Chapter 13

Danni lost no time in obeying the command. It was the exact news she had been waiting for. She returned to the barracks where she repacked their meager belongings into their knap sacks. Of course she also made sure the jewelry and documents she’s smuggled out of Columbia were carefully stowed away so they wouldn’t be discovered. Within a half an hour she and Sarina, along with some soldiers who were departing the base were waiting for the okay to board the plane.

Since it was a lot quieter than the copter Sarina made very little fuss when it took off. It was a converted private commercial carrier so the seats were comfortable. Within minutes of boarding it they were airborne. For the first while Sarina amused herself by looking through her books on animals, than she fell asleep. It was a long haul to Frankfurt, Germany so Danni tried to sleep as well but she couldn’t.

It wasn’t because she was still concerned about the mission. The worst part of it was over and there was only a few lose ends to tie up. Normally she would have been relaxed by now and planning what she’d do with her hefty paycheque but her mind wouldn’t let her. It kept dwelling on Sarina who slept blissfully beside her. No doubt she was dreaming about being re-united with her mom and dad. When she told her they were almost there and she would be reunited soon she had grown excited. Then she had said something quite profound that really hit Danni hard.

“I guess it means I don’t have to pretend that you’re my mommy anymore.”

It was then the full implications of Danni’s growing attachment to the girl reached her with all the strength of a tornado. Up until that point she had refused to even think about it. She called the careful shepherding of the girl, just a job and told herself she would welcome the opportunity to be free of her and go back to her old lifestyle. That’s the way it was supposed to be. After all, the girl wasn’t hers so it wasn’t safe to have any emotional attachments for her. Danni recalled how initially she had refused to take the girl with her and how she considered her nothing but a complication, just an obstacle in her plans and something that had to be dealt with.

However, now she had to admit it. Sarina was much more than a problem that had to be overcome. Although it only been a few days she had definitely formed a bond with the girl. She discovered she was intelligent, tough and very self-reliant. They were all the characteristics Danni admired. It finally hit her like a fierce storm. It wasn’t going to be easy letting go of Sarina. She was gonna miss her and long after the girl was back with her parents she would remember her. She’d remember her forever.

But there was no way around it. Soon she’ll be with her mom and dad who’ll finish raising her properly and send her to school. Probably just as well, Danni thought as she lay back in her seat, closed her eyes and tried to get some rest. What kind of life would she have with me? I go traipsing around the world at a moment’s notice and I’m often gone for weeks or even months at a time? Admit it. She wouldn’t fit into that life style at all.

The other thing Danni thought about during the long trip to Germany was Rudy. While she had been trekking through the jungle with Sarina she had been so preoccupied with trying to get both of them to safety she had shoved him out of her mind.

Now that the assignment was nearly over, she found herself cursing him and swearing that if she ever ran into him again, there was going to be hell to pay. The son of a bitch had known all along that she would be stuck with the girl. He had just pretended to talk to his clients. That meant he had deliberately lied to her. It also meant it was all over between them. She was vowing that she would never work for anybody like him again. She was going to collect her share of the money from the job and tell him that was it. This time they were through for good.

Hours later when they arrived in Frankfort, she roused a still sleeping Sarina and they made their way through the terminal with the rest of the soldiers. Their passports were barely looked at and Danni soon found herself outside the airport terminal. A taxi took them to a hotel where Sarina went back to dreamland on one of the beds.

Danni took the opportunity to phone Rudy. She was seething with so much anger when he answered the phone it was a good thing for him they were separated by thousands of miles.

“You son of a bitch, you tricked me,” she screamed into the phone before Rudy had a chance to say one word.

As usual Rudy totally ignored her tirade. It made Danni feel like she was like a little kid throwing an unwarranted temper tantrum. That made her even angrier if that was possible.

“Danni, is that really you? It’s been a few days and I was growing concerned. I thought you might have run into unsurmountable problems,” Rudy calmly replied.

“Didn’t you hear me” You bastard you tricked me. You knew the girl would be there didn’t you? That I’d be forced to take her along whether I wanted to or not.”

“Oh, so you did manage to recover the documents and the girl,” Rudy continued on totally unconcerned about Danni’s feelings.

“That’s great. I knew I could depend on you. You’re real good, you know. It means we get the full payment from my clients. Was it the girl that took you so long? Sometimes you’re in and out of those banana countries in a matter of hours. This time it was a few days but you pulled it off again, congratulations.”

“You’re not listening. You don’t give a fuck do you?” Danni continued to scream.

“I told you at the beginning no kids and you just ignored me, didn’t you? Well, that’s it. I’ve had with you. You’re a real piece of shit. Just tell me where to take the girl to. By the way, all the money better be in my account or I’ll come looking for you and I won’t be acting very lady like when I find you. In fact, maybe I should come looking for you anyway. Just kind of on pure principal, you know.”

“Oh, calm down, will you Danni.” Rudy interrupted her tirade.

A smart girl like you should know that these things happen occasionally. It’s only business, you know. There’s no hard feelings on my part and there shouldn’t be any on yours. Besides, after all the money you’ve earned doing these little tasks for me I thought you would be a little more grateful.” Rudy chided her.

“I told you. That’s it. We’re through. Just tell me where to bring the girl and don’t bother calling me again for any more of your assignments. From now on you can get somebody else to do your dirty work.” Danni stated.

“Okay, okay, but I’ll have to get back to you on that,” Rudy interrupted.

“What the hell. You mean you don’t know where your clients are?” If they’re her real parents you’d think they’d be dying to be reunited with her by now,” Danni was ranting again.

“Yeah, well I thought that too. In fact they emphatically assured me they were they were extremely anxious to their daughter back, but it seems they’ve disappeared. You see, I kind of lost contact with them a few days ago but don’t worry. I already got the full payment so you’ll get paid for everything, same as usual.”

“You piece of shit. That’s all you care about, isn’t it? What about the girl? She’s looking forward to being with her parents.” Danni screamed.

“I said, I’ll get back to you and I will.” Rudy promised. “I’ll just have somebody to do some checking on their last known whereabouts. Nothing to worry about. They’re probably just laying low. Just trust me. I’ll find them for you.”

“Trust you my ass. I wouldn’t trust you for a single moment.” Danni raved but there was only a dial tone. Rudy had already hung up.

She waited for the remainder of the night and all the next day. She and Sarina barely went out. They ordered room service and ate it watching TV. Sarina found the cartoon station on the TV and that kept her occupied but Danni could see the girl was anxious about her parents.

“Where are they?” You promised.” For the first time she began to whine and complain. It broke Danni’s heart to have to hush her with a promise. “They’ll be here soon I promise,” she kept telling her.

When Rudy finally called back, Danni wrote down addresses, phone numbers and instructions.

“See, I was right. They’re laying low but I managed to locate them.” He went on as if this was an ordinary everyday occurrence.

“They are in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. If you know where that is? Doesn’t sound like much of a place but that’s where they are. Probably because it’s so far out of the way it’s a good place to hide. You can take the girl and go to those addresses I give you. They’ll be at one of them. There’s also a phone number that may help. By the way, check your account. I deposited the money this morning. As always, been a pleasure doing business with you. See you around Danni. Contact me when you decide to go back to work. Remember, I’m willing to let bygones be bygones if you are.”