Skyfire by Sam Cogley

Author:Sam Cogley [Cogley, Sam]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-05-24T00:00:00+00:00

31

Knight strode through the opulent foyer, saying goodbye to the beautiful Premiere Hotel. With his suitcase in tow, he stepped out into the oven-like Numbani sun and walked toward the aged taxi pulling up out the front.

A quick scan told him this was not the same car or driver who had brought him from the airport. The new cabbie’s grip on the steering wheel and wary glance in the rearview mirror spoke of less customer service experience. Provided that the man got Knight to his plane on time, he was not concerned. The flight to Hong Kong and the connection to Taipei were ones he preferred not to miss.

Numbani had suffered long enough. If the next phase of his mission to Taiwan went as he hoped, he would be one step closer to discovering how the weapons were coming into the country. His contribution might be a mere drop in the ocean, but curtailing the flow of arms to the Kaskaz rebels could ignite the spark of peace the East African nation so desperately needed.

The taxi’s trunk popped up while the driver remained in the car. Knight lifted his luggage inside and slammed the trunk shut, the old latch giving a begrudging click.

“Going already?”

The voice, distinctly feminine, was laced with surprise. Knight turned with an involuntary rise of his eyebrows, greeting Imara emerging from a dark-gray government vehicle. She was almost unrecognizable. Gone was the stealthy black fatigues of warfare, instead replaced by a red-and-white business ensemble. Her dark hair had been washed and straightened, while a few dabs of makeup accentuated her beauty.

“You look a lot better than the last time I saw you.” She reached out, shaking his hand, his forearm revealing a tapestry of bruises he had inherited from his trip to Ndogo.

“Yes, well, a couple of days’ recuperation in such a beautiful part of the globe has obviously done the trick,” he said.

“And yet you’re leaving so soon?”

Knight gestured toward the waiting taxi. “The world doesn’t stop for anyone.”

“I would’ve at least thought with all we had gone through I might’ve got a farewell.”

“After that chopper extracted us from the compound in Ndogo, everything was a whirlwind. By the time we touched down in Mkubwa, you’d vanished. I wasn’t sure if we’d see each other again.”

“Yet, here I stand.”

Knight chuckled, the laugh ebbing into a solemn tone. “I didn’t get to thank you. Without your help—”

“If it wasn’t for you, I’d be dead, too,” she said, cutting him off.

Their eyes met, a silent admission of appreciation passing between them.

Knight smiled. “We made quite the team out there, didn’t we?”

“A formidable duo, indeed.” Imara’s gaze drifted to the waiting cab. “So, where does the enigmatic Adam Cook jet off to next?”

“Somewhere less defined.”

“Ever the mystery you are.”

“A businessman’s life demands a certain shade of ambiguity. I’m sure you understand.”

“All too well.”

Knight allowed a moment of silence to envelop them before taking a step closer to her, his tone becoming more serious. “I don’t plan on resting until I sever the supply of weapons the Kaskaz are smuggling into your homeland.

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