Afghans. He decided on one small attempt and cleared his throat. “President Shazeb, we do not understand why we are here. Mr. Carson and I merely run Orion. We do not do any of the day-to-day technical work. Ms. Radcliffe simply administersthe business practices by the most efficient means. We are business people, not technology wizards.”
President Shazeb stalked over to Fields, wagged his finger, and roared, “Enough! Do not treat me like an idiot! I have seen your impressive résumé, and I know what you are capable of. Now, if you lie to me again, it will not be without consequence. I may decide to remove one of your fingers or have you flogged.”
He then turned to his son, Saaqib. “You will take Paul Fields to your department and show him what is happening to Afghanistan’s property. Persuade him to work with you to determine the source of the technical issues. Do not inflict bodily harm on him just yet. You must check with me first. We should treat them as our guests for the moment.”
The president caught Kendall’s thoughtful look and said, “Ah, you do not understand why the more physical of my two sons is not in charge of my security forces? That is very observant of you. You see, I found that while Saaqib is the stricter disciplinarian, he often loses his head and orders immediate punishment, usually severe. With Saaqib in charge, the military was always in need of replacements. He’s a bit too enthusiastic, shall we say.” He gave a disgustingly loud laugh at his own joke.
“Besides, Saaqib’s true strength is in computer science. For some reason, it calms him.”
The back door suddenly opened, and a tall, rugged-looking man with a careful gaze stepped in, followed by a woman wearing a full
hijab.
The woman quickly looked around, spotted Kendall, and moved to her side, quietly awaiting further orders.
The president looked delighted at the interruption and exclaimed, “Ah, Rashid, my son. Come in.” He turned to his “guests.” “This is my sons’ childhood friend, Rashid Sharif. He is practically a member of the family. I think of him as my own son. He is a trusted advisor to all of us, and a gentle and loyal servant of the people. He keeps my sons in line and, most importantly, away from each other’s throats. They do like to fight … especially Saaqib. Rashid can beat them both, so he keeps the peace.”
Rashid gave an ever-so-slight bow and raised his eyes. In a flash of a second, Kendall could see that Rashid had coolly appraised all of them. She was intrigued. For some reason, he kept his thoughts and actions hidden. She realized there was far more to this man than his extreme good looks, flashing brown eyes, and unmanageable, thick, wavy hair. She felt a fluttering within her that took her breath away. She quickly looked down and hoped the attraction signals translated only as curiosity to the others. She was furious at the mutinous feelings coming from her body, but welcomed the distraction from thoughts of Jeremy Levy.
President Shazeb crossed over to Kendall again. In the traditional Afghanistan term when addressing a female, he began, “Kendalljan, this young woman is Doctor Maysah Siddrajan. She will check on you every day to see to your medical and female needs. Afghanistan has progressed quite far in the last fifteen years. Half of the country speaks some English, and we now have many female doctors.”
Glenn Carson had been trying to suppress a cough, and it now devolved into a major coughing fit. Carson’s color was pale, and he looked as if he might faint. The president stepped back and looked aghast at him. Addressing him in formal tones, he said, “Carson
Khan,
you look quite ill. This is not good. I will not have you sick while you are my guest.” Never mind that three people had been murdered so far under his orders.
Carson croaked, “I’m fine.” Everyone could see that he was anything but. The president gave a dismissive wave to the doctor. “Go, Doctor
President Shazeb stalked over to Fields, wagged his finger, and roared, “Enough! Do not treat me like an idiot! I have seen your impressive résumé, and I know what you are capable of. Now, if you lie to me again, it will not be without consequence. I may decide to remove one of your fingers or have you flogged.”
He then turned to his son, Saaqib. “You will take Paul Fields to your department and show him what is happening to Afghanistan’s property. Persuade him to work with you to determine the source of the technical issues. Do not inflict bodily harm on him just yet. You must check with me first. We should treat them as our guests for the moment.”
The president caught Kendall’s thoughtful look and said, “Ah, you do not understand why the more physical of my two sons is not in charge of my security forces? That is very observant of you. You see, I found that while Saaqib is the stricter disciplinarian, he often loses his head and orders immediate punishment, usually severe. With Saaqib in charge, the military was always in need of replacements. He’s a bit too enthusiastic, shall we say.” He gave a disgustingly loud laugh at his own joke.
“Besides, Saaqib’s true strength is in computer science. For some reason, it calms him.”
The back door suddenly opened, and a tall, rugged-looking man with a careful gaze stepped in, followed by a woman wearing a full
hijab.
The woman quickly looked around, spotted Kendall, and moved to her side, quietly awaiting further orders.
The president looked delighted at the interruption and exclaimed, “Ah, Rashid, my son. Come in.” He turned to his “guests.” “This is my sons’ childhood friend, Rashid Sharif. He is practically a member of the family. I think of him as my own son. He is a trusted advisor to all of us, and a gentle and loyal servant of the people. He keeps my sons in line and, most importantly, away from each other’s throats. They do like to fight … especially Saaqib. Rashid can beat them both, so he keeps the peace.”
Rashid gave an ever-so-slight bow and raised his eyes. In a flash of a second, Kendall could see that Rashid had coolly appraised all of them. She was intrigued. For some reason, he kept his thoughts and actions hidden. She realized there was far more to this man than his extreme good looks, flashing brown eyes, and unmanageable, thick, wavy hair. She felt a fluttering within her that took her breath away. She quickly looked down and hoped the attraction signals translated only as curiosity to the others. She was furious at the mutinous feelings coming from her body, but welcomed the distraction from thoughts of Jeremy Levy.
President Shazeb crossed over to Kendall again. In the traditional Afghanistan term when addressing a female, he began, “Kendalljan, this young woman is Doctor Maysah Siddrajan. She will check on you every day to see to your medical and female needs. Afghanistan has progressed quite far in the last fifteen years. Half of the country speaks some English, and we now have many female doctors.”
Glenn Carson had been trying to suppress a cough, and it now devolved into a major coughing fit. Carson’s color was pale, and he looked as if he might faint. The president stepped back and looked aghast at him. Addressing him in formal tones, he said, “Carson
Khan,
you look quite ill. This is not good. I will not have you sick while you are my guest.” Never mind that three people had been murdered so far under his orders.
Carson croaked, “I’m fine.” Everyone could see that he was anything but. The president gave a dismissive wave to the doctor. “Go, Doctor
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