Bodyguard Lockdown - By Donna Young Page 0,55
have you known?”
“I read the file several hours ago,” Quamar answered. “But it makes no difference. Omar is not my enemy. The Al Asheera killed my mother. No one else was responsible.”
“Explain that to Omar.” Aaron downed the whiskey in one gulp. “Omar hired Trygg over thirty years ago to kill the head of the Al Asheera. The man responsible for Andon’s death. In return, he promised Trygg government secrets. Trygg agreed and killed the man.”
“Unfortunately, my youngest uncle, Hassan, wanted Taer’s crown. He secretly stepped in as the new Al Asheera leader,” Quamar explained. “Once Hassan established himself as the leader, over the next several years, he arranged for the murder of Jarek’s parents. And many others loyal to the crown.”
“Omar blames himself for their deaths,” Aaron explained.
“And the government secrets Trygg gained from Omar?” Booker asked, but he already knew the answer. “What were they?”
“Everything the United States had on rapid healing serums.”
“Super Soldiers,” Booker commented, understanding. “Omar introduced Trygg to the concept.”
“Exactly,” Aaron replied. “Which only adds your men to the list Omar feels he is responsible for.”
“At some point, after my mother, Theresa Bazan’s, death, Omar came clean to Jon Mercer.” Quamar crossed his arms. “Jon was the Director of Labyrinth at the time. He convinced Omar to become a double agent.”
“But Trygg turned out to be a slippery bastard,” Aaron added. “Mercer couldn’t get anything on him—not without implicating Omar—until Trygg got himself placed on the research committee for CIRCADIAN several years ago. By then Trygg had maneuvered himself into a four-star general position and accumulated enough money for leverage to get what he wanted.”
“And Sandra? Why would Omar agree to her assignment to the research?”
“When Trygg heard about Sandra’s research, he called Omar and threatened him. Omar called Mercer. Mercer convinced Omar that Sandra’s research could bring down Trygg. Omar had no choice. Not after Jon managed to keep Omar’s involvement under wraps. Mercer promised Sandra safety from Trygg by placing Kate MacAlister-D’Amato in charge of the research. At the time, Mercer had considered bringing her on board with Labyrinth.”
“But Kate didn’t stay assigned long enough to even be briefed on the situation,” Booker guessed. “Trygg wanted her removed almost immediately.”
“To make matters worse, Omar helped Trygg cover up the death of Jim Rayo’s wife several years before.”
“It was part of the original deal,” Quamar added. “Omar would offer his medical services, off the radar, for Trygg whenever he needed them.”
“Trygg contacted Omar and hinted at the possibility he might need him to sign another death certificate.”
“Kate’s,” Booker guessed.
“Right,” Aaron answered. “Mercer had Kate reassigned. And protected. Trygg brought in Lewis Pitman.”
“And eventually Sandra turned on Trygg,” Booker concluded, understanding.
“Yes,” Aaron responded. “Once Trygg went to prison, Mercer found me at Leavenworth. I was to get on Trygg’s good side, join his ranks. It took me a long time, a couple months, but I managed to earn Trygg’s trust. Then one day I got jumped in the yard by a stoned-out psychopath with a homemade knife. I spent six months in the infirmary recovering. My opportunity was lost. Trygg didn’t want anything to do with me afterward.”
“So Mercer sprung you and set you up as the Al Asheera leader?” Booker asked the question.
Aaron shrugged. “Wasn’t hard. A few years ago, King Jarek destroyed the tribe, brought down the last leader, a woman, who was trying to take over Taer’s new oil supply. Jon Mercer arranged for me to have money. From a private source. The Al Asheera were near poverty, in hiding and desperate for help.”
“Private source?”
“It doesn’t matter,” Aaron explained. “With the money, Mercer helped me get government equipment to Trygg—equipment Keith Harper couldn’t get his hands on without putting him under suspicion.”
“Aaron has been working with Senator Harper and Colonel Rayo for over the past year,” Quamar added. “As Minos.”
“How is this history going to save Sandra now?”
“I received the frequency codes to the tracking device Rayo’s men planted on Sandra.”
“Madu and Boba found us at the helicopter through the doc’s tracking device,” Booker acknowledged.
“Madu would’ve been there earlier, but the storm slowed them up. Also, we didn’t have access to a helicopter. Trygg does.”
“Where did you get the frequency code?”
“I found Senator Harper, dead, in Omar’s private office.” Quamar sighed, then placed his hands on his hips. “And he did not die quickly. Omar tortured him.”
“Harper went there to kill Omar. The man had no combat skill, easy pickings for someone with Omar’s experience,” Aaron inserted. “He got the frequency code