The Liberian Agenda Page 15

  “Sonia,” she said, “keep your cool. Don’t blow it. We’re calling in a contingent of men to intercept Saye’s men before they hit the mansion. We are already outside. Now, we have to take out the guards. We’ve got a plan to get you and David out, but it depends on you keeping your cool. Keep him talking. Do you hear me? Keep him talking.”

  Saye watched Sonia, a curious expression on his face. He knew she was desperate to keep her son safe. She’d play into that -- offer him a proposition -- maybe flirt with him a little. Anything to buy time.

  She took a couple of steps toward him and plastered on a smile. “I’m a woman. I know how this works. Surely we can work something out. You don’t need to lock me up to get me to cooperate. You don’t have to kill my son either. All I ever wanted to do was to keep him safe. Let me send him to his grandparents in the U.S. I could stay here and work for your administration as your assistant or whatever. And at night, I could be anything you need.” She licked her lips suggestively.

  Saye stared at her lips and seemed to consider her offer. After a moment, he sighed, then shook his head. “Although it is a pity, and a waste, I am afraid I cannot take you up on your offer. You see, you can’t be trusted.” He held up the electronic gadget. “Where did you get this and what were you doing with it?”

  Seeking to restore the distance between them, Sonia flounced back to the small desk as if insulted. “Humph.” She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  “Don’t play coy with me, you bitch.” He leaned forward in his seat. “I asked you a question and I expect a prompt answer. What is this and where did you get it?”

  Sonia looked him in the eye to distract him, at the same time, she eased her hand into her bag and gripped the barrel of the gun. “Look, I don’t know what that is or where it came from. I was in the file room copying some files to bring to my husband. He called and asked me to do it since no-one else was here.”

  Saye pushed back his chair and stood up. “I see that I am going to have to teach you a lesson.”

  Sonia pulled the gun from her bag, thumbed off the safety and aimed it at him. “I suggest you sit your ass back down in that chair.”

  Saye stood there looking at her in open-mouthed astonishment.

  “I said sit down,” she said.

  Saye sat. “How dare you pull a gun on me? As soon as my men get here and take the mansion, I will have your fingernails pulled off one at a time for that.”

  “How do you know you’ll live to see your men take the mansion?” Sonia asked.

  Saye looked at her. “You wouldn’t dare shoot me.” He put his hands on the desk, pushed back his chair and stood up.

  Sonia backed away. “I assure you that I will shoot you if you don’t sit back down.”

  “No you won’t. If you were going to shoot me, you would have done it by now.” He turned and started to come around the desk. Sonia fired off a shot. The bullet caught him in his right arm. Blood spurted out.

  “Ow!” He grabbed his arm. “You fucking bitch! You shot me!” Breathing heavily, he dropped back into his seat.

  “Yes, I did. If you don’t stay down, I’ll shoot you again. Next time, it won’t be in the arm.”

  Chapter XVII

  Outside the mansion, Tara, Tyrone and a contingent of men crept along the grounds. They’d tranquilized the guard dogs. Now, they had to neutralize the guards. Some of them walked the grounds making their appointed rounds. Two of them appeared to be on break. They played dominoes in a small room off the foyer. Tyrone peaked through the window at them. He turned to Tara and held up two fingers, indicating that she should take those two out. The others would take the guards outside. Tara nodded.

  Tyrone crept to the edge of the mansion and peered around the corner. One of the guards was smoking a cigarette. Tyrone walked silently up to him and grabbed him in a chokehold from behind. He used his forearms to cut off the guard’s air. The guard struggled mightily, but Tyrone held on until he felt the man slump against him. He then eased the guard down to the ground and dragged him behind some foliage. He stood there for a moment, listening, until he was satisfied no-one had seen or heard the struggle. He looked to his right and saw one of his men take out another guard. He went in search of the others.

  Tara pulled her tranquilizer gun. She put her back against the wall, took a deep breath and blew it out. She then stepped through the open doorway took aim and fired two shots. Her aim was dead-on. The men went down. They never had a chance to make a sound or pull their weapons. One of the men fell out of his chair and onto the floor, overturning it in the process. The sound was deafening to Tara’s ears. She froze for a moment, trying to figure out whether the noise had alerted anyone. There was silence. She pulled a device from her fanny pack and crossed the room. She then extended her arm and aimed the device in the general direction of the surveillance camera she knew would be to the left of the doorway and pressed a switch.

  “I’m in,” she heard Naimah say into her earpiece.

  She switched her com over to check on Sonia. That’s when she heard the muffled sound of a silenced gunshot. Her heart leapt into her throat. Please God, please let Sonia be okay.

  “Sonia. Sonia, are you alright?”

  “Yes. I’m fine,” Sonia said. “Saye’s not though. I just shot him in the arm.”

  Tara sighed, her eyes fluttering closed for a second. “We’ve neutralized the outside guards and are on our way inside. Just hold on a little longer. Hold on.”

  Tara heard Naimah’s voice in her other ear. “Tara, President Saytumahs’ limousine has been spotted on the road. Repeat, President Saytumah is en route to the Presidential mansion.

  Tara cursed. They were supposed to be notified when Joseph left the American embassy -- not when he and his contingent of bodyguards were already en route. If they made it out of this op alive, heads were going roll. Now, however, was not the time for recriminations. “ETA?” she asked.

  “Ten minutes,” Naimah said.

  “Oh no,” Tara said.

  “Oh no? What? Don’t say that. What’s going on?” Sonia asked.

  “Joseph somehow eluded our watchers. We just received a report that his limousine is headed this way. Some of us are going to hide. Hopefully, he won’t notice that the guards patrolling the grounds are imposters. We’re going to have to take the mansion with him inside. Sorry Sonia, it’s best that way.”

  “Sorry? Best way for who? Are you insane? What am I supposed to tell Joseph when he gets here and finds me and Saye in his office and Saye shot?” Sonia asked.

  “You’ll have to improvise,” Tara said.

  ***

  Improvise? Sonia felt a mixture of panic and anger rise up inside of her. If she lived through this night, she’d have a few things to say to the CIA. But she’d have to survive first.

  She glanced over at Saye. He was sitting there, holding his arm and watching her, an amused expression on his face.

  “So,” he said, “my brother did not send you in here after all. How will you explain your presence here, Sonia? And how will you explain this?” He held out the electronic gadget he had pulled from the computer. “My brother will kill you when he finds out you have betrayed him. That will save me the trouble.”

  “Shut up,” Sonia said. She paced back and forth, trying to think. “He’s certainly going to kill you when he finds out what you came here to do. He’ll thank me for shooting you. I’ll just tell him that I heard noises while walking past, came in here to investigate, and then caught you in here.”

  But how would she explain the gun? She continued to pace, filled with dread for Joseph’s arrival. She caught a movement in the corner of her eye and whipped her head around just in time to see Saye aiming a gun at her. She turned and dove behind the secretarial desk as a shot rang out. Her heart beat wildly as she crouched behind it trying to figure out what to do. She cursed. Where the hell had he gotten that gun and why didn’t she think to search him
when she had the chance?

  It was becoming painfully clear to her that this was not a game. They were playing for keeps and, if Saye had his way, her son would be killed. She had to protect him and she had to stay alive long enough to do it.

  “What happened? I heard a shot,” Tara said.

  “Saye has a gun,” Sonia said.

  “Oh no. Okay, remember your training. You’ve only fired one shot so far. You still have several bullets left in that clip. Stop talking to me and figure out what you have to do. Where is he now?”

  Sonia listened but all she heard was silence. She crawled over to one side of the desk and peeked around the corner. Saye was still sitting behind the larger desk. When she poked her head out, he aimed the gun at her and fired again. She pulled back just in time. The bullet hit the side of the desk where her head had been. Wood chips flew everywhere. Sonia cried out.

  Saye slid his chair back, stood up, and began to advance in Sonia’s direction. “You won’t get out of here alive, Sonia,” That may be a blessing in disguise for you. I had so many plans in store for you. I doubt you would have enjoyed them as much as I would have. Now, we’ll never know.”

  Sonia crouched, her heart thudding against her ribs, pondering her next move. She knew she couldn’t just sit there like a doe in the headlights. He’d shoot her as soon as he got her in his sights. She had to move if she wanted to stay alive. But how? As much as she liked action movies, none of the scenes she’d watched seemed plausible in real life. This was not the movies.

  She decided to do the only thing she knew how to do -- confront him directly. She only hoped the element of surprise would allow her to get a shot off first. She stood up quickly, aimed and fired off a shot. Saye’s eyes widened for a second, then he fired. Thankfully, he missed. Her shot must have thrown his aim off. He fell backward onto the floor, clutching at his chest. The gun fell from his hand and clattered onto the floor next to him.

  “You shot me again, you bitch!” His voice was strained with pain and his breathing was labored.

  “You left me no choice,” Sonia said. “It was you or me and my son needs me.” She kept her gun aimed at him and took a step in his direction. She’d intended to kick the gun away from him and search him for other weapons. At that moment, however, the door to the office flew open. Joseph’s personal guard stepped in with Joseph following closely behind, their weapons drawn. The guard, upon seeing Saye on the floor, immediately aimed his gun at him.

  Joseph looked from his wife to his brother and lowered his weapon. “What is going on here?” He stepped toward Sonia.

  Sonia flinched and took a step backward. Joseph stared at her for a moment then walked over to his brother. Saye lay bleeding on the floor, looking up at Joseph with hate-filled eyes.

  He laughed. It was not a mirthful sound. “As usual, you have no idea what is going on, little brother.”

  “What are you doing here, Saye? I have been looking for you and that worthless whore Fatima. I know you both were involved in my son’s kidnapping. You have a lot of balls coming here tonight, brother. Too bad they won’t be a part of your body much longer.”

  “I am here to take over the Presidency of Liberia. My men will be here soon. There is nothing you can do to stop me,” Saye said.

  “It looks as if my wife already has,” Joseph said. “I bet you never expected to have your master plan thwarted by a woman.” He threw back his head and laughed.

  Saye’s face filled with rage. “You fucking bastard! How dare you laugh at me? This is my birthright – not yours! I am the eldest son and the heir to the throne – not you! None of this would have happened but for your greedy, power-hungry ass. You had to have it all, didn’t you -- control of father’s company, control of the country. What gave you the right to have it all?”

  “Who gave you the right to kidnap my son? Your own nephew? Father would turn over in his grave if he saw the poor excuse of a man you have become. We both made our choices a long time ago. You chose to party, have a good time, and never take responsibility for your own actions. I chose to follow in father’s footsteps. This is where it led us. It turned you into a traitor – to your country and your family, and me into the president of Liberia” Joseph said.

  “It turned you into a megalomaniac who doesn’t even have control over his own house,” Saye said.

  “What are you talking about?” Joseph asked.

  “I’m talking about the device on top of your desk,” Saye said. A triumphant smile came over Saye’s face. “It is a special drive designed to download all of the information contained in your computer and send it to the American government. I found it plugged into the computer when I got here. I also found your lovely wife hiding in the file room.”

  Sonia saw Joseph’s eyebrows furrow together. He walked over to the desk, picked up the gadget with his left hand and looked it over. Then he looked at Sonia. “What is this?”

  Sonia’s mind raced as she tried to figure out what to say.

  “We are in the mansion heading toward the office,” Tara said in her ear. “Stall them for as long as you can.”

  “I don’t know what that is,” Sonia said, “and I have no idea what he’s talking about. After my headache passed, I was restless. So, I came in here to get some paper to work on ideas for my book. I went into the file room looking for a legal pad or something. When I came out, Saye was there sitting at your desk. He said he was going to kill you and David, take over the country, and chain me up in the basement so that he could play with me.”

  “Where did you get that gun?” Joseph asked.

  “I . . . it was on the desk here. I noticed it when I came out of the file room. While he was talking to me, I backed up until I got to the desk, then I grabbed the gun and threw myself behind it. Thank God somebody left it there. I was lucky enough to get the drop on him. Oh Joseph, I was so scared.”

  Joseph looked at the device in his hand, then he looked at his brother.

  Sonia took a step toward Joseph, thinking she would continue the charade by throwing herself into his arms. At that moment, however, he turned to look at her, and the hurt and betrayal she saw in his eyes stopped her in her tracks.

  “You are lying to me,” he said. “We will deal with that later. First, I need to deal with my brother.” He turned toward Saye. “Goodbye, brother. May you live a better life and be a better person the next time you walk this Earth.” He aimed his weapon and pulled the trigger. A bullet hole erupted right between Saye’s eyes.

  Sonia stared at Saye’s limp body and wondered whether she would be next. She aimed her gun at Joseph.

  He aimed his gun at her. “Who are you working for?”

  Sonia blinked. She had half expected for him to simply turn and pull the trigger. “What?”

  “Who are you working for? Are you working for the American government? Are you a spy? Do you work for one of my political enemies in Liberia? Who?”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” she said.

  “Stop lying to me.” He held up the electronic device. “Saye had just as much to lose as I did if the information in my computer was downloaded by someone else. If the Americans got it, he would be subject to prosecution. If our enemies got it, they could use it to run us out of power and out of business. My brother was many things, but he was not stupid, and I could always rely upon him to be greedy and to act in his own self-interest. That’s how I knew he was telling the truth when he told me you had betrayed me and showed me this. So I ask you, for the last time, who are you working for?”

  Sonia swallowed. “I’m not working for anyone. All I ever wanted was for David to be safe. The American government demanded that I secure information from your computer in exchange for giving us safe passage to America. I never wanted to betray you. I begged you to let us go.”

  Joseph shook his head. “How could you do this to me? To us?”

  She thought about trying to placate him but knew it would be useless. He fully intended to kill her. She wa
s tired of holding her tongue. If she was going to die, then she would go out saying what needed to be said. “News flash, Joseph. It’s not all about you and what you want. There are much more important things on this Earth than your goals, dreams and ambitions, such as the safety of your son. And as for us – there is no us. Any us there was died when I learned you had planned this all along and then forced me and David to stay here in Liberia after the coup. You killed us – not me,” she said. “If there ever was an us.” Tears streamed down her face. She dashed them away. Now was not the time to cry.

  She watched a series of emotions cross her husband’s face. When she saw resignation and resolve come into his eyes, she knew she had to take him out or he would kill her. She raised her gun and fired. She hit her target, but that didn’t stop him from pulling the trigger.

  Sonia felt a searing pain hit her in the chest before she heard the shot. The bullet knocked her backward off her feet and onto the floor. While she lay there, she dimly heard the sound of the office door crashing in. Her last thought was of her son. He would now grow up without his parents, but at least he’d be safe with hers in America. Sonia smiled at that thought, then the world grew dark as she lost consciousness.

  ***

  Tara, Tyrone and a contingent of U.S. soldiers entered the Presidential office. Tara surveyed the scene and saw Sonia, Joseph and Saye lying on the floor. She ran over to Sonia and placed two fingers against her neck. She felt a faint pulse. “She’s alive. Get a medic in here.”

  Tara caught a motion in the corner of her eye and turned to look. Joseph, who was apparently wounded, but not dead, brought his weapon up and aimed it at Sonia. Tara cursed. She dropped to the floor to shield Sonia, intending to protect her with her Kevlar vest. Joseph fired. The bullet hit Tara’s shoulder.

  Tyrone pumped a round between Joseph’s eyes and two more in his chest. He then ran over to check on Tara. The wound hurt like a bitch. She writhed in agony and cursed up a blue streak.

  “Tara! Where are you hit?” Tyrone tried to hold her still so he could see for himself.