Ed Lawrence had his backpack on his back and stood next to Benny’s car wondering how far it could get him when the sound of approaching engines made him look up.

An old pickup truck led the two columns of jeeps behind it. The man standing in the pickup’s bed was in his late forties, tall, and stocky. He glowered over everything and everyone he saw. A much younger man stood next to him with what looked to be a fifty-caliber machine gun. The older man’s glare locked on to Lawrence.

The white man standing in front of the medical clinic drew Dubaku’s eyes immediately. Unlike everyone else in the country, the man did not look down when his eyes met Dubaku’s. He stared back.

Dubaku recognized the medical clinic’s symbol on the side of the building, but the man did not look like a doctor. He looked like a hunter. Even more so, a predator.

The two men stared at one another until the truck drove by the building.

Part of Dubaku wanted to stop the convoy, get out, and beat the man to death for staring at him. But he was positive no one had seen the extremely disrespectful act of eye contact. If, for some reason, he needed his men to help him kill the white man, it would make him look weak. And under no circumstances could Dubaku do anything that might make him look weak. He was about to be on television.

Lawrence cursed himself under his breath. He knew he should’ve broken eye contact as soon as he’d analyzed the threat. That kind of pointless, macho provocation was exactly the kind of stunt that got men killed. It didn’t even matter if Lawrence actually was as rough and tough as he thought he was; a half dozen vehicles full of men with machine guns would cut his rough and tough ass to pieces.

“That man is very dangerous,” Benny said as the last vehicle in the convoy rolled past. “You should not attempt to provoke him. He is a very bad man.”

“Which one of the warlords is he?”

“Dubaku. There were reports that he had taken Otieno earlier in the week. There will be very much bloodshed now.”

Lawrence looked up. His jet was up there somewhere. There wasn’t a hostile air force within… maybe a thousand miles, so, wherever his jet was, it wasn’t more than six minutes away, tops.

Lawrence turned to Benny and asked, “Are there any concrete or asphalt roads outside of the city?”

Benny thought for a few seconds. “Some.”

“What’s the closest one we can get to if we’re in a hurry?”

“You can get to D103. It takes you to the border with Malawi.”

“How wide is it?”

“One lane each way.”

“Are there any roads that are two or three lanes each way?”

“Three lanes? What kind of driver needs three lanes?”

Lawrence thought it over. If the pilot was anywhere near as good at his job as Lawrence was at his, he wouldn’t need a lot of room. “Nevermind. We’ll go with the first road. But it’s a real road, right? I mean, it doesn’t have any craters in it or anything?”

“Yes, it is a real road.”

Lawrence checked his watch. If the damn results weren’t in yet, they would have to leave without them. There was no way he would allow himself to be caught in an African capital under siege once it got dark. “Get ready, the doctor and I will be leaving in five minutes.”

“That will not be possible. They will close the roads out of the city.”

“We’ll ask them nicely to open a road for us.”

“You do not understand, these people will not listen. They have done unspeakable things.”

“The one good thing about men who do unspeakable things is you don’t have to feel guilty about whatever you have to do to them.”

Lawrence turned around and headed toward the medical clinic’s front door. The security guard held it open for him. Just before he went inside, Lawrence said, “Five minutes, Benny!”

Lawrence walked past the sick beds, down the hallway, into the other hallway and at Dr. Jones’ office door. He gave it two quick wraps. “Doc, we’ve gotta go. Now.”

“I need another forty-five minutes.”

“You know what a coup is, right?”

“They’re not taking over the clinic; they’re taking over the government. We should be fine.”

“We should be on a jet. But it had to take off because the airport was under attack. You know, because of the coup?”

“So, how do we get on a jet that isn’t here?”

“We go to where the jet will land.”

“There isn’t another airport in this country. Trust me, we’ve looked.”

“There’s a paved road that can be used as a runway but we have to be there when the jet lands.”

“You want to land a plane on a road?”

“It happens every day somewhere in the world. Today, it’ll happen here.”

☣

“It’s exactly what we’ve been looking for, Miles,” Jones said into the satellite phone. She was slouched low in the back seat, beneath the window so no one would be able to see her as Benny drove to the city’s edge.

“Excellent,” Devlin said from behind the desk in his study. “I’m so happy to hear that, Cindy. You’ve done a great job for us. You’re going to be one of our leaders as we move forward to make the world a better place.”

“That’s all I’ve ever wanted, Miles.”

“Please put Mr. Smith on the line.”

“Sure.” Jones handed Lawrence the phone.

He was slouched down next to her. The silver, armor-plated, briefcase was between his feet. He took the phone from her. “Yeah?”

“Congratulations, you’ve done an excellent job,” Devlin said.

“I haven’t done shit. We’re still in the capital and I’m not sure how we’re getting on that jet of yours.”

“I have every confidence in you, Mr. Smith. Now, you remember the order of importance, yes?”

“Yes.”

“The level of importance is now twice what it was to begin with. But, if the good doctor is unharmed, it’ll be an extra hundred thousand for you on top of what we agreed on. Do you understand?”

“Understood.”

“Any questions?”

“Nope.”

“All right, then. Let me know when you’re safely on the plane.”

“We’ll do.” Lawrence beeped off the phone and put it in his backpack’s side pocket.

“You said you don’t know how we’re getting on the jet,” Jones said.

“Not yet.”

“You said you were the best.”

“I am the best.”

“I imagine the best would have thought of an extraordinary plan by now.”

“The best needs to see the situation on the ground before he comes up with an extraordinary plan.”

“Does the best have a rough outline?”

“The best does.”

Jones was getting more nervous with every passing moment. “Could the best let me in on it?”

“The best’s outline is far too intricate for mere mortals to possibly comprehend.”

“I am a doctor with an MD in--”

“The best needs silence to mold the rough outline into something acceptable to doctors.”

She closed her mouth, but looked at him like she wanted to punch him. The idea that her life was in danger and also in someone else’s hands was becoming more difficult for her to deal with. Still, she trusted Miles Devlin’s judgment. He only surrounded himself with the best people. And whoever Mr. Smith was, he must be good at something because Miles certainly hadn’t hired him for his personality.

Lawrence knew whatever plan he came up with, he would need her complete cooperation. He decided to try to cheer her up a little. “You’ve got three things going for you, doc. One, you’re worth more to me alive than dead. Two, you’re worth more to me unharmed than injured.” He was quiet as a plan slowly started to take shape in his mind.

“What’s the third thing I’ve got going for me?”

“I’m a very greedy man.”

☣

“Okay, I see four guards and two jeeps. This shouldn’t be a problem,” Lawrence said from his spot behind the corner of a building, looking out into the street. His backpack was on his back.

“What if one of them radios for backup?” asked Jones standing by the side of the building behind him. The silver case was at her feet.

Lawrence turned around. He looked at Benny a few feet behind her. “Benny, we’re gonna take one of their jeeps so it’d be best if you got out of here and weren’t seen with us.”

“But, what will you do?” Benny asked.

“I’m telling you, for your own safety, go.”

Benny didn’t know what and didn’t know how, but he was sure something violent was going to happen. He looked to Dr. Jones for guidance.

“Benny,” she said. “I want to thank you for everything you’ve done not only for me, but for the clinic. The local doctors are staying and, in a little while, we will send more American doctors to help. I promise.”

Benny nodded. “Yes, Dr. Jones. My people and I are very appreciative of everything you have done for us. But I must say, I am not comfortable abandoning you like this.”

“Benny, I’ll be fine. Mr. Smith will take good care of me.”

“Absolutely,” Lawrence added.

Benny thought it over for a few seconds. “Very well. It was an honor to work for you, Dr. Jones. Mr. Smith, a pleasure.”

Lawrence stretched his hand out. “Thanks for everything, Benny. Take care.”

They shook hands.

Dr. Jones gave him a hug. “Bye, Benny.”

At first Benny tightened, stunned by the public embrace of the white woman. He attempted to hug her back but was grateful when she let him go.

“Good-bye, Dr. Jones.” He bowed his head a little, turned around, and walked back down the street to where he’d left his car.

“Now what?” she asked Lawrence when she was sure Benny was out of earshot.

“We’ll give him a minute to get going, then we’ll go and kill the men blocking the road.”

“We’ll kill them?”

“Okay, I’ll kill them, but you’re going to have to do your part.”

“What’s my part?”

“There’s four of them and they’ve got superior firepower.”

“I can’t kill one while you kill three. That’s not what I do. I’m a--”

“Doctor, I know what you are and you’re jumping to conclusions. I promise you, I’m going to do all of the killing but in a life or death situation like this, we’ve got to make the most of the only tactical advantage we have. Don’t you agree?”

“Of course. What is it?”

He left her hanging for a couple of seconds, then dropped the bomb on her. “You’re gonna have to show them your tits.”