“So this is the trouble maker. Get on your feet woman.”
I’m still pumped to attack Olson so I pop up fast and step close to him. His breath stinks. I don’t know how Levi can get so close without gagging. His eyes are wild, pupils dilated, darting around the room. He’s sweating, breathing fast and his hands are in constant motion. He’s on some kind of speed and that can’t be good for the North Star volunteers or the girls.
“These are your two boyfriends, yes? Which one you like most? This one?” He raps Andy across the back of his head. “Or, maybe this one?” He hits Tim.
Neither reacts. I know they’re seething under those hoods but they sit there like stones. They have more self-control than me. I move even closer to Jeffrey’s sweaty face. “Leave them alone or—”
“Or what? You want to save them both?” He pushes my chest.
I can’t balance with my hands behind my back and stumble backward into the arms of Mr. Right.
Jeffrey slaps me with his left hand. “You going to save this one? He points to Tim. He slaps me even harder with his right. “Or, is this the one you want to let live?” He points to Andy.
They shove me down on a chair next to Andy and Tim. Their chairs are so close the backs of their heads almost touch. “I’m going to kill this son of a bitch,” I whisper to the two black veiled profiles.
“No talking.” He slaps me again. This time behind my head. “You’re such a hot mama, I’m going to let you choose which one of your boyfriends lives. One dies tonight and the other comes with me. Two college boys will be more fun than one.” He looks at Levi.
“The more guys, the more fun,” he says. I know him well enough to pick up something in his voice that says something else.
Jeffrey takes Olson’s .45 and pushes it against Andy’s hood, right where his ear would be. “Should I kill this one?” When I don’t answer he points it at Tim. “Or, perhaps this is the one who will die? Make your choice.” His voice is getting higher. He’s talking faster and beads of spit are coming out of his mouth.
“Take me instead.”
“That’s no bargain. You’re already dead, Arrow’s got a plan for you and your half-sister. You get to pick which boyfriend will join you and which will live. Do it now or I’ll kill them both.”
I’m paralyzed. The medallion feels cold against my chest. How can I live with myself if I choose one over the other? But, if I don’t pick one, they both die. How can I live with myself then?
“Out of time. Choose,” screams Jeffery.
They make the decision for me. “I’d rather die than go with you. Kill me,” says Andy. “No, kill me,” says Tim. “If you let me live I’ll kill myself but not before killing you first.”
Jeffrey loses control. He throws the .45 across the room. It bounces off the wall and ends up under the table. He knocks over our chairs and I’m on the floor, part of a tangle of hooded guys, chains, and chairs. I see his foot lash out and kick Tim in the ribs, then move to Andy and get him in the chest. Whipping my legs around, I try for Jeffrey, miss and hit Tim’s back. Mia is on her feet trying to help. With bandages over her eyes and a broken arm all she does is blunder into the table, knock it over and join us on the floor. Jeffrey is now in a rage, snarling, spewing spit, kicking and stomping anyone he can find.
“Stop” shouts Olson. He pushes Jeffrey toward a corner and holds him there. “Untangle them and get them on their feet,” he orders Mr. Right and Left. “Jeffrey, calm down. The fighting’s getting closer. My chopper is fifteen minutes away. We have to stick to the plan and get out of here.”
The steam temporally out of him, Jeffrey slumps next to Levi at the table. He rubs his back with one hand, but I see him making silent, impatient tapping motions on the table top with the other.
“Get them out of here. Put them in the pen and get the cameras ready,” Olson says to the Right and Left twins.
Tim and Andy are on their feet, still hooded and chained together. Left, helps Mia up and guides her to the door. “Her too, your daughter?”
“She’s no daughter of mine, but the half-breed bitch stays here. I want to do both squaws together—keep it in the family.”
Back in the corner with Mia, I see Right and Left usher Andy and Tim out the door and disappear into the darkness. The sharp popping of rifle fire sounds closer and I see a line of muzzle flashes on the horizon.
* * *
Olson, Jeffrey, and Levi sit at the table. I watch Levi’s fingers dance across the surface. I see Jeffrey’s head bow down and his shoulders sag. The speed must be wearing off. Olson looks at his watch and I hear him talking on the satellite-phone. He slams it down and checks his watch again.
“Chopper’s going to be late. They’re laying low until the fighting dies down,” he says to Jeffrey. “We’re surrounded. We’ve got less than an hour before the army takes over. It’s time to execute the plan and we’d better do it fast.”
I watch Jeffrey, yawn and stretch his arms. His face looks calmer, less frantic. I don’t trust quick mood swings, especially with someone as dangerous as Jeffrey. Strange trio at that table, an evil criminal, an insane terrorist, and a Buck Brush Falls college jock who seems enamored with the terrorist, but I suspect is very different underneath.
“Why don’t you buy all the girls from me?” asks Jeffry. You can sell them in Lagos. Get a get a good price for the white ones. There’s a market for the young Nigerians too.”
“Too risky. They know who I am. We need to get rid of them, and—”
“They won’t have a chance to do much talking when they’re entertaining men,” interrupts Levi. “Besides, no one would believe them. No sense killing them.”
Jeffery changes personalities again. I see his eyes flash and his mouth tighten. He springs up and punches Levi’s gut. “Shut up boy. If you want to save your pretty white ass and come with me, stay out of our business.”
Levi looks up at him and smiles. “I like it when you get violent,” he says. I don’t buy it—there’s something in his voice and posture that tells me he’s faking—has something else in mind.
“Olson, for god’s sake, why don’t you just let them go and take your helicopter out of here? Why would you kill innocent kids?” I scream.
“Don’t you get it? They know who I am. They all have to die.”
The sounds of automatic fire and shouting come from the hillside less than a quarter of a mile away. “Let’s get it done,” says Olson. “They’re getting closer.”
Jeffrey gets up and walks out into the darkness. Olson gets back on the phone. He’s facing the wall, arguing with whomever is on the other end and isn’t paying attention to Levi moving along the wall toward me.
Olson suddenly notices him. “Where are you going? Stay away from her.”
“Just want to wish this loser squaw good bye.”
Olson shrugs his shoulders, turns his back, faces the wall, and gets back on the phone.
Levi squats down, puts his arms around me and fumbles with the cuffs on my wrists.
“What are you doing?” I whisper.
“Stole the key from Jeffrey, hold still.”
We shuffle on the floor in a fake hug dance while he tries to get the key in the slot. “That’s enough, get back here,” orders Olson.
“It’s half way in. You have to do the rest. Sorry for all the trouble. Never really meant to hurt you.”
Twisting and pushing against the wall, I feel the key slide in. Now all I’ve got to do is find a way to turn it. I slide my hands in the corner and twist my wrists so the key is jammed against the wall then bend my wrists backward. It almost turns, then slips away. Hunching up and forcing my hands higher I feel it move. Keeping the pressure even, I shift my back slowly until, at last, I hear a click and I’m free. I slide back to the floor to plan my next move.
Olson moves to the mouth of the cave. “Ready down there?” he shouts.
“Bring them down.” Jeffrey’s voice comes back through the darkness.
&nbs
p; Levi goes first. “Mia, hold on to her cuffs. It’s steep and if you let her fall, I’ll have to shoot you both before you have a chance to enjoy the show,” says Olson, pointing the .45 and following us.
I keep my hands behind my back and Mia holds on to them, covering the fact that the cuffs are gone. It’s dark but I can see enough to pick my way through the roots and rocks that litter the trail. Fifty yards down, I hear a generator start and two spot lights come on. One shows Jeffrey standing on a platform in front of a microphone. Mr. Right is pointing a hand held camera at him. Mr. Left is behind a larger tripod mounted camera aimed down the hill. When I see what the second spotlight illuminates, my mouth goes dry.
Chapter 41
The Nigerian girls and the volunteers are standing, jammed into a circular wire cage smaller than the one that held Sammy. Andy is in the middle with his arms around some of the girls. Tim is in the front next to Joe. Tim shouts something at Mr. Left, but I can’t hear what he says because of the gunfire in the background. I see four packs of, what look like C-4 explosives spread around the outside and one on the top. Each has a detonator attached to a wire leading to the generator. There’s a wire from the generator ending in a switch on the podium in front of Jeffrey. He’s ranting into a microphone while Mr. Right records him and Mr. Left focuses his camera on the cage.
I’m beside the platform with Levi and Mia. The muzzle of Olson’s .45 is pushed against the back of my head. I keep my hands behind my back while I try to figure out how avoid getting my brains blown out and stop Jeffrey.
I remember one of Gus’s lessons: When you’re back’s to the wall, distract your opponent, insult him, get under his skin, and then strike fast. “Olson, you’re insane—a disgrace—not human. You’ll burn in hell for what you’re doing to those kids,” I scream, slowly moving my hands to my sides.
“I want you to witness hell, see them blown up. Then I’ll take care of you and your, illegitimate, spoiled bitch sister together. I can’t wait to watch you enter the gates of that great reservation in the sky or whatever you mongrels call it. Hopefully your queer little buddy is already dead. If not, I’ve got lots of friends in the Nigerian army who’ll finish him off. When I fly out of here there will be no one left to identify me. I’ll be a hero—the only one from North Star Girl’s to survive.”
Jeffrey looks like he’s winding up his speech. His eyes are wild, his hair is matted with sweat, and dribbles of spit run down the corners of his mouth. He puts his hand over the mike and turns to us “After tonight, the world will remember Jeffrey, he shouts”
I’m ready to make a move for the gun and get that switch when Levi whispers in my ear. “Wait. You’ll never get there in time. Goodbye Layla, I could have loved you.”
I watch him sprint up to the platform and hug Jeffrey. “Don’t do it just yet. I’ve got a few final things to say to those stuck-up college kids who think they’re better than me. Then I’ll come back, stand next to you and enjoy the sight even more.”
Without waiting for an answer he jumps off, walks to the bottom of the hill, and stands in front of the cage. I see him gesture to Andy and Tim. I’m too far away to hear, but he says something to both of them.
Keeping his back to the platform, he gets down on his knees, reaches inside his shirt, and pulls out a knife. He slices the wire leading to the generator, breaking the connection to the C-4. What happens next seems to unfold in slow motion. I watch him, throw down the knife, look up at the sky, sigh, and slowly walk up the hill. He climbs up the platform stands six inches in front of Jeffrey and slaps him. Jeffrey seems dazed and doesn’t react. Levi follows up by spitting in his face.
“Did you really think I’d let you murder my friends? Go anywhere with a freak like you? You’re a sick, evil, fowl, smelling joke.” He kicks him in the balls. “You’re not much of a man so that probably won’t do much damage,” he says, spitting out the words through clenched teeth.
Jeffrey bends over, grimaces from the kick, then stands and clicks the switch several times. When nothing happens he hurls it down and pulls out his pistol. Pushing Olson away, I jump up on the platform but, by the time I get there, Jeffrey has already put the first bullet in his forehead. Levi drops at his feet and Jeffery keeps shooting until the clip is empty
* * *
For a minute everything is frozen, no one moves, no one talks. I’m standing, paralyzed, watching Levi’s blood soak the rough wood of the platform floor when, out of the corner of my eye, I see something slide out of the darkness behind the cage. It moves into the light and becomes Sammy. I hear the pop of the 30-30 and one spotlight goes out. Before I can turn my head, I hear another pop and the other one shatters.
In the darkness I see muzzle flashes and hear shouting a thousand yards to my right. To the left, I hear bursts from an AK-47 and see tracer bullets arching over the platform. I’m not sure who is on what side but I know we’re in the middle of a battle.
“Sammy get them out,” I shout down the hill.
Right and Left run up the hill toward the thick brush and I’m alone on the platform with Levi’s body.
Jeffrey is racing down the hill. He’s carrying the two M16’s abandoned by Right and Left. I know what he’s planning. When he gets closer, he’ll empty both clips. Like shooting fish in a barrel, but this time it’s shooting kids in a cage.
I head for Olson who’s looking down the hill and doesn’t see me coming. I knock him over, snatch his .45 and keep going. Jeffrey’s almost to the cage. I’m too far away to have much of a chance of hitting him. If I miss, I could hit someone in the cage.
Sammy’s in front of the cage working on the latch. “Forget that, stop him,” I yell.
An artillery shell explodes below us. I can’t see anything during the flash and I’m not sure if Sammy heard me over the sound. I keep running, trip on a rock, and when I get back on my feet I see Jeffrey on the ground, holding his left leg. Sammy’s next to him. He’s picked up one of the rifles.
“Not in me to kill anyone, so I shot him in the leg.” I wish you’d make up your mind. I can only do one thing at a time.”
I want to hug him. I want to cry. I want to kick Jeffrey in the face. But, there’s not time. We’ve got to get everyone out of that cage.
The cage is secured with a large paddle lock. When I get to it, everyone inside seems to be talking at once and pushing outward.
“Calm down. Get the girls in the middle. I’m going to have to shoot off the lock,” I yell.
Andy and Tim face me inside the door and Hanna herds the girls to the center.
“Don’t move fast but you have to look behind you and get ready to shoot fast,” says Andy. His voice is calm but his eyes shift nervously from whatever he sees behind me to the girls behind him.
I turn my head and see Jeffrey crawling toward us with the second M16 that Sammy forgot to take, pointing at the cage. “Sammy, you need to—”
The crack of his 30-30 cuts me off.
“Still can’t kill, but I hit his right hand. He won’t be pulling any triggers today.”
He runs up the hill and throws the M16 in the bushes while I size up the lock. I take careful aim with both hands and pull the trigger. The Nigerian girls scream at the sound and some of the Americans join them. I shoot low, the lock bends but still holds. I shoot again and it only results in a bigger bend. The lock’s now wedged against a cage bar. A third shot will either blast it open or permanently fuse it to the bar.
Up the hill I see Jeffrey crawling back toward the platform. His left leg drags behind him and his right hand leaks blood but he makes progress. Olson moves down the hill to meet him. He drags Mia with him.
I feel a hand on my shoulder. “Give me the .45, you never could shoot a pistol.”
Sammy aims it, shoots, and the lock snaps open.
“Show off.”
The fighting is getting intense. I can see soldiers moving in front of us. We’re in a gap between the two lines and it’s going to close soon. They’ve got to
get out of the cage fast and up to the bunker for safety. The door is blocked because everyone is pushing, trying to get out.
Andy takes charge. “Don’t push. Let Tim and Hanna out first. Hanna keep the girls together. Don’t let them panic. Volunteers, stay with Tim.” He keeps everyone under control until the last two—Emma and Noah—emerge. When they step through the door a mortar lands down the hill, below the platform. Emma panics and runs to the platform where she sees the remains of Levi. She screams and some of the girls try to run the other way.
Hannah stops them. “Hold hands girls,” we’ll take care of you,” she says, reaching out with her good hand.
“Noah get Emma away from the platform. Bring her back down.” I say. “The rest of you, follow Andy and Tim up the hill to the bunker. They know the way.” I take Andy, Tim and Sammy aside and continue. “Lead them around the platform. Don’t let them look. Levi’s lying there dead and they don’t need to see him. Wait until the fighting stops. Then send Joe and a couple of other strong guys to bring his body back to the bunker. We can’t just leave him here. Keep everyone in the bunker until someone comes to get you.”
“Aren’t you coming with us?” asks Andy, putting an arm around me.
“I’ve got unfinished business with Olson and Jeffrey.”
“I’ll go with you.”
“I’ll come, too, says Sammy.
“They need both of you here more. I’ll be back—promise.
“Love you,” says Andy.
“Love you too.”
“Count me in on that Love,” shouts Tim from across the platform.
“There’s a lot more to be said between the three of us but there’s no time. I watch them heard the group up the hill, steering clear of the platform. Suddenly it dawns on me that Mia’s missing. Mia, where the hell are you? What’s happened to you?
Chapter 42
I hunker down for an hour in a hollow between two large trees and watch the two lines converge. It’s a strange scene. Once they come face-to-face, Jeffrey’s soldiers throw down their arms, shake hands with the army guys, and they all walk away together—like the whole thing is a play and the curtain has come down.
Squaw Girl: A Boxer's Battle for Love Page 24