Chapter 17

Ian felt the rush of blood course through his system, making his ears hum and threatening to cloud his mind. A deal with the Dark Lions had been struck less than an hour ago and already they were on the move. Half of the men were transporting the villagers to safety, the other half stationed themselves around the mine and in staggered spots beyond the village.

Boma left with Gwen. He would escort her to her hidden vehicle a half mile away. Ian had many reservations about them being alone together, but Gwen wouldn’t listen, saying they needed her car to get to the airport, which was a whole different problem to sort out. Flights out of Freetown were select and the choices few. He didn’t relish crossing borders into neighboring countries. Some were worse off than Sierra Leone. It would only add to their problems if multiple countries came after them. Foday was currently at the office looking into options.

Ian truly hadn’t wanted to involve Gwen. Travel out of here was becoming increasingly difficult, but he didn’t want to leave her here either.

They were in this together.

“How far down should we dig?” Ian asked Gerard, who was knee-deep in the mud with him.

They had already unearthed a collection of stones that would fetch more than he could possibly calculate in his head. The richness of Sierra Leone’s terrain was astounding. It belonged to its people. Ian swore that once he sold the stones, the money would be filtered back to them.

“We are near the end,” Gerard said. “Start sifting, and I’ll finish up here.”

“I don’t think I can. The dirt is too wet here. I’ll have to bring it down to the water and rinse it.”

Gerard pointed to a bucket a few yards away. “Use that to haul it down. I’ll come and help in a few minutes. We should have kept a few of the workers with us.”

“No, they have to see to their families’ safety.”

If anything happened to the workers, Ian would never recover from the guilt. The only reason he allowed Foday to remain was because he’d locked himself in the office and promised to leave as soon as he found Ian and Gwen a way out. Gerard stayed behind, refusing to leave. Only Saba was able to reason with him. He stated he would at least leave the village when Foday did.

Ian hurried to fill the bucket with clumps of dirt and stone. “Gwen should be back any moment. She can help rinse too.” He quickly raced down to the edge of the river with the first load. Carefully he transferred a handful of muck to a wire strainer and let the river wash away the dirt. He pocketed the remaining stones and repeated the procedure.

Ian looked to the sky, trying to judge the time. They still had hours before sunset, but he feared it would take that long to mine the diamonds, which would put them on the road at nightfall. That was something he wanted to avoid. The roads in the country were narrow, old, and rutted. One slight miscalculation and he might find himself wrapped around a tree. Not to mention the abundant nocturnal wildlife and people with bad intentions.

If he and Gwen made it out alive, it would be a miracle.

 

* * *

 

Gwen walked in front of Boma. He insisted on it, and she didn’t bother to question him. Ever since Foday gave him the ultimatum, he seemed to be taken down a peg. His confidence and fearlessness were still alive and well, but he was somber.

“What made you leave?” she asked when she couldn’t stand the silence anymore. When he didn’t answer, she stole a peek behind her to make sure he was still there. For a large man, his footsteps were surprisingly quiet. “Njamba is such a wonderful community.”

“And you will be fleeing from it in a few hours.”

“Not forever,” she said. “I know Ian will want to come back. He feels responsible for the village.”

“He shouldn’t. They were fine before he arrived, and they will be fine after he leaves.”

“Sure, they were fine. But shouldn’t you want them to flourish? Don’t they deserve that?”

“They wouldn’t have known the difference had Ian not shown up here. They would have never known what was stripped away from them because they had nothing of value.”

“That’s cynical coming from someone who grew up here.”

“You want to know why I left? It’s because they cannot see past their own boundary. They do not know what is past the village road, nor do they care. Schooling is a waste of time here. They will never go anywhere, never do anything, and will always be prey to the greedy as long as Ian continues.”

“How can you think so little of your family? Everyone has been warm and welcoming. If that’s because they are cut off from the rest of the world, then perhaps they are lucky.”

“I love my family, but they are stunted here. They can’t even defend themselves, and now your husband has attracted attention. They will suffer. In his greed for diamonds, he condemned them. They will always be targets.”

“I hope your opinion of him changes. He only has their best interests at heart.”

Boma laughed. “A diamond miner has no interests save his own.”

Gwen decided not to comment. She knew Ian wasn’t like that, but there was no convincing Boma.

As they neared her vehicle, he clamped his hand down on her shoulder. She looked back at him in question.

On alert, Boma scanned the area and motioned for her to get down. Slowly, she sank to the ground.

“Stay,” he ordered before moving ahead.

She hated to be ordered, but he knew what he was doing. She would stay put until he gave the go ahead.

As time ticked by, she wondered where Boma had gone, wondered if Ian was okay, and wondered who had paid the villager to spy. She also wondered about the villager’s identity. But the more she thought about it, the more she didn’t want to know. She couldn’t find fault with them for taking advantage of earning a little extra money when they thought no harm would come of it. Even Ian let the matter drop as if he too understood. The villager could keep his or her identity secret. Knowing who it was would only lead to ostracizing, something none of them could afford at the moment. They all needed to stick together.

Boma returned and motioned for her to follow him.

“Was someone out there?” she asked.

Boma signaled for her to be quiet. Did that mean there were people out there that could hear them?

As they walked, Gwen noticed a dark, slick spot on Boma’s arm. It looked as though something had splattered on him. Gwen hurried to get a closer peek, making sure Boma didn’t notice her perusal.

Upon closer inspection, she stopped him. “You’re bleeding.”

He continued on the path. “That’s not my blood.”

“Whose is it?”

“Someone who will no longer bother us.”

“A rebel?”

He didn’t respond, which made her flesh tighten with tingling bumps.

Who had been out here in the dense forest with them? Were there more? She strained to hear approaching footsteps but could only hear the birds in the canopy. What had Boma heard that alerted him? Perhaps it was just years of on-the-job training that honed his hearing to nuances that she couldn’t detect. Gwen would not want to be the fool to sneak up on him.

When they arrived at her four-by-four, she knew something was wrong.

“Your tires have been slashed,” Boma said. “Unless you have spares, we’ll have to abandon it.”

Gwen immediately turned around to head back. “Then we abandon it.”

Something about this clawed at her. She felt surrounded, as if any moment armed men would trap them. Is this what happened to Ian? Was he trapped with no escape?

She quickened her pace to a jog. Boma kept in step as they hurried back to the village.

 

* * *

 

Ian and Gerard sifted through the last of the diamonds when gunfire startled them. It sounded too far away for them to be the targets. But who was firing?

Where was Gwen? She should have been back by now.

“Split up the diamonds,” Ian said. “We have to get out of here.”

“No, take them,” Gerard replied. “I’m staying here.”

“It’s not safe here. Didn’t you hear the shots?”

“Then I suggest you take the diamonds and get Gwen out of here. Don’t worry about me.”

Ian wanted to argue, but there was another shot that sounded closer. He didn’t have time to waste. He would trust Gerard to keep himself out of harm’s way.

“Take enough to pay the Dark Lions,” Ian insisted, handing off a handful of stones to Gerard. “And make sure Foday and Saba get out.” Ian stuffed his pockets full, every space in his cargo shorts was filled to capacity. He then took off running in the direction of Gwen. He found her and Boma not far away. They had returned on foot.

“There were shots fired to the north,” Ian said to Boma. “Gwen and I will take my jeep to the south. Gerard, Foday, and Saba are still in the village near the mine. Get them out.”

Boma nodded and took off.

“Ian, I think there was someone in the woods,” Gwen said. “I think Boma killed him.”

“Let’s not worry about Boma right now.”

“But if you heard shots to the north and my car is to the west, there’s a good chance we are surrounded.”

“We’ll have to be quick.” Ian took her hand and raced to the only village vehicle. He had bought the used jeep when he first opened the mine. It was old, but it ran. “Get in and lie down.”

“Ian—” Her argument came to an abrupt halt when a shot was fired. It sounded close. “Are they firing at us?”

He hoped not. However, if they weren’t being shot at, then that meant Gerard, Foday, and Saba were in danger.

Gwen must have read his thoughts because she said, “Boma will take care of them.”

Since it was imperative that Ian not get caught now, especially with the diamonds weighing down his pockets, some larger than robin eggs, he wrenched open the door.

“Did Foday find flight information?” Gwen asked as she jumped into the passenger side.

“Get in the back and lie down.”

“No, just drive.”

Ian slid in and slammed the door shut. He started the engine, ignoring the stones that jabbed into his leg.

Speeding down the dirt road, he headed south. He would eventually have to cut over and head west to get to Freetown. The sooner they got to the city, the better. If they couldn’t find a plane tonight, then at least they could hide. Freetown was busy and congested. It would be hard for anyone to find them. But not impossible. Ian hoped they wouldn’t have to stay. The longer they stayed, the harder it would be to leave.

“You have your passport, right?” he asked Gwen.

“Yes, do you?”

“Check the glove box. I threw it in there after my last flight.”

“After you followed me?” she asked, an attempt at humor to cut away at the tension. She opened the box and pulled out his passport.

“After you knocked me out.”

“I am sorry about that. You had me cornered, and I was afraid.”

“I said things out of anger.”

She shook her head. “Let’s not go down that path. We have other things to worry about now.” She turned to smile at him. “Anyway, I take it as a compliment that you would follow me, even if it was out of anger.”

He returned the smile. “Remember that if you ever decide to run away again.” He was teasing, but it made him wonder. If she did leave, would he follow her like he did last time? Every hour he spent with her brought her closer to him.

“I won’t. You’re stuck with me.”

He reached over and took her hand. “That’s all I ever wanted.”

 

* * *

 

It took nearly four hours to reach the airport. With the dark roads and a nearly impossible search for gas, it took longer than Ian had thought it would. Thankfully, no one pursued them.

As Ian and Gwen hurried through the airport, he asked, “When do you have to contact Duvine?”

“No later than tomorrow or he’ll grow impatient.”

Ian quickly scanned the wall with departure listings. There were a few flights within the continent, but he was hoping to put an entire ocean between them and Sierra Leone. No flights were going to the U.S., but he had expected that.

“There’s a flight to Morocco,” Gwen said.

“I was hoping for something farther.” He read down the list, despairing until he came upon the last flight. “Frankfurt. Let’s try for that flight.”

When they turned toward the ticketing desk, Gwen grabbed his arm. “They’re here.”

Ian searched the crowded airport. “Who?”

“I can’t remember his name. Teteh, maybe. When I stole your necklace, he was the one looking for it. He came to your house with a team of agents, tied your friends and mother to the dining room chairs.”

Ian slid behind a sign, bringing Gwen with him. “What?” Ian had heard a little of what happened while he had been a hostage, but not this. “They tied up my mother?” Dear Lord, it was a wonder the man was still alive and she hadn’t rained down the devil’s fury upon them. “Where is he?”

She peeked out and pointed to a man in a suit, surrounded by soldiers. They were hovering near the security gate, inspecting everyone who walked by. “It looks like the same men. I definitely remember the one in the suit.” She ducked behind the sign again. “They caught me as I was cleaning the necklace. It was a real mess since you set it into concrete.”

“And then you swapped it for the costume set you made,” he surmised.

She nodded.

He never thought anyone would find the Matahari necklace. He had sealed it in a concrete tile and set it at the bottom of his home pool. To an unsuspecting person, it looked like nothing more than a pretty decoration. When he realized he might need it, he sent clues to Nadia before his capture. She ended up finding it at the eleventh hour. However, in the end, she came up short. The agents took the fake and Gwen took the original.

“We can’t stay here,” Gwen said. “They will notice us, especially me.”

“We have no way out of Sierra Leone,” he said, frustration beginning to choke him.

“There’s always a way.” While her voice held the strength he knew well, something in her eyes dimmed.

He hugged her to him. This was not her problem, and yet she was here, sticking by him, risking her life for a village she barely knew.

“I’ll figure something out.”

She looked at him. “I know of a way, but you’d have to take a leap of faith and trust me.”

“If you know of a way out, then let’s do it. I trust you, Gwen.”

“It might end badly for both of us.”

“Right now I know of three choices, and they will all end badly.” He ticked each item off on his fingers. “If we try to walk through security, they will catch us. If we drive to the bordering countries, we risk not only Sierra Leone border officials, but the other desperate countries. Not even a boat would work. As ridiculous as it sounds, there are pirates that prey off the coast. So if you have a fourth option, let’s do it.”

She nodded. “No matter how this plays out, remember I’m on your side.”

He leaned over to give her a quick kiss. “That’s all I ask.”