Desert Horizon: Sneak Peek

Aha! I didn't forget-- save for the two nights in a row in which I absolutely forgot. Here's a look at an early scene in Desert Horizon! It's not action scene (I'm saving those) but it might give you some insight into our main character. ;)

Eddie hung up his cell, extending his hands outward as he looked down at Ransom. “That was Dray. They’re with the Ambassador now in Abuja, no threats, no fires. See? Everything is fine.”

A laugh of disbelief came out as Ransom looked towards the kitchen window. The sun was setting and the heat finally showing mercy. “They killed a man, Ed. Usman? Your buddy? He was there, directing it. I saw it.”

“You ain’t seen shit!” Eddie’s massive form leaned suddenly across the table, hands splayed out to keep his balance. “You hear me? Our mission is to weed out any known terrorists that are a threat to U.S. interests. Not run around Africa pretending to be Superman.”

He stared at him, his adrenaline rising to meet his temper. “Usman is a terrorist. How could he not be a threat?”

Eddie threw his head back, eyes partially rolling to the ceiling as his chest heaved. “We’re not here for cultural disputes, we’re here for networks, and so far, the well is empty.”

“Yeah, and what if he’s lying? What if he’s working with the terrorists and making us look like fools?”

Eddie chuckled, standing up straight and walking over to fridge. “Rook,” he began, “We’re always the fools, but we do our job as ordered.” He stuck a finger into the air. “You see, this is why we shouldn’t recruit outside of the military; your tolerance for bullshit ain’t high enough.” He grabbed a cold beer from the fridge, cracking off the blue cap with his teeth and bringing the green bottle to his lips. He nearly downed it in one gulp before exhaling in delight. His eyes met Ransom’s once more. “The Intelligence Officer that cleared Usman has been working with me for years. I trust her, and now I’m asking you to trust me. You have a problem with anything that goes down over here, you can cry about it over some beer and a fire once you’re out.”

He wanted to argue further, but he knew he had lost. What was the point, anyway? Eddie was right, they were here to do as the CIA deemed, and the CIA did not deem Usman a threat.

Alright… I’ll play along, but I’m not letting my guard down.

He would trust in Eddie, but there was no chance he would ever relax around Usman. Still, he nodded to show that he understood. “That’s how it’ll be, then.”

Eddie’s chin rose, lips pursing as he tossed his empty bottle into the trash bin. “Good. You’re starting to understand.” He stretched, his Metallica T-Shirt giving away a slight beer gut that likely plagued him with age. “Now, I’ve got a hot Latina waiting for me to call home.” He winked as he left Ransom alone in the kitchen.

He didn’t know a ton about Eddie’s personal life other than a couple of failed marriages, and a few kids he rarely saw. He did seem to love his girlfriend plenty— though whenever Ransom was in earshot of their chats he heard enough heated Spanish ranting to give him a headache.

Yeah, you have fun with that, Brother.

He looked upward, kicking back in his creaking chair. He needed to call home, too, but dreaded doing so for reasons he was too tired to breakdown.

If I’m going to sit on my lazy ass, might as well do it right.

He hopped up, heading to the fridge to pack a cooler full of cold beer, cursing when he noticed Eddie had taken the last of the ice cubes without refilling the tray. “Dick,” he muttered under his breath.

On a last minute impulse, he snatched his laptop, clutching it under his arm as he made his way to the roof. He spent the morning watching a man being burned alive, getting stared down by a terrorist with an AK, and he couldn’t make a simple call?

He set up the tattered, folding lawn chair and carefully plopped down. Ransom wasn’t quite as bulky as Eddie— who had dropped too hard into the other one and ripped right through it— but he still didn’t want to end up on his ass.

Outside the street was quiet, something that was nice about their sparsely populated neighborhood as, apparently, Nigerians never slept. Though, with the crime and strange characters— and surprise molotovs— he could hardly blame them.

The humidity had settled down, an array of red and orange above the sun as it peaked one last time, the silhouette mix of modern and traditional buildings masking the crumbling nature of the city.

Setting the laptop down onto his thighs, he popped open a bottle and ensured the Virtual Private Network was connected before opening the encrypted communication app— working similar to Zoom— that the CIA gave them for contacting friends and family. He almost sent a message, thinking it might be better to ensure he wasn’t interrupting anything— but then thought better of it and started a call.

Abby’s name popped up, and it rang several times, finally being answered just as he almost shut the laptop in frustration.

“Hang on,” came the greeting, sounding annoyed but undeniably her. A pretty, tanned face finally appeared on screen, eyelashes caked in mascara above large, brown eyes. Behind her appeared to be a blue tile with lighter, swirling patterns— the edges of a towel just out of sight.

“Are you in a bathroom?”

Her eyes widened as if the answer was obvious, moving the camera around to showcase the fanciful bathroom that surrounded her place on the toilet. “It’s just Camryn’s pad. Chill out.”

“What? I was just wondering.” He ground his teeth, battling back the anger that wanted to erupt.

Her head tilted to one side. “I know you, babe. You were about to get jealous and start quizzing me on what I’ve been up to.”

“I would have asked that, anyway,” he countered, but she didn’t appear to be listening.

“So, Camryn, invited me and some friends over for a new social game played using LiuLink.”

“Liu-What?” Around him, the city darkened, and he was left only in the glow of his laptop and the embrace of a gentle wind.

“Yeah, that social media app that blew up last year? I talk about it all the time.” Her expression drew tight, lips pressed together in the way that he knew meant he’d already messed up. “You never listen to me.” She brushed her dark hair back from her forehead, carefully touching her dark eyeliner as if dabbing away moist.

“I’m sorry. I probably did hear you, but shit like that doesn’t stick. I have a lot on my plate at the moment.” He had stuffed his brain in college for anything and everything that might help him in the CIA— languages, international relations, history, behavioral sciences, even the cultural sensitivity crap the yuppies of New England decided needed to be a requirement. Then he arrived in Northern Virginia and found he was only at the tip of the iceberg, and no amount of hunting and bad action flicks in his youth could prepare him for the real thing.

“I know.” To her credit, she visibly calmed, a charming smile gracing her glossed lips as she wiggled a brow. It was expressions like that— endearing and intoxicating— that played on loop in his head whenever he considered breaking things off. Sure, there were things about her that were annoying, but when she made an adorable face, puckered her lips or blew him a kiss, everything that bothered him seemed to fade. “We’re drinking Dom Pérignon Rosé tonight.”

“Nice.” He didn’t care for wine, but dating Abby had forced him to learn more about it than he had ever wanted. “What’s the occasion?” He could feel the grin on his cheeks, and it felt good. He couldn’t recall the last time he had smiled.

“Dee got promoted.” Her eyes squinted, “What time is it there? I can barely see you.”

“Getting late.” He looked around, suddenly feeling torn between heading inside and enjoying the nice night that had settled upon him. “So, uh… Which one is Dee?” He could rarely keep all of her friends straight. They were either annoying broads, or fruity men that made him seek the nearest exist.

A half-roll of her eyes confirmed that she wasn’t pleased. “Dee is short for Devin. You met him at that cultural bar on U Street.”

He ran a hand through dark hair that had grown out past the top of his ears since he’d left home. “Uh… Bar with the little flags drooping too low from the ceiling? Stupid stamps and foreign graffiti all over the walls and tables?”

A slight tilt of her head and a narrowed gaze. “You don’t have to be an ass about it, and yes, that bar.”

“Oh, right. Dee— Devin. I remember.” He was lying but it was getting late and he could tell any of the good feelings that had come from the conversation were fleeting quick. “Hey, did you get that oil change done on my car? Light was going off when you dropped me off, remember?”

“No. I don’t touch your car unless we need more legroom.”

“What does that mean—”

The loud sound of the Adhan cut through the peaceful night.

Ah, shit. That time already?

The Call to Prayer after sunset was called the Maghrib. Ransom had grown up in a coastal town in Maine with a little church that rung a bell on a scheduled time, and he had always found the sound of it therapeutic, but a gibberish chant over a shitty speaker and broadcast throughout a city— five times a day— was far less pleasing.

“I can’t hear you, I can’t see you, and I’m pretty sure Kay is outside the door and needs to pee. I’ve got to go, Ransom.” Her feed ended there, no “stay safe,” or “I love you.”

What’s the point?

He opted out of going back inside, waiting out the ear cancer as he sunk into his chair. In the distance, he could see warm lights, perhaps even fires started in rusted out barrels on the edge of the roads, or open spaces between buildings. A few low cracks sounded off far away. The sound of gunshots weren’t a daily occurrence, but not so unusual as to draw concern. If it were just a few it could be anything from a minor dispute to drunk locals goofing off. Multiple shots from multiple places? A coordinated attack by criminals on a targeted location.

Not here to be superman, he reminded himself, coming to a stand. He looked at his cooler, kicking the lid open with his barefoot to vaguely see the outline of several beers. “Better not waste ‘em.” He grabbed the cooler and set off to find Eddie.