Part 3 (1/2)

Jack nodded. ”I know it”s frustrating at this stage. And though there”s a lot we don”t know yet, we also aren”t fully in the dark. There was, as you know, an explosion on the street where he was standing. Two people were killed, but we believe the attack was mainly diversionary, and the primary goal was to kidnap your husband. Kidnapping is a big business in Afghanistan. As I”m sure you know.”

”So they”d been watching him?” Ruby asked.

Jack shrugged. ”What we know is that he was pushed into a white Corolla station wagon and driven away. The Taliban has publicly claimed responsibility; a so-called spokesman contacted Al Jazeera and the AP. So he may be in Taliban hands. Then again, he may not be.”

”They would claim responsibility for something they didn”t do?” Ruby asked.

”Lots of smoke and mirrors over there,” Jack said. ”We”ll know more soon. Anyway, the first 24 to 48 hours is the most dangerous.”

Clarissa felt light-headed. She tried to think of herself as a rock, solid, connected to the ground.

”You want some water, Clari?” Mikey asked.

”I”m okay. I”m just-I wasn”t prepared for this.”

”No one”s prepared,” Jack said. ”We”ve got people all over the world, including some based in hairy places, and everyone ignores what that means until they can”t anymore.” Clarissa looked at him, trying to read into his words, but his expression was bland. ”I don”t want to sugarcoat anything,” he said. ”You won”t end up appreciating that from me. But at least they”ve already made the initial contact. That”s good.”

”Good?” someone asked, maybe Bill Snyder, in a voice threaded with sarcasm.

”It”s the beginning of an address. They haven”t given any demands yet. We think we know where he”s being held-I mean, the general area.”

”Where?” Ruby asked.

”Southern Afghanistan.”

”That is general,” Mikey said.

”So you don”t think he”s been moved into Pakistan?” Bill Snyder asked.

”Not at this time,” Jack said. ”There have been enough of these cases that there”s pretty much a pattern. Though, as I”ve indicated, we aren”t completely sure which group has him, and that impacts whether he”ll be transferred to another group, and his eventual location, and where they are going to want to hold him for the long-term.”

”What long-term?” Clarissa worked to keep her voice from going shrill.

”Crazy fundamentalists, any way you look at it,” Mikey muttered.

”But it matters which ones,” Jack said.

Clarissa cleared her throat so she could speak. ”What long-term?” she repeated.

”We have good connections on the ground. We”ve learned a lot in the last several years,” Jack said. ”One thing we need to get squared away. If there is a chance to rescue him, do you want us to go ahead?”

”What do you mean? Of course I want him rescued.”

”What he”s talking about, Clarissa,” said Bill Snyder, ”is a military rescue. And he needs your permission because sometimes things go wrong. Sometimes hostages die in rescue attempts.”

Again, Clarissa felt dizzy.

”Well, hopefully not,” Jack said. ”And that”s not really what I”m saying, for the record.”

”There are those,” Bill Snyder continued, ”who theorize it is better-safer-to stick with negotiations, rather than get impatient and launch a rescue attempt.”

Clarissa exchanged a glance with her brother-how do I process this? ”What do you advise?” Mikey asked the agents.

”I”ve spoken to Amin once already this morning,” Bill Snyder said quickly. ”You”ve heard Todd talk about him, Clarissa, probably hundreds of times. He has experience and connections, and I have complete trust in him. Besides, he feels extremely responsible toward Todd. He”s pursuing leads from his end. I”d like to give him at least a few hours.”

”By all means,” Jack said. ”In fact, it”s wise to have locals appear to be leading any negotiations. It keeps the price tag a bit lower. But with American civilians, the U.S. government likes to have the rescue permission lined up, at the ready if it”s needed. A two-p.r.o.nged approach.”

”And the decision is Clarissa”s?” Ruby asked.

”It”s a family decision, of course, but we need the okay from her, yes,” Jack said, his voice careful.

Clarissa felt Bill Snyder watching her, holding himself back from saying something more. She felt Ruby”s gaze as well. ”It”s so early, so much is vague. Can”t you ask me this when you know more?” she asked. ”Then we can discuss it?”

Jack tilted his head to one side thoughtfully. ”The men on the ground will certainly tell us the particulars, if there is time. But often, things break quickly. That”s why they want your permission on file, as it were.”

Clarissa looked at Ruby, then at her hands. She turned toward Jack, examining his face, as if she might find something there. His expression was bland, noncommittal. They were all waiting. ”I want Todd home,” she said. ”But I want him home safe.”

”We want that, too,” Sandy said. ”A rescue is only attempted if they feel confident of success on the ground.”

”But sometimes in the past, that confidence has been misplaced, hasn”t it?” Bill Snyder asked. ”Then the hostage can be killed by friendly fire.”

...humans are delicate so keep it safe humans are impermanent so take the risks...

Jack spread open his hands. ”It”s a war. But our guys succeed more often than they fail.”

Bill Snyder shook his head, but said nothing. Clarissa took a deep breath. She needed some time. ”No military rescue attempt for now.” She touched her fingers to her lips as soon as she spoke, almost wis.h.i.+ng she could pull back the words, and then lowered her hand to her lap. ”Not until we think this through,” she said, making her voice more decisive. ”Or until we get a little more information about the best way to get Todd home.”

Jack looked displeased but managed to shrug. ”You”re still digesting the information. I understand that. We”ll revisit it later. One more thing. In general in these cases, the lower profile, the better.” He looked at Ruby, and then glanced at Angie. ”It”s important to keep it out of the media, and we need your help, too. Don”t blog about it or Facebook it, of course. Try not to tell anyone. We”re keeping it as quiet as we can so if a journalist calls, decline comment and refer them to us. The less frenzy, the more time we have to negotiate, and to try to pinpoint his whereabouts exactly.”

”What else can we do?” Ruby said.

”It may be hard, but try to keep your life as normal as possible. It will be better for you than spending the whole day worrying about what”s happening.”

”What else?” Ruby repeated.

”As soon as they reach out again, we”ll try to push forward the negotiations,” Jack said.

”Shouldn”t Clarissa be a key part of negotiations?” Bill Snyder asked.

”She”ll be intimately involved, of course. But we do have experienced people both in the states and on the ground.”

”I appreciate that experience. On the other hand, Todd”s family and colleagues will have his interests at heart in the most uncomplicated way,” Bill Snyder said. ”You guys,” he jabbed his chin toward Jack, ”have many issues to consider that don”t have to do with Todd.”

Jack and Bill both turned to Clarissa. Their disagreements clearly carried a subtext Clarissa couldn”t follow. She was being asked on the spot to make decisions that could have a direct impact on the outcome of this kidnapping-specifically, on whether or not Todd lived. At the same time, she was being given no tools to help her decide, not even two contacts who agreed on how to proceed. It would be unnerving to speak directly to Todd”s kidnappers, she imagined, and equally unnerving to have others speaking to them with her left out of the process. Beyond that, the broader implications escaped her. Still, both men waited.

”I need to at least confer with whoever would be negotiating on our behalf,” she said. ”Beyond that, I need a little more time to think about it.” She sipped the water that Angie had brought for Ruby. ”Can you be specific about what you will be doing next?” Clarissa looked at Sandy, who struck her as more the planning type than Jack.

”The government is aware of what has happened, at the highest levels,” Sandy said, emphasizing the word ”highest.”

”Executive, Defense, State, all three,” Jack added. ”Right now, we pursue two paths. We try to use intelligence on the ground to locate them.”