passed, then the billionaire said, "Leave this with me. I'll dig into things on this end. You'd be wise to do the same over there."
"Of course."
"How are things going?" Fleming asked.
"Not bad. We're running into some snags, but that's to be expected. Nothing ever goes exactly as it should."
"Are you on schedule?"
"I think so, yes. We should be fine."
"Good." A moment of silence, then, "Call me if you need anything else." The line clicked over to a dial tone.
Trey wiped his fingerprints off the phone and dropped it in a garbage bin. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure. The intrusion into the CIA mainframe had to do with Fleming . Someone suspected something. And that left a few unanswered questions.
Trey hated unanswered questions. They were dangerous.
Click here to go beyond the story, experience and learn more about characters, events and places in One Child and join the discussion online.
Chapter
32
Day 17 - 8.12.10 - Morning News
Kandahar, Afghanistan
Halima was beginning to see the upside to living in Peshawar. The days without food and clean water would be history. Watching her younger sisters go hungry was no longer something she would have to live with every day.
It had been a while since she'd seen her father happy. She couldn't remember the last time, but she knew it was while her mother was still alive. The Taliban had ruined his hand when they crushed it with the rifle, but they had ruined his life when they came back to reclaim the area around Kandahar. It brought more war and a never-ending stream of conflict. Finally, when he met the man from Peshawar, there was a glimmer of hope in him.
He wanted this so badly for her. And for Aaqila and Danah. He had told her that if she went to live with this family in Pakistan that he would be able to buy food and water for years. That the family would be so happy to have her that they would pay him. He cried when he told her this - and begged her forgiveness for selling her. She had touched his hand and told him that he wasn't selling her, simply making a good decision.
He left the room, the tears falling freely.
When he returned he was composed. He apologized for showing such weakness and asked her if she could refrain from telling anyone. She burrowed her head into his chest and held him as tight as her thin arms could. That was three days ago. Now, today, he had left a few hours earlier with a different man to go to the bank. She didn't understand what a bank was, but he told her it was a place to store money. She thought it was strange that he didn't keep it under the blanket. That was where he always kept his money, even as much as two or three dollars.
Footsteps from the stairwell echoed through the room and all three girls looked at the door with fear and mistrust. Seconds later their father shuffled into the room. He smiled and knelt down with his arms out.
"Aaqila, Danah, look what I have for you," he said. He thrust his hand into his tunic and pulled out a small bag of candy. They scampered over to him and he doled it out to them as they giggled. When each had taken their share and had retreated across the room to compare their treats, he motioned to Halima. "Come here," he said softly.
She sat beside him. He was trembling as he slipped a thin package from under his tunic. It was a plastic bag from a store in the center of Kandahar. One of her friends had brought a similar bag to the marketplace. Everyone was envious. The friend had never told what was in the bag, just having it was privilege enough.
"Open it," he said. His voice was so gentle.
She cracked open the top flaps and peeked in. "Oh, father," she whispered as she pulled out the book and pencil. The cover was bright red and inside the pages were lined and blank. Ready for writing. The pencil was emblazoned with multi-colored flowers and sharpened to a flawless point. She ran her hand across the book cover, feeling its strength and smoothness. She had never held such
"Of course."
"How are things going?" Fleming asked.
"Not bad. We're running into some snags, but that's to be expected. Nothing ever goes exactly as it should."
"Are you on schedule?"
"I think so, yes. We should be fine."
"Good." A moment of silence, then, "Call me if you need anything else." The line clicked over to a dial tone.
Trey wiped his fingerprints off the phone and dropped it in a garbage bin. The more he thought about it, the more he was sure. The intrusion into the CIA mainframe had to do with Fleming . Someone suspected something. And that left a few unanswered questions.
Trey hated unanswered questions. They were dangerous.
Click here to go beyond the story, experience and learn more about characters, events and places in One Child and join the discussion online.
Chapter
32
Day 17 - 8.12.10 - Morning News
Kandahar, Afghanistan
Halima was beginning to see the upside to living in Peshawar. The days without food and clean water would be history. Watching her younger sisters go hungry was no longer something she would have to live with every day.
It had been a while since she'd seen her father happy. She couldn't remember the last time, but she knew it was while her mother was still alive. The Taliban had ruined his hand when they crushed it with the rifle, but they had ruined his life when they came back to reclaim the area around Kandahar. It brought more war and a never-ending stream of conflict. Finally, when he met the man from Peshawar, there was a glimmer of hope in him.
He wanted this so badly for her. And for Aaqila and Danah. He had told her that if she went to live with this family in Pakistan that he would be able to buy food and water for years. That the family would be so happy to have her that they would pay him. He cried when he told her this - and begged her forgiveness for selling her. She had touched his hand and told him that he wasn't selling her, simply making a good decision.
He left the room, the tears falling freely.
When he returned he was composed. He apologized for showing such weakness and asked her if she could refrain from telling anyone. She burrowed her head into his chest and held him as tight as her thin arms could. That was three days ago. Now, today, he had left a few hours earlier with a different man to go to the bank. She didn't understand what a bank was, but he told her it was a place to store money. She thought it was strange that he didn't keep it under the blanket. That was where he always kept his money, even as much as two or three dollars.
Footsteps from the stairwell echoed through the room and all three girls looked at the door with fear and mistrust. Seconds later their father shuffled into the room. He smiled and knelt down with his arms out.
"Aaqila, Danah, look what I have for you," he said. He thrust his hand into his tunic and pulled out a small bag of candy. They scampered over to him and he doled it out to them as they giggled. When each had taken their share and had retreated across the room to compare their treats, he motioned to Halima. "Come here," he said softly.
She sat beside him. He was trembling as he slipped a thin package from under his tunic. It was a plastic bag from a store in the center of Kandahar. One of her friends had brought a similar bag to the marketplace. Everyone was envious. The friend had never told what was in the bag, just having it was privilege enough.
"Open it," he said. His voice was so gentle.
She cracked open the top flaps and peeked in. "Oh, father," she whispered as she pulled out the book and pencil. The cover was bright red and inside the pages were lined and blank. Ready for writing. The pencil was emblazoned with multi-colored flowers and sharpened to a flawless point. She ran her hand across the book cover, feeling its strength and smoothness. She had never held such
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