Free Bare Nerve by Katherine Garbera

Liberty has spoken highly of you.”
    “And you as well,” Yazid said. “Two men from our office will accompany you into the mountains. They are waiting for you inside the main building. Your paperwork is being processed as we speak.”
    “Thank you, Yazid.”
    “It is my pleasure. We want the American government to know Algeria isn’t a haven for terrorists.”
    “Our government appreciates that,” Jack said.
    Yazid led the way to the small buildings at the end of the runway. Anna and the others followed, but she felt the tension in her teammates and in the Savage group. They all knew that no matter what Yazid and his government proclaimed, this part of the world was one where power and firepower went hand in hand. And peace was hard won.
    “The women will need to enter through that door. You can meet up in the common area.”
    Jack turned around to face the three of them. “I’m not sure what we can expect. I know you are all armed, so be careful.”
    “This isn’t our first rodeo,” Justine said.
    But Anna wasn’t offended by his warning. Something about being back in her own personal hell was making it easier for her to accept Jack’s traditional male attitude. She knew how quickly the tide could turn here.
    “You be safe as well.”
    The women were separated and then passed through customs. They met Jack’s team on the other side, and Anna noticed they were one man short. She wanted to question Jack, but Louis Edmonton was waiting for them. The Interpol agent had been on the same flight as a man matching Andreev’s description from Paris.
    “Bonjour, bienvenue à Algiers. I am Louis Edmonton.”
    “Bonjour, Louis,” Anna said. She noticed that Yazid was talking to Jack. “I’m Anna Sterling, and this is Charity Keone and Justine O’Neill.”
    One man stood off to the side—a veiled man.…She knew the robes were traditional Tuareg garb. She remembered the blue men from her childhood.
    “This is Bay Ag Akhamok from the Tuareg. He works with us occasionally. Andreev’s base camp is the terrain of his people. He will serve as your guide.”
    Anna remembered little of Tamasheq but was able to recall the words of a common greeting. Bay stepped forward and bowed to her. “It’s a pleasure to meet you,” he said in English.
    “Finally someone who speaks my language,” Justine said.
    Anna had to laugh at her American friend, who was very used to dealing with things on her own terms.
    “No offense,” Justine said. “I just don’t have an ear for languages.”
    “I suspect you make up for that in other ways,” Bay said.
    “Yes, I do.”
    “Where is Andreev’s base camp?” Anna asked. She was all for being pleasant, but she wanted to get this mission over with as soon as possible.
    “In the southern highlands,” Bay said.
    “The Ahaggar Mountains?”
    “Yes. If you have a map, I will show you,” Bay said.
    “I do. In fact if you have the GPS coordinates, I can plot it on our map,” Anna said.
    “I’m going to check on our weapons and on the vehicle we’re supposed to be using. I want to make sure everything is ready when you have the coordinates,” Justine said.
    “Sounds good,” Charity said. “Louis, I need the information your agent gathered on the flight from Paris.”
    Charity and Justine both drifted off, and Anna found a table to set up her laptop. She pulled up the map and started entering the information Bay had for her. He smelled faintly of mint tea, and though he didn’t remove his headdress, she could see the faint indigo tint to his skin.
    She suspected he was a man of importance to his people. Though the Tuareg were the Blue Men of the Sahara, many of them wore different colors these days. Only a select few kept to the old ways of dying their clothes and skin blue.
    “The way we will go is not an easy one,” he said after he had given her the coordinates.
    “We are used to that.”
    “Are you? You seem familiar with Algeria.”
    “I am very familiar with