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ASSISTANT DIRECTOR KADEEM Hakim turned the office lights off and walked out the door, locking it behind him. He checked his watch. The latest night this week. Normally he’d have been home hours earlier. The tent housing the small café had long since closed, so there would be no dinner for him tonight.
With a sigh, he tucked his laptop under his arm and headed to his quarters.
“Do you have a moment?”
Startled, Kadeem turned at the sound of his superior’s voice. “Of course. Late night?”
“Yes.” Director La Pointe nodded but didn’t smile.
He’d always been a bit intimidated by her. She was the kind of woman who could look right through you, as though she knew exactly what you were thinking. She was cool and calculating, and absolutely sure of herself and her decisions. Once she’d come to a verdict, there was no talking her out of it. Kadeem supposed she was the right fit for the job of running a non-governmental relief organization like WCI, but he would have liked to see a more compassionate leader for the group. And for his boss.
“So how did the interview with the reporter go?” he asked.
She shrugged. “That will depend on the article she writes.”
“She seemed to be the compassionate sort. She brought a young girl to the office to search for her parents.”
“Oh?”
“Yes, but she didn’t have any luck, I’m afraid.” He smiled at the thought of the confident little girl. “Her name was Jinn.”
“Like the mythological beings?”
Kadeem nodded. “She reminded me of an imp, actually.”
“Why is that?”
“Oh, just something about her. She was small for her age, and her eyes slanted at the corners.”
“Where is this little girl now?”
“I believe she left with the reporter a few hours ago.”
“I see.”
“Well, hopefully the article the reporter writes will raise some awareness of what’s happening to the children.”
“Yes, hopefully.” She stopped, and he did the same. “What was the total number missing again?”
“Eight.” The actual number had been more than double that, but he didn’t want the director or anyone else to know about the secret place in the desert. Which reminded him, he was due to make a supply run.
She sighed. “So many. And all orphaned by the war.”
“Yes.” The abductions appeared to be a systematic removal of children who had no families.
“And you’re sure there have been no further abductions?”
“Absolutely certain. Thankfully, the appearance of parentless children has slowed to a trickle.” A lie, but Kadeem was in charge of intake so the director would never know. He made certain all the children that came to them were accounted for on the camp’s spreadsheet if they belonged to families. If not, then there would be no record and he would spirit them off to the secret camp he and Dr. Dahmani had created. Until the mystery of the abductions had been solved, Kadeem refused to take chances with their lives. The less the director knew, the better.
“I see.” She resumed walking. “That seems odd, doesn’t it? In light of the number we were receiving each day? It’s as if someone turned off the faucet.”
“Not necessarily. There has been a major reduction in villages being shelled since the United States and Russia joined with Libya to chase Izz Al-Din from this area. Less shelling means fewer refugees.”
“You have a point. It just seems odd to me.” She gave him a tired smile. “Have a good night, Kadeem. And thank you for all that you do.”
Kadeem bowed his head. “You are most welcome.”
Director La Pointe continued to her quarters, leaving him to his thoughts.
Were her parting words a tacit understanding of all that he was doing to keep the children safe? He thought back to the last few weeks, wondering if he had let anything slip. He didn’t think that he had, but she was sharp. He didn’t want her to have knowledge of what he’d done if the authorities came to the camp with questions. His secret camp was not sanctioned by either We Care International or the Libyan government. Discovery would certainly close them down.
And then where would the children go? No, for now the secret camp was the only solution. He had his suspicions about one of the guards who covered the gate. Until Kadeem knew the guard wasn’t involved, he would refuse to put the children in danger.