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But with the chairman stuck out in the desert, Lincoln on his own except for Tiny Gunderson and Doc Huxley, and the Oregon more than two hundred miles away, Eddie conceded the chance of rescue was slim They would need a fleet of helicopters to pull off an aerial assault and the only vehicle currently aboard ship was Linc’s Harley, so crossing the desert was out
Eddie had gone into the CIA ie and spent theinto and out of China, cultivating a network of informants who in turn allowed the United States to maintain its uneasy relationship with the mainland He’d been inserted via a sub of 2001 when the Chinese were holding the crew of an EP-3 spy plane and passed on infor a war He’d maneuvered around China’s secret police, one of the most efficient in the world, with near iood at what he did The irony of being caught by a third-rate dictator’s Praetorian guards wasn’t lost on him
Despite the odds, Eddie still had faith that Juan Cabrillo would find a way to save theh the two served in the CIA at the saovernment service That didn’t lehandedly pulled off soency’s history And because he was fluent in Spanish, Arabic, and Russian, his hest countries on earth He was a bit of a legend at Langley His reputation, along with his white-blond hair, had earned him the nickname Mr Phelps, the lead character from the old Mission: Ilers froroup in Syria planning to blow up the Israeli Knesset with a hijacked airliner, Cabrillo had done it all
So if anyone was able to spring theo before dawn and limited resources, Eddie was sure Juan was the man
A flashlight beam stabbed out of the darkness and blinded Cabrillo Behind the glare he distinctly heard the sound of rifle bolts being cocked back He held still The next few seconds would determine if he lived or died One of theJuan with a massive revolver, an old Webley if he wasn’tfifty, hite shooting through the tight curls on his head and wrinkles lining his forehead
“Who are you?” he asked suspiciously
“My nae, the fact they were all areneral direction of the Devil’s Oasis, Juan ga, “I want to help you rescue Moses Ndebele”
The htened around the antique pistol, his dark eyes unreadable in the shifting light
Juan plunged on, praying he was right about the identity of this group “Three ofto rescue an Auarding Ndebele One ofwith an aircraft about fortyto saveto help you save your leader”
The gun remained rock steady “How did you find us?”
“Mydown on the reserve here I saw your headlights I jury rigged a para-ski and have been following you”
“Your story is just strange enough to be true” Thein a native dialect Another of the Africans stepped forward and withdrew a knife from his pocket
“Just so you know, I have a Glock automatic in a holster and an MP-5 machine pistol strapped around my back”
The roup leader He nodded and the second African cut a slit into the nylon, allowing Juan to take his first deep breath since tu his arm well away from the holstered Glock
“Thank you,” he said and extended his hand “Please call me Juan”