The Fourth War Read Free

strangers were silent, for the rendezvous had been so hastily planned there had been no precoordinated introductions, code words, or authentication codes—no expectations of who would be waiting or what they would say. Just a time and a place. That was the rendezvous plan.
    Zembeic held out his hand. “Do you have it?” he asked in Persian, having no idea what he was asking for.
    The young women looked up and bit on the side of her cheek. She gazed at him thoughtfully, but didn’t say anything. He took a step toward her and asked the question again, this time speaking in the local dialect of the Khorasan province.
    The woman stared blankly as if she did not understand, then smiled in submission. The American narrowed his eyes. “Do you have it?” he demanded, speaking in Persian again. Beautiful as she was, he was in no mood to delay.
    The young girl only nodded. Isabel snorted behind him, waiting for her master, untied, in the dark. The girl cocked her head, pushing her lower jaw to the right, then slowly opened her mouth while reaching up with her hand. A piece of broken tooth sat on the tip of her tongue. She touched the tooth cautiously, then held it out carefully in the palm of her hand.
    The agent stared in surprise. “What have you there?”
    â€œIt’s a cap,” the girl answered. “It has been imbedded with a microchip. Take it. Keep it safe. It contains what you came here to get.”
    The agent took the piece of white porcelain. Fingering the dental work, he swore to himself. It wasn’t what he had expected, but then neither was the girl. He considered a moment, then glanced over his shoulder again.
    â€œAnything else?” he asked sharply, forcing himself to ignore the beauty of her eyes.
    She hesitated a long moment, staring into his face, the moonlight illuminating his features as he took a step back, holding the piece of broken tooth tightly in his palm. She looked at him pleadingly as Isabel snorted again. She glanced past his shoulder at the sleek outline of the horse, hesitated, thinking, then leaned toward him and put her lips to his ears. “She is a good animal,” she whispered.
    He stared, not understanding.
    â€œYour horse,” she explained quickly.
    Peter ignored her. She was wasting time now, trying to bait him, trying to loosen him up. “Is there anything else!” he demanded abruptly.
    She paused, then looked sadly away. She had said everything, done everything she had been instructed to do. “The messages have been delivered,” she replied quietly. She looked at the ground, swallowing against her dry throat. “Laoshih, Mei ou le,” she concluded softly. “Teacher, there is nothing more.”
    She slowly lifted her head and scanned the ring of darkness around them, fearful all the time for what she had been commanded to do. She thought again of her family. Did she really have to choose! Did she love them enough? Did she have the strength to save them, to do what her master had told her to do? She knew that she did and her heart sank in her chest.
    A light wind began to blow, cooling her neck, and she rubbed her bare arms in an effort to warm them. Her skin almost shimmering in the light of the moon, and the soldier noticed the scar near the crest of her shoulder, the mark of her master, identifying this as his girl. Only the most favorite Ji nu’ received the family name. The girl had nearly graduated from concubine to wife.
    Zembeic studied her face. She was so beautiful. So lovely. Yet also lonely and sad. A feeling of deep sorrow began to pull at his chest. There was something about her. She looked so lost and alone. Why was she here, on the edge of the desert, at the tip of the mountains, walking the most barren land on earth? Why did she meet him? Why did he choose to send her?
    She looked at him and waited, trying to smile. He nodded and grasped the porcelain cap in his hand. She watched him