the noise of the thick canvas sail, thunderous as it snapped through the air.

The boom swung across the decks. Shaking violently. Threatening to come lose from her tacks. And with the wind becoming increasingly stronger, harder to defeat, Jackson yelled frantically. ‘Coop! I can’t hold her! Coop! Please!’

Cooper hurried to help. But as he did the crosswind caught under the mainsail. Filling it out and causing the boom to swing back at speed across the deck towards Jackson.

‘Look out!’

The rapidity of the vessel’s boom hurtling sideways made it impossible for Jackson to get out of the way.

It hit him hard.

Split open his forehead from the bridge of his nose to the base of his hairline.

A large skin flap exposed an inch-wide wound as a fountain of blood first patterned then soaked his top. Pooling down onto the deck. He jerked backwards. His body going into seizure. Caused him to slump hard into Ellie as his legs gave way. Sending her staggering back towards the rails.

‘No! ...’

Cooper’s cry stretched further than his reach. His fingertips only managing to brush Ellie’s hands. Too far to catch her but not too far to miss the terror, the panic, frozen in her eyes as she mouthed his name. Screaming out for him to help as she buckled under Jackson’s weight. Losing balance as both she and Jackson plunged overboard.

Racing over the chain rigging, steadying himself as the yacht bobbed fiercely up and down, Cooper grabbed the lifebuoy. Stole a quick glimpse round.

The wind had begun to blow the sails straight on. Denying them any lift. Leaving them to flutter passively like flags at half-mast. And he knew the combination of the dying sails and the boom crashing freely from side to side would stall the vessel to an eventual stop, allowing him to attempt to rescue Jackson and Ellie without fear of the yacht drifting away.

Dashing over to the rails, Cooper leant over.

Ellie had always teased him about the concern he’d shown over her not being able to swim, but she was now floundering and struggling and battling and terrified as the force of the ocean pounded her into the side of the yacht, her hands sliding down the fiberglass side as she desperately scrabbled for some kind of hold.

With water rushing over her face and into her mouth, Ellie’s words were punctuated with the sounds of wild gasping.

‘Help… me… Tom…! Tom…! Help… me… please…’

Throwing the buoy to her, Cooper’s eyes once again darted along the surface of the ocean. But this time he was looking for Jackson. ‘Ellie, hang on to that…Whatever you do, keep hold of it.’

‘Pull me up!’

‘I have to get Jackson… just hold on.’

‘Tom…! No, wait! ...’

He turned away and Ellie continued to scream his name. The draw for him to look back was hypnotic. But he couldn’t. Shouldn’t. Wouldn’t. In truth, he didn’t dare. His composure was already beginning to crack. Peeling away. Exposing his vulnerability which he knew would serve only to distract. Costing time. Costing lives.

There… He could see Jackson to the left of the boat. Unconscious. Floating face down.

And without a breath of hesitation, Thomas J. Cooper dived in.

‘I’m here… It’s okay, I’m here… Stay with me Jackson, stay with me!’

Treading water, Cooper turned Jackson over carefully. Real slowly. And the sea turned red with blood.

‘Jackson…! Jackson!’

There was no response, but that didn’t surprise Cooper. He could see the injuries to Jackson’s head were worse than he’d initially thought. The gash so deep he could see skull. His eyes so swollen, if he’d been conscious, Cooper doubted Jackson would’ve been able to open them anyway. But at least he was alive. Barely. But alive all the same, and whatever happened, he was determined to keep it that way.

Using an extended arm tow with his hand under Jackson’s chin, Cooper swam, heading for the yacht’s ladder. He could hear Ellie still screaming. Screaming strong. But that was good. Real good. It told him what he wanted to know… She was still there.

Unexpected swells of rolling waves suddenly carried Cooper and Jackson sideward. And the sound of roaring and chugging and racing engines and a glance to his left confirmed his fears. Old battered white skiffs. And in them, Somalian pirates. Heavily armed and sporting t-shirts bearing American logos and wearing Bedouin scarfs showing only their eyes.

They hadn’t seen him. Though he knew it was only a matter of time. His only chance, however slim, was to get to the stern box on the other side of the yacht which held his gun. In desperation, Cooper dived under the water, dragging an unconscious Jackson with him.

Under the surface the sounds were distorted. The vision blurred, made harder from the dark billowing clouds of Jackson’s blood. And Cooper counted down, calculating how long it’d be safe to keep an unconscious Jackson under water.

Four seconds.

Three.

Two.

Re-surfacing, and hoping he was near enough to the yacht, Cooper was met by an onslaught of bullets and a firing of guns and a fusion of sounds and a discord of chaos and Cooper’s breathing was hard and his chest was tight and his energy was slowly draining away.

Chopping waves and whirling blades hovering above sent a downdraft of stinging ocean spray. And to the soundtrack of machine guns and through a gusting wind, Cooper squinted up.

And there in the sun drenched sky, reflecting light like armored angels waging war with dragons, were two US Navy helicopters.

As the skiffs turned and retreated the aerial rescue basket was lowered into the water and Cooper kissed Jackson on the side of his head. He whispered, ‘It’s goin’ to be alright. You hear me, Jackson? It’s going to be alright.’

*

‘Lieutenant, we’re going to take you both back to the ship,’ the US navy officer shouted above the blare of the rotating blades as the air crewmen hoisted Jackson and Cooper into the Seahawk helicopter.

And with the helicopter beginning to rise and veer away from the yacht, Cooper shook his head. Gesturing desperately to the crewmen as he watched them tend to an unconscious Jackson.

‘Lower me back down… Now!’

‘Sorry sir, we have orders to get you straight back to the ship.’

Cooper’s voice was barely heard but he had no doubt his face conveyed the lost sound of anger. ‘I don’t give a damn about orders, Officer. Just lower me the hell down. There’s one other civilian still in the water.’

‘Sir, the other helicopter will have it covered. I’m sorry sir, there’s nothing I can do.’

*

‘Where’s Ellie? Answer me, Officer, when I’m talking to you.’

Struggling to hold down his sense of panic, Cooper stood on the landing pad of the USS Abraham Lincoln, as the air crewmen from the second Seahawk helicopter made their way from the chopper.

His panic. His fear. Emotions which held familiar echoes of his childhood. Feelings he’d refused to allow to penetrate as an adult began to engulf him. Overwhelm him.

‘You heard me, Daniels, where’s Ellie?’

The tall. Sinewy. Bald-headed seaman who Cooper could see was now regretting being first out of the helicopter, paled. Muttering the fewest of words.

‘I’m… I’m sorry, Lieutenant.’

The mix of bewilderment and shock and disbelief and confusion acted as a catalyst for Cooper’s anger. He lunged at the new recruit. Grabbed him by his oversized flight suit and shook the hell out of him.

‘What are you talking about? Answer the goddamn question!’

Daniels looked behind him, hoping his colleagues would come to help – not to his physical rescue, but to his verbal one. ‘I… I am, sir… I did.’

The pain of the migraine behind Cooper’s eyes began to blur his vision. The pain of it shooting down his nose. But he didn’t care. He didn’t give a damn. All he wanted was answers. ‘Then tell it to me again, Daniels. Tell me again… Where is Ellie?’

‘She’s gone. I’m sorry.’

Hysteria channelled Cooper’s words. He shook his head in disbelief. His voice a cocktail of laughter and pain and dread rose louder and louder. ‘Gone? Gone where, Officer? Where is it you think she’s gone? To the mall? To a baby shower? To a goddamn Yankees game?’

‘Sir, no sir. When I say gone, I mean missing, lost at sea… presumed… presumed dead… sir.’

Letting go, he pushed Daniels hard away. Knocked him to the floor. But Cooper’s rage engulfed him. Driving him on to crouch down to where the officer had fallen. Leaning over him and squeezing and pressing the officer’s throat. Feeling the man’s trachea moving about on his palm.

Daniels rasped.

‘I know what you mean officer, but you see, that’s not possible. Shall I tell you why it isn’t? Because she was there, you son of a bitch. I heard her… Do you understand what I’m saying? She was still there!’

‘That’s enough, Cooper.’

Captain Beau Neill stood slightly to the side of Cooper, kneading the base of his back with his knuckles as shock-waves of pain darted through his body. Sciatica. It was the damnedest of things. He’d experienced the battle of Huê, Vietnam, in the late February of ’68. Been on more tours of duty than he could easily recall without referring to naval records. Yet it was the sciatica which was beating him. Slowly. Painfully. Relentlessly. Forcing him to give up his career, which was tantamount to giving up life.

Through gritted teeth, Neill directed his conversation to Officer Daniels. ‘Go ahead, explain to Lieutenant Cooper what happened, he needs to hear it.’

Daniels stood up. Held his throat. Looked hesitant. Wasn’t able to hold eye contact, though he articulated the course of events confidently. ‘I was in the second helicopter sir, and once the lieutenant and the male civilian had been rescued safely, and due to civilian one being…’

Cooper snapped. ‘His name’s Jackson. Jackson Woods.’

‘Sir. Due to… due to Mr. Woods’s severe injury, Seahawk one headed back to the ship. Seahawk two’s main objective was then to pick up the second civilian… I’m sorry, Lieutenant, I don’t know her name.’

Staring at Daniels, Cooper’s eyes were void of emotion. Listlessly he uttered,

‘Just carry on.’

‘From the air we couldn’t see the second civilian, and as we were able to establish the present threat had left the area, as well as alerting the Kenyan coast guards, two divers began a search and rescue.’

Knowing the answer already but for due diligence, Captain Neill probed. ‘Were you one of the divers, Officer?’

‘No sir, I continued in the helicopter which located the skiffs, eight miles north. By then we also had assistance from the counter piracy control unit. After warning shots, the two skiffs conceded and the PC unit searched the vessels. It was clear, sir, they’d discarded their weapons overboard because the only items found were fuel barrels, long ladders and grappling hooks. The PC unit then commenced to confiscate the property to ensure the suspects had no means to conduct any attacks. We then transferred them all into the one skiff, destroying and sinking the other one, prior to escorting the suspects back to the Somali shoreline. On our way back to assist the divers, we were informed by the appropriate authorities they were changing the MO from search and rescue to search and recover… I’m really sorry, Lieutenant Cooper.’

Captain Neill, visibly tormented by the pain hitting the top of his legs with unyielding brutality, and opposed to any sort of sentiment in the line of duty, snarled at Daniels.

‘Now get the hell out of here.’

‘Wait…! I said wait.’

Cooper strode up to Daniels. He was finding it hard to focus. Thoughts chaotically crossing from Ellie to Jackson, who’d earlier been flown on to Nairobi.

‘Yes, sir?’

‘You said two.’

‘Excuse me?’

‘You said there were two skiffs.’

‘Yes sir.’

‘There were three… Three skiffs.’

Daniels shook his head. ‘With respect, sir, there were just the two.’

Cooper pressed his palm into his eye, feeling the pulsating throb. ‘Are you trying to tell me I don’t know the difference between two and goddamn three?’

‘No sir, of course not. But in this case there were only two skiffs.’

The bellow from Cooper made the crew on the far side of the landing pad turn round curiously. ‘Three! One, two, three. Which means, she’s on the third.’

A puzzled crease formed on Daniels’s forehead. ‘Who… who sir?’

‘Ellie. Who the hell do you think I mean? I…’ Cooper stopped to ride on a wave of nausea as sweet saliva rushed into his mouth like a fountain. He swallowed hard. ‘She can’t have drowned, so there’s no point in search and recover. There isn’t a body to find.’

Turing to Captain Neill. The strain. The urgency in Cooper’s voice was palpable.

‘We have to deploy two, perhaps three units to the shore and contact the naval land base in Lamu, then…’

Neill cut through Cooper’s animation with tangible disdain. ‘Get yourself under control, Lieutenant, you’ve got a position to keep. Your subordinates are watching.’

‘My only concern here is with Ellie and sending an operations team to get her.’

‘Maybe you should’ve thought about that before.’

Captain Beau Neill pivoted on his heel and walked away. He nodded to Daniels to do the same which he gratefully did.

‘Don’t walk away from me, Beau. You hear me? Don’t you walk away.’

The captain jerked to a standstill. The words acting like the slamming of brakes. He spoke to Cooper with his back turned. His tenor a quiet menace. ‘Who the hell do you think you’re speaking to, Lieutenant?’

‘I don’t know, Captain, I’ve often wondered that myself.’

‘Be very careful, Cooper.’

‘Careful, careful of what? How the hell do you expect me to behave, when every minute we stand here Ellie gets further away from my reach? From our help. They’ll take her God knows where and do God knows what. And maybe they’ll ask for a ransom or maybe like others before her she’ll just disappear without a trace.’

Neill swiveled round. Flexing and relaxing his mouth. ‘Now you’ve finished lecturing me, I’ll tell you what I expect. I expect you to conduct yourself with the appropriate decorum, Lieutenant, as is your duty.’

Cooper tasted the bitterness coating his reply. ‘Decorum. Conduct. Goddamn duty. Those words read like a handbook from my childhood, Captain.’

Neill stepped in closer. Inches away. ‘I also expect you to see the truth when it’s in front of you… There was no third skiff. Ellie’s dead. Drowned, Lieutenant.’

‘No… no, you’ve all got it wrong. She was there. Moments before, she was there.’

‘You’re embarrassing yourself, Lieutenant… Answer me this. Was Ellie wearing a harness? A lifejacket?’

Blinking, Cooper stared for a minute. Introvertedly he said, ‘No,’

‘And so correct me if I’m wrong, Cooper; you knew Ellie had no idea how to swim, yet you didn’t insist on her wearing a jacket on the yacht? Do the math.’

Cooper grabbed him. And grabbed him hard. ‘You son of a bitch, you’re enjoying this aren’t you, Beau?’

Neill stared coldly. ‘Get your hands off me, Lieutenant.’

There was silence between the two men before Cooper, awash with a sense of defeat, dropped his hold. His hope.

‘I’m asking for your help, Captain. I’ve never asked you for anything. Not when I was a kid. Not as an adult. But I’m asking you now. Please. Please, Beau, I beg you. Send a unit to look for Ellie. Help me bring her back.’

For a moment Captain Neill held Cooper’s gaze. His mouth moved as if about to say something but instead, he turned and walked away without saying another word.

*

‘Lieutenant. Governor Woods has arrived en route from Lamu, he’s asking to speak to you, sir, before we fly him on to see his son in Nairobi.’

Cooper stood in a catatonic state by the ship’s railings as the slightly overweight 3rd petty officer informed him of the arrival. He nodded, too consumed with grief to speak.

‘Thomas, it’s good to see you.’ Woods stopped, realizing his voice seemed too loud. His composure too contrived. Then quietly he tried again. ‘Your Uncle Beau’s just filled me in on everything. I’m sorry about Ellie. It’s devastating. I liked her a lot.’

Continuing to stare out to sea as the night’s sky merged with the darkness of the ocean, Cooper answered. Barely. ‘And if you hadn’t, you wouldn’t be sorry?’

John Woods, the newly elected Governor of Illinois, pulled gently on his arm. Turning Cooper round to face him. ‘Hey, you know I didn’t mean that. Come on, Coop, don’t make me your enemy. I’m on your side.’

Cooper’s tone was flat. He sighed. Noticed the painful sunburn on Woods’s nose. Then a memory came to mind of how proud Jackson had been of him when he was elected Governor. ‘She’s alive. I know it. I can feel it… What? You’re going to tell me I didn’t see three skiffs as well?’

‘No… No. I just…’ The Governor trailed off before continuing a moment later. ‘What the hell happened out there anyway?’

Cooper said nothing. His thoughts trailed away. It’d only been this morning that he’d been laughing with Ellie. So pleased. So delighted. So happy she’d decided to come and see him.

The trip to Kenya had been a last minute, spur of the moment kind of holiday for Ellie, Jackson and John. The one time everyone’s diaries had coincided, but the driving force had definitely been Ellie.

Having been deployed to the naval base in Lamu – setting up and heading a new counter piracy taskforce in the area – Ellie had missed Cooper, and although his military training and experience had taught him to dissociate, damn, he’d missed her too.

Finding out he’d had a week off, Ellie had decided to fly out and visit, and when she’d mentioned it to Jackson – who she’d known almost fifteen years – he’d decided to come too. And then there was John, who, having always wanted to go on safari, and having a rare few days off, had taken the opportunity to join them as well. It’d been perfect. But like the petals of a rose, perfect never lasted.

Woods interrupted Cooper’s thoughts. Gently encouraging him, pushing him to talk.

‘Coop…? Tell me what happened.’

‘Okay. Alright… So you’d already left to go on safari. Ellie thought it’d be cool for us to all sail up the coast on the yacht we hired and have a picnic. I didn’t see a problem and Jackson was up for it. When we got there I anchored up. Had something to eat. And that was it really.’

‘Coop, come on, you guys were found just a few miles off the coast of Somalia. There’s no way you of all people would’ve sailed into danger and put anyone, especially Ellie or Jackson, at risk.’

‘Look, I was in charge of the yacht, so there’s no-one else to blame…’

‘Just tell me what happened. I want to hear it.’

‘It was hot. She was tired. So Ellie and I went downstairs for a sleep. I dunno, maybe I shouldn’t have done… Anyway, when I woke up… I knew we were in trouble.’

‘So it was Jackson.’

‘But he didn’t know the dangers. He’s a great yachtsman so I guess he wouldn’t have seen the harm in it.’

‘Jesus.’

Governor Woods leant on the railings.

Cooper spoke matter-of-factly. ‘I’m going to say it was me.’

The shock in the Governor’s voice was as clear as it was in his eyes. ‘What the hell for?’

‘Jackson. He’d been drinking.’

‘Oh, Christ.’

‘If I say it was me, it should really be the end of it.’

‘Not sure if the Navy will see it like that.’

Cooper shrugged his shoulders. ‘So I get disciplined. You know something, John? I really don’t care anymore.’

Woods shook his head. ‘No, I can’t let you do that.’

‘What’s the alternative? They find out Jackson was drinking, and then what? You really think the Kenyan authorities will just give him a slap on the wrist when he was drunk in charge of a vessel and caused…’ Cooper stopped, unable and unwilling to finish the sentence.

‘I don’t know, Coop.’

‘Well, I do. And I also know what a hell-hole a Kenyan jail will be. We both know Jackson couldn’t cope for a day in somewhere like that, let alone serve a long prison sentence. I won’t do that to him. Or to you. There’s your job to think about.’

‘Look, this isn’t about my job.’

‘Oh yeah? Try telling the opposing party that. You know what’s it like, they’ll want to destroy you, John. They look for anything. And even though this has nothing to do with you, it’ll affect your political career… Jackson’s so proud of what you’ve achieved. Let him continue being proud.’

‘Governor Woods, excuse me, sir…’ The 3rd petty officer walked towards Cooper and Woods, slightly hesitant after what he’d seen happen to his colleague earlier.

He said, ‘Sorry to disturb you sir, but your helicopter is ready to take you to the hospital.’

‘Thank you, officer, just give me a minute.’

Woods turned to Cooper. Face taut with stress. Mirroring each other. ‘Okay. Do what you have to do… But Tom, this conversation never happened.’

He began to walk away but stopped. Quietly said,

‘I really am sorry about Ellie. Maybe you should go and see the Medic. He can give you something. You’ve had a shock.’

Cooper didn’t mean to sound so bitter, but he knew he did. ‘Pop a pill to make it alright? Make it all go away, John?’

‘That’s not what I’m saying.’

‘Thanks but no thanks. I’ve never been a believer in medicating myself and I’m not about to start now.’

‘Well okay, it was just a thought… And I’m here for you. If you need to talk, you know where I am.’

Cooper nodded slowly. Tried to smile. Gave up. ‘I appreciate that. Keep me informed about Jackson… And hey, put some cream on that nose, it looks sore.’

Absentmindedly, Woods touched the sunburn on his face, wincing slightly. ‘You know, Cooper, the hardest thing to do is to let someone we love go. But you have to, Tom. You have to let her go.’

Present Day

Eritrea – Horn of Africa Mai Edaga detention center

1

Thomas J. Cooper knew there were moments in life when you only had one chance. One shot. One opportunity to get it right. And he also knew such moments were often lost. Often wasted. Went unseen. But as he stood in the solidity of darkness, in his tomb-like cell, unshod and ankle deep in human waste, Cooper trusted his moment would come soon. And when it did, hell, there was no way he was going to lose it.

His tomb – part prison cell, part grave – was a hole in the ground. The place he’d been lowered into when he’d first been brought to the detention center, however many days ago that’d been.

The bodies of the unknown decomposing dead surrounded him; the ones who were still alive thinking their nameless brothers were the lucky ones. For the uncharged, untried prisoners of Mai Edaga, death would be their only salvation. A deliverance from the near ritualistic daily torture and the searing, crippling heat from the sheet of corrugated metal covering the hole, which acted like a furnace in the Eritrean sun.

The scraping sound of the cover being dragged off the hole had Cooper, along with the other men, protecting their eyes from the burning light.

‘Out.’ The guard – rich black skin, dressed in a knee-length shirt over heavy cotton pants – wiped away the veil of sweat forming on his upper lip. He sniffed contemptuously. Gestured his head to the prisoners.

Whilst the rest of the detainees fought to scrabble out of the hole, using the rotting corpses as a step to reach the edge and pull themselves out, Cooper waited patiently for an elderly man to climb up at the only point which didn’t require such extreme measures.

Once out, the guard sneered and jeered and jabbed the steel muzzle of his gun aggressively into Cooper’s stomach.

It took more than a minute before Cooper shifted his gaze from the gun to the guard. Lifting his eyes slowly. Staring with cutting derision. Then a wry smile spread across his face.

The guard’s broken English was deep. Guttural. He said, ‘What so funny James Dean?’

It was an anomalous reference from a bygone era as if somehow the guard, like the wild barren landscape Cooper found himself standing in, was frozen in time.

In stark contrast to the guard’s voice was the lilt of Cooper’s soft Missouri accent, scornful in its gentle defiance. ‘I don’t have to explain anything to anybody.’

The guard’s hostility darkened. Angered. Aware that he was somehow being mocked, though ignorant of the fact the reply had been a line from an old James Dean movie.

The butt of the guard’s gun smashed into the side of Cooper’s face.

‘What do you say now Americano?’

He stumbled back and it took a moment for him to recover. Longer than he wanted. But it hurt. Real bad. Shot pain waves through his entire body, setting his jawline on fire. But he was damned if he was going to show it… Never did.

Wiping his mouth and tasting the salty blood trickling from his lips, he locked his stare with the guard’s. Stepped forward. Pushed his stomach onto the muzzle of the gun.

‘Haven’t they ever told you?’

‘Told me what?’

Cooper winked. Whispered. ‘Never take on a crazy guy who’s got nothing left to lose.’

The guard, unnerved and taken aback by Cooper’s apparent fearlessness, took a few seconds to regain his composure. ‘Less of your mouth Americano… Now, move it!’

He pushed Cooper towards the line of barefoot prisoners waiting to walk the scorching six kilometre trek through the rough, hard, brutal terrain, to bring back heavy hessian sacks full of rice which tore mercilessly at the men’s hands, leaving them with painful open sores.

And the sun beat down. Ruthless and fierce and unrelenting, and the guard shouted and fired his gun giving the men no choice but to set off.

*

Ten minutes into the journey and the ground was unforgiving. Sharp stones cut into Cooper’s feet but he knew better than to stop, the guards being crueller than any barren land.

Vehicles made their way dangerously fast down the unmarked rocky track. Like giant clouds of powdered cinnamon, the sands swirled densely, high above the road. A battered truck sped along towards them as Cooper and his fellow prisoners approached a huddled figure clad in a full blue chadri, sat beside the road. Their face was entirely covered with dense material, save the small section around the eyes which was laced with a net grille.

As the empty sheep truck slowed down, coming to a noisy stop, Cooper stared at the driver. Locking eyes. Holding his gaze. And then he knew. This was the moment. The one chance he’d been waiting for.

With arresting speed and a quick glance round, he rotated his body and a caught the gun which was thrown to him by the huddled figure in blue, who now stood up, revealing the weapon concealed underneath their chadri. Cooper aimed the gun at the guard.

To the chants and cries and calls and yells of the other inmates of Mai Edaga, Cooper fired warning shots towards the guard, as his disguised associate jumped in the waiting truck. He fired a few more shots for caution. For himself. For every dead man who never made it… For every dead man that was still there.

‘Cooper…! Come on…! Come on…! Jump in!’

Thomas J. Cooper did just that.

2

‘What kept you?’

Cooper was wired. And he could feel his eyes were wild with adrenalin as the truck sped and raced along the rough sand terrain. He broke into a smile which made him flinch as his parched, inflamed lips cracked further. He licked them in the hope of some relief. There wasn’t any. But damn, it tasted good. Freedom always did.

Levi Walker, a small stocky black man from Connecticut, with a cynical outlook on life, kept his eyes on the road as he spoke. ‘Oh, I don’t know, Coop, maybe a few thousand miles of sand. That, and the tiny matter of the Eritrean government.’

A woman’s voice came from the back. ‘More like deciding whether or not to bother getting your ass out of trouble… Again.’ Cooper swivelled round in the vehicle’s hard front seat, watching as she busily took off the chadri she’d been wearing. Grinned. Leant his well-built but battered body across the seat. Stretched over to the back where she was sitting. And landed a large kiss on her cheek.

Soft.

Warm.

Everything he hadn’t had for the past few weeks.

He said, ‘It’s good to see you too, Maddie… and you should keep that chadri, it’s a good look on you.’

Levi Walker burst into laughter. ‘Maybe I should take one home for Mrs. Walker. Save me having to look at her sour face across the breakfast table in the mornings.’

Cooper shook his head. He liked Levi. Always did. Always had. And he knew he couldn’t say that about a lot of guys. ‘Who wouldn’t have a sour face if they’d been married to you for the last twenty years? Beats me why Dorothy hasn’t thrown you out a long time ago… Oh shit, we’ve got company.’

Maddie span round and watched as a sheep lorry, driven by the prison guards, drove up behind them on the narrow mountain road, ramming into their tailgate and bucking them forward. She glanced quickly to her left; nothing but a crumbling sheer drop down to the hillside below. ‘Won’t this thing go any faster?’

‘I’ve got my foot right down on the gas! Our only hope is that their truck turns out to be slower than ours.’

Grabbing hold of the Heckler & Koch UMP 40 on the seat next to him, Cooper pulled back the folding stock. Leant his body out of the window. Began to fire at the truck as it continued to ram into them.

He shouted at Levi, ‘Keep it straight!’

‘I can’t! The road’s too bumpy. Too many potholes and any closer to the side, we’re going over!’

Without saying another word, and holding onto the truck’s roof handle, Cooper leant out of the window and began to fire at the truck behind as they veered precariously close to the edge.

The forty calibre shots ricocheted off the hood as Cooper struggled to get a good aim, as his hand shook and the truck bounced around.

‘Give it to me, Tom…! Now!’ Climbing over her seat, Maddie snatched the closed bolt weapon out of Cooper’s hands and pushed across the selector switch to fully automatic. ‘Hold on to me!’ she shouted at him over the sound of the racing engine. ‘And make it tight!’

Without waiting she pushed open the passenger door which swung out over the three hundred foot drop, and as Cooper held onto her waist she leant out over the deadly drop and expertly aimed and held her hand steady and cut out everything around her and closed one eye and aimed at the truck’s tyre…

Bullseye.

The front left wheel exploded into a mix of sound and shreds of rubber, and Maddie watched as the driver of the vehicle fought with the steering wheel as if he were driving a herd of wild horses. And as she pumped a last hail of bullets into the other tyre, the guards’ truck came to a screeching halt, millimetres from going over the edge.

Closing her eyes for a moment and breathing deeply, Maddie gave a last glance to the drop below and, helped by Cooper, carefully sidled back into her seat. Put on the safety lock of the submachine gun. Threw it down on the floor. Turned to Cooper and said, ‘You’re a total jackass.’

‘But you, Maddison, you’re something else and the best shot around and that’s why we all love you.’ He winked. Caught the look of incredulity on her face. And he knew her well enough to know she was pissed. Well and truly.

‘You think this is funny do you, Tom? None of this is funny. Not even close. I told you a long time ago that I’m not going through this crap again, you hear me? You could’ve been killed in that place and we could’ve all been killed just now. I thought you’d finished with all this. Remember? Remember your promises to stop this crap? But oh no. Suddenly you’re playing action hero again, whilst Levi and I put our jobs on the line – not to mention our necks – and it’s not over yet. We still have to get over the border. You really need to start growing up, because there’s a lot of people who rely on you.’

Levi swerved the truck, only narrowly avoiding hitting the carcass of a large goat lying in the middle of the road. ‘Seriously Maddie,’ he said. ‘Do this some other time. He’ll be wishing he’s back in Mai Edaga.’

Watching a fly hitch a ride on the truck as they weaved up the mountain trail, Cooper rubbed his head. Felt the tiredness beginning to hit. He’d barely slept for the past few days, partly because of the cramped conditions in Mai Edaga, but mainly because he hadn’t wanted to let down his guard.

‘No, it’s cool,’ he said. ‘Maddie’s right. It isn’t funny, but honey, you know it’s just our way to get through stuff. I’m sorry though, okay?’

Maddie, not interested in being appeased – not interested in anything Cooper had to say – snapped angrily. ‘That’s bullshit, Tom. Bullshit! You’re not sorry. You never are. But like I said before, I won’t be part of it anymore.’

‘Maddie, come on, I…’

‘No, Tom, I don’t want to hear it. I’ve heard it, too many times. But the worst thing is, I’ve fallen for it too many times, but you can bet your ass not this time.’

Cooper turned to appeal to Levi, who was driving hard up the mountainside, wanting to get to the Ethiopian border before night fall. ‘Levi, help me out here.’

‘Bro, you know I love you man but on this one, Maddie’s right. You know that. It’s some crazy stuff you got yourself into back there. We all know you’re good at what you do. The best. But… hell, I dunno, recently it feels like you’re always looking for the edge and you wouldn’t care if you fell off. I don’t know what’s happened. It’s like we’re back in the past. And they were bad days, bro. Real bad days. And I’ll tell you something else for free, I’m not looking forward to the crap we’ll get when Granger realizes we took off to come and find you…’

Levi ended his sentence with a whistle to emphasis his words, as was his habit.

Resigned, Cooper said, ‘Leave Granger to me.’

Changing gears and grinding the gear box, Levi shook his head. ‘Listen Coop, I know you’ve pulled me out of some near misses. Jeez, I probably wouldn’t be here today if it wasn’t for you, but those days are over and I thought they were for you as well. We all did. I left the Navy to have a peaceful life, man, and apart from Mrs. Walker bitching every day, that’s what I get. I’m not looking for excitement, I’m looking to earn money and go fishing. Fishing and money. The only two things that matter. Everything else, especially women – sorry Maddie – is too much of a headache. But you and whatever’s going on, well it’s some kind of crazy.’

Maddie sighed, ‘I don’t get it, Tom, why make everything harder? Why do this after all this time?’

Cooper opened the tepid bottle of water Levi had passed him earlier. Drank it down. Didn’t seem to quench his thirst. Sighed. Knew he should have some patience. Because he got it. God knows he got what she was trying to say. Problem was, he didn’t want to hear it. Not now. Not ever. He said, ‘Christ, Maddie, can’t you just leave it? I’m just doing my job. That’s all.’

Red with anger and frustration and pain at not being able to get her words out properly, Maddie spluttered. ‘No. No you’re not. This has nothing to do with the job. We both know that. And we both know who it’s about.’

Levi took his eyes off the road to shoot her a hard stare. A stare which Cooper had no doubt he’d been practising for Mrs Walker. ‘Leave it, Maddie… She don’t mean nothing by it, Coop. We’re all upset.’

Tying back her long corkscrew brown hair in a tight ponytail, Maddie’s face was flushed. Red like a fever. ‘Yes I do mean something by it. Don’t tell me I don’t, Levi, and what’s more, don’t get into my business.’

Levi Walker, always hoping he and confrontation had parted company a long time ago, tried to smooth down the situation, though he couldn’t help thinking how scarily like his wife Maddie was when she had something bugging her.

‘Hey guys, listen. Let’s not get into a fight. It’s been a tough day and Cooper, you look beat. And although I know he’ll never say it, Maddie, I bet he had one helluva tough time in that detention center. We’ve still got a long-ass drive in front of us, but the sooner we get to the border, the better. The plane we chartered from Addis Ababa is thirty miles west from there. We’ll fly it back to the airport and then tomorrow there are three tickets with our names on. So it’ll be goodbye Africa, hello USA.’

Levi’s attempt at peace-making fell short of the mark for Maddie. Always did. Never got close.

‘Shut the hell up, Levi. I want Tom to admit it that the whole thing in Eritrea, it wasn’t about the job.’

‘Maddie,’ said Cooper. ‘Enough.’

‘You don’t get off that easily. It’s started again, hasn’t it? But what I don’t know is why… Come on Tom, I want you to admit this is about Ell… ’

Cooper’s voice raised. Shouted. Shot her down as he interrupted. ‘Don’t say it…! You hear me? Just don’t.’ He paused. Clenched his fist to stop the past pouring in. Turned away to watch the unfamiliar countryside speed by. But even after a minute, all Thomas J. Cooper could manage was a whisper. ‘Just don’t say it, Maddie… Levi, wake me up when we get there.’

Cooper closed his eyes. Goddamn it the woman drove him mad. But he supposed that was part of her job. It was what women did.

Like Levi, he’d known Maddie for over twenty years and all that time she’d never changed. Tough and strong and loyal and caring and intelligent as hell. Put most men he knew to shame. But that didn’t mean she didn’t get under his skin.

He’d met her on the first day of Aviation Officer Candidate School at the beginning of his military career. The three of them were all tight friends. Been through tough times, and looking back he knew it’d made them stronger.

Even when he’d left the military they’d kept in touch. Or rather, Levi and Maddie had kept in touch with him. But he hadn’t appreciated it. After the accident he wanted to be allowed to hide away from the world, so he could be consumed by his own grief. His own loss. His own guilt. But they hadn’t let him. Not even for a moment.

The job they were now in, that had been Maddie’s idea, when she and Levi’s commissions in the Navy had come to an end. They’d both joined Onyx, an aviation and marine asset recovery company, specializing in tracking down high value commercial and private boats and planes for banks, leasing companies and, on occasion, the US government. Stolen, involved in a crime, or left with payments outstanding, it was their job as investigators to find them and bring them back. From wherever. However. And from whoever.

He had known Dax Granger, the owner of the firm, even before the others had, and being an experienced pilot as well as having a SEAL background, he’d been ideal for the job. It had taken a while for Maddie to persuade him to leave fixing up his ranch in Colorado, which never seemed to get fixed, and five years ago he had succumbed to the pressure. Joined the firm. Got his investigator license, thinking it was all a bit of a joke.

But quickly he’d learnt there was nothing funny about it at all. The first job he’d investigated had been to track down a Learjet 60XR, the purchaser not having kept up with the repayments. It was a beautifully crafted plane. But what he’d found inside had been at odds with both the plane and the quiet splendour of the Tahitian island he’d traced it to. Inside were the bodies of three women. Raped and killed. The owner of the plane? Whereabouts unknown.

The local police closed the case before it had really opened. But the vision of the women had sat inside his head, and much to Levi’s and Maddie’s dismay and protestations and objections, he’d tracked down the women’s families to let them know what’d happened to their mothers, sisters, daughters. Because to him it was the not knowing which killed you.

The job paid well. But it wasn’t about the money. Not for him. Especially not at the beginning. For the first year of working for Onyx he’d found himself most interested in the investigations which took him to Africa. And he knew why. And eventually everyone else did too… It had given him the permission. The reason. The opportunity to keep looking. To keep searching for her.

God knows he wasn’t good at remembering the past. Or maybe it was more a case of not wanting to. Too many shadows. Too many memories hiding round corners, things not even a loaded gun could protect him from. So he kept on pushing forward. Not stopping. Not caring, but always hoping and wanting and needing to know he’d been right all those years ago when he’d believed she was still alive. Somewhere in this beautiful, dark yet dangerous sprawling mistress called Africa.

But then things had changed. He’d stopped looking for her. Not because he’d wanted to, but because it’d been the right thing to do. Or that’s what they’d told him. That’s what his therapist had told him. And he’d made promises. Vows. And he’d kept to them. Until now. Because now was different.

The days he’d spent in the hole in Mai Edaga, that was stupid. A mistake. Nobody’s fault but his own. He knew that. The rule was if you had no papers, or if international relations with the country were volatile, just find the plane and fly it the hell out without being seen.

Eritrea had ticked both boxes. No papers, and no international relations with America to speak of. But instead of leaving when he should have done, for the first time since he’d made the promise to stop looking, just over four years ago, he’d taken the opportunity. Broken his promises and headed south, hoping to speak to a tribe of the Rashaida, a nomadic Arabic-speaking people, living predominantly in scattered areas of western Eritrea, wanting to know if they knew anything. Seen anything. Heard anything… about her.

But he’d been spotted by authorities. Accused of being a political spy and thrown into the detention center with no access to anything even slightly resembling an American consul. But then taking such stupid risks came with consequences. Danger. He of all people knew that. And at times he thought he lived for that. It was one of the few things which made him feel.

He also knew that was part of his problem.

Although he hadn’t known how and when, he knew Maddie and Levi would track him down and come. As they’d always done in the past. And he owed them. Both of them. But especially Maddie, for more reasons than one.

Abruptly. Cutting through the silence of his thoughts, Maddie spoke, in the high-pitched tone which made it impossible for him to ignore no matter how much he tried. ‘You know what I don’t understand is why you want to go that little bit further? What are you trying to prove? You wanna see if it breaks? Well it does, Tom. It has. We all do eventually and you of all people should know that.’

Opening his eyes. Slowly. Cooper looked at her. Sighed real heavy. ‘Listen, I made a mistake, deciding to travel through Eritrea. Don’t make this about us, Maddie.’

Maddie shook her head. Her look of disappointment hitting him like an ice cold shower.

‘Don’t do that Tom. Don’t try to get me to back off. You’re right, I am making it about us because it is about us. About you. More to the point it’s about her… You know what Tom. Forget it. Just forget the whole goddamn thing.’

Eight miles outside Buziba, Sud-Kivu

Democratic Republic of Congo

3

It was only the sound of the heavy rain which hid the screams. The blood flowed from the palm leaf roofed hut into the red dirt track like a tributary feeding into a river. Inside only an oil light flickered, barely disturbing the darkness. The carcass of a rotted goat writhed and wriggled as maggots fed and moved inside it. The sickly sweet smell of putrefying mounds of blood-covered feathers filled the air.

The villagers sat on the floor, dressed in vibrantly colored cloths with batik print and bold patterns – a stark contrast to the bleak. Taut. Tense atmosphere.

Papa Bemba nodded. Stood on the home made dais next to his folding wooden altar. His face disfigured, mutilated by his own hands. Scarred raised flesh filling the sockets where his eyes should be. It had been the souls of the undead, the spirits of those greater, who’d directed him to gouge out his own eyes. A gift bestowed on him to drive out the evil, allowing him to be the conveyer of all that is pure, and to rid those amongst them of the sorcery within. The darkness of blindness had given him the power along with the vision of the possessed. For now he saw better. Clearer.

His fingers expertly guided him along the body of the naked man lying on the altar. He stopped. Thoughtful for a moment as he felt a lump on the man’s neck, before his furrowed swollen hands moved on, down to the area where his liver lay.

It was there. The evil. The Kindoki spirit. The force of wrong which had taken over this man’s being. Making him defiant. Making him question.

And then Papa Bemba cried out. Flamboyancy lacing his tone as he pressed down on the man’s ribs, rubbing his skin with berries.

‘I have found it. It rises. Pushes out towards the living to harm those gathered. To harm those with child. To harm those who seek a better life. Let us deliver your brother, Emmanuel Mutombo.’

Mutterings of Amen sounded through the hut as Bemba leant over Emmanuel again, pushing his ear down on the man’s face. He could hear the shallow rasps coming from him which told him the spirits were there.

He spoke to those assembled. His voice, trance like. ‘Pray for him. Pray for your brother, Mutombo… Vous êtes le médecin de mon âme. Vous êtes le salut de ceux qui se tournent vers vous. Je vous exhorte à bannir et chasser tous les maux et les esprits des ténèbres.’

He swayed rhythmically and the humming and moaning and chanting became louder.

Yes… yes, he could feel it now. It was time…

And with a sudden movement, Papa Bemba drove his thumbs deep into Emmanuel’s eyes, saving him from the sight of evil in the next life.

Helped by one of the assembled, Bemba, leaving behind Emmanuel, descended from the dais. Moved outside into the pouring Congolese rain and spoke once more to those gathered.

‘Il est temps,’ he said. ‘It is time.’

Kneeling down in the mud, where the wet red clay earth mixed with blood and stained his white and gold dashiki, he took out a piece of charcoal from his pocket. Placed it on the ground near where the other villagers had placed theirs. And shouted out once more.

‘Deliver him…! Deliver him!’

The hut having already being doused with petrol, and the twisted branches of the banana tree piled around, even in the humid, wet rain it took only a single match. A single moment for it to be greedily swallowed up by dancing orange flames.

And as Papa Bemba stood outside, he could feel the heat of the fire. Hear the smothered rasps. The terrified cries of Emmanuel Mutombo amid the crackling and sizzling and splintering noise of the blaze. He smiled. The screams were the sound of the possessed burning. Defeated. Overcome by the righteous. By the chosen one and he, like the other villagers, was satisfied.

*

As the night drew in and darkness set, cementing its rule over the day, a solitary figure, shadowed and blotted out by the night, moved quickly across the mud-logged ground. The noise of breaking branches over the sound of the heavy rain made the man crouch down, hiding behind the tangled foliage of the sprawling forest.

After a while, and deciding it was probably only the sound of the nocturnal animals who roamed and hunted for prey and, like him, didn’t want to be seen, he moved on, hurrying towards the partially burnt down hut – now doused by the heavy rain.

Drawing himself up against it, he looked round, making sure he hadn’t been followed. And it took a moment for him to be assured that darkness had been his advocate; letting him come here without being seen.

Inside the hut he called out. Moving towards the dais. ‘Emmanuel…? Emmanuel? C’est moi.’

The putrid smell from the burnt flesh of Emmanuel Mutombo was overpowering, but a groan – a sign of life – made him speak once more.

‘Emmanuel, I’m here to help you.’

Then picking up Emmanuel, he carried him out into the night, before both of them disappeared into the darkness and sanctuary of the forest.

4

At the Scottsdale airport, Arizona, which served as the home for many of the area’s corporate aircraft, Levi Walker wiped the sweat from his forehead.

‘Man, I’m hot. I got to get me a cold drink. I can almost taste the beer on my lips.’

Joining Levi by the side of the airstrip, Cooper leant on the hood of Maddie’s truck. His six foot three frame towering over both Maddie and Walker. He gave a crooked smile to his friend, relieved to be on US soil. He’d thought about this moment since Eritrea, and it sure as hell didn’t disappoint.

‘Anyone would think you’d spent the last week in a hot penitentiary, the way you’re talking.’

‘Not me, Coop, no way. I’ll leave that to the crazy folk… Oh crap. Is that who I think it is, Maddie?’

Levi pointed up to the sky. Shielded his eyes from the dazzling sun. Watched as a beautiful Diamond DA62 aircraft with turbocharged Austro AE330 jet fuel piston engines came into view. Soaring down gracefully.

‘I’m afraid so.’

Levi raised his eyebrows. Scratched his newly cornrowed afro and admired the expert landing of the plane. He walked towards it but stopped. Turned back. ‘You know, Coop, I never told you earlier, but it’s good to have you back.’

And in the glaring sun a few hundred meters back from the plane, the warm winds caressed Cooper’s handsome face and the light bounced off the white body of the aircraft, making it difficult for him to see.

The jet’s door opened and casually he sauntered forward. Greeted the pilot with warm words and a gesture of his hand.

‘Hey! Good to see you, Granger.’

The punch to Cooper’s jaw was quick. Hard. Knocked his head sideward. He touched his lip with his tongue and tasted the spring of blood. He stared back at Granger. Said nothing.

‘If you ever. Ever, do anything like this again, you’re out. You got that Cooper? You want to play Superman, maybe you should’ve done that when it mattered.’

Cooper lunged forward, but although he was angry he let Maddie grab him, letting the familiarity of her touch calm him down.

‘Don’t like the truth Cooper? Neither do I.’

Granger rubbed his face, red from stress. He turned to Maddie and Levi. ‘I expected better from you Maddison, thought you were the one who was supposed to have a sensible head on. And as for you, Levi, never, ever try to pull a fast one on me again.’

And with that he stomped back to the plane, stamping his feet into the dust, followed by Levi.

Cooper watched on, unable to move. Resentment had a funny way of doing that to him. Granger had a funny way of doing that to him. He felt Maddie touch his arm gently.

‘It’s only because he cares, Tom. We were all worried. I don’t know what you expected. You can’t just go around doing what you want and think it won’t hurt others. Because it does… It really does.’

Without bothering to say anything, Cooper lit a cigarette before walking over to join the others. Something told him this was going to be one helluva day.

5

Cooper wasn’t sure what had woken him up. Knowing it could have been one of many things he decided not to dwell on it. Even though the Colorado night was cool . Chill. Both he and the white linen sheets which Levi, or rather Levi’s wife Dorothy, had bought him last year for Thanksgiving were drenched in sweat. He kicked them off. Sighed away the images of the past which had awoken and were playing in his head like a movie reel.

Reaching across he grabbed one of the many bottles of pills by the side of his bed. It didn’t matter which. As long as they worked. How many he took, it didn’t matter to him either, though tonight it happened to be three. Two OxyContin and a Xanax always seemed to do the trick.

Rubbing his face and feeling the hurried job he’d done with shaving the night before, Cooper wearily got out of bed to get some water. Just to do something, rather than just lying there. Thinking. Anything was better than that.

He didn’t bother to look at the clock. It was dark. He was tired, which could only mean it was late. Any other information seemed irrelevant. He wasn’t going anywhere, not even to sleep, it seemed.

The sanded wooden stairs felt smooth under foot. It’d taken him the whole of last year’s 4th July holiday weekend to complete them. Unlike the unfinished kitchen of the ranch. Seven years untouched. Semi-masked up, with unopened paint tins with names such as Ancient Map and Cottage Leaf and Proud Peacock, colors he couldn’t even guess without opening the tins, yet colors he and Ellie had argued about when they’d bought them… just before he’d been deployed to Lamu.

He hadn’t seen the point of finishing the kitchen. Not now. He never cooked anyway. At a push he used the microwave to heat up the meals Maddie or Dorothy Walker made for him. Because it was Ellie who’d wanted the big, open plan room with a Sully seven burner stove and a view out over the acres of meadow which ran up to the aspen covered hills and on to the mountain ridges beyond. She’d wanted it. Not him. But like the ranch, which she’d fallen in love with when the realtor had simply shown them photos of it, he’d been happy to give it to her. He’d have given her anything.

So now he was stuck with the ranch along with the paint and the unused brushes and the stove which he’d always thought too big and the view of the goddamn meadow. And the only way he could see round the problem was for her to come back. Come back to him. Just so he could give it to her all over again. Because he needed her to remind him of what the colors were, to prove to him why the hell, when there were just the two of them, they needed seven burners instead of four, but this time, this time, he wouldn’t care if she painted the whole of the goddamn place bright green.

He shook his head. This was bullshit. He wasn’t thinking straight. Didn’t know if it was the pills beginning to work or just him. He snorted with audible self-contempt. Jesus, he couldn’t recall the last time he’d managed to spend more than a few days at the ranch. Hell, nor did he have any desire to try. He wasn’t good at quiet. Give him a crowded prison cell any day. What the hell had he been thinking coming here? He never learnt. He thought each time it would be different.

Already he could feel the tightness in his chest. And it wasn’t just the opiates. It was his warning sign. The sign telling him he had to stop. Get away. Because any minute now it was going to hurt. Hurt real bad. Memories hypoxic. Stopping him breathing. Depriving him of air.

Turning to leave the kitchen to grab his clothes, he stopped, not wanting to, but unable to force himself to walk past without looking. To his right, where he and Ellie had planned to build a row of cream wooden cupboards, was a map. A map of Africa adorned with multi colored pins and criss-cross patterns of nylon red string, depicting the towns, the routes and ultimately the dead ends. Illustrating all the days and weeks and months which had translated to years he’d spent searching for Ellie.

His thoughts spilled aloud. ‘Come on, Ellie. Where did you get to baby? Where the hell are you?’

‘Tom?’

‘Ellie?’

Maddie threw down her car keys on the side as she walked into the kitchen.

‘What did you say…? What did you just say to me?’

Confused, Cooper said, ‘I didn’t say anything.’

She brushed past Cooper, her face sketched with tiredness and stress. Looking around and shaking her head she picked up a photo of Ellie and Cooper before resting her eyes on him.

‘Seriously? Jesus, Tom, this place is like a shrine to her. Why the hell did you get all this stuff out of the attic? Could you push me away anymore?’

‘What are you doing here?’

‘You really did skip charm school didn’t you?’

‘I didn’t mean it like that.’

‘No?’

‘No.’

Maddie’s gaze drifted from Cooper to the large table in the corner of the room. Her voice accusatory. Her manner tense. She said, ‘What are they?’

Cooper followed Maddie’s stare. He shrugged. Never met her eye. ‘Nothing.’

‘You’re back on those pills aren’t you?’

‘Maddie… look…’

‘Don’t, Tom. I don’t want to hear any bullshit. No more than you’ve told me already.’

Cooper walked across to the table. Scooped the bottle of pills up. Quickly threw them in the khaki canvas bag on the floor. ‘I’m not. They’re old pills. Stuff from before. I was just having a clear out, okay? Anyway, you didn’t answer my question. How come you’re here?’

Hands on hip and a shake of the head. ‘Well if you do turn off your phone for two days what do you expect? And you know what, Tom, some people might think a wife coming to see her husband was kind of a normal thing to do, but not you, Tom? Not you, hey? You want to just disappear whenever you feel like it and don’t give a damn how anyone else feels.’

It was Cooper’s turn to shake his head. He licked his lips. Tried to conjure up saliva from his dry mouth. A side effect of the pills. ‘You came all this way to tell me what a hopeless husband I am? Well you wasted your time. I already know… but believe it or not, I’m sorry.’

Her beautiful brown face flushed red. Flushed anger. ‘No, Tom, I didn’t come here to tell you how bad you are as a husband. I came to tell you our daughter wouldn’t blow out her candles at her party until her daddy came. And you know we waited. Me and her friends, Levi and Granger, and my parents all waiting for you. But guess what…’

‘Maddison, I’m so sorry. Is Cora okay?’

‘Oh she will be, once she’s put her heart back together. No little girl should have their heart broken at four years old. Especially not by her daddy.’

‘I don’t know what happened, I was going to come. I got her a present.’

Maddie’s voice was loud and broken. ‘She doesn’t want a present, she wants you. That’s all, Tom. You!’ Her tone softened. ‘A bit like the rest of us.’

‘Please, Maddie…’

‘Don’t say you’re sorry, Tom because you’re not. No, I’m wrong, you are sorry but only sorry for yourself. I came to get you from Eritrea, Tom, and you couldn’t even come home to us. That hurt.’

‘I thought you might want some time on your own.’

‘No you didn’t, because you never even asked me! You came here so you could be close to her. Let me ask you something. Why did you marry me?’

‘What?’

‘Just answer me.’

‘Maddie, do we really need to do this?’

Maddie cocked her head to one side. ‘Is it that hard to tell me?’

‘No… I just…’

‘Let me guess, Tom… You’re not in the mood to do emotion.’

Cooper sighed. Hard. Heavy. Long. Real long. ‘Okay… I married you because I loved you… love you, I mean. Happy?’

‘Happy? Are you serious? How could I ever be happy when there are three people in this marriage? Though in our case the third one happens to be a goddamn ghost.’

Cooper clenched his jaw. Felt the pulse on his temples. Decided to focus on something else. ‘I know I didn’t turn up to Cora’s party and I’m so sorry, but I know you, Maddie, and I know this isn’t just about that.’

Bitter and angry and hurt and sad and trying her damnedest not to cry, she spoke evenly. ‘You’re right. You promised me, Tom. You told me no more searching. No more disappearing. Remember?’

‘And I didn’t… I haven’t.’

‘Oh come on. I’m not stupid.’

‘Jesus, Maddie. If this is about Eritrea, I was just doing my job. Don’t make something out of nothing.’

‘Sounds a bit like our marriage.’

Cooper rubbed his face. Tried not to be drawn in. Felt irritated as hell. ‘Look, you need to get some sleep. Why don’t we go check into a motel? We can talk in the morning on our way home.’

Maddie picked up her keys from the side. ‘You know something, Tom? When we got together five and a half years ago, my daddy warned me about you. He told me not to do it. Told me you were going to hurt me.’

Iced. ‘Oh come on, Maddie, Marvin’s never liked me. I was never good enough for his precious daughter.’

‘That’s not true.’

‘It is and you know it.’

‘What I know is I’ve become one of those women I never thought I’d become.’

‘What are you talking about?’

‘The woman who thinks they can change the guy. Tries to save him but ends up drowning themselves. But you know what, no more… ’ She paused to sweep the mass of brown curls out of her face. She glanced down at nothing in particular. A faraway look in her eyes. ‘I’m leaving you, Tom.’

‘What? Oh come on, Maddie, don’t make this a big deal.’

‘You still don’t get it. There really isn’t any other way. And you know what? It hurts so bad because I love you so much, but I can’t go under with you. Not anymore. Not this time. I gotta think of Cora. The irony is I was always so afraid to lose you. But then, I don’t think I ever had you in the first place, did I?’

With the pills making it difficult to concentrate, Cooper said, ‘Maddie… come on. You’re looking into things too deeply. You don’t have to be like this.’

‘I do and you know I do. Remember the first two years of us being together? You were gone. Never there. Too busy looking for her. Have you any idea how that felt? Do you?’

‘What did you want me to do? Leave her? Let her rot in some godforsaken place? You knew her, and you also knew how I felt about her. I loved her.’

Maddie stepped towards Cooper. Her body weary from the pain which lay heavy. ‘Yeah, I know, but she wasn’t here and I was. And I loved you, Tom.’

‘You make it sound so simple. You knew how I felt about Ellie when we got together, but you still went ahead with our relationship.’

‘I knew how you felt about Ellie when she was alive, and I also knew about the guilt you felt surrounding the accident. But Jesus Christ, Tom, not for one moment did I think we’d have a ghost in our marriage.’

‘Why do you have to say stupid things like that?’

Maddie stared at him blankly. ‘It’s really never occurred to you that she could’ve drowned that day has it?’

‘You know it has. That’s why I stopped looking for her.’

‘No, you stopped looking for her because everybody told you to. Told you to let it go.’

‘And that’s what I did. I let it go.’

‘No you didn’t, you just hid it well… I’m right, aren’t I?’

‘For God’s sake Maddie, you’re the one who needs to let things go.’

There was a heavy silence before Maddie eventually spoke. ‘I do. At least we agree on something. So that’s why I’m going to go now. But tell me one thing. Why now? If you really did let it go. Her go. Why all of a sudden can I see it in your eyes that you still think she’s alive? Why after all this time start searching for her again?’

‘I don’t know what you’re talking about.’

Maddie turned and walked towards the door.

‘Goodbye, Tom.’

6

Ten minutes later, on a deserted stretch of dirt road, Maddie pulled up the ’54 Chevy truck Cooper had bought her last Christmas, and stepped out into the cool of the Colorado night and, looking up to the starry sky and to the silver moon, her legs gave way under her and she fell to the soft earth and cried. Weeping. Hurting. Anguish cutting into her shredded heart. Deep and painful cries and howls coming from her very soul.

Managing. Just. To go into her pocket, she pulled out her cell and dialled.

‘Daddy, it’s me. I need you to come and get me.’

7

The sunset, a blended color wheel of powder pinks and eggplant purples, splashed with intensity across the Congolese sky, seemed to go unnoticed by the elderly man resting on the isolated red clay shores of the Congo river. The heated mounds of rotting, stinking rubbish now cooled down by the evening air gave the man a place to sit, alongside the raw sewage which flowed down the bank as if from a mountain spring. It was the only place of solace, a sanctuary of quiet away from the squalid living conditions of the Kitchanga refugee camp, home to the displaced, the desperate, where diseases ran through like the east winds.

The old battered truck pulling alongside, its load covered with blue tarpaulin, went similarly unnoticed by the man, untroubled by its presence. It was nothing to do with him. It certainly wasn’t unusual for the locals to park their vehicles, to take the rest of the narrow road on foot, rather than risk the hazards of the crumbling tracks, risk being another casualty of the snaking and twisting river.

Unperturbed, and grateful for the peace, the elderly man continued to relax, not bothering to turn round at the sound of the men walking towards the water. It was only when he felt the coarseness of the thick rope, pulling and dragging him backwards, tightening his airways, dragging him through the clay that he tried to turn. Escape.

He heard a gruff voice, words fused by putrid-smelling breath.

‘Stay still. Do not struggle, my brother, it won’t do you any good. It’s too late… Arrête de lutter. Stop fighting.’

A hood placed over his face began to burn as the cotton, transfused with chilli, irritated and blistered his skin. He squirmed in pain whilst a noise made him jolt. He heard it again. Then again. Only this time it was nearer. Closer. Much closer.

He swivelled round, panicked, unable to see through the hood, but he suddenly froze. He felt the breath on his back. Warm. A different voice. A gentle voice. Which said,

‘Bonjour monsieur…’

A pain he didn’t think imaginable sped through his body as his eyes were driven down into his skull. He felt the pressure and then the pull and the digging and the gouging and blood streamed down his face. He retched with agony, choking on his own vomit as more quiet words were spoken.

‘C’est bon, vomis le diable… Vomit up the devil… That’s it, you did well my brother, you did well.’

He felt a soothing hand on his head, mixed in with his pain as he was carried. Lifted. Thrown. Hitting a hard surface with force.

Feeling something next to him, he realized there were others there. And too terrified to speak, too raked with pain to cry for help, he heard the voices of several men followed by the sound of an engine, driving him away, taking him somewhere he didn’t want to go, somewhere he didn’t know. A place he was sure he was never coming back from.

8

Throwing the empty pill bottle into the glove compartment of his classic Chevrolet truck, Cooper saw the small airstrip of the Onyx Asset Recovery Company come into view as he drove up the dusty, cactus-lined road whilst swallowing, with some difficulty, the two pills in his mouth.

The office he’d been working out of for the past five years was built in the middle of four hundred acres of wilderness. Hot. Remote. Dry desert land, based just outside North Scottsdale, Arizona, with panoramic views of the Granite Mountain. It was one helluva place.

It was mainly himself, Granger, Levi and Maddie, along with a scattering of aircraft engineers who worked out of the Scottsdale office. Granger had other investigators out in the field on an ad hoc basis, but his core staff rarely changed. Partly due to trust and partly due to Granger believing he already had the best team in the business.

There were huge risks involved with every job, with all of them feeling like legal heists. Granger’s motto was, No job is too big or too much trouble, though at times Cooper doubted that was true. Many times. Especially when the jobs he’d been sent on involved trying to recover Russian-bought military jets from a remote, perilous location in Belize, in the middle of a multi-million dollar dispute with an Austrian import-export company. Or when a court order had been acquired to impound a sixty-million-dollar plane from the middle of Ecuador, and the owners happened to be a drugs cartel who were after his butt to the point he’d found himself hiding out in a derelict house in the city of Guayaquil for four days without food or water. Or when he was facing the irate owner of a helicopter who hadn’t kept up with the repayments, in the heart of Mexico, who greeted him with a smile and an Uzi Pro 9mm which could blow his head off in an instant. It was then that Granger’s motto, No job is too big or too much trouble, made him want to stick those words right up his ass and ask Granger, too much trouble for who?

With Onyx being one of the most successful high asset recovery firms worldwide, with a hit rate of just over ninety-seven percent, several of the companies and banks they dealt with wanted the business to expand, encouraging Granger with monetary incentives to open other branches in major cities, as well as wanting him to take the head office to New York. But Granger, being Granger, refused point blank. Not wanting to risk weakening the firm by expansion. Believing that by keeping it small but strong it would hold onto its powerful reputation for reliability and results. But ultimately not wanting to leave the isolated, yet picturesque part of Arizona that Granger called God’s country.

Cooper sighed. Pushing the thought of Maddie out of his head. Hell, he was going to see her soon enough and he hoped by then she would have calmed down and realized he hadn’t meant any harm. Never did.

Putting his foot down on the gas, he was surprised how good it felt to see the place again. Even broke a smile. The past couple of weeks he’d rather forget. They’d been tough. Real tough. Tougher than he wanted to admit, and strangely he’d spent a lot of the time thinking about his Uncle Beau, and his days in Missouri, something he rarely let himself do. He and the past just didn’t go.

Levi waved as Cooper pulled up.

‘Hey, Coop, thought you’d be at the ranch for another few days. How you feeling? I bet you never thought you’d see this place again.’

It was a good sight. A friendly face. Something he needed right now.

Leaning out of the driver’s window, Cooper’s smile turned into a grin. His strawberry blonde hair, in dire need of a cut, fell over his eyes. ‘I hope you’ve been practising your pool, Levi, you owe me a game. What is it now? Eight-one down?’

‘Eight-two. And it would’ve been three if it wasn’t for the fact you decided to call it a night.’

Cooper’s deeply tanned face lit up. ‘Levi, don’t push it. If I remember rightly, it was actually you who called it a night… or was it Dorothy, when she found out where you were hiding your butt?’

Levi laughed. Couldn’t deny it. Knew what Cooper was saying held more than a ring of truth. Though his laugh was quickly replaced by concern. ‘I’ve spoken to Maddie. She told me. I’m sorry, but I guess it was a long time coming.’

‘What are you talking about?’

Levi screwed up his face, beads of sweat pushing out between the creases. ‘You and her. You do know she’s left you?’

Cooper closed his eyes then slowly opened them enough to squint at Levi through the rays of the Arizona sun. And the OxyContin began to hit and he rolled his tongue round his dry mouth. ‘Yeah, she came over to the ranch. She said a lot of stuff but I don’t think she was being serious. You know how she get sometimes when I mess up. She just needs a couple of days to calm down.’

Levi let out a long whistle. ‘Coop, I love you man but get real, you’ve just pushed her too far this time. It’s like from nowhere you’ve stepped back to how it was a few years ago. Gone all crazy on our ass. You can’t expect her to go through all what she did before.’

Cooper rested his head on the steering wheel. ‘I know she’s hurting but I got things going on, Levi.’

‘Like what, Coop? Whatever it is it’s in your head, because from where I’m standing, you got it made, bro. A great job. A great daughter and a great wife. Maddie, she’s one of the best… Look, why don’t you come across to stay with Dorothy and I? She’d like that. She worries about you like the rest of us.’

‘I appreciate the offer but I’ll just find a motel. Give me time to think and try to sort things out with her.’

‘And what about the job?’

Rubbing his chin and watching specs of sand be blown on and off the car window, Cooper said, ‘What about it?’

‘You and Maddie. Won’t it be awkward the two of you working together?’

‘Levi, you’re taking all this too far but to answer your question, no it won’t. Why would it? Nothing’s changed. But if it’s really a case of her taking some time out from me, which I don’t think it is, well we’re both grown-ups. Both trained in the military just to get on with the job at hand. We still care for each other. Still respect each other. Want the best for each other and our daughter… I can’t see there’d be a problem.’

‘You’re serious aren’t you…? Coop, let me tell you something, brother… You’ve got a hell of a lot to learn about women.’

And with that, Levi’s laughter soared once more, cutting through the Arizona air.

‘All this is funny to you, isn’t it?’ Granger’s voice broke through the banter. Silenced the moment as he stalked towards them. ‘It’s all one big joke to you, Cooper. Maybe I should’ve punched you harder. Knock some sense into you.’

Cooper stared at Granger. He hadn’t seen him since the airport in Scottsdale. After that he’d headed out, taking the five-hundred-mile journey back to the ranch just outside Telluride, Colorado.

He felt the vein in his temple throbbing as he clenched his jaw. A habit. Not a particularly bad one as his habits went. Absentmindedly, he rubbed the side of his head as he got out of the truck. Without bothering or wanting or needing to look at Granger, Cooper said, ‘I can think of a lot of things to call the last couple of weeks, but a joke sure isn’t one of them.’

‘And that’s my fault, is it? You’re a mess, Cooper. A total bag of mess. But like always you expect the rest of us to clear up. Look at your eyes… I see you’re back popping those pills.’

Cooper shot him a stare. ‘I don’t know what you’re talking about. So let’s just drop it, hey?’

‘You’d like that wouldn’t you, Cooper? Drop everything. That should be your middle name.’

Cooper shook his head and kicked up the bleached white gravel with his desert boots and felt the warm Arizona winds whip up the dusty ground and maybe it was just tiredness and maybe it was his own shame but he was pissed. Real pissed with what Granger had just said.

‘I don’t want anyone to clear up my mess. I never have done, never will do, and you of all people know that.’

‘Really? Try telling that to Levi and Maddie. They clear up your mess that often, sometimes I get them mixed up with the garbage men.’

‘Real funny, Granger. Look…’

‘Save it, Cooper, it’ll just turn out to be bull anyway. Oh, and Maddie told me the news about you two. I should say I’m sorry, but I’m not. She deserves better.’

‘I know that, but I’d appreciate it if you’d keep out of my business.’

Granger sniffed loudly, emphasizing the words he was about to say. ‘I know you would but when it’s going to affect my business then it becomes my business.’

‘Nothing’s going to affect anything. What is it with everyone, huh? Just because Maddie and I are having… I don’t know… difficulties, that doesn’t mean it’s going to alter anything.’

Granger’s blue eyes cut Cooper a stare. ‘I wouldn’t call leaving somebody difficulties. And if you think it’s going to be a bed of roses, you clearly don’t know women.’

‘So everyone likes to tell me, and maybe you guys are right, I don’t know women. But I do know Maddie, and I know she and I are going to be fine with it all. I’ll sort it out.’

‘You think you’ve got it all sewn up don’t you Cooper? The sun always shines out of your ass.’

Cooper chewed the inside of his cheek. Even before Eritrea, he and Granger had been at loggerheads. Seemed like nothing had changed. Hell, he doubted it ever would. And he knew it wasn’t just because he’d screwed up with the last assignment. No, Granger’s problem was with him and him alone.

There’d always been the snipes, and until recently he’d left it. Letting it ride. Always. Usually. Not this time. ‘What’s your goddamn problem, Granger? The fact that you didn’t get the plane back from Eritrea, or the fact that it was me that didn’t get the plane back?’

‘You know what my problem is, Cooper, so why don’t you do us all a favor and grow up.’

Maddie, who’d now come outside into Onyx’s parking lot, stood back and watched. Listened.

Cooper could feel the anger rising up. Something he felt a lot these days. He said, ‘You want me gone, Granger? Just say the word, and you won’t see me again.’

Granger, at five foot three, stood a foot shorter than Cooper, though his height had never hindered him in any way; taking on one or three men at a time, if justified, was all the same to him. His face was gnarled and ruddy. And Cooper thought he was doing a good impression of a man who hated him.

‘What I want, Cooper, is for you to take responsibility. Be accountable.’

‘Like you, Granger?’

‘Hey, I can live with the decisions I’ve made. Question is, can you?’

‘Why don’t you say what’s really bugging you, Granger. Let’s clear the air once and for all.’

Maddie cut in. ‘Hey guys, this is stupid. We’re all on the same side here… Tom, leave it.’

Although once, a long time ago, he’d had the ability not to be goaded into arguments, that was no longer the case. She knew it. He knew it. Hell, and so did Granger. ‘No, Maddie, I want to hear what Granger has to say.’

Not backing down either, Granger stepped forward. Real close. ‘You can’t deal with what I’ve got to say.’

‘Guys! Come on! Stop this… Tom, for God’s sake, come on! Please.’ Maddie signalled to Levi to do something other than just stand there. Cooper ignored anything other than what Granger was saying to him.

‘Try me. Come on.’

The bitterness was entrenched in Granger’s words. Shovelled on like tar on a highway. ‘Try you? Yeah? Is that what you want? Well let’s see. You want to talk about responsibility, then why don’t we talk about just that. Let’s talk about my daughter, Ellie, and let’s talk about why you actually went to Eritrea and how it’s connected. And why when I’d given someone else the job, and I’d specifically told you not to go there, you still did.’

Cooper crashed into silence. Span there fast. Stared ahead, not seeing Levi’s concerned expression. Not seeing Maddie’s unease. All he could see was the moment. All he could hear was Ellie shouting his name. All he…

Jesus… No… No… He shook himself both physically and mentally out of the mesmeric memory. He wasn’t going to go there for anyone. Couldn’t go there. He stared at Granger, then looked at Levi and felt the strain in his chest. He touched his back pocket of his blue jeans feeling the blister packet of pills. Somehow comforting.

‘Granger, what are you talking about?’

Dax Granger swung round. ‘Hasn’t he told you Maddison?’

‘Tom, what’s he talking about?’

Granger pushed. And hard. ‘Tell them, Cooper. Tell them what this is all about.’

‘It’s not about anything. I just thought I’d be better doing the job than the other guy.’

‘Without consulting me?’

Cooper said, ‘Yeah.’

Granger, not intrinsically cruel but beyond angry, pushed again. Tone bitter. ‘Oh come on, Cooper, don’t give me that. That’s not how things work. You and I both know why this is happening again, why you’ve decided to throw away everything you’ve built over the past few years. Come on, tell your wife why. Surely she deserves to know doesn’t she?’

‘Shut up, Granger.’

‘Why can’t you be like the rest of us, hey? Having to deal with things even though we don’t want to. You don’t see me reaching for the funny pills or running amok or putting my wife and friend in jeopardy! But then, you know what I think. I think it’s all just one big excuse to be that prize jackass which is always bursting to get out of you… Go on, tell them. Tell them why you’ve begun to search again.’

Cooper knew he sounded like a broken man. ‘Please, Granger, don’t do this.’

Maddie’s face was a picture of anguish and pain and hurt. ‘Will someone tell me what the hell this is about?’

‘You want to tell her?’

Cooper spoke in a controlled whisper. A mixture of pain and steely resolve.

‘Leave it. Okay…? Just leave it. You don’t know what you’re talking about. I’ll give you anything, Granger. But I can’t give you that… So yeah, you’re right. I can’t deal with it. I can’t talk about your daughter.’

9

Going straight across to the cooler in the kitchen of Onyx, Cooper took out a small carton of juice which he drank down thirstily. Threw a non-alc beer to Levi.

He felt as refreshed as he could after taking an ice cold shower which, after the showdown with Granger, was much needed. He’d put on clean clothes. His usual attire of jeans and a gray marl long sleeved top. Splashed some of Granger’s aftershave on and combed his hair and brushed his teeth and checked his hair again and then finally took a pill. Xanax. Just to get him through. Then he’d taken another one. Just to make sure.

‘You okay?’ asked Levi.

‘Yep.’

‘You wanna talk?’

‘Nope.’

‘Was Granger right? You been having to take some pills again?’

Cooper didn’t bother answering. Wondered if it was because he didn’t want to lie.

‘You were bad on them before, Coop… Have the flashbacks come back? You not sleeping again? Is the old injury playing up? You think you need to go and see that shrink again? I mean, I could come with you and all. And if…’

‘If what?’

‘Well, if you need me, I’m here.’

Cooper shrugged. ‘I’m fine. But thanks.’

Levi gave him that look. The look that said he didn’t quite believe him, but he carried on talking anyway. ‘Dorothy wants to see you. She wants you to come to dinner on Sunday… maybe you could bring somebody…’ He paused, before twisting his hands like a kid does. Innocence was sure as hell being feigned. ‘… Maybe Maddie? Maybe it would be good for you two just to sit down and talk? You know, on neutral ground.’

Cooper raised his eyebrows, shooting Levi a warning glance not to go there. He grabbed another juice. Headed to the office he shared with the others without saying another word.

10

Walking out into the familiar cream and orange hallway filled with photos of various planes and boats always made Cooper feel he’d stepped back into the seventies. It got him every time. He didn’t mind, hell he could live with anything, but Maddie, she’d whined like a tomcat. She’d campaigned to Granger to get it changed, even bringing in samples and color charts. But each time it came to the place being re-decorated, Granger would select the same old colors and same old photos and Maddie’s complaints would start all over again.

‘Tom.’

Cooper turned round. Readying himself for the showdown. Justified. Inevitable.

‘Whatever it is you’re going to say, Maddie, you’re right and I’m sorry but everyone now thinks you’ve left me, so it’s kind of a bit awkward explaining you haven’t.’

‘What are you talking about? You think I didn’t mean it? What is wrong with you? Are you really that arrogant, or is it you just don’t care enough to see and believe how I feel?’

‘Look, I’ll take Cora out for some ice-cream, make up for missing her birthday party.’

It was a mix between a laugh and a snort but he got it. The derision was coming hard and fast. Straight his way.

‘You really don’t get it do you? It’s over. I’m not coming back. I can’t.’

A punch in the stomach would’ve been preferable. ‘And Cora? How do you think it’s going to affect her me not being around?’

‘Tom, you’re never around anyway… You don’t deserve that little girl, but for some unknown reason she idolizes you. Only thing she talks about. Well, you and Mr. Crawley.’

‘Mr. Crawley?’

‘Her caterpillar. I think it’s dead but you know Cora, she’s insisting on keeping it in a cookie jar… Anyway, look, I don’t want to talk about Mr. Crawley. I just want to know in what universe do you think a scoop of Rocky Road is going to make up for letting her down on her birthday?’

The pounding throb above Cooper’s eyes sent pain waves down the bridge of his nose. Like a jackhammer breaking through granite stone. He knew what it was. Good old fashioned stress. ‘She can be the judge of that.’

‘She’s just a little girl, Tom.’

‘I know what she is… Listen, I was wrong, I should’ve showed up.’

‘Yes you should, but there’s nothing you can do about that now. But you can tell me about Granger. What was he talking about? What was he trying to get you to say?’

Partly to stall for time and find some plausibility, because Maddie was like kryptonite when it came to annihilating his bullshit, and partly because he had a damn crick at the base of his neck, he shrugged. ‘Who knows, Granger makes his own rules up as he goes along.’

‘Don’t lie to me Tom. I’m not stupid.’

Cornered, Cooper did what he was certain felt like second nature to most men: changed the subject. Spun it the hell round. Put the heat on her instead.

‘Look, Maddie, do you think this is going to work? Us. Here. Together like this. Is this how it’s going to be from now on?’

By Cooper’s reckoning it was at least twenty-five seconds before Maddie spoke, give or take the last three seconds which she spent cutting her eyes at him.

‘Seriously? You of all people ask me that? In case it escaped your notice I’m not just a wife. I’m a mom. I’m a damn good pilot and investigator. I’ve got over fifteen years of military experience behind me, and I work hard at my job. So if you think for one moment that just because you and I aren’t together any longer I’ll suddenly fall apart, become neurotic, unreliable and unprofessional, and bring my home life to work… If that’s what you think, Tom, then you don’t know women at all.’

11

Grateful to get away from any more conversation, Cooper headed to the office, musing and bitching and ruminating on how, in hindsight, life inside the Eritrean prison seemed so much less stressful than coming back home. He stopped short of the doorway.

‘Well, I’ll be damned. If it ain’t Thomas J. Cooper!’ Austin Rosedale Young sat back in the brown leather chair, his feet clad in a pair of garish blue cowboy boots to match his sky blue suit and shirt and tie. His strong Texan accent and over-tanned skin, along with his visibly dyed black hair, gave out an inaccurate, foppish impression. The truth, though, was that Austin Rosedale Young was at one time America’s top sniper. A natural born killer. A man who’d earned almost mythical status amongst his fellow SEALS.

Cooper spoke. Just. Not really wanting to hear the answer from his one-time nemesis. Not really wanting to hear anything from the man at all. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’

Young, or Rosedale as he liked to be called, opened his arms in an exuberant manner. Chewed on the oversized, unlit cigar as he delighted in telling him exactly that.

‘I thought they would’ve told you, Thomas. I work here now. Retirement just doesn’t suit me.’

Cooper said nothing. He’d known Rosedale for a long time. Too long. Their paths had met on several occasions, working together several years ago.

When Rosedale had left the Navy, he’d gone to work in the Central Intelligence Agency, employed in their Clandestine Service. It was the front-line source of clandestine information on critical international developments, working on everything from terrorism, weapons of mass destruction, to military and political issues which challenged the deepest resources of personal intelligence, self-reliance and responsibility. And Austin Rosedale Young had been what they called the perfect candidate.

Cooper blew out his cheeks and moved over to the far side of the office. Threw his empty juice carton with an overhead shot in the bin. Hole in one. Turned to look at Rosedale. And even though the guy’s elaborate and crazy screwball ways covered the fact he was a highly intelligent, highly skilled, ruthless individual, Cooper had no intention of working with him again. Ever. He also had no intention of letting him sit at his desk. ‘That’s my desk, Rosedale… Move.’

‘Not any more it isn’t, sugar.’

Cooper moved nearer. Much nearer. So near he could feel the heat rising from Rosedale’s skin and smell the mix of cigar and toothpaste and a cologne which should’ve been left on the shelf. ‘I repeat, that’s my desk.’

Rosedale picked up the brass name plate from the desk. He read it out, his Texan drawl flavoring the mockery. ‘Thomas J. Cooper… Now tell me, Thomas, I’ve forgotten, what does the J stand for?’

‘Put that the hell down… Now.’

Rosedale swept his feet off the desk and leant forward, his face lighting up. ‘Hell no, Thomas, I’m sensing something here… Tell me what the J stands for.’

The scorn for the man, Cooper felt it right to the heart of him. ‘You’re not sensing anything Rosedale, you’re just being a jackass. So I’ll tell you again. Leave it.’

‘And what if I don’t, Thomas J? What exactly are you going to do about it?’

‘You sound like a kid, Rosedale. Why don’t you just leave it like he asked you to?’

Maddie, who’d just come in to the office, walked up to Rosedale, snatching the brass name plate out of his hands.

Rosedale grinned. ‘Now that ain’t a nice thing to do, Miss Maddison.’

Maddie looked at him with disdain. ‘Grow up.’

Winking at her, Rosedale sprang his six foot five body from the chair, standing tall on another two inches of cowboy boot. He smiled down at Cooper who didn’t bother meeting his stare.

‘I’m one of the few men you gotta look up to hey, Thomas?’

‘Go to hell.’

‘Not until you tell me what the J is for.’

‘Drop it Rosedale. Just let it go.’

‘Oh, you mean like you let things go? There’s a funny thing. You of all people telling me to let something go.’

Cooper breathed deeply. Stared down at the floor. Watched the tiny spider disappear under the door. Let the seconds tick by. Then eventually he lifted his head. Locked eyes with Rosedale and said,

‘Don’t cross that line with me, Rosedale.’

‘You know in Texas they’ve got a saying, big hat and no cattle. And that’s exactly what I think you are, Thomas, all talk and no action.’

Rosedale poked Cooper. Jabbed his finger right into his chest. Mistake. Big one.

‘You’ve just crossed the line.’

With rapid speed, channelling his anger from Granger and Maddie, Cooper threw a double punch. Caught Rosedale tight on his mouth and followed it through with a body shot to the ribs. He quickly ducked, curving his body out of the way to avoid Rosedale’s counter attack, before he powered a left scissor punch right to his jaw.

‘What the hell is the matter with you?’ Granger dragged Cooper off Rosedale, who grinned, licking the blood from his mouth as he spoke.

‘Can’t remember the last time a man split my lip. I have to give it to you, Thomas, you still have it. Shame for everyone, you didn’t have it when it mattered.’

It was one helluva roar from Granger. ‘Shut it Rosedale…! I want you both in my office. Now!’

12

Gazing out of the large window overlooking the dusty, cactus-filled flatlands leading up to the Granite Mountain, Dax Granger sat back in his hard wooden chair. He was tired. Real tired. Tired enough for the doctor to tell him he had to rest and take it easy. Unfit enough for the doctor to be throwing numbers at him like he was carving up the batter in a baseball game. Blood pressure one sixty over a hundred. Cholesterol level one ninety. Goddamn doctors, only thing they were good at was scaring the life out of people, triggering his wife to start looking for a retirement condo down in South Florida. If that’s what old age and ill health had in store for him, let God take him now. Irritated, he pointed at Rosedale and Cooper with the chewed blue biro top he held in his hand.

‘Is this the way it’s going to be, huh guys? You two at each other’s throats like a pair of Coyotes? I thought it was Maddie and Cooper I had to worry about, but oh no, you always like to prove me wrong.’

Rosedale yawned, adjusting the angle of his large cream cowboy hat whilst looking down at his watch.

‘You got some place else you need to be, Rosedale?’

Rosedale smirked, lighting his cigar. ‘Hell no, I’m staying around for the entertainment.’

Not having said anything so far, Cooper kept his words to a minimum. He took a drag from his cigarette. ‘You should’ve told me.’

Granger pulled a face. ‘I don’t need to discuss my staffing policies with anyone, least of all you. You’re here to do a job, nothing else.’

Cooper had a feeling the man was enjoying this. But he tried not to focus on that. Pills had a way of making a man feel paranoid. ‘Then tell me why.’

Rosedale cut in. Grinned widely. ‘I think that’s plain obvious, don’t you, Thomas?’

‘What’s he talking about?’

Granger had never been a man who liked to be questioned and today was no different. He snapped and barked and growled. ‘You were away where you shouldn’t have even been. I was a man down.’ He shrugged his shoulders to mark the end of his sentence.

‘And that’s it?’

‘That’s it, Cooper. Nothing more than a short tale.’

Rosedale said, ‘Oh, I wouldn’t say that.’

Granger stared hard at him. ‘Cut it out.’

Cooper turned to Granger. He wanted answers. But more than that he didn’t want anyone to be making him their fool. ‘I’m missing something here, aren’t I…? What’s going on?’

Drinking the coffee Maddie hadn’t bothered sugaring – orders from his wife – Granger sighed, not wanting to say anything more.

At which Rosedale was clearly amused. He winked. ‘Somebody thinks you need your hand holding, Thomas. So who better? Here I am. You’ve got yourself a babysitter.’

‘I don’t get it… Granger… I’m talking to you.’

Cooper could see Granger was uncomfortable. Forced into a corner. And he wasn’t about to let him out.

‘Okay, I got a call, but Cooper, you’ve got to understand…’

Cooper put his hand up to stop Granger saying anymore. ‘Oh I understand alright, and you can bet your life I’m going to go and sort it out.’

13

‘Hey Jackson, it’s Coop.’ Exhaustion threatened to overwhelm Cooper, but nothing could stop the strength of his feelings coming through in his voice. And in return he received the same warmth and love back. It felt good.

‘Coop! Hey Coop! Levi told me you were back. Thank God you’re okay. I was worried. I thought… hey, it’s good to hear your voice. I tried to call you at the ranch, got the answer machine… I missed you, man… Anyway, when you coming across?’

Hearing Jackson’s voice gave Cooper the first real sense of relief since he’d been back. And even though he knew it was only a fleeting moment, when he spoke to Jackson it always felt like everything was going to be just fine. Real fine.

‘I’ve got a couple of days off, thought I’d fly over tonight, but I’ve got something I need to do first so I’m not sure what time. I’ve got Cora with me. I know she’d like to see you and I’m trying to make up for being a deadbeat dad.’

‘Well let her know I’m looking forward to seeing her too. You flying yourself?’

‘No, I thought I’d catch the red eye.’

Jackson laughed. ‘Shatters my illusion Coop. You on a red eye. Can’t quite see it, man.’

‘Stranger things have happened Jackson, just you believe it. And besides, I’m tired and I don’t think Maddie would thank me if I flew solo with Cora.’

‘She’s got a point. Which reminds me, Levi told me about you and Maddie. I’m sorry. If there’s anything I can do.’

‘News travels fast,’ said Cooper. ‘But thanks, it’s cool. I guess it’ll sort itself one way or another.’

‘You okay with it?’

‘I dunno.’

‘Which translates into you don’t want to talk about it, right?’

‘You got it in one.’

‘Okay, well, I’ll see you in the morning, and maybe you could try to get here in one piece.’

‘No-one wants that more than me… Oh hey, will your dad be about?’

‘Yeah, I think so. You wanna say hi to him? He’ll be pleased to catch up with you.’

‘Cool. I’ll see you later… and Jackson? I missed you too.’

*

‘You ready, honey?’ Cooper clicked off his cell. Looked back at Cora who was sitting quietly in the back seat, seemingly oblivious to the rental car’s overpowering smell of cheap plastic and X-tra Strength wild cherry which oozed out in menacing waves from the innocuous-looking pink cardboard tree dangling from the driver’s mirror. He said, ‘What you got in your hands, baby?’

‘Mr. Crawley.’

‘Can I see it?’

‘Him, Daddy. Can you see him.’

‘Sorry. Can I see him?’

Cora Cooper raised her eyebrows just like she’d seen her mom do when she was asked something important. She looked at her dad with caution and a deep frown befitting someone far older than her four years.

Thinking hard, she decided there were a lot of things she knew. She knew how to do her math in Mrs. Bradbury’s class without crossing out. She knew how to do her shoelaces, though not on her new red sneakers she got last week; those laces were too long. She also knew really big things… Secrets. Like her mommy sometimes cried at night when she put on her music, and her daddy hid his red and blue and white candy in lots of bottles in the horse barn. Oh yes, she knew all those things and a whole lot more, but she didn’t know this. She didn’t know if she should let her daddy see Mr. Crawley because she didn’t know if Mr. Crawley would want to see her daddy. But then, she always enjoyed being with her daddy, so perhaps Mr. Crawley would.

Cora Cooper gave a long sigh and screwed up her nose and, just to be on the safe side, cupped her hands, brought them close to her face and asked, ‘Mr. Crawley, what do you think?’

‘What did he say?’

‘Sshhhh, Daddy! I can’t hear him…’

‘Sorry.’ Cooper glanced at his watch. Tried not to let impatience show. And hoped to God the clearly deceased Mr. Crawley would make up his mind one way or another. And fast. It was 3.34. Fifteen minutes late. Shit.

‘Well baby? What did he say? Can I see him?’

Cora opened her blue eyes. Wide. Gave Cooper an incredulous stare. ‘I don’t know yet Daddy, he hasn’t told me.’

Cooper rubbed his face. Pinched the bridge of his nose. The smell from the car freshener burning into his nostrils like a bad case of sinusitis. ‘Okay, well listen, honey, maybe you tell Mr. Crawley I’ll see him some other time. I’m meant to be somewhere and if I don’t get there soon, Daddy will be in trouble.’

‘With who?’

‘With a man.’

‘Which man?’

‘With a man who Daddy has to see.’

‘Why?’

‘Why what?’

‘Why do you have to see him?’

‘Has anyone told you, you ask a lot of questions?’

‘That’s what you say to Mommy.’

Cooper smiled and chuckled and laughed. Hard and loud. ‘Cora. I love you. Never forget that.’

‘And Mr. Crawley?’

‘Yeah, and Mr. Crawley.’

‘Daddy?’

‘Yes?

‘Do you think this man wants to see Mr. Crawley?’

‘He probably does. Problem is, honey, I don’t think Mr. Crawley would want to see this man.’

14

‘It really isn’t appropriate bringing a child to session, but I suppose now she’s here there’s nothing we can do about it. You can put her out in the hall.’

To which Cooper said, ‘She’s not a damn cat. She’ll be fine just there in the corner. She can play with her bug and read her book. She won’t be any trouble.’

‘I’m not happy about this, Mr. Cooper. And that’s even without wanting to mention you’re twenty minutes late.’

‘So why did you?’

‘Why did I what?’

‘Mention it. If you didn’t want to do something, why do it?’

‘Is that what happens to you? If you don’t want to do something you don’t bother?’

‘You tell me,’ said Cooper. ‘That’s why I’m here, isn’t it?’

‘No, Mr. Cooper. You’re here for court-ordered psychological sessions. Two years of monthly sessions extended to three years due to non-compliance, as you probably recall. It was either that or a residential psychiatric facility treatment center, but I recollect your attorney was vigorously opposed to that suggestion… You seem to be in denial about the truth about why you’re here.’

Cooper stared at the doctor, with the overly gelled hair and brown mule shoes looking like they pinched a little too tight, and he noticed the doctor staring back, which wasn’t a good thing because he was certain the doctor with the over gelled hair and too small shoes would read something into it and write it down and show it to his colleagues and send it to the court probation officer and finally to the judge who would never know the whole situation could’ve been avoided with the right size shoes. ‘Jesus. I was joking, Doc. I know why I’m here.’

‘I wouldn’t call it a joke. Do you often try to cover feelings with jokes – however unfunny?’

‘You gotta stop this.’

‘Stop what Mr. Cooper?’

‘Every time I say something you see a different meaning.’

‘Does that trouble you?’

‘Too damn right it does.’

‘Would you say you have feelings of paranoia?’

‘No.’

‘You seem agitated.’

‘Wouldn’t you?’

‘That all depends.’

Cooper said, ‘On what?’

‘I think you’re trying to deflect. This session is about you. Do you often try to avoid conversations about yourself?’

‘Jesus Christ.’

‘Do you feel yourself getting angry?’

‘No… It’s just… it’s difficult.’

‘What is?’

‘This… you… Maddie… the whole situation.’

‘Now I feel we’re getting somewhere. Tell me about Maddie.’

‘She left me.’

‘And how does that make you feel?’

‘I want to say I feel bad, but I can’t feel anything. For a moment I did but now not a damn thing. It’s like I’ve rubbed a tube of Lidocaine on my insides. There’s nothing there.’

‘And what about your daughter?’

Cooper gave a side glance to Cora, who was busy examining Mr. Crawley. He lowered his voice. ‘You mean do I feel anything about her? I do, but only when I’m with her. When I’m not, it’s like I’m locked off, she doesn’t exist anymore.’

‘That’s common amongst people with PTSD, especially people with combat trauma… You don’t like me saying that do you?’

‘Come on, Doc, you sound like a broken record. I haven’t got that and besides, it was a long time ago… I’ve moved on.’

‘I don’t believe that any more than you do.’

‘Like I say, it was a long time ago.’

‘Seven years.’

‘I know,’ said Cooper. ‘You don’t have to tell me that.’

‘The brain is very complex, Mr. Cooper, it can either be your best friend or your worst enemy and these things, especially trauma-based mental health issues, can last a very long time. May be there for the rest of your life. It also has a way of lying dormant, it doesn’t always hit the person straight away. And there’ll always be triggers. And as we’ve discussed before it’s not so much about curing the problem – if it were only that simple – it’s about the management of it. And let me tell you this: the more you try avoid your issues, the less control you’ll have over them, and before you know what’s happened they’ll grow to the point where they take on a life of their own.’

‘I’m not saying it’s always easy. At times it feels like I’ve a monster living inside me. Destroying everything I touch and those around me, and when it’s done creating havoc, that monster turns on me, pushing me to the edge and there’s nothing I can do to get away from it. It just devours me whole….’ Cooper trailed off, feeling like he’d said too much. He shrugged his shoulders, adding, ‘But hey, we’ve all got our demons, haven’t we? It’s no big deal.’

‘Why is it so hard for you to accept what I’m saying? Why are you always so adamant on rejecting my diagnosis and lessening your problems?’

‘Doc, you know I’m proud of having served and fought for my country, but here’s the thing: I’m okay, I got through it all, but I know some guys don’t and I won’t have you comparing my situation with my brothers – those military vets who really do suffer in silence, whose voices aren’t heard until it’s too late, and they put a gun to their head and blow themselves away. They’re the ones who end up losing everything after giving everything to their country. I won’t disrespect them like that. My problems, if I have any, don’t even compare. Jesus, I was on a yacht when it happened, not on the goddamn front line.’

‘You don’t have to be in a combat situation to be traumatized, however in your case I think you were. Look at the facts, Mr. Cooper: you were a serving officer at the time and although you were taking a couple of days’ vacation, you still came under attack. As a consequence of this attack your life and others were in danger. You had no control and felt there was no-one there to help you. You were injured and so was the other person with you.’

‘My injuries were nothing. Hurt my back, that’s all.’

‘Yet you take medication for it.’

Cooper was evasive. ‘Maybe. Sometimes… I dunno.’

‘Look, my point is your behaviour has got all the hallmarks of combat-related PTSD. All the hallmarks. And furthermore, you lost Ellie, and I don’t believe you’ve dealt with the guilt.’

‘I’d appreciate it if we didn’t go down that road.’

The hair-gelled doctor stared hard at Cooper. ‘Let me ask you this. You get flashbacks?’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you feel disconnected from emotions?’

‘Yes.’

‘Heightened alert?’

‘Yes.’

‘Nightmares?’

‘Yes.’

‘Unable to sleep?’

‘Yes.’

‘… You still sleep with your knife?’

‘Yes, if Maddie or Cora aren’t about. Maddie was never keen on it. Made her feel uneasy. Worried I’d jump out of my sleep and not know who they were. Fill in the rest.’

‘Feel unable to relate to family or friends?’

‘Yes.’

‘Do you alter your reality with the abuse of narcotics or alcohol?’

‘No, but whilst we’re on that subject, I’d appreciate it if you could write me another prescription for those pills.’

*

Cooper opened the car door for Cora. ‘Sorry it took so long but now we can go and get on a plane tonight and have some real fun.’

‘Daddy?’

‘Yes?’

‘Do you still love her?’

‘Of course I do. Listen, I don’t want you to worry about that. I’ll never stop loving Mommy.’

‘I don’t mean Mommy, I mean Ellie.’

15

The long cream hallway, adorned with family photographs, on the second floor of the Executive Residence, 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, is a section of the White House only the first family, and those closet to them, get to see. And it was here in the quiet hush of the early morning that Cooper found himself.

‘Coop!’ Jackson stuck his head round the door of the east bedroom, his face conveying delight.

‘Hey buddy!’ Cooper gave a wink and a smile and watched as Jackson walked towards him with a wide grin on his face.

Even from part-way down the hall, Cooper could see the thick raised scar running down Jackson’s forehead; the result, as well a constant reminder, of what happened on the boat with Ellie that day.

For a while no-one – least of all Cooper – had thought Jackson would recover from his head injury, but he’d been flown to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, an eminent neurological hospital, and slowly things had begun to turn around.

Rehabilitation had been long and painful and frustrating for Jackson, but he was a fighter. And he’d battled. Battled hard. And eventually after sixteen arduous months, that fight had paid off and he’d been discharged – though he certainly hadn’t been left unscathed.

His head injury from the boom had been of sufficient force to twist and turn Jackson’s brain on its axis. Interrupting the normal nerve pathways. Tearing and damaging its surface and leaving him with a left-side partial paralysis. A direct corollary of his injuries.

And the large, disfiguring scar ran visibly but the deeper, unseen ones ran right to the heart of Jackson, triggering him on occasion to be lost, unreachable in the dark, debilitating days of depression.

Cooper grabbed hold of Jackson before he was really near enough to do so. Embracing him and making it last long enough to let Jackson know he cared. Damn, it seemed easier than words.

‘Can anyone join in?’

John Woods stood a few feet from Cooper and Jackson, immaculately dressed in a tailored blue suit, a starched white open shirt and a pair of mismatched socks. His warm smile reflecting in his green eyes. ‘Coop, it’s really good to see you. We were worried… Hey Cora, it’s good to see you. Don’t you look beautiful? I like your dress. How about a hello hug?’

‘No.’

‘Please?’

‘No.’

‘Just a small one.’

‘No.’

Cooper put his hand on her shoulder. ‘You want to show him Mr. Crawley, honey?’

‘No.’

Jackson smiled. ‘Maybe she knows you’re a democrat, Dad.’

Cooper returned the smile John was giving him. But he knew his was more guarded. ‘Good to see you too, sir.’

John Woods shook his head. ‘Do we have to go through this every time? Coop, come on, it’s me.’

Cooper said nothing.

With a sigh and still with his eyes on Cooper, Woods said, ‘Okay, guys, I gotta get out of here.’

‘Hold on,’ said Jackson. ‘Let me go and get that book you wanted to read… Oh and Dad, change those socks… Cora, why don’t you come with me? I’ve got something for you.’

‘A flamingo?’

‘I’m afraid not. Is that what you want?’

‘No.’

‘Has anyone told you, you’re a funny little girl?’

‘No.’

‘Well hurry up, Jackson,’ said Woods. ‘I’m on the clock.’

*

Cooper followed President Woods into the West Sitting Hall, an informal yet elegant living room, classically decorated in creams and quilted gold. They stood by the large lunette window looking out onto the West Wing.

‘Jackson looks happy. Is it for real?’

Woods shrugged. ‘Who knows? He hasn’t been good recently. Sometimes I don’t know how to reach him, Coop, he’s like you in that respect. Maybe that’s why you understand him so well. Each time I think I’ve got him back, a few months later, like a wave it hits him, and I lose him all over again.’

Cooper stayed silent. Watched the Secret Service through the window doing their morning sweep of the White House grounds. Then after a time, he drew his attention away. Turned to Woods. Made sure his manner was biting. ‘Is Rosedale something to do with you?’

‘What?’

‘Rosedale. Is he something to do with you?’

Woods shook his head. ‘Come on, Coop.’

Cooper’s poise stayed hostile. He knew when somebody was trying to be a wiseguy. ‘Is he or not?’

‘What do you want me to do?’

‘Stay out of my life when it comes to my work.’

‘You want me to stop caring? Is that what you want Coop?’ Woods’s tone appealed, but he was wasting his time.

‘I don’t need babysitting, and especially not from Rosedale. I want you to stop thinking you can make it alright.’

‘Then tell me what you want.’

‘I want you to tell me the truth about Rosedale. Is that so hard?’

Woods poured himself some water from the glass decanter sitting on the French antique silver tray. Tried to ignore his toothache. Gestured to Cooper who shook his head at the unspoken offer of a drink.

‘Look, okay. All I did was make a few calls. Granger and I go back a long way, you know that, so it wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t like I was calling up a stranger. And Granger was happy to give Rosedale a job.’

Exasperated, as Cooper often was by Woods, he said, ‘Of all people. Rosedale?’

‘Relax. Rosedale’s a good guy. He’ll look out for you. Okay, he has his oddball ways but he’s one of the best. He owed me a favor, plus the man was bored. God knows why he thought retirement would suit him… Look, I know you’re pissed, but Granger’s been keeping me in the loop. Coop, there’s been too many near-misses in the past and now, according to Granger, it’s started again.’

‘The hell it has, and Granger should keep his goddamn nose out of my business.’

‘It has, Coop, and I know why and so do you.’

‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘Oh I think I do. It’s about why you went back to Africa, when you said you wouldn’t. Breaking your promise to Maddie.’

‘What do you know about Maddie? You’ve never even met her.’

‘And is that my fault? You’ve kept her away, Coop. God knows what you tell her.’

‘I don’t tell her anything. Might surprise you but you’re not the conversation of the day.’

‘Why is it that every time I see you there’s so much hostility?’

‘Listen John, I don’t want to talk about that. Let’s just stick to the point shall we?’

‘Which is?’

‘That I just want everyone to understand that they need to keep out of my business and realize I was just doing my job.’

‘No, that doesn’t cut it… Granger told me about Ellie’s death certificate finally coming through… I’m so sorry.’

The heat behind Cooper’s eyes began to blur his vision. He pressed his palms into them. ‘It didn’t just magically come through. Granger couldn’t send off for it fast enough, could he? Almost as the clock struck seven years, he was applying to court for a notice of legal presumption of death.’

‘Coop, it’s only right. You know as well as I do, if the accident had happened in US waters, the death certificate would’ve been issued years ago because the element of peril would’ve accelerated the presumption of death. It’s only because it happened in international waters that things were different.’

‘I don’t need a legal lecture. I know how it works.’

‘Then you know it’s the first time Granger has been able to get some kind of proper closure. Maybe now this is the time for you to get it too.’

‘Closure? Because of a piece of paper saying she’s….. so we’re all supposed to just shut it away and pretend it never happened?’

‘You know I don’t mean that.’

‘Then what do you mean, John?’

‘What I mean is, it’s there. Written down. It’s like an anchor to hold onto. It’s tragic, but maybe now it’ll help you accept it. Accept what we’ve been saying for years, rather than it send you spinning.’

‘So this is about you being right, is it? And now you want me to just get on with my life?’

‘Yes, because you were doing good with Maddie and with Cora. You’d moved on. I could see it. We all could.’

‘Had I? Or is that what you all wanted to believe, so that’s all you saw?’

‘Jesus, listen, Coop. Do not throw your life away over this. Nothing’s changed. Not since yesterday or last week, or last month or even last year. Everything’s still the same. You’re just struggling to see it now the death certificate’s come through. But you need to accept this… It’s finally over.’

‘And what if it’s not? Think about… No… no, just hear me out. So let’s say I accept it because there it is on that damn piece of paper. The date stamps her death… But what if she’s alive and the day after the date stamp there’s no-one there to keep on looking for her? Don’t you see, John? If the truth dies, I’ll kill her all over again!’

‘Goddamn it, Cooper. The truth is she’s dead! The best thing you can do is try to get things sorted with Maddie.’

Cooper shook his head and eyes wide he counted on his fingers.

‘One… Two… Three. Three skiffs that day. Three, not two. I know how many there were. I’m not crazy. I wasn’t then and I’m not now.’

John Woods strained towards Cooper. ‘There were witnesses Coop. And they all say there were only two skiffs.’

‘You don’t know what you’re talking about.’

‘Jesus. I can see it. That look in your eye. I haven’t seen it for a long time, but it’s come back and it scares me Coop. No-one wants to lose you… Think about Jackson. How do you think he’d cope if anything happened to you? Please, just tell me you’ll accept it. Accept it’s over.’

Cooper’s eyes darted manically round the room. His breathing. Shallow. Short. Teeth grinding down. Biting hard. Panting, he rested his gaze back on John. ‘Whatever you say… I accept it.’

‘Coop…? You okay?’

‘Fine.’

‘Your mouth’s bleeding.’

Cooper touched his lips with his fingers. Saw the blood. ‘I’ll be damned, must’ve bitten my tongue.’

‘You sound real strange. Coop, are you on something?’

‘No.’

‘You know you can trust me, right? I don’t want to see you going down that road again.’

‘It wasn’t that bad.’

‘Come off it. You were doctor shopping with the best of them. What was it? About twenty, twenty-five different doctors, all writing prescriptions for you in different aliases for painkillers, benzos and opiates, and God knows what else. The way you were and what you did, it’s amazing the court only sentenced you to psychological sessions.’

Cooper shifted uncomfortably. He said, ‘It’s not like that anymore. It’s all good.’

‘I hope so Coop, because you don’t realize how much your behavior affects everyone around you. I’m not laying the blame here but when you just took off to Eritrea and then fell off the radar, Jackson was in a real dark place. I wasn’t sure what I’d find from one morning to another when I went into his room…’

The president stopped. Embarrassed. Overwhelmed. Cooper decided it was probably a bit of both. But whatever it was, he wasn’t going to push it, he could see John was unprepared for his emotions taking such a stranglehold.

After a minute or so, and regaining his composure, Woods continued. ‘Jackson needs you, Coop… he values your friendship above anything else.’

‘And that’s why I lie to him is it? Because my friendship’s so valuable…? It’s all based on a house of cards, John.’

President Woods stared at Cooper in disbelief. ‘You want me to tell him the truth? Is that it? Is this what this is all about?’

Cooper tried his best to mirror Woods’s look of incredulity, but the pills were making his face feel strange. Kinda numb. ‘The truth?’ he said with scorn. ‘Don’t make me laugh, John. Everything’s secrets and lies. So no, that’s not what I’m saying. I just want you to keep the hell out of my work and my business. So you don’t have to worry, I’ll continue being part of your lies. Though, on reflection, I guess it also makes it convenient for you to keep Jackson in the dark because we both know it sure as hell would destroy you if it got out.’

‘Wait a goddamn minute, you really think…’

‘Hey guys…’ Jackson, burst exuberantly into the room with Cora piggybacking. He stopped by the door. Frowned. Glanced at Cooper. Glanced at his father. ‘What’s going on?’

‘I was just telling Coop about last month’s Redskins game.’

Jackson pulled a face. ‘Why does everyone say they’re talking about football when they don’t want to say what they were really talking about?’

President Woods winked at his son as he popped a peanut in his mouth. ‘Okay, I was actually telling Cooper he needs to look after himself.’

‘He’s right, Coop.’

Not wanting to get into it with Jackson, Cooper picked up a small framed photo of the president standing next to Captain Beau Neill. ‘I haven’t seen this before.’

Woods moved round to look at which of the numerous photographs sitting on the mahogany cabinet Cooper had picked up. He gave a small laugh. ‘That’s the day your Uncle Beau became Captain. He had to go and see the promotion board, but he’d been staying with me and he’d left his jacket at the base. My car wouldn’t start, so I had to get my next door neighbor to give him a lift on the back of his Harley to get there in time, and you know how much Beau hates bikes… They were good times.’

There was a knock on the door.

‘Yes?’

A young woman, with a quiet demeanour and hair scraped back too tight, entered. Said,

‘Mr. President, they’re waiting for you downstairs. Senator Walmsley’s call is due in seven minutes.’

‘Thanks, I’ll be with you in a moment.’

John Woods waited for the woman to leave the room, always liking to create a discernible divide between his private and public life. ‘Jackson, I’ll see you tonight. Coop, will you still be around later?’

Cooper gave a small nod. ‘I don’t think so, sir, so I’ll see you around.’

16

In the wet steaming air, near where the muddy brown waters of the Congo River ran deep, Papa Bemba stood over the mounds of unmarked red clay graves. It was best this way. Best for the possessed to remain without a name. To die alone. Unmourned. Unseen. Far away from the living.

Emmanuel had started to ask questions, when there should have been none to ask. Shown concern where there was no place for his scrutiny. And though he’d been warned, his asinine tongue had plagued his words. Voicing his opinion against what he’d learned. Then driven on by an injudicious spirit, and demons which had taken over his mind, Emmanuel had tried to direct others to his way of thinking.

When the illness had struck Emmanuel he’d known it was just. Unlike the others, his illness had been one where repentance and payment were not enough. He’d needed to be an example, to show the villagers how unwise it had been to question Papa Bemba.

Then afterwards, Emmanuel’s family had come to speak to him, asking him the whereabouts of their son. The whereabouts of his body. Wanting to give him a burial he didn’t deserve. But Papa Bemba hadn’t told them because he hadn’t known. Though once he’d thought about it, it seemed so clear. Emmanuel was obviously walking amongst them. Part of the living dead. Because how else had his body disappeared from the hut? Emmanuel had gone. Risen up to walk again. And it was obvious to him that with the power of wicked prayer, Emmanuel’s family had brought him back from the dead – getting him to walk with evil once more. But his family had paid the price. A heavy price. And the sorcery had been burnt out from them just like the others.

‘Papa Bemba are you ready to go?’

He nodded, turning towards the voice of Lumumba, a worthy man, who’d worked for him for six years.

‘I am. What time is it?’

‘Nearly four o clock. Shall I take you to them?’

Papa Bemba stayed silent for a moment. Although his certainty in his calling was irrefutable, and he would continue to follow the path set out before him, there was a lot of work to be done.

Smiling and using Lumumba’s arm to guide him across the uneven ground, Papa Bemba spoke. ‘No, I want to rest, I need to think more about Emmanuel. The others can wait.’

Lumumba sounded uneasy, something Papa Bemba picked up on.

‘Are you sure?’

Papa Bemba laughed, tapping the man on his arm. ‘Quite. But do not trouble yourself my friend, for their time amongst us is at a close. My mission is to subjugate sorcerers, and those who wish to block my path. I realize the only way to overcome the darkness is by the blood of the suffering, and with your help, I will pick them off one by one.’

17

‘Goddamn it…! Goddamn it…! Is this how it’s going to be?’ John Woods swept the phone off the Resolute desk in the Oval Office, taking with it the gold rimmed white china cup half filled with bad tasting coffee. Landed on the cream foot-rug left over from the Obama administration.

‘I thought Senator Walmsley was on board?’

‘He was.’

Woods, ignoring his tension headache, stared at Edward ‘Teddy’ Adleman, his chief of staff and a trusted friend who’d been part of the last administration.

‘Then if he was,’ replied Woods, ‘why the hell isn’t he now? He knows we were going to give him what he wanted on the main immigration bill, as well as on some of the smaller points. Jesus, short of blood, I’m giving him everything he asked for. Now all of a sudden he’s backing out on our reforms.’

‘Mr. President, it’s not just Senator Walmsley.’

‘What are the numbers now?’

‘Nothing’s changed since yesterday.’

‘Bullshit. Shall I tell you exactly what’s changed since yesterday…? Around about three hundred people in this country including kids have been shot in murders or assaults, suicides and suicide attempts, as well shooting accidents, all since we had our last conversation. So don’t give me the line about nothing having changed, Teddy… Now give me the numbers.’

‘Okay like we discussed yesterday two thirds of Republicans are aiming to block, as well as a number of moderate democrats. We gotta face it: there’s no way we’re going to gather up enough bipartisan support on these new measures.’

‘Jesus Christ, what is wrong with these people?’

Adleman, a tall, dignified Afro-American, shook his head solemnly. ‘Come on, John, you know how it is.’

‘I do, but every day I keep having hope that someone up on Capitol Hill will eventually decide to do the right goddamn thing. That they’ll wake up and realize they have a responsibility to the country. What about any of the senators who backed health care? Have you tried them? There must be some of them who are open to negotiation on this?’

‘You got to face it John, they’re not happy with you. You got a hostile senate and you know what you’re offering on immigration won’t even tempt them to read the new gun control proposals. They’re not interested. A lot of people see your immigration policies as too liberal. They want less immigrants, not more. You’re not going to be able to bargain for these gun reform unless you completely change your ethos on the Immigration and Naturalization Act. Right now we have one of the biggest divides in this country that’s been seen for a long time.’

Woods shook his head. ‘I won’t accept there’s nothing that can be done.’

‘It might be different if we were talking about Homeland issues, but the way things are you haven’t really got anything to give them. Nothing that they want. They’re not going to budge. And the pressure they’re getting from the NRA, along with other pro-gun groups… Well, I’d say that’s the main reason you’re not going to get the votes. You know as well as I do there’s a climate of fear in this country, people want to hold on to what they know and that includes the second amendment… John, I’m sorry but you know these groups spend millions of dollars on campaign contributions, particularly during the election cycle, as well as millions of dollars on lobbying. And every time there’s a shooting tragedy…’

Woods interrupted. Annoyance bouncing on his words. ‘That’s every day, don’t forget that. Every day there’s a shooting tragedy, not just the ones that are in the press, Teddy.’

‘Apologies, Mr. President, I should’ve worded that better. The problem we’ve got is when we call for stricter controls what happens, as you know, are the pro-gun groups rally their members to fight against new restrictions. They spread fear and uncertainty and donations go up. There are a hell of a lot of senators falling out of these groups’ pockets. The gun groups have bankrolled their campaigns. They’ve got a vice-like grip on half of Capitol Hill.’

Frustrated, Woods said, ‘Yeah, I know all that, but Walmsley knew all this and he was okay about it before. What’s changed?’

‘Pressure, John. That’s what’s changed. He’s even got a few anonymous threats. Those senators don’t have the balls when it comes to standing up to special interest groups. They get intimidated and as a consequence our reforms get undermined.’

‘Oh come on, don’t give me that Teddy. You say this every time.’

‘You know how high passions run on gun control. This goes right to the heart of our constitution. As a nation, we want to preserve that.’

‘And what about preserving lives? And the American people tend to agree. What did the last polls come in at? 85 percent backed our reforms?’

‘Oh come on, we haven’t believed what polls have said in a long time. And anyway, even if they were right, you could have a hundred polls saying we got a hundred percent backing. That’s not the problem, Mr. President, and you know that. The problem is the overwhelming sense coming down from Capitol Hill is that you’re trying to overstep your legal authority on these reforms. Plus, the gun control campaign we’ve been running hasn’t helped. Seems like a lot of the Republican senators feel like we’ve demonized them along with the pro-gun groups. It’s a mess. They think the social media campaigns we’ve run have made them look like the criminals. No-one’s going to like that, especially when it looks like it comes from the White House.’

‘I don’t get how the hell they can talk about us and our campaign? Have you seen what the lobbyists are doing? They’re blatantly spreading lies about our reforms. Making out that it’ll be a kind of Big Brother atmosphere for gun owners. You talk about a climate of fear? Jesus, nobody’s trying to take away the second amendment here, we’re just trying to stop our children being killed.’

‘I know, but when it’s time to vote, they’re going to vote against, and they’ll say they’re just protecting the rule of law and the constitution.’

‘Bullshit! I’m trying to protect the American people and they know it, it’s an excuse. This issue totally exemplifies the dysfunctional nature of Congress. Every goddamn time restrictions are proposed, the pro-gun groups tells everyone it’ll make no difference to the number of shootings and massacres and the perpetrator would’ve committed these crimes anyway… But try telling that to the families who’ve lost loved ones. Senator Walmsley needs to get his head out of his ass and see what’s really important.’

Woods stopped to take a deep breath. It took all of his resolve not to put the Smith and Watson Georgian-style chair through one of the eleven foot high oval windows. Though in truth, he knew he might have a tough time trying – bullet resistant glass had a way of stopping things.

His temper and this job, sometimes they just didn’t match. Hell, it didn’t even get close. Damn problem was he cared too much. And it wasn’t lost on him that this was something he told Cooper not to do. He actually thought he’d got his temper on something of an even keel, though whether he’d achieved that was an entirely different matter. The Post certainly didn’t think so. As of late, most of the cartoon captions had some kind of reference to his legendary outbursts. Exaggerated, yes. But not altogether untrue. Though he would rather call it passion.

He pointed his finger at Adleman. Jaw so tight from stress it damn near felt it’d locked. He rubbed the side of his face. ‘You need to give Congress a goddamn message from me. They need to stop fighting me on these gun reforms and start thinking about the families and their communities. And you can also send Walmsley the photos.’

‘You can’t do that. It’s not going to help. If anything, it’s going to make it worse.’

‘I said, send him the photos… Joan…! Joan! Can you come in here a minute?’

Woods’s secretary hurried in. Calm. Unruffled. Two qualities that explained why he’d hired her. And two qualities, at moments like this, he wished he had. ‘I want you to send Senator Walmsley the pictures of the kids who were killed at Liberbush Elementary. He needs to see what backing out of the reform means.’

The side glance from Joan to Alderman didn’t get missed. Woods chewed on the skin of his thumb nail. ‘You got a problem with that, Joan?’

‘No, sir.’

‘I think you have.’

‘No.’

‘Tell me honestly. You know I value your opinion.’

Joan tucked her almost-too-short dyed black hair behind her ear. She glanced at Teddy Adleman who nodded encouragingly.

‘Okay, well, I think it’s the wrong thing to do, Mr. President. The rationale rests on the supposition that it’s not the gun that kills a person, it’s the person. And I agree with that sentiment and so do a lot of other people. So sending photos to Senator Walmsley of the babies who were shot and killed, however hideous the injuries, won’t serve any purpose apart from alienating yourself more from the Senate.’

‘But I need to show Walmsley and a few other senators exactly what happened on this latest massacre.’

‘Mr. President, with due respect they’re intelligent men and I have no doubt they know exactly what happened and how. Seeing the photos won’t make a difference to getting votes for your reform. The people who are going to vote against are pro-gun, not pro-violence. That’s a big difference right there.’

‘Then how come the rest of the world are looking at America in bewilderment and wondering why the hell we don’t do something about our gun laws and our predilection for guns?’

‘We’re unique in that we have our constitution to uphold.’

‘Bullshit… sorry, Joan, but bullshit.’

‘There are a lot people who are worried your reforms aren’t going to uphold the second amendment.’

‘The second amendment was written in 1791, for God’s sake! People quite rightly were defending their land and their cattle, but they did it with muskets and Kentucky long rifles, not a 516 multicaliber semiautomatic which blows a hole in you the size of a grapefruit. America has to change with the times. Let me give you a couple of figures.’

Joan looked exasperated, but Woods carried on: ‘Over seventeen thousand children and teens are shot each year. Over three thousand of them die. And if you include adults in that figure then we have a goddamn grand total of over one hundred and ten thousand people shot in this country on average each year. And nearly thirty-three thousand of them die. So come on, Joan, tell me about your precious second amendment now.’

Joan, red faced and needing the bathroom, held her ground. ‘I could point out that gun ownership in places like Finland and Switzerland are high but they don’t have a problem with their crime rates. And the states here in America with the strongest gun control laws, like California, are the ones with the highest gun-homicide rates. Then conversely you’ve got places like Utah, who have very few gun control laws, but they also have a very low number of gun crime homicides. So truly, I don’t see these reforms will have any bearing.’

‘I’m not trying to stop people having guns, but there’s got to be more we can do. More reforms on assault and high caliber weapons, more criminal and mental health background checks, and the ability to close the loopholes which allow guns to be sold to the wrong people.’

Joan sniffed. Pulled down the hem of her spotted cardigan. ‘My point still stands, Mr. President. It’s not the gun, it’s the person.’

‘And my point is if we don’t try these restrictions then America won’t know if they work. But I appreciate you telling me your view… Now send him the goddamn photos. And Teddy, you need to find those votes and I don’t care how we do it, just get them.’

18

It had been two days since Cooper had returned from Washington and even though there was a lot to think about, he’d been trying to do anything but. Work was his escape as well as his self-imposed imprisonment. A license to avoid anything other than the job he was doing. A place where the task in hand was a substitute for his reality.

He remembered back to how his Uncle Beau had been just before he’d left the Navy, unable to contemplate anything other than the life he’d built around it. Unable to see any future in the midst of his own fear of leaving everything he’d ever known. Everything he’d relied on after a lifetime of avoiding his own conflicts. His own internal war, which seemed worse than facing any adversary out on the field. But unlike his Uncle, who’d found his peace through God, giving him the courage and strength to think, allowing him just to be, he knew he didn’t have that. He had no God. No peace. And no matter how unafraid of his fellow man he was, how many perilous situations he found himself in, he didn’t have the courage just to be. For that, he envied his Uncle.

He stood in Granger’s office next to Maddie and Rosedale, impatient to know what was on offer. He had to get out. Feel like he was doing something worthwhile. And maybe it’d be a good thing to put some distance between himself and Maddie. Not that there’d been a problem. They’d been cordial, hell, almost friendly, when he’d dropped Cora off.

He’d had the feeling Maddie had wanted to talk. But that was women! He didn’t have anything to say. Nothing to give her even if he wanted to. He couldn’t feel a goddamn thing. So why make things harder and disappoint her more by talking? It was better for Maddie to think him an uncommunicative jackass than let her know that her husband, estranged or not, felt absolutely nothing at all.

‘There’s a job for you if you want it, Cooper. Came in from one of the international banks.’ Granger unapologetically threw some papers at Cooper, but it was Maddie who bent down to pick them up. After skim reading the details she stared at Granger in disbelief.

‘Are you serious? You can’t send him there.’

Granger leant forward, clearly annoyed but somewhat curious to hear Maddie’s rationale. He swivelled round in his chair letting her talk. ‘Go on.’

‘I thought we’d decided we were going to send that job back to the bank. It’s too dangerous. Let them sign it off.’

‘And why would I do that if I’ve got Cooper here to do it?’

Maddie’s face flushed. A flash of anger crossed her eyes. She chewed on her lip – something she did when she was trying not to show her true feelings. But she didn’t have to say anything. Cooper knew she was worried about him.

He said, ‘Listen, Maddie, it’s cool, okay?’

She stared at Granger. God, she hated that she felt like this. In fact, she hated that she felt anything at all. She wanted to be free of it. But how could she? How do you just turn off loving someone? She’d loved him from the beginning.

But he’d been in love with Ellie. As obsessed with Ellie as Ellie had been with him. So there was nothing to be done apart from try to get on with things. And that had been fine, or rather she’d had to make it fine. But, after the accident, she’d reached out to him. She could see he’d needed someone to help and love him, as his obsession over his search for Ellie had grown, and he’d spiralled. Helter-skeltering into bottles of pills. Getting further and further away from reality. Out of control. Out of his mind.

When things had got really dark, really bleak, she’d almost lost faith. Almost. But then in one session at the veteran’s psychiatric medical facility, promoted by his therapist, he’d asked her to marry him and – maybe foolishly – she’d said yes. Hoping her love for him would help him begin to live again.

Initially there was no glimmer of anything nearing hope. But when Cora had been born, he’d stopped searching. Fought his addiction. Fought his demons. Given up the ghost… literally. And they’d been happy… or so she’d thought.

But now, like a haunting, the ghost had come back. She could see it in his eyes. But now it was different because they had Cora. She couldn’t stay and disappear down the tunnel with him. Drowning alongside. And even though it had hurt to leave. Did hurt. Still hurt. Couldn’t breathe. It was the right thing to do. Happy or not.

Keeping a level voice, she spoke to Granger. ‘If you care about him at all, you wouldn’t let him go. Not there.’

Cooper looked embarrassed by the care Maddie still showed him, even after everything; it made him feel uncomfortable. He decided to take over the conversation. It was the easiest way out.

‘Can someone just tell me what we’re talking about rather than talk around me? If it’s escaped anyone’s notice, I’m a grown man.’

With his slow Texas drawl like a lazy summer’s day, Rosedale winked. ‘The jury’s still out on that one, Thomas.’

Cooper gave him a cold stare, but avoided being drawn in. ‘Granger, what’s this job?’

Granger rubbed the middle of his chest, the eggs over easy his wife had made him for breakfast repeating on him. ‘Guy’s fallen behind on his payments for a plane.’ He stopped to study the paperwork before continuing to talk. ‘Looks like he hasn’t paid for six months. The usual deal. The banks and the like have tried to get in touch with him but he seems to have gone underground, so now of course they’re looking to get the plane back. It’s a nice little number, a Daher-Socata TBM-900, six seater with up to 330 knot cruise speed and a G1000 Avionics Suite. The whole thing is worth in the region of 3 to 4 mill. Less than a year old, so it’s worth the bank pursuing it for a resale. The problem is the place they have to go to get it.’

‘Which is?’ asked Cooper.

Maddie butted in. ‘Which is the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Go figure.’

Granger spoke dryly to her. ‘I think I can manage this conversation on my own, Maddison. But she’s right, that’s where it is, and it’s also why they asked us… No job is too big or too much trouble.’

‘Seriously, Granger,’ said Cooper, ‘you need to change that tag line.’

Rosedale, flicking the flame of his silver lighter on and off, grinned. ‘Hell, Thomas, if you’d rather go home and drink your milk, I’m sure we can handle it. Me and Miss Maddison here. I’d rather take my chances on her.’

Maddie, who also seemed to want to ignore Rosedale, seethed, her cheeks turning even redder than before.

Cooper was glad she refused to rise to the obvious bait. The man was a schmuck. Maddie had confided in him that Rosedale had annoyed her from the very first day they’d met, and she and Levi had apparently had various discussions as to why Granger had employed him. She’d thought his employment was strange, mainly because Granger was usually so transparent in his business and staffing policies.

He knew Maddie had picked up an air of secrecy over the hiring of Rosedale, and he also knew, women being women, she’d wanted to get to the bottom of it. She’d asked him what he thought, but he hadn’t said anything. Just shrugged as she’d carried on surmising, with her concluding that although she didn’t care for Rosedale, and she was sure Granger was hiding something, she could understand why he’d asked him to join the firm; he was probably one of the best. But being one of the best didn’t mean she was ever going to like him.

‘You can’t do this, Granger.’

Granger, already irritated by the invasion of his office, snapped. ‘Maddison, you’re part of the team which means you’re part of the family. I appreciate what you’re saying, but don’t tell me what I should do.’

Maddie bristled but kept her composure. Despair colored her voice. ‘This is crazy guys. Granger, he’s just come back from Africa. I don’t know why he went but you do, and you’re willing to send him again? Tell me what’s going on.’

‘That’s down to Cooper to tell you, not me. And anyway, him going to Africa got me thinking. If I can’t beat them, join them.’

‘What’s that supposed to mean?’

‘What it’s supposed to mean Maddison, is that Cooper here seems insistent, no matter what I say, on turning into the next Livingstone. And as that’s the case I might as well use it to my advantage. Give him the jobs nobody else wants. Earn some money from the bug up his ass.’

‘Don’t do this, Granger. Tom, you’re not really going to go. Why don’t you take some time out? Even back at the ranch for a couple of weeks? I’ll come across at the weekend and drop off Cora. You can go riding with her. Fishing. She’d love that. What do you say?’

Rosedale winked. ‘Should do as the little lady says.’

Cooper gave Maddie a small smile, but his mind was elsewhere. Taking the job in the Congo would mean he needn’t stay. He could get away from all the questions and the probing and the issues and the problems.

‘I’ll take one of the helicopters to go and get my things from the ranch. I left some of my equipment there. I could take Cora for the ride. What do you think, Maddie?’

Maddie shook her head. ‘I can’t believe you’re going to do this. Please, Tom. It’s crazy. Granger, please.’

‘This is getting good! There’s nothing like the Midwest for melodrama.’

Cooper snarled. Thought about punching Rosedale. Would leave it for another time. ‘Put a sock in it, Rosedale… Listen, Maddie, I really…’

‘You know what Tom, I don’t want to hear it. I don’t want to hear you telling me you’ve got to do it, because we both know that’s not true. If you take this job there’s nothing I can do… other than what Granger just said… If I can’t beat them, join them. So that’s what I’m going to do! Get on with it, and join you.’

Cooper had no doubt he looked shocked. ‘What?’

‘You heard me. If you go, I’m going too. We’ve always worked together as a team. So what’s the problem? You were the one who said being separated wouldn’t be an issue when it came to working together. I quote, it’ll be cool, business as usual. And us working together on an investigation, well that’s normal, wouldn’t you say?’

Cooper spun round to Granger. ‘No way. No way is she coming.’

‘For God’s sake if she says she wants to go, then she can go. We’re not in fifth grade.’

‘She can’t!’

‘What d’ya mean she can’t? She’s a better shot than you. Keeps her head. And knows her way around a plane and a boat as well as the two of you do. I’m not in the business of employing people who aren’t up to the job. So there should be no problem. Should there?’

‘What if something happened to her?’

Granger rubbed his head, drawing his hand down his face in weary exasperation. ‘I don’t know what to tell you, Coop.’

Cooper turned to Maddie. ‘Listen, it’s not happening. Maddie, I’m sorry there’s no way you’re going.’

‘Excuse me? I’m not quite sure if I heard right. I thought for a moment you were trying to tell me what I could or couldn’t do.’

Cooper glared back at her. ‘And what about Cora? Who’s going to look after her? You need to be at home with her.’

‘Oh my God, tell me you just didn’t say that.’

‘Listen to me…’

‘No, stop! Don’t go there. Cora will be fine as she always is when we go on a job. She’ll stay with my parents as usual. She’ll love it as usual. The only person who doesn’t seem to be able to do usual is you. Now if suddenly you’ve got a problem with the child care arrangements why don’t you stay and look after Cora, and Rosedale and I will go.’

Rosedale tipped his hat and winked at Maddie. He grinned. ‘There’s a word in Texas for strong women like you.’

‘Shut up, Rosedale, I don’t want to hear it.’

Wanting to defuse the situation, Cooper tried to sound deliberately casual. ‘Maddie, look. It’s no big deal for me to go to the DRC. But for you? Come on, it’s crazy.’

Maddie raised her voice. Her suppressed emotions twisting and transferring, channelling her feelings into hurt, hostile words.

‘Don’t you dare, Tom! Don’t try to manipulate this situation and make out you’re worried about me. You just want, for whatever reason, to go out there on your own. Next thing we know you’ll have disappeared, like so many times before. Admit it. You know I’m right.’

Cooper clenched his jaw. Tightened his fist. Unclenched his jaw. Untightened his fist. He said. ‘You’re not right. It’s just work.’

‘Then if this is purely professional, if it’s not really a big deal to go to the DRC, then hell, I’ve got bills to pay as well. In fact, why don’t we make this a party? Why don’t we all go…? Levi, you coming?’

Levi, who’d walked into Granger’s office just moments before, stared at Maddie wide eyed. ‘You lost your mind, Maddie? No. No way. You can count me out of this one.’

Maddie, continuing her emotional outburst, leant across Granger’s desk. ‘Then how about you, Granger? What do you say? You want to join us? Seeing as going to the Congo isn’t a big deal… Come on, how about it? Being as you’re so keen to send Tom. What do you say?’

Granger turned three shades of red. Stood up. Surpassed himself by slamming both fists down. ‘I say you need to go and calm down, Maddison. Go and drink some camomile tea or whatever it is that you women do at this time of the month.’

‘Are you freaking kidding me? What cave have you just stepped out of? And if anybody should go there it’s me. I know that place better than anybody here. It’s part of who I am.’

‘Maddie,’ said Cooper, ‘you were born here. It’s only your daddy who comes from there and he left when he was twenty. And as for your Mom, she’s an all American girl from Wyoming.’

‘It’s still a place I know well. I visited my grandma a lot when I was a little girl, until…’ She trailed off. A flicker of pain crossing her face. ‘Anyway, enough… I’ve got things to do. But I’ll be ready to go with Cooper and Rosedale. I’ll call you later for the details.’

‘Maddie!’ Cooper called after her as she slammed out of Granger’s office.

Rosedale, who at this point was polishing his cowboy boots with the edge of the drapes, broke the silence.

‘Looks like someone’s upset. Hands up if y’all reckon the worst decision this great country ever made was to give women their rights and let them out of the kitchen and into the workforce?’ He gazed round at the solemn faces of the other three then grinned. ‘Or is that just me?’

Cooper didn’t bite. Wasn’t going to give him that. Instead, he turned to Granger.

‘How soon can we leave?’

‘If admin can sort out the paperwork, we can have you all ready to roll by Wednesday. And Cooper, just find the plane this time and fly it back to the international BLC office in Nairobi. We’ll go over details later. Keep your mind on the job. No distractions, otherwise someone may get hurt. You understand what I’m saying?’

Cooper regarded Granger. Like with Rosedale, he wasn’t going to get into anything with him. ‘Who’s the plane registered to?’

Putting on his glasses, Granger glanced again at the pile of papers in front of him, scanning them for a name. He peered at one of the plane documents, trying to read the signature. Gave up, and grumbled aloud. ‘What the hell sort of writing is this? That looks like a three.’

Gazing at the document, Cooper turned it round towards him, staring at the signature in question.

‘That’s not a three, Granger, that’s an E… Look.’

‘Who the hell writes an E backwards? Are you sure?’

‘Yeah look. Emmanuel.’ He held up the document for the others to see.

‘The plane’s registered to someone called Mutombo. Emmanuel Mutombo.’

19

‘No way Maddison, you’ve lost your mind.’ Marvin Menga stared and despaired and appealed to his daughter as they stood in the large pretty bedroom of the Arizona house she and Cooper had bought after they’d got married. ‘Put that stuff down and listen… Maddie, I’m talking to you.’

Maddie turned to her father. ‘I’ve got to pack… Cora! Hey, Cora, are you coming to help me put my clothes in?’

Like a whirlwind, Cora Cooper ran through. Went straight up to Maddie’s open suitcase. Dropped in what she held in her hands. ‘Here you are, I thought they could keep you company.’

‘Baby they’re worms!’

‘Don’t be silly. They’re not worms, Mommy, they’re magic. Shall I go and get some more?’

‘No, it’s fine honey, I think I’ve got enough magic there don’t you?’ Maddie paused looked at her father. ‘Actually, Cora, why don’t you go and get Grandpappy some magic. I think he needs some to make him smile.’

With a nod and a skip, Cora bounced out of the bedroom.

‘I don’t want you going. Not to there. There’s no way you’re going.’

‘Daddy, that’s the second time somebody’s said that to me today. The first time it didn’t make any difference and it’s not going to this time.’

Patting down his neatly cut afro, Marvin sat on the bed harder than he’d intended to. Knocked the pile of clothes right off. ‘What can I say to stop you?’

‘There isn’t anything you can say.’

‘What if I told you that I won’t look after Cora if you go?’

‘Then I know that wouldn’t be really you speaking. I’ve got to do this. Don’t make it harder.’

Marvin sighed. ‘Why?’

‘Tom can’t go on his own. He’s not in a good place.’

Those words were all that was needed for Marvin to lose his cool.

‘He’s not in a good place? Can I remind you Maddison it was less than a week ago when I had to come and pick you up from the floor in the middle of nowhere? And why did I? Because of that man. Yet it’s him who’s not in a good place. I bet he hasn’t even noticed how cut up you are. Was this his idea, for you to go along and hold his hand?’

‘No. In fact he didn’t want me to go.’

‘Doesn’t surprise me. He probably wants to go and disappear like he always does. To hell with responsibilities.’

Quiet, real quiet, Maddie said, ‘Daddy, he can’t do anything right in your eyes, can he? He said as much.’

‘Well at least he and I agree on something. I don’t know why you had to pick a man like him.’

‘Don’t start this again.’

‘You could’ve stayed in Mississippi and caught yourself a decent man. A church-going man.’

‘You make it sound like a fishing trip. And I would’ve been happy staying back at home?’

‘Well you made it clear enough by running off and getting some unsuitable job.’

It was Maddie’s turn to sigh. ‘I didn’t run off, you know that, and joining the Navy was hardly unsuitable.’

‘It is for a woman.’

‘What is wrong with you Daddy?’

‘Me? I’m not the one trying to prove something. You’re a mother, Maddison, you need to remember that.’

‘Sorry, have I just suddenly time-travelled to a different century? Why is it when men want to do certain things or certain jobs it’s accepted or maybe they’re even admired for it, but when women do these things it suddenly becomes a question of us wanting to prove ourselves? You need to get it into your head that I’m just good at my job – better than a lot of men I know. Plus I enjoy it. Period. I don’t need to prove anything.’

‘Maddie, I’m not talking about proving yourself with your job. I’m talking about proving to yourself you can go back to the DRC after what happened to you.’

Maddie froze. Dead still. Closed her eyes. ‘That was a long time ago and it’s got nothing to do with it.’

‘I think it has, I think…’

‘Just stop, Daddy. I love you but you don’t know everything.’

‘I do know you don’t have to do this.’

‘I do, and I’m going to, and nothing you say will change my mind. Now let’s just leave it at that.’

20

‘Hey.’

‘Look, if you’ve come here for a fight, don’t bother. Oh, and don’t bother trying to change my mind about coming either.’

Cooper tilted his head as he stood at the kitchen door of Maddie’s house. Their house. ‘No, I come in peace. Here, I even brought you a donut from Mac’s diner… Thought I’d come to see how you were getting on with the research. Sorry, I left it for you. Had a few things to sort out.’

Looking up from her computer screen, Maddie gave a half smile. Ignored the way her tummy had butterflies when she looked at him. ‘It’s as I thought, I can’t get any kind of information from the authorities over there. They’re notoriously secretive, and pretty paranoid. The contacts we’ve got over there have drawn a blank. Not that it really matters, because the likelihood of them having a record of a small plane is zero to none. And from what I hear, their aviation department has troubles of their own. It’s not looking good for them.’

‘What do you mean?’

‘Well for a start, the Democratic Republic of Congo has one of the world’s worst aviation safety records. Did you know the majority of their airlines are banned from entering any EU airspace because of failing to meet regulatory standards? Also, one of the main DRC airlines – connected to the government, incidentally – have had a couple of planes impounded for non-payment themselves. They’ve been impounded over in South Africa after a court order. To release them, they’re looking at well over thirty mill. So it looks like they’re in the same boat as our Emmanuel Mutombo. So getting any sort of help from them just isn’t about to happen.’

Taking a bite from one of the sugared donuts, Cooper sat down. ‘What about international data records? See if it’s been flown out of the country.’

‘Usual story. Like trying to find a pin in the ocean. You know the score. It’s one thing tracking down a commercial airliner – though that’s not altogether easy – but when someone’s flying a private plane, the ability to track it has so many variables. It’ll depend on location and the routing of their flight, and of course if the flight has been filed by the pilot, which in this case it won’t have. My guess is, if this Emmanuel guy did fly it he would’ve blocked the aircraft tail number.’

‘In other words, impossible to trace.’

‘Totally. Here in the States the Federal Aviation Administration requires all aircraft to have a visible registered tail number… but that’s certainly not the case for a lot of countries. The problem is, if by some kind of miracle they hadn’t blocked out the tail number, and they had filed a flight out of the country, the accuracy level of tracing the plane is mainly based on which technology is available in that particular geographical area, which won’t be a lot in the DRC and surrounding countries. It’s only been in the past few years that N’Djili Airport in Kinshasa has had a radar system, so we don’t have the luxury of the vast sources of data from receivers that track ADS-B or aircraft equipped with Mode S, like we do here. So it looks like we’ll be looking for this plane the old school way… Knocking on doors. But you know all this anyway.’

Cooper grinned. ‘I know, but I didn’t want to stop you in full flow. I know how much you like your research.’

‘No. I know how much you don’t like yours and hey, someone has to do it.’

He winked. ‘And you’re great at it. You see, you’d be wasted just in the kitchen.’

Maddie picked up the pen next to her and threw it at Cooper. ‘You’re starting to sound like Rosedale.’

‘Difference is, I don’t mean it… Hey baby.’ Cooper’s face lit up as Cora walked into the kitchen, clad in a pair of pink fluffy teddy bear pyjamas.

‘What have you got there, honey?’

‘A picture.’

‘Can I see it?’

‘No.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because you haven’t said please.’

Cooper laughed. ‘You’re right, Cora, I should know better and mind my manners… Please can I see your picture?’

‘No.’

‘Why not?’

‘Because it’s a secret.’

‘A secret?’

Cora nodded furiously, making her chestnut curly hair bounce over her face. ‘You said it was a secret.’

‘I said that?’

‘You said when we went to see John, it was a secret.’

Cooper stiffened as he felt Maddie’s gaze on him. ‘Can Mommy see it, honey?’

‘No.’

‘Please.’

‘No. Daddy said it was a secret.’

To which Cooper grinned. ‘Well then you better go and hide it.’

Maddie frowned. ‘Who’s John, Cora?’ ‘Daddy’s friend.’

Cooper shrugged his shoulders. Bit his lip. Pulled a face. ‘I think she means James. I took her to see him when we were looking to buy a pony for her.’

Cora giggled. ‘Not James, Daddy. John. John in the big white house.’

Quietly, Maddie pressed on. ‘Tell me about John, honey.’

‘Jesus, Maddie, stop questioning her.’

Maddie stopped. Stared. Narrowed her eyes. ‘Why is that such a problem to you?’

‘Because she’s a kid, and all she’s done is draw a picture and you’re going in at her like the CIA. Leave her alone… Cora, why don’t you get back into bed and I’ll come and tuck you up in a minute.’

Cora looked at Mommy and then at Daddy, and something told her maybe what she’d said had made them cross. ‘Have I done something wrong?’

Cooper shook his head and gently pulled Cora in towards him. ‘Listen to me, baby. You have done nothing wrong. You understand that?’

‘You’re not mad at me?’

‘Oh honey, I couldn’t be mad at you if I tried. I love you.’

‘I love you too, Daddy.’

‘Go on, go to bed. I’ll be through in a minute.’

Cooper watched Cora skip out of the room. He stood up in an atmosphere which was so heavy he would’ve sworn you could’ve knocked it with a hammer. As he got to the door, Maddie’s words hooked him and tried to reel him in. ‘Don’t do that again.’

‘What?’

‘Well apart from making me look like the bad guy, don’t get our daughter to keep secrets.’

‘I’m not.’

‘Tom, I know you, and I know Cora would do anything you asked her to. Don’t abuse her trust.’

Cooper rubbed his head. ‘Jesus Christ, Maddie, have you heard yourself? You know what Cora’s like. She loves pretending she’s got secrets.’

‘I know what you’re like. I know how you love having secrets.’

‘Well thanks for that vote of confidence, Maddison. I didn’t come here for this… Look, I’ll speak to you tomorrow.’

‘Tom, who’s John?’

‘Maddie, leave it okay. There is no John. Cora’s just a kid, she’s got it wrong.’

21

Wednesday turned into Thursday which turned into Friday, before the trio finally arrived in the oppressive humidity of the towered chaos of the capital city, Kinshasa, which spread and sprawled out from the shoreline of the Congo River.

It had been a long trip, with the heat hitting them like they’d just opened a stove door. The twenty-mile taxi ride from the airport hadn’t helped either. The driver hadn’t seemed as if he’d known what he was doing; swerving precariously and speeding, weaving along the city’s half-built tarmac roads like he was the emergency services.

The city was a mass of contrasts; high-rise luxury apartment blocks and offices stood centrally, surrounded by eroded housing with bad sanitation, and crumbling roadways. Kinshasa was home to more than six million people. Homeless young children hid amongst the rubble of derelict buildings and the displaced sat alongside the roads as the disorder of the traffic mirrored so many people’s lives, and poverty roamed the streets like a predatory beast.

And as Cooper stood contemplating all this in the hotel lobby, dressed inconspicuously in casual blue jeans and t-shirt, he stared at Rosedale, dressed in a gaudy canary yellow suit.

‘Do you have to wear that?’ It was Rosedale who spoke.

‘Me?’ Cooper looked at him incredulously. Said nothing else. Took a drink from his water bottle to help the two pills he had under his tongue to go down easier, and walked across to Maddie.

‘You okay?’

‘Yeah, I’m cool, Tom. Why wouldn’t I be?’

‘You just seem quiet. How does it feel to be back?’

‘I’m fine and it feels fine.’

‘You don’t have to pretend.’

Snapping, Maddie said, ‘Well you’d be the expert on that wouldn’t you? It’s a bit late to start worrying about me now… God, where did that come from? Sorry. I’m just tired. Listen, why don’t we go straight to the address we’ve got once Tweety Pie over there finishes checking in.’

Cooper grinned. ‘I know, right. But as long as I’ve known Rosedale, he’s dressed like that. But don’t ever be fooled by him, when he wants to be he’s one of the most dangerous…’

‘Okay, guys, you want the good news or the bad?’ Rosedale’s voice boomed across the lobby, interrupting the rest of Cooper’s sentence. Then Maddie, with zero tolerance of Rosedale, sighed.

‘Just tell us already.’

‘Well the bad news is the booking’s been messed up and they’ve only got one room. But the good news is, it means you, little lady, will be sharing a bed with me, and maybe if you’re lucky, I’ll show you what a real Texan cowboy can do with his lasso.’

22

‘If you go left down the Avenue du Kasai for about three miles, we should be close to where we want to be.’ Absentmindedly, Maddie directed Rosedale as they drove the battered white Toyota they’d been overcharged to hire.

The place looked exactly the same as it had been when she’d visited years ago. And the tight knot in her stomach told her what she’d refused to think… Maybe she shouldn’t have come. Maybe she just wouldn’t ever be ready to come back here. A place where anarchy and the chase for survival was part of the daily life. And the overwhelming pain in the street children’s eyes rushed out of them like an unexpected snow storm. But it was a place, a country which was part of her soul and one she’d once loved. Sighing, as an overwhelming sense of sadness descended on her, she closed her eyes.

In the backseat of the SUV, Cooper was having similar thoughts. Doubting the wisdom of coming. The last time he’d been here, he’d been looking for Ellie, after watching a news report talking about a group of long-forgotten foreign hostages who’d originally been kidnapped in Somalia, but who had been found enslaved by the M23 movement – a Congolese revolutionary army, based mainly in the eastern areas of the Democratic Republic of Congo and operating on the whole in the province of North Kivu. A violent, militia rebel force, known for their use of torture and rape as weapons of war, with forced recruitment of both men and boys.

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