After a short talk over drinks and an early supper, Jack decided to get a good night’s sleep in preparation for the action he was sure was coming soon. Bernadette loved lingering over coffee and exchanging information with other women about their lives in the way men seldom do.

Anita said she didn’t know whether her maybe-significant other would ever ask her to marry him, but she was going to stay with him until he threw her out. Then she would sneak back. Kathy and Bernadette laughed at that. Bernadette told the others she had felt much the same way about Jack’s father. At times she hoped she would get pregnant. It never worked out. He once told her being close to him was dangerous, and he couldn’t bear being responsible for her getting hurt. A woman he had loved once had been killed because she was with him.

Bernadette brought them back to the business at hand. “Do you realize we are three women, very tough women at that, aided by a former Marine and cop and do not forget our very capable detective, going against al-Qaeda in an arena they know much better than we do? We are outnumbered and outgunned. All we have going for us is they probably don’t know we are here and ready to catch them off guard. Oh! We also are the good guys and the law maybe is on our side.”

Kathy stretched and said, “Before I comment on such a dismal state of affairs, I need another drink. Maybe by tomorrow my sex drive will be back. Four days of humping a pack at a run or near run is better than a cold shower for taking sex out of my mind.”

Anita laughed and said, “Except for one night on the trail after our fire fight. I was very envious.”

Bernadette smiled and said, “Take love wherever and whenever you can get it.” Several hours later they drifted off to bed, leaving their security in the hands of Arjun’s troops, who were quietly patrolling the compound.

The next morning after having slept for ten hours, Jack was in the kitchen at 7:00 preparing breakfast of fruit, poached eggs, toast, coffee and a porridge that proved to be less than a major hit with the motley crew answering his call to breakfast. After the better part of a week in Nepal, no one was down with the traditional stomach bug. They all were in good physical shape. Now he had to keep them that way.

He was looking forward to Arjun’s arrival. He hadn’t expected much from the detective Kathy had hired two weeks ago, but this guy was good, probably because he came from a warrior race. The Sikhs, weapons, fighting and technical equipment just seem to go together.

Sharply at nine, Arjun showed up for coffee. Bernadette served him coffee the way he liked it with lots of sugar and cream. They all gathered around the dining room table.

Arjun started by telling them about his call to a friend at police headquarters in New Delhi. Although a little reluctant, his friend sent an immediate signal to the border police in Raxaul Bazaar with a copy to Patna. Four hours later Arjun Singh received a call from his contact in the New Delhi Police Headquarters, who gave him details of the police raid in Raxaul Bazaar. He ended the call by thanking Arjun for the tip, resulting in a successful raid on a narco-terrorist ring.

On the strength of his tip about a drug smuggling ring using Bahadur’s bungalow, the police contingent arrived bearing a search warrant. Before the police could force an entry to the house, a fire fight broke out lasting several minutes. One man was captured and identified as an al-Qaeda operative that the Indian and Nepalese police had placed on a high priority search list several months ago. Everyone else in the house was killed, and also a young constable was killed in the raid. The police confiscated a sizeable quantity of heroin, as well as a small arsenal of illegal weapons. Arjun said his contact alluded to the finding of documents and a large amount of foreign currency. Indian police were in touch with Nepalese authorities to investigate Bahadur Thapa, the owner of the bungalow. The police have the baggage of three people and will find the names to match the baggage.

“Now, let me tell you what more I later learned from my contact with the Delhi police. The Nepalese police have been to the river camp operated by Thapa. They made several arrests and confiscated computers, computer files and paper files. Drug dogs confirmed drugs, probably heroin, had been at the camp in quantities beyond the use of the inhabitants.

“The police learned Thapa, and three white foreigners, one man and two women, with Thapa’s primary river pilot, left the camp and went up the Narayani five days ago in a river boat called the River Runner. No one has seen them or the boat since. By tomorrow the Nepalese police will be searching for your group.

“I am in your employ and since I have a law degree, I can also be your local attorney for the fee of one rupee. While American law is different from Indian legal traditions, I do not have to disclose what a client has told me unless it is to report a pending crime. To help you, I need to know what we face and what I can tell to the Delhi police that will help us. Do you agree to that?”

Jack said, “Arjunji, yes, we agree. We know we need you and will have to trust you if we expect your help. I assume the financial situation is acceptable to you.”

“Yes, the financial arrangement is more than satisfactory. Ms. Grayson has worked that out with me. Now, let me report on the surveillance of Abdul Ali Fahad.”

Arjun started by saying, “We now have another target to follow. Last night after 8:00, your friend Abdul Ali Fahad left the hotel in his car. His driver dropped him on the outskirts of the main market area. After walking around for several minutes, he went into a Tibetan craft shop. He was in there for an hour. He came out and went to the same place where his driver had dropped him off. His car was waiting there, and he went back to the hotel. An hour later, one of the ladies of the night paid him a visit. She was there for an hour. He did not leave the hotel again last night.

“I doubted Abdul Ali Fahad was in the Tibetan craft shop at night for an hour talking to the owner or manager of the shop, so two of my people, a man and a woman, waited outside. Twenty minutes after Fahad left, a man who appeared to be an Arab came out and walked to a small bungalow in the Kalimati area of Kathmandu. Anita, your Nepali linguist will tell you “Kalimati” means black earth. I’m told the topsoil in that area extends downward for several yards. But to get back to my report. My team stayed outside until the lights went out two hours later. Today they went back and took some pictures of the bungalow and the general area surrounding it.

“My real estate contact checked the address. An Arab with the name Hakim Al-Lami rents the place. We cannot tell if this is a real name or an alias. I know some people in Kathmandu who helped me in some past investigations in this city. They are very good and very discreet. I gave them the job of keeping track of this person and getting some pictures. Thanks to the wonders of digital photography, we should have pictures of the bungalow within an hour. I must tell you while we are covering your suspect very closely, it is highly unlikely we can have him arrested, based on the information we have now and what I think we are likely to get in the next few days.

“We can’t prove these people have broken any Nepalese laws or Indian laws. I cannot realistically expect the police of either Nepal or India to take any action whatsoever. They are here legally. Abdul Ali Fahad and Hakim Al-Lami are not on any watch list. They move freely between India and Nepal on a regular basis. My only recommendation is you plan on extending this investigation until we have enough evidence, or leave Nepal and India very soon and send a report of your suspicions to American authorities. I am sorry, but that is the way it is. Do you have any questions?”

Kathy asked, “Arjun, you have followed many people in your work. Did this Fahad person act as if he were checking to see if he was being followed, or did he manage his movements so he could tell if anyone was following him?”

“He seemed to take precautions about not parking his car in front of his destination or perhaps he did not want his driver to know where he was going. He uses the same car and driver all the time. I think this man knows about surveillance, but he used none of the usual ways to detect anything. He seemed preoccupied and not worried. He may know the Nepalese police use a very effective practice to keep track of suspected persons.”

Kathy leaned forward in her chair and said, “And what is the practice?”

“Very simple. The foot police on duty at the bridges and intersections write the license numbers of diplomatic cars and cars of other people of interest when they see them pass and note the time and the direction of travel. They either send the data in by radio or turn it in when shifts change. Back at their headquarters it is pieced together. A passive system but it can be very effective. If that is all, I should be going. The speed of this investigation is picking up. I would not be surprised to find the meeting you are concerned about could take place tonight or tomorrow.”

Arjun drank the last of his coffee, said he would be back at tea time, and would check on the status of pictures that hadn’t arrived.

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan. 

Jack took advantage of the moment to tell Kathy and Anita on the way overland he had pondered a problem. “What we do with Fahad will affect how we leave this valley. I’ve no desire to spend any time in a Nepalese jail. And I don’t want to walk out of here, especially with Bernadette. No doubt you two Amazons have proved you can handle the journey, but Bernadette just isn’t in condition for a trip like that. And no one wants to make the trek again. Frankly, I don’t see us getting any hard evidence that will interest the local cops. So, what do you think?”

Kathy said, “You are right on the mark. With Arjun Singh up here with his contacts, our chances improve to get some information he can get to the cops, but for now, we use him to concentrate on getting information about where and when Fahad is going to meet with his al-Qaeda masters.”

Jack said, “But I want to keep close track of Ali. I don’t want him to escape. He should only leave here in a made-to-fit box.”

Just then Jack heard a car, looked out the window and announced they had company. Kathy stood up, went to the window, and said, “Yes, Arjun’s car is here. I don’t see any reason not to level with him about our problem in Kathmandu. We need him. You should know I committed more money to him when the scope of his tasks grew way beyond what he had contracted to do for us.”

“Whatever you committed is good. I agree we need him and should be straight with him. Will you handle the briefing?”

“You bet. I’m looking forward to completing our work here and getting everyone home in one piece. I haven’t mentioned this to anyone, but I think you are already thinking about this additional problem. If the police learn where we’re staying, we have no reason to assume the bad guys can’t do the same thing. Let’s pick this up later. Arjun is on his way in.”

Bernadette met Arjun at the door and ushered him into the sitting room. Jack and Kathy were already there. Bernadette introduced them. She said Miss Anita Marino would join them a bit later.

Arjun had a good firm handshake and said, “So you are the famous Americans who walked up the Trisuli River Gorge. That is a feat not many have ever done.”

Anita, wearing her Nepali clothes and bangles on her arms, was working in the kitchen. She called out in Nepali that the tea was ready. Bernadette asked Arjun and Kathy to sit on the sofa and for the others to pull up chairs. Then her servant would serve tea. Arjun seated the two ladies as Anita came in carrying a tea tray. She set the tray down, backed away and bowed in the South Asian way with the hands palm to palm in front of the face. Bernadette poured the tea.

Arjun barely looked at the Nepalese woman and said, “We should get her credentials checked. You never can be too careful.”

Then without a word, the Nepali servant sat down and poured herself a cup of tea. Arjun looked as if he were going to explode when the woman looked at him and said, “Why, Arjun Singh is there something wrong? I’m Anita Marino.”

Arjun spilled some of his tea as he put his cup down, and Kathy and Bernadette burst into loud belly laughter while Jack tried to keep a straight face.

Arjun looked again harder as Anita said in Nepali, “You don’t like me, Arjunji.”

“My dear, you look wonderful. Now that my heart has slowed down, may I have some more tea? You will never know what sitting down to tea with us did to my bigoted upbringing. I haven’t been fooled like that in years. Miss Marino, you’re remarkable. I can only imagine you have served in some special part of your government. Where did you learn Nepali?”

“I can only speak a few bits and phrases but I understand it pretty well. Do you think I can pass on the streets?”

“Please one more question: when and where did you get your costume?”

“When I left the hotel, we both bought bicycles and then, noticing what women bike riders were wearing, I went into the market and bought these clothes and the bangles. Do I look all right?

“Most definitely you can wear your costume on the street. Your accent is good, but I suspect you’ll need to learn some more vocabulary quickly. You may need your Nepali identity to get out of Nepal.”

Jack said, “Arjun, please forgive our sense of humor, but we wanted to test Anita’s disguise. I guess the disguise is good. If it’s good enough to fool you, we can use it. Arjun, I’m impressed with the security measures you have installed. Your men look professional and tough. If you can bring us up to date, we may have some information to add. The floor is yours.”

Over tea and biscuits Arjun told them Abdul Ali Fahad had arrived and was staying in room 316 at the Yak and Yeti Hotel. He had a car and driver, and he would be followed 24/7.

Bernadette gave Arjun her phone number that should be activated tomorrow. Arjun took the number but suggested they avoid direct calls from here to his temporary office, until he had time to come up with a reason for the calls.

“Perhaps Miss O’Brien could ostensibly hire me to investigate some part of the Tibetan artifact trade.”

Kathy agreed it sounded good from her perspective, and if Bernadette agreed, they would consider it a done deal. Bernadette said, “I like it,” and then told them what she had learned at lunch about Abdul Ali Fahad.

Kathy asked Arjun if he had some dependable contacts in the Indian police organization. When Arjun replied his contacts were quite good, she said, “I think it would be good if what we tell you can be given to the Delhi police.”

She then told Arjun the Bahadur Thapa story, including the illegal crossing of the border, the attempted murder on the river, and their judgment that Bahadur’s camp and his bungalow in Raxaul Bazaar are used primarily to store and move heroin.

Arjun said, “I don’t suppose you want your names used.”

Jack said, “Not now. And please keep the river killing scene to yourself for now.”

Arjun said, “I can give the police a tip on my own. I’ll inform the police in New Delhi as soon as I leave here.”

Jack said, “Before you go, I want to give you some more information regarding this pending meeting between the man we call Fahad and his al-Qaeda partners or employers. This man has caused a number of deaths of Americans and has tried to kill even more. They also killed my father. We do not expect them to quit trying.

“The best solution is to let the police handle it, if we can provide them with enough incriminating information. So we need to know where and when this meeting will take place and with whom. We expect Fahad will be meeting with some other Arab Muslims. It would help to know who they are. My best guess is they will be staying in good hotels and spending money. They may go to the local mosque. Their country of origin will most likely be Saudi Arabia, Syria, Pakistan or Jordan. If money helps, use it. We’ll cover any expenses you claim. Do the rest of you have anything to add?”

Kathy said, “I also think it is probable they will have a permanent place to meet – the kind of place intelligence officers call a ‘safe house’ – and I don’t think we have much time to find it or to identify them.”

“I’m also concerned,” Jack added, “that we’ll have difficulty leaving Nepal. None of us except Bernadette has visas in our passports.”

“Arjun,” Anita asked, “Can you get me Nepalese papers good enough to get into India?”

“I hardly know where to start. Perhaps in reverse order. Yes, Anita, I can get you Nepalese papers to get you into India with a Nepalese identity, but then you are in India where the police and intelligence organizations are, shall we say, more effective. If the police are looking for you, we would still have to get you out of India, and that is a much harder problem, too hard for me. The fact that all of you can be linked to Bahadur Thapa by the Delhi Police does not mean you’re now charged or will be charged with any crime.

“You all must stay with your story and, if asked, say Mr. Bahadur Thapa kept your passports when he forced you to go ashore. Then you all could go to the American Embassy, Consulate Section, and get new passports. I’ll start as soon as I leave to inquire discreetly about the Arabs who arrived in the last five days staying in hotels. I’ll check with some of my real estate contacts to see what property has been bought or rented by Arabs.

“The mosques are a different kind of a problem. I cannot cover every Muslim who worships in the local mosques. If our blanket surveillance of Mr. Fahad shows him meeting with another Arab or going to worship, we may be able to see if he contacts anyone. I think the mosque is a long shot, and I don’t have the resources for it. Lastly, if we uncover good evidence or information good enough for further police investigation, I can get that information to the authorities. Now, I really must go. I enjoyed meeting you. I’ll come here directly should I learn any useful information, in any event I will come for coffee tomorrow morning.”

Jack escorted Arjun to the door. When they were on the verandah he asked Arjun Singh, “Please check on a young Nepalese woman named Angela Pandey. She is in her mid-twenties, received her degree from Delhi University, is Catholic and was educated before going to Delhi by Jesuit priests at a place she called Godavri. She is a skilled fighter and radio operator and in superb condition.”

Jack then told Arjun about the problem at the tent checkpoint and the drug activity. “I suspect she was trained in some guerrilla camp. We gave her money to stay at the Soaltee for a short time until she can make other arrangements. We went through all her papers and think she was using her real name, Angela Pandey.”

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan. 

After lunch, Kathy was getting ready to go to the Yak and Yeti Hotel to call Arjun Singh when Jack said, “I don’t think it is a good idea for any of us to travel alone around here. Anita, why don’t you go with her, and both of you get some other clothes to wear. If you see anything I can wear, please pick it up. Shaving stuff is a must. The bath helped, but I want to burn these clothes.”

Kathy and Anita walked several minutes from Bernadette’s before hiring a taxi from a taxi stand and going to the hotel. Kathy called Arjun and told him she and her companions would be at tea today.

Anita and Kathy left the Yak and Yeti Hotel on foot and made their way to the main market area where they each bought an Indian-made bicycle. Hundreds of them were on the street. Anita studied the clothing worn by women riders and bought a similar outfit. With her small size, dark skin and long dark hair, she could easily pass as a Nepali woman. Anita had always loved languages and studied them at every chance. Vocabulary from her limited exposure to Urdu was back completely, and she had been working quietly on her skills in India and Nepal. Even along the trail she had been muttering to herself. Her ear was so good that, after a few days exposure to a language, she could understand the main gist of a conversation.

Both Urdu and Nepali had logical structures and consistency of sounds to the written symbols. She felt in another week with some proper documentation, she could carry off her disguise.

Changing clothes in a curtained stall at the shop and slipping on some brightly colored glass bangles, she tapped Kathy on the shoulder and said, “What do you think?”

Kathy burst into laughter and told Anita it was wonderful. “We must see if you can fool Bernadette.”

After picking up a number of items for Jack, they left the shop, unlocked their bikes from the rack, loaded up their parcels in the huge bike baskets and pedaled off. Twenty minutes later Kathy rode up to the gate and told the guard the servant girl was with her. They parked their bikes out of sight of the door way to the bungalow. Bernadette came to the front door and greeted Kathy. Bernadette looked out and saw a Nepali woman standing just behind Kathy.

Bernadette said, “May I help you?”

Anita tugged her head shawl closer over her face, looked down and said in Nepali, “My name is Nelia, and I can cook and wash clothes.”

Bernadette said, “Do you speak any English?”

“Memsahibji, I work for English lady before.”

Bernadette turned to Kathy and said, “We need someone. If her references turn out to be okay, let’s hire her.” She then stepped down from the porch and said, “May I see your references?”

Anita drew herself up, moved toward the porch steps, and said in an angry English voice, “You crazy Irish lady, why should I give you any references? What you see is what you get!”

Taking another step toward Bernadette, she pulled off her head scarf and burst into laughter. It took another few seconds before Bernadette said, “Anita, you crazy girl, you bloody near scared me to death! For that you get to cook food and wash laundry. First, come on in here, so I can hug you for a marvelous performance, and I don’t want anyone to see me hugging you and ruining your new identity.”

Bernadette said, “Anita, I’m impressed out of my mind. You could be Kipling’s female counterpart to his famous character Kim. Come in and see if you can fool Arjun. I want you to serve tea to our guest Arjun Singh when he comes. Okay?”

Jack heard Kathy’s voice and came out to greet them. Jack saw Kathy and a Nepali woman, but Anita was nowhere in sight. “Kathy, did Anita go off somewhere by herself?”

“Why no! She always follows her brief. But I want you to meet Nelia. She may be doing some work for us.”

Jack started to ask again about Anita, when he looked into Nelia’s eyes and with an explosive laugh said, “Anita, you oughta be on stage, but I guess in our line of work we’re always on a stage of some sort. Your disguise is outstanding!”

“Well, I thought if my role was to do random reconnaissance around the neighborhood, I’d blend in better with this outfit.”

Bernadette ended the disguise discussion by taking the arm of her new servant and leading her into the kitchen to make tea. Arjun would soon be there.

 
Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan. 

Thirty minutes after Angela left in a taxi, Jack and Kathy noticed an old black British Rover slowing and pulling over to them. As it got closer and the sun angle changed, he could see Bernadette behind the wheel. Bernadette got out, laughed, and hugged Jack and Kathy.

“I’ve never, or at least not for a very long time, hugged two people who smell more like a barnyard than a drawing room. Quickly now, jump in. You both need a bath, a cold beer and something to eat in that order.”

When the car came up to a gated driveway, a guard came out and looked inside the car before unlocking the gate and letting them in. Jack was glad to see Anita on the bougainvillea-covered verandah.

As soon as he had a bath and a cold beer, Jack told Bernadette he wanted to look the bungalow over and evaluate the security procedures. After an hour of walking around the bungalow inside and out, he made a few changes in the position of the guard posts, making it clear they would be changing daily at random times.

Jack told Bernadette Arjun Singh had done a good job, and his men looked tough enough to hold their ground. He also told the gate guard nobody but the people who lived here and Arjun Singh were permitted inside the gate. If anyone else wanted to come in, the guard had to ask him or one of the other Americans. Absolutely no exceptions allowed.

Jack assigned Anita to be the outside roving patrol person. He asked her to walk around the area every couple of daylight hours at random times, covering a perimeter no larger than fifty yards from their compound. Fortunately, no high points on surrounding hills or tall buildings allowed someone to see or shoot over the wall into the compound.

Jack completed his security round and sat down with the others for a quick lunch of cheese and tomato sandwiches, mulligatawny soup and cold mangoes. Jack thought he could actually see the tension going out of the faces of the women. They began to relax. The food and beer helped a lot, as did the feeling of being in a safe haven.

As they were lingered over lunch, Kathy asked Bernadette to tell them about herself and her comfort level in being involved in the investigation.

“Yes, Kathy, I do. If Peter Brandon’s son needs my help, he has it. I’ll do whatever I can to help. I am quite civilized now, but I am no stranger to violence and terrorism. In my youth I lived in Belfast. I can use weapons, and I am not afraid of having them around. I’m guessing, but I don’t suppose you have any weapons except those two Webleys. I can manage a safe haven as long as you don’t expect anything better than camping out service.

“Rather than tell you the little I know about Arjun Singh’s activities, I’d sooner wait until he comes over at tea time. I don’t have a telephone yet. Maybe tomorrow. But I don’t think a direct call from here to Arjun is a good idea. Too much information is contained in a phone dump. Kathy, I think it would be good if you call him from the hotel and tell him you and your friends will be at tea today. Nobody in the security business, either for or against, likes surprises.”

Anita said, “Bernadette, I’m in a state of shock. I didn’t realize you were a pro. That makes me a lot more comfortable with our situation here. No wonder Peter thought so much of you. You are far more than a pretty face.”

“If things had been a little different, I might have been Jack’s stepmother. God knows I was willing enough.”

Jack said, “Mother, will you please pass the sandwich tray?”

“Yes, but that’s as far as it goes. Remember I said might have been.”

Kathy interrupted, “What did you know about his activities?”

“I knew he was immensely rich. He used his money to make things happen and knew how to protect what he felt was important. He loved his country and wanted to dedicate his life to protecting the freedom enjoyed by his fellow Americans. I think his work was dangerous at times, but he never talked about it. He said I was safer not knowing. Now you’re asking me if I want to know what his son is doing. You’re damn right I want to know! More, I want to help if I can. So I’m listening.”

Kathy said, “First, I think we ought to tell you why we all walked in. Jack doesn’t want any government records showing we were ever in Kathmandu. We’re tracking an al-Qaeda cell responsible for causing considerable loss of life in the U.S., including Peter Brandon’s, and is planning to increase the number of dead Americans as soon as they can. The main contact to a terrorist network in the U.S. will be meeting with senior al-Qaeda members in the next few days right here in Kathmandu.”

Bernadette said, “Count me in. Just tell me what to do.”

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan. 

Angela proved to be trail tough and had no trouble keeping up and carrying her share of the load. When they pulled off the trail for a lunch of candy bars and hot tea, Jack showed Angela his map and asked her to identify any checkpoints, villages or other places of possible trouble. He also asked her how long she thought it would take them to reach Kathmandu. To put her mind at ease, he told her they had no quarrel with her organization. They were only interested in the Arab connection.

She looked at him and said, “I don’t like them either. They have no proper appreciation or respect for women.”

Jack thought, maybe so, but I really don’t trust this woman. She’s been trained somewhere by professionals. Living under cover to check on drug thieves is not a job for beginners.

During a rest break, Jack pulled Anita and Kathy aside, and went over the information Angela had given him. “The good news is only one checkpoint and she knows a way around it. Only a few villages are along the trail, but when the villagers see people with guns approaching, they get everyone inside. They have no radios, so they can’t tell anyone about our passing. Angela believes, if we keep up this pace, we’ll be in Kathmandu mid-morning the day after tomorrow. The bad news for her is that she knows she’ll be tied at night.”

Later Anita told Kathy, “Angela is no stranger to killing. You saw her help us move and hide the bodies. She is tough and very fit. Jack is right to tie her each night. I just don’t trust her. At the slightest opening, she will make a break. On the trail she watches me at every opportunity and is constantly pushing the envelope.”

At the end of the fourth day, the four trekkers were still an estimated four hours southwest of Kathmandu. Anita picked a camp site, and they bedded down for the night. Their packs were now down to about 30 pounds. Tomorrow, if they could cover five-plus miles before breakfast, they would be within a few hours of Kathmandu via the Mahesh Gola. The main trail through the Mahesh Gola enters the Valley south and west of the city. Jack thought if the weather held up and they continued to avoid injury on the poor footing sections of the trail, they would be in Kathmandu just in time for a late lunch. So far they were holding up. Water sources, except for one long stretch high on a ridge line, were adequate.

The next day at dawn they were in a twelve-minute-mile pace. The terrain had flattened out noticeably, so they had picked up their pace. They all were running easily in spite of the hard travel over the last four days. Getting started in the morning was slow, but once their bodies warmed up, the miles fell behind them at a steady rate. That morning they cached their blankets, sleeping bags, air mattresses and all the food except for a half dozen chocolate energy bars. Once they reached the Mahesh Gola and the trail became more populated, they planned to cache their packs, the AK-47, shotgun, rifle and ammunition. Jack had tossed everything else taken from Bahadur or his boat.

Two hours later they were in the Mahesh Gola. Here the going was a bit tougher. The rock-strewn trail wandered all over. Once, they actually lost the trail and had to swim across a few rivulets before recovering the main trail. Angela said she had been through the gorge once on her way to the tent site, but it had been at night with a guide.

They stopped for a quick lunch of energy bars and hot tea in an isolated small side gorge and decided to cache the weapons and packs right there. It only took a few minutes to wrap the dismantled weapons in loose plastic ground sheets and to cover the site with rocks and sand-filled gravel. Jack and Anita carefully wiped out any trace of the stones being moved, and when they left the gorge, he brushed out their back trail.

Once back on the trail Jack said, “We should be coming out of this gorge in no more than another hour.”

Kathy said, “You know, I’m not sure I would like to repeat this trip on the way out. Look! A grove of banana trees about a half mile ahead of us. It must mean we are getting close to a cultivated land, and that would be Kathmandu.”

“Yeah, I see them. I believe you’re right. A hot shower and a cold beer are way overdue.”

Without their packs and weapons, it seemed as though they were flying along. People were on the trail now, carrying what looked like impossible loads in large deep baskets high on their backs with a heavy woven strap across their foreheads that made the porters lean into their loads. The trail turned sharply upwards, and after 30 minutes of climbing, they came out of the gorge and into the southwestern edge of the Kathmandu Valley.

Pausing to look around, Jack said, “I’ll wait right here.”

He took Anita aside and said, “You go find Bernadette’s bungalow and come back and get us. I don’t want Angela to know Bernadette’s name or the location of our bungalow.”

As Anita prepared to leave, Angela said, “What about me?”

Jack looked at Kathy, who said to Angela, “As far as I’m concerned, you haven’t told us all you could have. You must have friends in town to help you. We can give you some money to check into a hotel for a while.”

When Kathy came over to get some money, Jack walked her a bit away from the group. When he thought they were out of earshot, he told Kathy, “I still don’t trust Angela. Make sure she doesn’t get a clue about the whereabouts of Bernadette’s bungalow.

“Give her enough money for her to live in a hotel for several days and to get some decent clothes, but she cannot be with our group staying with Bernadette. She has very fast moves and is very fit. It takes training and practice to get that fast and fit. She is trail hard with a high level of conditioning. Her hands, forearms and leg muscles show serious conditioning. She could have run away from us, except for Anita. Also, she’s a skilled radio operator. And did you notice how easily she led us around the checkpoint? How would she know the route? She told us it was a Maoist checkpoint. She would have had no reason to learn a complicated route around her own organization’s checkpoint.

“Too many skills for a little abused Catholic girl with an education from Delhi University. No way those three clods could have abused her. She could take them all at the same time. Lastly, it is more like the narcos to have someone checking drug shipments and using radios to monitor the movement of heroin. More like al-Qaeda than our friendly Maoist peasant movement.”

Kathy thought over Jack’s words and maybe, just maybe, she had grown to trust Angela too much. When she was really honest with herself, she felt Angela had manipulated her from the start, not a very nice position for a skilled interrogator to be in. With no downside in following Jack’s lead, as he was the operational boss, Kathy told Jack to give her the money and she would take care of Angela Pandey. She planned to give Angela the money, put her in taxi and ask her to check into the Soaltee Hotel for a week. Then she could go wherever she wanted.

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan. 

Fifty yards down the river a small ravine ran perpendicular to the river course. With Anita standing guard, Jack turned up the ravine and stopped the party. No one said anything. With Anita covering Angela with even more intensity, she watched Jack, Kathy and Angela drag the three men deep into the ravine and cover them with stones from the river bank.

Back at the tents Kathy and Anita searched the tents and the camp site. Kathy smashed the radio. They selected two of the best blankets, about five pounds of rice, a few small tattered paper bags of spices, one tin plate and cup, a plastic water bottle and a pair of tennis shoes Angela could use on the trail. Thirty minutes later, Jack doused the tents with some kerosene and set the camp on fire. Two of the AKs and one of the shotguns were put in the fire. Jack now carried the remaining AK and a hundred rounds of ammunition instead of the 12-gauge shotgun from Bahadur’s stock.

“Okay, let’s move out.” Jack had fashioned a sort of back pack for Angela to carry her belongings and some food. Angela walked in front of Anita. Anita told her, “One suspicious move, and I’ll kill you. I’ll also kill you if you slow us down in any way.”

They had lost two hours dealing with the tent incident.

Jack moved up on the trail to talk to Kathy. He asked her how she was doing.

Kathy said, “I’m doing okay. Just keep me busy. I don’t want to think about the killing back there. I’ll have to come to grips with my feelings. I know we had no choice. Sure, I’ve been places where people were killed and have been part of operations resulting in people dying, but this was different.”

“Kathy, this was up close and personal. You killed someone who in another few seconds would have killed us. Anita’s shot probably saved both of us. You have to put the shooting in context. Those were not executions.”

“Thanks, Jack. I want you to love me tonight. We can move our sleeping bag a bit away from the others. Now, let me concentrate on the trail.”
Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan. 

Jack and Kathy started down the right side of the trail to conceal their approach as long as possible. Jack could tell Kathy was worried. Her face was tense and pinched. Jack said, “Stay on my right side. Remember Anita is covering us, so we have to be sure we don’t block any of her firing lanes. You’ve seen firsthand how she can shoot. If it looks like a fight is going to start, shoot twice, and then get on the ground quickly. Now, stop worrying and keep yourself focused and ready to shoot.”

Kathy nodded and picked up her pace to keep beside Jack. She was rapidly learning the most difficult part of mountain trekking is going down steep scree slopes. The strain on her knees and quads grew with each hundred yards. Jack was now moving more slowly and staying along the extreme right of the trail.

The tent area was coming into view around a right turn in the trail and they were still 50 yards away. It looked and smelled like a rundown camp. The tents were torn and stained. Trash was all around. As they neared, they could smell the camp, human waste mixed with damp wood smoke and stale cooking grease.

The site itself was gloomy as the high walls of the gorge limited the sunlight. The noise of the river covered the sound of their footsteps. A few more minutes and they had reached the camp. The woman, who was now naked and bathing in the river, saw them and called out. The tent flap burst open, and two armed men came out in a bewildered state. Then they saw the woman pointing at Jack and Kathy and turned toward them. Jack smiled and waved. The men were not in any sort of a uniform except for red bands around their heads. Both men were barefoot. Their weapons were rusting but serviceable looking AK-47s. Jack was within 15 feet and still smiling when one of the men raised his weapon.

Jack stopped immediately, and the man relaxed and slightly lowered his weapon. Jack slowly pulled out the pack of cigarettes he had taken from Bahadur and offered the men a smoke. Just then, a third man jumped out of the tent with his weapon swinging toward Jack. Before the man could level his weapon, his head exploded. The two men in front of Jack and Kathy immediately started to bring their weapons to bear. One of them tried to chamber a round. Jack and Kathy fired as one, and both men flew backward. Jacking another round into the shotguns, Kathy and Jack pumped two rounds into the tents and then charged inside to clear the tents. As they came out and were checking the men on the ground and recovering weapons, Anita went flying past and knocked down the screaming woman, still dripping with water from her river bath. The woman was down and quiet. Anita’s boot was on her throat.

Jack told Kathy to go over and help Anita tie up the woman. “Get some clothes on her, take her into one of the tents, and interrogate her. We need to know what we have here.”

Anita asked Jack for Bahadur’s document and picture. She wanted to try it on the woman who was now tied and gagged inside the tent. Kathy pulled off the blindfold and gag. Anita showed the woman Bahadur’s picture. She looked up and said in English, “What have those fools done now?”

Kathy moved in close and asked, “Who are you?” With no answer, Kathy turned to Anita and said, “I’m going to ask her another question. If she doesn’t answer, kill her.”

Kathy began by telling the woman, “If you don’t answer the next question, my friend will kill you.” She asked the same question again, and the woman hesitated. Anita cocked the Webley, and the woman looked into her eyes and began to talk. In a nervous but clear voice she told Kathy in English, “I’m a Maoist, entrusted by Bahadur Thapa to keep track of the flow of drugs down the trail. My name is Angela Pandey. I am a Catholic, educated through high school by Jesuit priests at Godavri, a retreat just outside Kathmandu. The priests there know me and will help me. The men in the camp abused me, and I am glad they are dead.

“I was educated in India at Delhi University and was one of the leaders in the Maoist Movement.”

Kathy then asked her who operated the radio under the charpoy, or rope cot, and where were the operating instructions and code books. Again Angela hesitated, looking in Anita’s eyes. She didn’t like what she saw there. “I operate the radio, and the code materials are in a metal box under my charpoy.”

Kathy opened the box, examined the materials inside, put them back in the box, and put the box under the charpoy.

Her next question dealt with the communications records or logs. “Who do you communicate with and when?”

Angela answered, “I could call any time in an emergency but routine contact is at 6:00 a.m. on Wednesdays. All my contacts are with my command in Pokhara. I have records for the last 60 days and have uncovered shortages. I have collected enough evidence to have the three dead men outside executed for treason.”

Kathy asked if she wanted to say anything else.

Angela said, “Take me with you. I’ve no future here. I believe in our cause, but I don’t believe in selling drugs of death. My brother died from an overdose of heroin.”

Kathy told her she had one more question. “Do you expect anyone else from your organization or the Nepalese Police or army to come through your checkpoint soon?”

“The next drug shipment will be in four days down a little known trail from Pokhara. The radio will tell me if they’re on schedule or not. My job is to weigh and record the amount with the balance scale on the floor and send the weight by radio when they leave.”

Kathy said, “Okay. We’ll think about your problem. For now we’re going to put your blindfold and gag back on.”

Jack moved down to the river. Kathy and Anita joined him. On the way to the river to meet Jack, Kathy and Anita agreed they believed the woman. When Anita and Kathy told Jack what had happened in the tent and that they want to bring Angela with them, Jack stared in disbelief. Kathy asked, “What’s the option? With her knowledge and Bahadur’s papers, we can probably handle any Maoist checkpoint on the trail. She’ll know where they are, and they’ll know her.”

Jack said, “I’ll have to think about that, and what about the three dead thugs? It bothers me she shows no signs of physical abuse and made no effort to cover herself, as if she was thinking her nakedness might make us careless. Anyone have an idea?”

Kathy said, “The best idea is to drag those three bastards down the river gorge and burn the camp.”

“Okay. We’ll take the men downriver and find a place to hide the bodies. I don’t want them floating down the river with so many shallow places for a body to get hung up. We don’t want them found for a while. When we get back, you two go through the camp and see if anything here is useful to us. We will now have one more mouth to feed, and she will need some blankets, at least.”

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Jack woke the others again at first light with an offer of hot sweet tea. Kathy came awake with a groan. Even Jack felt soreness from the trail. Anita was already up, slowly stretching out some tight calf muscles. Kathy eased up from her cocoon, donned her tee shirt, and groped for the cup of tea Jack offered. After a few sips she asked if they were still on that endless trail. Jack laughed, “Today we will adjust our pace a bit. Yesterday’s was a little too fast. Don’t forget your pack is lighter. When we finish our tea, we’ll hit the road but take it easy until our muscles loosen up and then after breakfast pick it up somewhat.”

Anita reminded them to sound off if they were hurting and to take care of their feet. Kathy wore the most tape on her feet. Anita coached Kathy through some leg stretches, and a few minutes later Jack gave the word to saddle up and move out. He let Anita get a 50-meter start before moving out.

Here the trail was at least 3,000 feet above the river gorge and climbing steadily as it reached for the ridge line. Anita was convinced this section of the trail would not be selected by anyone for a checkpoint. It was too high and provided too many ways to bypass any checkpoint manned by two or three people. The ridgeline here was too steep and cut by ravines, for anyone to live on the slopes. Anita told Jack, “This is the best place I’ve seen to sight in this rifle. I’ll need two, possibly three rounds to do any necessary sight adjustment.”

Jack set up an empty sterno can at a hundred yards.

Anita fired two rounds with three-minute spacing and said she was good to go. As she reloaded, Anita said, “The scope was close, considering the banging around it had taken on the boat trip. Bahadur always kept his weapons in good order.” She shrugged into her pack and led off.

Kathy found she was much more comfortable with the slower pace. After a very good sleep, she was looking forward to breakfast. Her legs felt strong, and all the soreness from yesterday’s ordeal was gone. She thought, boy, if you wanted to get to know a man, an illegal border crossing, an escape from a murder attempt, sleeping almost naked in a double sleeping bag, and then practically running all day in front of him should just about do it.

An hour later the trail dipped sharply down the mountain toward a crossing of a branch of the Trisuli River a thousand feet below. Anita had smelled wood smoke for the last ten minutes, and coming around a bend in the trail, she looked down the mountain and saw two tents and an eddy of smoke where the trail crossed the rivulet. Anita stepped off the trail and waited for the others to come up. She motioned for them to move off the trail beside her.

When Jack came up, she said, “See the river crossing down there?” When he grunted, she said, “Now look to your eleven o’clock. I see two khaki tents there.”

Jack took out his glasses and focused on the tents. After a few minutes he said, “Yeah. I see the tents and one person moving around at the river’s edge. I think a woman is washing clothes in the river. I’m sure she is not alone. A haze of smoke is coming up from somewhere near the tents. Let’s find a place to have our breakfast while we watch the area.”

Jack took first watch and cautioned all of them not to let the lenses reflect any flashes of sunlight. Kathy and Anita moved back off the trail to a concealed position. Anita gathered some stones to provide a nest for two cans of sterno and a resting platform for both pans, one for heating water, the other for cooking the last of the fresh eggs. After eating her fill of Anita’s fried eggs and mush, Kathy went down to relieve Jack at the lookout post.

Jack put his arm around her, kissed her and said, “Hmm, eggs for breakfast. How are you feeling?”

“Much better than yesterday. I’m actually beginning to enjoy this trek. You’d better go get some breakfast. Seen any action down there?”

“No. Only the woman at the river.”

He hugged Kathy and left to see if any eggs were left. Anita handed him a plate as soon as he approached the cooking area. She asked Jack if he had seen anything different at the tent site. When Jack answered he had only seen the woman at the river, Anita asked him if he had any ideas. Jack sat down on a boulder and thought out loud as he ate. “That woman isn’t there alone. It may be too early for the other person or persons in the tent to be up and around. Neither of the tents looks as if it could hold more than four people. Let’s consider the woman has her own tent or shares it with one man. My check of the area did not find any other sleeping places. The only fire is in front and between the tents. Anyone coming down this trail or approaching from the other side can be seen a long way off.

“It looks possible to descend from here without using the trail, but it would take a lot of time, and we would still have to deal with the tent people. The trail must cross the river there, because it’s the best place to cross for some distance. The water appears to be only calf-deep in mid-stream.”

Jack asked Anita to bring Kathy up, so they could go over a plan together. Once Anita returned with Kathy, Jack continued to outline the plan he had been working out back at the lookout point.

“Let’s move down the trail as far as we can without being obvious to the woman. Kathy and I will walk up on the tent area. Anita, you go down the trail first and find a good sniper nest. Kathy and I will walk in as close as they will let us. We have to assume they are armed, probably with a couple of AK-47s.

“Kathy, make sure you have a round in the chamber and the safety off. Carry the shotgun under your arm so you can swing it up and fire quickly. Anita, at the first sign of trouble, start taking them out. We don’t need any prisoners and can’t deal with them on this mission. Use your own judgment about closing in. We’ll get close while they are trying to figure out who we are and what we might want. I’ll ask them in some way if they have any food for sale. If the situation looks okay to me, I’ll take my hat off and you come up.”

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan. 

Bernadette wasn’t having a good morning. She visited three of her best suppliers, but they had nothing to show her. At the last stop, the dealer, her most reliable supplier who had dealt with her for the past ten years, told her a Muslim from New Delhi had bought everything of value from his stock of Tibetan artifacts. He had heard this same person had cleaned out several other dealers. In fact, she had just missed him by an hour. Bernadette mentioned she might know the buyer. The dealer said his name was Abdul Ali Fahad. Bernadette thanked him and said goodbye.

Fahad was the person Jack had told her about. She would have to talk to Arjun when he came to tea this afternoon, but for now she had some more places to call upon. She had a good contact in the Ministry of Culture. Perhaps he was free for lunch. Thank God, she had her own car. The landlord of her rented bungalow had sold it to her. She was sure she had paid too much, but she didn’t think Jack would care. Independent movement was a real luxury, and the Brandons never second-guessed their people.

Mani Shresta was free for lunch and delighted to meet Bernadette at the Soaltee Hotel. Mani was a handsome man of some 40 plus years, who wore the traditional Nepalese dress and looked very good in it. The maitre d’ made a fuss over him as he was shown to the lady’s table. Mani’s English was very good. He traveled widely and was more cosmopolitan than most government employees. He greeted Bernadette and kissed her hand.

She said, “My, aren’t we being courtly today? Or did your long-suffering wife finally leave you?”

Mani burst out laughing and said, “No, she still manages to put up with me.”

Bernadette knew the Shrestas had a very strong marriage, but she loved to tease him.

“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming? I’d have met your plane and arranged a party. You still go to parties, don’t you? I swear, Bernadette O’Brien, your Irish self gets more attractive every year. Too bad Nepal doesn’t allow polygamy, then I could court you in a more appropriate manner.”

“This trip to Nepal came at the very last minute. My customers wanted a number of Tibetan items. Unfortunately, some Muslim from New Delhi has bought up everything in sight. Even my old friend Thondup had nothing for me. Perhaps you have heard of this Arab, his name is Abdul Ali Fahad?”

“I know he has been renewing his license to take Tibetan artifacts from Nepal to India for the last two years. He buys quite a lot. We don’t know to whom he sells, but he seems to have a number of Arab contacts he meets here. I think he loves to get out of New Delhi. I met him once at some party or other. He is not my cup of tea, but then most Arabs aren’t. But that is enough about business. Tell me some Dublin gossip and the life and perils of Bernadette O’Brien.”

For the next hour they told stories and laughed. People watching them would think they were witnessing a romantic outing. By the time they lingered over their second cup of coffee, it was almost time for Bernadette to have tea with Arjun. She made her goodbyes to Mani and promised to call him again in a few days. Mani watched her walk out and thought, I’d be proud to be seen with her anywhere. She is truly a modern woman and with her tan in that white dress, she is a knockout. Seems she also has lost a few pounds. Wait until I tell Lali who I had lunch with.

Buy “Justice Beyond Law” on Amazon, as well as the rest of the Jack Brandon series and other books by Barry Kelly, a former CIA agent and adviser to President Reagan.