Midnight Sun (51 page)

“
Yeah,
well,
it's
a
job.
Mind
you,
it's
not
as
posh
as
Kabul
or
Baghdad,
but
it's
a
good
job.
”

“
No,
I
mean,
what
are
you
doing
here
in
Anchorage?
”

Kharzai
’
s
mop
of
curly
black
hair—he
liked to refer to it as his
Arabfro—bounced like
Jell-O
formed
in
a
mold
as
he
moved
his
head.
His
teeth, glistening
as
if
he
just
stepped
out
of
a
toothpaste
commercial,
sharply
contrasted
against
the
dark
brown
of
his
skin
and
black of his
beard.
A
gold
chain
necklace
mingled
with
the
thick
bristles
of
chest
hair
that
jutted
from
the
collar
of
his
shirt,
which
was
open
to
the
second
button.

“
I
know
you,
”
she
said.
“
You're
the
guy
from
Columbus.
The
bombing.
”

“
Sorry,
but
I
don't
remember
you,
”
Kharzai
replied,
“
and
I
certainly
would
remember
if
I
had
seen
you
before.
You're
way
too
hot
to
forget.
” H
e
acted
surprised
at
his
own
words.
“
Oops,
sorry. Did
I
say
that
out
loud?
”

Hilde's
cheeks
flushed
pink.

“
I
was
surveillance,
”
she
said.
“J
ust
saw
you
on
the
cameras.
”

“
Oh.
I
see,
”
Kharzai
said,
then
added
in
a
licentious
tone,
“
voyeur.
”

“
Kharzai,
”
Mike said,
“
this
is
Hilde,
my
wife.
”

“
Whup.
Better
stop
flirting
then,
eh?
”
Kharzai
said.
He
winked
at
Hilde
in
the
rearview
mirror,
then
shifted
his
eyes
to
Lonnie.
“
And
I
know
you,
and
I
know
you
know
me
too,
very
pretty
and
pretty
pregnant
lady.”

“
You
were
at
the
accident,
”
Lonnie
said.

“
Cha-ching—give the
lady
the
Bahamas
Cruise,
Johnny.
”
He
gave
a
quick
flourish
of
his
hand
and
made
a
partial
bow
toward
the
reflected
image
of
Lonnie
and
said,
“
That
’
s
right,
and
now
you
know
me
even
better.
Kharzai
Ghiassi,
cabbie.
”

“
What
was
that
about
a
bombing?
”
Lonnie
asked.

“
Kharzai
is
not
a
normal
cabbie,
”
Mike
said,
“
or
at
least,
he
does
not
have
a
normal
cabbie's
past.
”

“
Yeah,
that's what I'm already thinking
,
”
Lonnie
said.

“
I
assume
she
’
s
with
Mojo,
”
Kharzai said.

“
You
know
my
husband?
”
Lonnie asked,
surprise
showing
in
her
voice.

“
Yeah,
we've
met.
”
Kharzai
smiled
as
he
glanced
back
at
her
in
the
mirror.
“
An
old
friend
of
mine,
Liam
Cleary
of
the
Royal
Marines,
knew
him
pretty
well
and
introduced
us
in
Iraq
back
in
the
day.
”

“
You
don't
seem
like
you
were
in
the
Marines,
”
Lonnie
said.