38. May 1st-2nd

MAY 1ST-2ND

Kai

As she finished packingher Backpack of Death, a knock sounded at the War Room door before it opened, and Demon walked in. When he was opposite her over the desk, he shared the news. "Halfway to success."

It was all he said, but it was enough to cause Kai's legs to go out from underneath her. Luckily, the desk chair was directly behind her to catch her fall. "Zahra or Ka-Bar?"

"Zahra. Jacques' family was picked up on facial recognition at a private airfield in Nicosia, in Cyprus. The passport names didn"t match, but it was clearly them. And guess who was part of the family."

"Zahra."

"Zahra and… a newborn. A boy."

"They're okay?"

"We were able to intercept them there. The entire group has been moved to a safe house for now."

Closing her eyes and exhaling in relief, Kai put her hands flat on the desktop. She wanted to cry in relief. "Did she say what happened?"

Demon perched on the edge of the desk, arms folded across his chest. "Apparently, when Ka-Bar was reassigned to Cairo, he went and looked Zahra up. She was more than just a kissing partner. They were in love, but her father didn't approve. The two began seeing each other in secret, one thing led to another…"

"The boy is Ka-Bar's."

He confirmed her suspicion. "Dad was not happy that his baby girl got pregnant by a man not of his choosing, let alone not Egyptian, so rather than get locked away, she ran."

"And let me guess. Ka-Bar was trying to send her to me."

"Figured once she was in the States, she'd be able to be better protected."

"He figured wrong."

"At least she's no longer in the wind."

"Can I see her?"

"Not yet. Until we find Ka-Bar, God's keeping the whole group locked up in a safe house. Steel is babysitting them until replacements arrive from the company, but while we snoop around yet for your brother, God doesn't want them or their location compromised. They're in good hands. We won't let anything happen to them."

Kai nodded. "Thank you, Demon. Ka-Bar will be forever grateful, as am I." She looked to her left and out the window. "Is… is everyone safe?" She knew that the operator would understand whom she was really asking about.

"Yeah. He's safe."

Sucking in her lower lip, her gaze traveled down to her lap. "What happens now?"

"I escort you back to L.A."

"And?"

He shifted slightly. "I report back to Tribe. We keep looking for Ka-Bar."

Exhaling, Kai tipped her head back against the desk chair. "Thank you."

"No need to thank us, Kubrick."

"There's every need. You're giving me back at least part of my family. A part I didn't even know I had. And if worse should come to worst, a piece of my brother."

"Don't give up hope. If whoever has him doesn't know that we have Zahra, then the chance he's still alive is high. They won't do anything to him until they know he's not useful to them in terms of information on where she is."

Kai stood up and continued to pack her backpack. "I'll be ready to go within the hour."

He unfolded from his position on the desk and turned to look at her head-on. "Kubrick," he began, "he's hurting as badly as you."

"Don't!" She held up a hand to stop his words. "I can't deal with this right now, Demon. I'm still too raw. It's like it all happened minutes ago, not weeks. I don't know if I'll ever recover, but I know I can't if you give me any sort of platitudes or even honest hope that things can be different. They can't. I know it. He knows it. And deep down, you know it. It's just the reality of it. I'm a big girl. I'll be okay. Eventually."

"It's a stupid rule."

"Stupid or not, it's how it is." A tear escaped, despite how hard she tried to stop it. "The rule that matters is the one that says Tribe always wins," she whispered.

Arriving backin L.A. the next day, Kai was exhausted. She had been unable to sleep on the plane, but it was also too painful to talk to Demon, so they flew back in silence. And really, what was there to say?

Demon grabbed his and Kai's bags off the carousel, then walked her out to his Jeep in the parking structure. Someone had obviously dropped it off in short-term parking for him that morning. After that, it was a short distance to Kai's house. He walked her to the door, but before she could cross over the threshold, he laid a hand on her forearm. Turning, she saw a cell phone in his hand, a cheap plastic pay-as-you-go version of no-frills service.

She looked up at him with questioning eyes. "I bought it at the airport, plus a matching one. The numbers are programmed into each other. My work line will be dead to you once I leave you here. All the lines you had access to will be also."

She understood what he was saying. All communication with Tribe was being severed. Permanently. None of the numbers would work.

"But if you need anything… this will go to me. Not Tribe. Use it if you need it, Kubrick. For anything at all. I mean it."

Once again, Kai's eyes filled with tears, but this time, she let them fall as she clutched the man to her. "Thank you," she whispered. "For everything."

He hugged her tightly. "It was my pleasure. I just wish…"

She put a hand over his mouth and shook her head. When he stepped back to let her go, Kai walked through her door without looking back, then shut it.