From his elevated vantage point on the western headland of the bay, Adam had a panoramic view of Mahmoud's compound.

Vendetta was anchored two miles back up the coast from his present location. He'd taken the tender and motored slowly along, adjacent to the shore. As he rounded this headland, he'd suddenly come upon that which he was seeking: Mahmoud's dhow! He'd cut the idling engine and used the oars to take the Zodiac back behind the headland. He'd pulled it onto shore and hidden it, then had hiked up to his lookout.

It was late afternoon now. Adam had spent three hours scouting the compound and waiting to detect any evidence of Ava's exact location.

The dhow was anchored a couple-hundred yards offshore in the tiny bay. The compound consisted of several thatched huts, a few small and medium-sized buildings constructed of corrugated tin and driftwood, and three larger-sized, cinder-block structures. One of these appeared to have a section with an open-air roof.

From afar, the compound could have been mistaken for any one of the several fishing villages peppering the otherwise barren coast of Somalia. Except: Atop two of the cinder-block buildings there were sophisticated antennas and satellite dishes affixed; three Toyota 'technicals' mounted with 50-caliber machine guns were parked out back; there was a corral containing a dozen riding horses; and, Adam had counted more than a score of armed men roaming around.

As he was considering the Kamikaze options, Adam's patience was rewarded.

Ava!

He spotted three mooks escorting her from one of the large buildings to another. Two of the guys Adam recognized. One was definitely Hami –his jaw was wrapped; looks good on ya, Adam thought– and the other was the second guy who'd boarded Vendetta with Mahmoud. That cold-cocking bastard who nailed me from behind, Adam bristled.

Adam could see Ava still had a slight limp. She was clothed in resplendent robes and had a hood covering her head, but Adam would recognize that swing of hers even if she were decked-out in a Santa Claus suit. She entered the building. The men stayed outside. Adam waited, and not long afterward Ava re-appeared. She still had on the hood but now she was wearing the robes and boots he had purchased for her at the kiosk in Aden. Weird, Adam thought, What was it? A fashion show?

The guards marched her to a squat mini-hut sitting on the near extent of the compound. It was draped in ratty old tarpaulins.

Ava stooped to enter and Hami's sidekick plastered his fucking hands on her behind and roughly shoved her inside. Adam heard the men snigger lewdly. His blood steamed and it was all he could do to stop himself from charging headlong down into the compound to rip out their gawddamned guts.

The third guy slotted a broken oar across the door and then they departed, Hami's sidekick jabbering away.

How in hell am I going to get her out of there? Adam asked himself. A shootout would be instant suicide. I could wait til dark, free Ava from that rat hole, climb back over the headland to the Zodiac; we row for a while, then motor to Vendetta, and sail away. Could work. But that's assuming Mahmoud will neither have Ava under guard nor have a regular night picket posted on the perimeters. Fat chance.

Adam considered getting back to Vendetta and sailing for assistance. Thanks to his al-Qaeda friends he had no radio or SAT-phone, so he'd have to search around for any NATO naval unit that may be in the vicinity. A ridiculous long-shot. And, at best, it could take days. Then, even if he did find somebody, who would agree to help him? He was just some rogue loser, rumored to be associated with al-Qaeda... who'd abducted the hostage in the first place. Hell, they'd simply arrest him! Adam shook his head despairingly.

He eyed Ava's hut for a short while longer, wondering how much time he had before she'd be subjected to the next level of torture... assuming that hadn't already taken place. He had to do something, long-shot or not, to get her out of that shit-hole. He recalled a quote from Sun Tzu's The Art of War: "He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot will be victorious." Adam tried to dismiss that veracity. He rose to a crouch and scrambled down the backside of the headland towards his Zodiac.