"You deceitful sonofabitch!" Julie bawled as she charged into camp at a full gallop.

She flipped her right leg over Cleo's neck as she reined-in hard; she ejected out of the saddle and hit the ground running. She was clad in boots, jeans and tee, sans niqab. Her hair looked like flames, matched the color in her face.

Flynn was front-and-center, firmly rooted on one knee, 9mm pistol braced in both fists.

Samhal was crouched behind the hood of the Humvee, ready to provide cover with an assault rifle.

They'd awakened at dawn, well rested after having formulated a plan of action over a late-night MRE snack. They were polishing off their second cup of coffee when they heard hoof beats pounding down the wadi toward them. Without a word they'd snapped into a defensive position.

They had relaxed their weapons upon recognizing Julie, but were otherwise frozen in place by the shock of it.

"How much?" Julie yelled as she marched long aggressive strides toward Flynn, crushing a cluster of yellow Achillea under one heel.

He stood upright, holstered his piece.

Julie flattened her right palm and cocked her arm as she neared. "How much?" she screamed again and let it fly.

Flynn caught her wrist in his right hand. He used her momentum to spin her back into his chest. He locked Julie's arms across her mid-section and held her tight against him. He said, "Julie. Julie. Hold still. What is it? What in hell are you screaming about?"

"You know damned well what I'm talking about, you bastard! They took Saddiq. You set him up, sold him out. What was your price?"

She tried stomping her boot heels onto his feet. Flynn raised her off the ground. She aimed for his shins.

"Jeezus, Julie. Quit! I didn't do anything. Tell us what happened."

Her TNT temper was ferocious but it appeared the explosion was spent; she stopped struggling.

Flynn said, "Okay. I'm letting you go. Now relax." He tentatively released his hold and withdrew a half step.

Julie calmly turned to face him. Her expression had softened, in a fashion. The rage was replaced by something else, something indiscernible. But the instant their eyes met, hers narrowed in ire and her jawline tightened, the freckle on her lip darkened three shades.

She let go a vicious right, straight from the hip this time, no telegraph.

Swoosh –nothing but air.

Flynn had ducked under her right. He tackled her round the hips, took her to ground, pinning her arms over her head.

Julie squirmed and turned her head to the side, refusing to face him. He said, "Goddammit, McNeill. Stop! Look at me."

Julie twisted her head farther and squeezed her eyes shut. Her face was red-lining.

Flynn gave her wrists a jerk and yelled, "Look at me!" She complied, with a defiant glare. He said, clipping off the words forcefully, "I have not done anything to harm Saddiq. Tell us what happened."

"Bollocks! Captain. You know what happened," she spat out. "You just keep on lowering the bar and crawling under it, don't you?"

"Humor me. Details."

"Fine, I'll play your game. A bunch of armed migrant workers broke into Saddiq's home this morning and grabbed him. Your BlackSky buddies arrived minutes later and they all took off in Humvees. I guess you got your revenge on Saddiq, huh?"

Flynn thought a moment in perplexed silence then questioned evenly, "Julie, are you certain they were BlackSky men?"

"Oh yes. You thugs are unmistakable."

Flynn abruptly released Julie. He got to his feet and strode purposefully to the camp fire. He said, "Listen up. Sammy, let's break camp; we gotta find out what's goin' on." He kicked dirt over the fire, tossed an order over his shoulder, "Julie, you mount up and get back to Veerona." And back to Samhal, "We'll stick close to our original plan. You'll travel to Kandahar by bus, undercover, try and get some hard evidence on BlackSky. I'll go to Fort Apache and confront Kurtz head on."

Flynn began gathering up their gear. Samhal was dismantling the tarpaulin while Flynn thought aloud, "But now instead of gold bars and black-market shit, my primary focus will be Saddiq." He glanced Julie's way, did a double-take. She was sitting where he had left her, staring at him. He said, "I told you to mount up. We'll meet you back in Veerona. You and Jiddah are going to Kandahar with Sammy."

"Who the heck do you think you are?" Julie shot back. "I'm a private citizen of this country. You're nothing but a hired gun. You have no authority over me. I will do as I please."

"Listen to me. If Kurtz is dirty, you're not safe out here in the Wild West. And don't forget, The Djinn has his eye on you too. I can't protect you twenty-four-seven."

Julie tromped to where Cleo, oblivious to the silly hub-bub, had been grazing contentedly. Julie collected the reins, clasped the pommel in both hands and swung herself neatly up into the saddle. She declared, "You may ask Jiddah whether she's interested in a trip to Kandahar. I'm looking for Saddiq. You do as you please, Montague; I require no protection from The Djinn." She wheeled Cleo into a one-eighty and set her on a gallop back down the wadi.

The men watched her disappear round the bend. Samhal commented, "Praise Allah, boss. One would never have guessed so much fire burned beneath the robes."

"Copy that, mom ami. And in more ways than one, for sure."

"And may I say, respectfully, Dahab McNeill is a most attractive woman."

"Aye, a rare bird. In more ways than one."