The Liberian Agenda Read online

***

  Sonia rushed into the Presidential office. Fatima said that something had happened to David and that Joseph wanted to see her. She wouldn’t say what happened. Joseph stood next to his desk, seemingly lost in thought.

  “What’s wrong?” She could barely get the words out over her pounding heart. She could barely breathe.

  Joseph looked up at her, but did not speak.

  She walked over to him. “Where’s David?” She looked around the office hoping David would jump out from behind one of the desks and surprise her. It was one of his favorite games lately.

  “There has been a problem,” Joseph said. “Please sit down.” He took her by the arm and led her to one of the chairs in front of his desk.

  She sat down. “Problem? What kind of problem?’

  “It's David. He has been kidnapped,” Joseph said.

  Sonia leapt up out of her chair. “What? What do you mean kidnapped? I just saw him an hour ago. He was in the nursery. What happened?”

  Joseph took her by the shoulders. “Sonia, please calm down.”

  Sonia shrugged his hands off. “Don't you tell me to calm down, you bastard! I told you this would happen! I tried to protect him – take him away from this madness -- and you stopped me. This is all your fault! I hate you! I hate you!” She curled her hand into fists and pummeled him with them until he grabbed her by the wrists, pulled her close to him and held her.

  She sobbed against his chest for a moment, then pulled away. “My son. My poor baby. He's so little. Oh God, oh God, oh God, please let him be safe. You’ve got to find him. They could kill him, just to get back at you.”

  The very thought sent so much pain coursing through her that she collapsed into a chair in a frenzy of sobs.

  Joseph turned to the guard standing next to him. “Go get the doctor. I want him to give my wife a sedative.”

  Sonia looked up at her husband. She didn’t know she could feel such hatred for anyone. She wanted to grab the letter opener lying on his desk and stab him through the neck with it. But that would have to wait. He had a job to do and that was to bring their son back alive. He may be a complete bastard, but he did love his son. She knew he would move heaven and Earth to get him back.

  “I don't want a sedative. I want my son back. I don’t give a fuck who you have to torture, maim or kill. You find my son and bring him back to me. Do you hear me, you bastard? Bring me back my son.”

  “I will bring him back. I promise you that.” He reached out to touch her face, but she slapped his hand away and stalked out of the office.

  ***

  Later that afternoon, General Maconda and his men advanced slowly toward a small house on the outskirts of Monrovia. It was little more than a shack just off a dirt road. They had watched the house for a while before commencing their approach. There did not appear to be any outside sentries.

  When they got to the house, the soldiers flattened themselves against it. The general peered through a window and saw four men inside. He looked back at his men and held up four fingers. He signaled for two of them to go around to the back of the house and for two others to follow him through the front door. On his signal, one of his men kicked the door in.

  He entered, going low, his men following behind him. The hostiles turned in surprise as the door crashed open. Before they could raise their weapons, he had fired and taken out one of them. His men made short work of the rest.

  He heard a child crying. The sound came from the back room. He rushed inside to find one of his men holding the president’s son in his arms. Another one of his men entered the back door of the shack dragging one of the kidnappers by the arm.

  “I found this one trying to escape out the back,” he said.

  The general looked at the prisoner who cowered under his gaze. He leaned in until his face was very close to the prisoner’s and looked him in the eye.

  “There is no escape for you. By the time I get done with you, you will have told me everything I need to know. And you will beg for the escape of death,” he said.

  The prisoner’s eyes grew wide and he began to struggle with the soldier holding him. The soldier pistol whipped him. Stunned, the prisoner sagged in his grasp. The soldier dragged him outside.

  The general took the president’s son from the soldier and cradled the child against him until he stopped crying and stared up at him with wide tear-soaked eyes.

  “Are you okay?” the general asked.

  David nodded his little head

  The general smiled at him. “Good boy.” He strode out of the house with the child.

  ***

  Joseph put down the telephone handset, closed his eyes, and sagged against the back of his chair, relief flooding through him. His son was alive. It was more than he could ask. He would tell Sonia when she awoke. The last time he checked, she had still been knocked out from the sedative he had the doctor give her. She had been dead set against taking the shot and had fought them tooth and nail. Literally. He rubbed at the bite marks on his arm and smiled. That woman was a hellcat. She needed to be tamed and he was just the man to do it.

  The door to the Presidential office opened and the general strode in holding David.

  “Daddy!” David smiled happily and held out his little arms for his father to take him.

  “Son.” Joseph jumped up out of his seat and jogged across the room. He took his son from the general and held him close. The little boy burrowed his face into his neck. After a moment, Joseph pulled back and inspected him. He did not appear to have any visible bruises or injuries. “I am so happy to see you. Are you okay? Did they harm you?” His voice shook a little.

  David shook his head. “No Daddy. I was scared.” His little face crumpled and tears streamed down his cheeks.

  Joseph hugged him again. “I know baby. I know.” He looked up at the general. “Where was he?”

  “They were holding him in a small house right outside Monrovia. There were four kidnappers. Three of them are dead. We brought one back for interrogation,” the general said.

  “How did you find him?”

  “Before she died, the nanny confessed that it was her brother who had taken the child. She knew where they were holding him. She had planned to sneak out later to check on him.”

  “Did she say who was behind this?” Joseph asked.

  “She said that Fatima set up the kidnapping,” the general said.

  “Fatima?” Joseph could scarcely believe his ears. He’d known Fatima all of her life. They’d grown up together. Their families were close. The shock soon turned to rage. “Fatima did this? Where is she now?”

  “We searched the mansion and the grounds. She does not appear to be here,” the general said. “We also searched her home, but, so far, we have not been able to locate her.”

  “Find that bitch and bring her to me,” Joseph said through clenched teeth.

  Yes sir.” The general saluted and left.

  ***

  Sonia woke up with her mouth feeling as dry as the Sahara Desert. Her tongue felt as if it had a layer of fur on it. She licked her cracked lips and pushed herself up into a sitting position. That’s when she discovered the horrible headache. She put the back of her hand against her head, slumped back against the headboard, and looked around.

  How long had she been out? She glanced at the window and squinted at the red and orange rays that signaled the imminent setting of the African sun.

  What the hell had happened? The last thing she remembered was fighting with her husband and the needle going into her arm. Then it all came flooding back. Her heart sped up.

  David.

  She had just thrown her leg over the side of the bed when the bedroom door opened and David came running into the room. “Mommy, mommy, you’re awake!”

  Sonia couldn’t believe her eyes. Was she dreaming? Was she having a drug-induced hallucination? Had the stress of all this finally caused her to lose her mind? She watched, motionless as her son leapt up onto the bed and launched him
self at her. She caught him and clutched him to her chest, burrowing her face into his hair. His little arms clutched at her neck.

  “Oh baby, you’re safe.” She pulled him back and planted kisses all over his face. David squirmed and giggled. It was the most beautiful sound she’d ever heard. She pulled him close again and looked up at the ceiling. “Thank you God. Thank you, thank you, thank you.” Tears of joy streamed down her face.

  “Don’t cry, mommy.” David’s voice quivered.

  She hadn’t meant to upset him. She wiped her face and smiled at him to put him at ease. “Mommy’s crying because she’s so happy to see you.”

  She caught movement out of the corner of her eye and looked up. Joseph stood there, leaning against the doorjamb, watching them. She stared back at him coldly until finally, he nodded and left. She checked David all over for injuries; thankfully, he didn’t seem to have any – not physical ones anyway. She held him close and listened to him chatter about puppies and toys and bad men.

  Never again.

  They’d been lucky this time. But neither she nor David could afford to risk this ever happening again. She’d do whatever it took to get her son out of danger -- even if that meant killing his father.

  Chapter XIV

  A few weeks later, Sonia, Tara and Tyrone sat in the living room of the Nkrumah family mansion. Tara rambled on about the last guy she’d dated. Tyrone cracked jokes about how she had probably scared him off by acting like a mother hen.

  Sonia looked out the window to check on the guard Joseph had assigned to her. He was outside, chatting with her driver. Good. He wouldn’t be able hear what she was about to say. She turned back to Tara and Tyrone. “Listen, I have to talk to you about something.”

  Tara stopped talking midsentence and stared at her.

  “I’m sorry,” Sonia said. “I don’t mean to be rude. And I'm taking a huge risk with you being such close friends with the Saytumah family, but I don't know where else to turn.”

  Tara reached out and patted Sonia on the shoulder. “You know you can talk to us about anything, Sonia. Please tell us what's wrong.”

  “Well, ever since Joseph executed the coup, I've been so scared. With all the unrest here, I keep thinking that, at any moment, someone else will try to take over the country and kill us all,” Sonia said.

  “Have you talked to Joseph about this?” Tara asked.

  “Yes, of course I have. On the day the coup happened, I confronted him. He never discussed it with me – he just did it with no regard whatsoever for the danger it would bring to our family. On that day, I found out that this had been his plan all along,” she said.

  “Oh my goodness! You poor dear. That must have been terrible. How could he have done that?” Tara asked.

  “You don't know the half of it. I told him I wanted to leave. He said that I could leave, but I couldn’t take David with me. I couldn't believe it. How could I leave David here? So I tried to escape and take David with me. Joseph caught up with us at the airport,” Sonia said.

  Tara winced. “Ooh. That can't have been good,”

  Sonia grimaced. “No. It wasn't good at all. He – he tied me down and whipped me and started treating me like a prisoner. He puts guards on me and monitors my every move. I can't go anywhere without them. Despite all the extra security, David got kidnapped right off the front lawn. I thought I would die.” She paused for a moment to try and keep it together. “I was so terrified of what they’d do to him. Luckily, Joseph's men found him quickly and he seems to be all right. He doesn’t have any physical injuries. Thank God. But what emotional scars will he carry as a result of this?’ Her breath caught on a sob.

  Tara took her hand and squeezed it. Sonia looked down at her lap and was silent for a moment until she got herself under control again, then she looked up at them. “I can't live like this. I’ve got to get us back to the States, where David will be safe. Doing that is next to impossible now that we’re under guard all the time. What am I going to do?”

  Tara and Tyrone looked at each other. Tara nodded. Tyrone turned to face Sonia.

  “Sonia, there’s something we need to tell you. Tara and I are not who you think we are.”

  Sonia stared at him. What? Tell me he did not just say what I think he just said. Is anyone in this godforsaken place who they’re supposed to be? Where am I – in the goddamn Twilight Zone? Easy girl. Maybe you should just hear him out. And maybe it’s best if you don’t. Maybe you should just get the hell out of here while the getting is good before they make any revelations they can’t take back. But leaving meant going back to the Presidential mansion – back to the danger zone. If she ever wanted to get away from that place, she needed their help.

  “What do you mean?” she asked.

  “Tara and I are agents for the U.S. government. We’ve been undercover here in Liberia for the past few years,” he said.

  “Undercover? I don’t understand. Why?”

  “We've been watching the Saytumah family. They run one of the largest and most organized arms dealing operations in the world,” Tyrone said.

  Sonia sat up, leaned forward and slapped her hands onto her thighs. “What?” It came out more like a screech.

  She felt Tara grab hold of one of her wrists. When she turned to look at her, Tara put a finger to her lips and inclined her head toward the window. Sonia looked. The guard was outside having a cigarette. She looked at Tara and nodded to signal that she understood then turned back to Tyrone.

  “Yes, I’m afraid it’s true,” he said. “Before he died, Dwe was positioning himself to execute a coup and take over the country. We knew that. What we didn't know was that Joseph would take up where his daddy left off.”

  Sonia could scarcely believe what she was hearing. But it all made a sick kind of sense. Hadn’t she always suspected that Joseph’s business trips for his father’s company were for nefarious purposes? Hadn’t she suspected him of being up to no good when he showed up, out of the blue, at her law firm after ten years? Well, it turned out her instincts were correct.

  She’d never dreamed how bad Joseph really was. She’d let hormones and kinky sex get in the way of her judgment and now, she and her son were paying the price. She’d been an easy mark for the sexy, exotic and powerful man that was her husband. She’d been exactly what he needed when he needed it – willing sex partner, top notch negotiator, loving wife, mother to his heir and a senator’s daughter with great political connections in America. The full depth of his deception became clear to her at that moment. She felt so stupid, so used.

  She rose from her seat on the couch, crossed her arms and began pacing the living room floor. “That fucking bastard.” She hissed the words through clenched teeth to keep from screaming them. “He played me. He played me like a damned violin from the very beginning and I was stupid enough to fall for it even when though I knew – I knew something wasn’t right. When we were in college, I suspected Joseph and his father’s company of being involved in something illegal like selling drugs. I had no idea they were arms dealers. He was always so mysterious about his father's business. But, when he came to my firm for legal work, I had him and the company checked out thoroughly. We turned up nothing.”

  “That’s because the Saytumah family is very good at covering their tracks. They’re been under investigation by several U.S. government agencies, Interpol and the Mossad for years. None of us have ever gathered enough evidence to take them down. That's where we need your help,” Tyrone said.

  Sonia stopped pacing and stared at him. “My help? What do you mean?”

  “He means that we could help each other,” Tara said. “Tyrone and I can arrange for you and your son to travel back to the U.S. on a Red Cross flight. In exchange, you’ll help us get the evidence we need to take the Saytumah family down.”

  “What exactly would I have to do?” Sonia asked.

  “We need to get copies of the Saytumah family's computer files -- details of their transactions, operations and holdings
. We’ll provide you with a gadget to connect to your husband’s computer system so we can download the information. Joseph has a standalone system that can't be hacked from the outside. But, if someone on the inside could help us, then we could get what we need,” Tyrone said.

  “You’ve been to the Saytumah family mansion many times and the Presidential mansion. Joseph trusts you. Why haven’t you been able to get into his computer system?” Sonia asked.

  Tara looked at her brother and smiled. “I told you she was smart.” She turned to Sonia. “We couldn’t afford to break our cover in the event we got caught, so we sneaked another operative inside the Saytumah family mansion during Dwe’s birthday celebration. Unfortunately, Saye almost caught him. He couldn’t allow himself to be captured since that would have jeopardized the operation so he jumped off a balcony from one of the rooms on the west side of the mansion.” Tara paused and looked down. A single tear slid down her cheek. She wiped it away. “They found his body down the beach where it washed ashore. He was my protégé.”

  Tyrone rose from his seat and joined his sister on the couch. He put an arm around her shoulders and looked up at Sonia. “So you see,” he said, “we really need your help. We need to make sure Jared didn’t die in vain.”

  Sonia started pacing again and tried to think. It was hasty decisions that had brought her to this point. Her next move would have to be carefully thought out. Both her life and David’s depended upon it. Right now, helping the CIA seemed like her only option. But that didn’t matter if it would get her killed. If she did this, Joseph would kill her. She and David would have to disappear permanently. “Joseph has already caught me once trying to smuggle David out of the country. He said he’d kill me if I tried that again. He’ll definitely kill me if he finds out I've done this. How can you guaranty our safety?” she asked.

  “After we get the evidence, we can arrest Joseph and bring him back to the U.S. where he will be tried on criminal charges and for war crimes. He’ll never be free again. We’ll also arrange for you and your son to go into the witness protection program,” Tyrone said.