Asadullah said the same in return, then walked through the store gathering food items and two plastic gallon jugs of water. When he put the items on the counter, the woman looked at him and indicated the sunglasses he wore even though the sun was barely above the horizon, saying, “Problemas con sus ojos?”
The Spanish word for eyes was one he knew, so he nodded, “Si.” While paying her, Asadullah kept his face averted. It took two trips to get everything into the pickup before he could return to the hiding place.
The first gallon of water went down without him pulling the jug from his mouth. He sipped at the second gallon while eating sardines and crackers. The rest of the day consisted of drinking water, sleeping, and eating small amounts of food.
That night he walked up the road to make sure Riffey was at the house. When he returned to the old adobe buildings, Asadullah stood outside, looking at the star-filled night sky as he worked and flexed his arms and legs. He was physically ready again. Ready to complete this jihad. For some reason, the thought of killing the woman Agent, Hunter Kincaid, gave him the most satisfaction.
***
Hunter walked into the coffee shop in Alpine and saw Mona typing on a laptop. She saw Hunter and pointed to a chair. Hunter got her coffee at the counter and sat across from her, saying, “Working on the new novel?”
Mona said, “Hey girl, you know it.”
Hunter said, “How are you?”
“Better than I thought I’d be. The insurance folks cut me a check for the fire loss, and my neighbor’s buying my property.”
“You’re not moving back?”
Mona sipped from the cup and said, “No. I’ve been thinking of making a move for a while now, and this seems to be a good time.”
“Where to?”
“Canada, around Vancouver.”
“Go big or go home, huh?”
“I don’t do well with small changes. Tried that before. Earlier in my life, I lived in Vancouver and loved it. I’ll miss the desert and the people down here, but I have to tell you, that attack scared me. I don’t feel safe here.”
“And you think a move will help?”
“One that far, yes.”
“I hear it can be frosty up there in the winter.”
Mona grinned, “A little bit. But it’s not bad if you’re prepared. You dress for it and go play in the snow. Plus, the other seasons are wonderful.”
Hunter said, “I bet Spenser and Marlowe will like it, playing in the snow.”
“Those two have never been around snow in their lives. They were born in Presidio. I think they’ll enjoy the change, though.”
“I’ll miss playing with them.” Hunter said.
“You have an open invitation to come up and play with them any time you want. And I want you to come, okay?”
“I’ll work on it.”
Mona leaned forward and talked in a low voice, “I contacted some friends in Pakistan. Holland is not through, they say. So you be careful.”
“The Pakistanis knew who Holland was?”
“They knew of Asadullah. They didn’t realize that’s who Holland is. Now they know, and they’ll be looking extra close for something on him.”
“Do they know what he’s going to do, or where he is?”
“No.”
Hunter said, “I thought all your equipment was destroyed. How’d you contact them?”