onto the accelerator. Getting the attention of a police officer now didn’t seem so horrible.
***
Cursing, dazed, Linko reached between the seats for the Uzi machine pistol he’d stored there. The Jeep still drove his car forward, pushing it sideways. He rolled the window down, shoved the Uzi outside the vehicle, and pulled the trigger. Nine-millimeter bullets spattered across the Jeep’s windshield, pitting it and spreading fissures that twisted through the glass.
Immediately, the driver stopped pushing and backed away, trying to get out of the line of fire. Blood stained the inside of the Jeep’s windshield, and Linko knew at least one of the men up front had been hit.
Shifting his aim, Linko sprayed more bullets into the Jeep’s front tires. The rubber shredded under the impact, and the vehicle went out of control as the bare rims dug into the ground.
The mercenaries in Linko’s car added their fire to his, and the men inside the Jeep took cover. A second Jeep raced in to the aid of the first, and the men in that vehicle unlimbered their weapons and opened fire.
Having no choice, Linko abandoned the attempt to intercept Lourds. He cursed the man and the fact that he seemed to be so well connected that the ANP itself watched over him. Juking and weaving, Linko guided the bullet-riddled car back onto the highway and accelerated away from Kandahar.
26
Safe House
Kandahar
Kandahar Province
Afghanistan
February 15, 2013
The meeting place Layla had arranged was in an older section of the city that was scheduled for reconstruction. All of the surrounding buildings had taken damage from Taliban attacks, and only a few of them were still habitable.
Following Layla’s directions, Lourds pulled into an alley and stopped halfway down.
Anna looked at him as he put the car in Park. “Are we at our destination?”
“Yeah, it looks like it.” Lourds got out, then reached back into the rear seat and got his backpack. Turning, he headed back to the car following him. A pair of Jeeps had already parked ahead of and behind the two cars, and he immediately felt more secure.
Captain Fitrat got out of the car containing Layla. He nodded to Lourds but kept his assault rifle handy and watched the tall apartment buildings on either side.
Layla hurried over to Lourds, but she didn’t embrace him. She stood a proper distance away and looked him over. “You are unhurt?”
“I am, thanks to Captain Fitrat and his people.”
The captain acknowledged Lourds with a small smile. He wore wraparound sunglasses that hid his eyes.
“And to you,” Lourds added.
Layla nodded.
“Did you get the man who tried to smash into me?”
Fitrat scowled and shook his head. “The men in that car were very well-armed. They killed one of my men and injured two others before they got away.”
“They got away?”
Fitrat nodded. “It could not be helped. Their vehicle was abandoned only a couple miles down the road. When my men found the car, your attackers were gone. Either they had another team standing by or they confiscated a passing vehicle. We will see.”
Frustrated, Lourds gritted his teeth. “Did your men get anything that could help identify the people chasing me?”
“When they found the car, it was burning. The men set fire to it before abandoning it. The fire made locating the vehicle easier, but it also destroyed whatever forensic evidence we might have found.” Fitrat frowned. “These men are very driven, Professor Lourds. That identifies them to a degree, but beyond that, we don’t know anything. You have caught the attention of some very bad people.”
Layla walked over to Anna. “I am Dr. Layla Teneen.”
“Anna Cherkshan.”
Surprise lifted Layla’s eyebrows. “Cherkshan? As in General Cherkshan?”
Anna smiled sourly. “I prefer to be known as Anna Cherkshan of The Moscow Times. My father has enough accolades.”
“I see. I’ll remember that in the future.”
Feeling badly about his faux pas, Lourds approached the women. “My apologies. I wasn’t thinking. I should have made introductions.”
Layla smiled. “It is quite all right. Perhaps we could go inside.” She headed toward the doorway, and as Lourds passed through, he discovered the original door had been kept, but it had been heavily reinforced with a solid core and a steel frame.
***
The interior of the building was in a lot better shape than Lourds had expected. It had twelve bedrooms, a large dining room/kitchen, and working electricity.
“This is one of the practice areas the Americans and Canadians have used to train the Afghanistan National Police in urban tactics regarding counter-terrorist situations.” Fitrat took off his hat and placed it meticulously