"Same old, same old." Except that I'm going completely insane.
"Have you seen Mujada?" Sazan asked, letting the smile fade from her face and taking a tentative step toward me, her voice a low whisper.
"Not for a while."
Sazan eyed Zerzan for a moment before continuing. "Do you know if she's alive?"
"As far as I know. I have not seen her for a couple days. But I didn’t see her die. Just to make that totally clear."
I looked up at the stars. Did the dead watch us? Did they judge us?
Sazan chewed on her lower lip. "They say that she abducted you."
"Yup."
An asteroid entered the atmosphere, causing a vivid white streak in the sky as it burst into flame, then dissolved into nothingness.
The major called over. "Come on, you'll ride with me."
No one asked about Zerzan. Was it because they knew who she was or just didn't care? Maybe I was so important I got to bring along whomever I wanted? Or maybe it was a trap? I always did like a good trap.
***
Declan, with his brow furrowed and eyes glittering, was waiting for me when we arrived at the base. He opened the door of the Humvee and wrapped his hand around my bicep. Blue let out a soft growl of warning and Declan looked at him, his eyes hard. Blue's lip rose, vibrating above sharp teeth.
"I'd let go."
Declan looked at his hand wrapped around my arm before releasing it. "We need to talk." He was still leaning in the Humvee and I picked up the scent of soap and the musk of sex. Declan wasn’t one to let work get in the way of a carnal opportunity.
"Fine. Let's talk." Declan stepped back and I got out of the Humvee. "Can I have some water for Blue and a cup of coffee for me? Zerzan, do you want anything?" She was climbing out of the Humvee after me.
"We need to talk first, alone; then we can have a tea party." Declan fisted his hands, trying to keep from grabbing me.
"Okay, let's go."
Declan turned to Zerzan. "You can wait in the mess hall."
Sazan came up to us. "I can look after her."
Declan strode quickly across the road. I was still moving slowly because of my ankle and when Declan noticed I wasn't keeping up, he turned back, a scowl on his face. He saw my limp and cocked his head. "I sprained my ankle."
"How many people died in the bombing? And you sprained your ankle?"
"Hey, you say that like I had something to do with the bombing. I sprained my ankle before that attack, first of all. Not that that even matters. Because the two things are not connected."
Declan took a deep breath and closed his eyes for a second before turning around and continuing.
I followed him through an unlocked door and we entered a gymnasium that stank of old sweat and was littered with exercise equipment. He led me through the wide-open space to another hallway, and finally into a small room that looked a lot like an interrogation room.
It had no windows just a table with two chairs. There were metal loops in the ground that you could run shackles through. The door could be dead bolted from the outside. Blue and I stopped in the entryway and Declan turned around to look at us. "What's the matter?"
"I get claustrophobic. Is there a bigger room we can talk in?"
"You get claustrophobic? This from the woman who traveled through underground tunnels to the mayor's office to shoot him."
"Yeah. I do."
He rested his hands on the table, turning his back to me, and took several deep breaths. "This is a good place to talk; it's private. We can leave the door open."
"Okay, and I sit by the door."
"Whatever."
Blue sat by my side, his head hovering above the table as he stared across at Declan.
"So, what happened?" Declan asked.
"I was going to ask you the same thing. Because I got hit in the head and was knocked out so I don't really understand how Mujada could have single-handedly abducted me."
"What do you mean? She hit you and you went down like a bag of bricks. I tried to grab you but Blue," Declan pointed to the dog, "seemed to think you should go with Mujada. Considering she was also holding a gun on me and keeping you in front of her body as a shield and the base was under attack, I had to let her take you."
"Then what?"
"I want you to tell me about the bombing. We lost some really good men. And Mary is gone. You don't know what that means but it's very serious. This was her operation."
"So now it's yours?"
"Now it's over. Losing her, the only female director at Homeland Security, in what appears to be a Russian bombing of a terrorist group on land in the Iraqi-Syria conflict zone. Can you get what that means?"
"Can you just tell me?"
Declan blew air through his lips, vibrating them. "There are rules."
"They're all sorts of crazy rules. According to Daesh, there are rules that women need to cover their entire bodies, and submit to sex against their will. According to the US government, there are rules that say I am a terrorist and should be in jail. There are rules that say all sorts of fucked up shit. So what rules actually count around here?
Declan's face was getting red. He looked seriously pissed off. "You are not supposed to be here. You're not even supposed to be alive."
"Were you supposed to kill me? Was Mary? Was Mujada?"
"No. Jesus. Fuck. Joy Humbolt has been dead for years. Remember?"
"Mary asked me to come here. To try and help figure out how to get women to join this fight because those Daesh idiots think that if a woman kills them, they don't get into heaven. I came here trying to do what Mary asked. I got abducted." I raised my eyebrows, hinting that maybe, just maybe, that was a little bit his fault. Declan shook his head. "Through that abduction I met the exact people Mary needed for her idea to work."
"What ‘exact people’?"
"You know, the Tigress?"
"One of the martyrs; her picture is in the mess hall. Along with yours."
"She, like me, isn't dead. The Tigress is the woman I rolled up with."
"She is a member of the FKP?"
"I can't keep any of those acronyms straight. They all seem to overlap each other anyway. She is a female fighter that is taking on Daesh in a way the US government wants. She inspires other women to fight for her. Unfortunately, most of her platoon was just killed in that Russian bombing."
"So you see the problem."
"What?"
"Mary was killed by the Russians while in the company of a platoon of terrorists."
"I prefer to see them as freedom fighters—and they hate ISIS even more than we do. But I am sorry that Mary is gone. I liked her."
"Being sorry has nothing to do it. This is an international incident."
"Can't you just lie about how Mary and her men died?" Declan's eyes narrowed. "What? Like you guys don't lie all the time?"
"What happens if the Russians find out? We'd have to explain what she was doing in FKP territory."
"Really? You'd have to explain that? I don't see why."
Declan slammed his fist on the table and Blue barked a warning. "You don't see why it's a big deal. Mary is dead. Ten of our best soldiers with her. And you're telling me that the rescue mission they went on, the one where they went to save your ass—that you didn't need saving. In fact, you’ve teamed up with the woman who fucking arranged to kidnap you!”
"When was the last time you slept?"
Declan laughed. "What are you talking about now?"
"You just lost someone close to you. Obviously there's a lot of politics involved. It's stressful. And you're acting mildly insane. So I'm just wondering if maybe you haven't slept. I know I lose touch with reality when I haven't slept." Or get hit on the head too many times.
Declan rubbed his face and then ran his fingers through his hair. "You have to disappear. We need to get you out of here."
"Zerzan is the key to what we're talking about doing here."
"That's over. It was Mary's project. There
is no interest in the program any longer. Bringing you on board was highly illegal and I was under orders from a superior when I did it. So it's over."
"Okay, I'll just be on my way then."
"I'm not letting you go. I'm going to take you to prison. Where you belong." Declan's eyes were bloodshot and he looked wild.
"I don't think so."
"Yes, you are, and so is Zerzan. You're both terrorists." A vein in his neck pulsed. "And you are both going to be interrogated and imprisoned, and most likely you'll die there."
I smiled and shook my head. "Nah, that's not what's going to happen."
"You're in the middle of a military base, you have a sprained ankle, one gun, and you think that you're getting out of here?" He put both hands on the table and leaned forward, almost standing. "You don't even know where you are. I'm the one in charge now. I'm the one in control." He was looming over me.
"You know what your problem is, Declan?"
"I'm not the one with the problem?"
"Yeah. You are." I slipped the pistol from the waist of my pants and aimed under the table. Declan saw my arm move and reached for his own weapon but I fired before he got the chance. The force of the bullet knocked him back into his chair, his eyes closed and mouth parted releasing a sharp gasp of breath.
Then he was going for his weapon again.
"Move another millimeter and I will end you."
Declan froze, a pained grimace on his face.
"I've heard stomach wounds are the worst. But you have a chance of survival. With a head wound?" I clucked my tongue, standing up slowly. The legs of my chair scraped against the floor, sounding almost like a strong gust of wind whipping through my hair. "I was telling you about your problem. Can you guess what it is?"
"The bullet in my stomach." His normally velvety voice was rasped with pain.
I shrugged. "Fine, you have two problems. That's a new one. Your original problem was that you still think I'm Joy Humbolt." I paused for effect. "But she's dead."
Blood dripped on the floor, seconds ticking on a clock. "You try to stop me from leaving this place and I will kill you. Are we clear?"
Declan nodded. I pulled his side arm off him and laid my empty gun on the table. "You know," I caught Declan's gaze. "I wasn't even sure I had a round left when I shot you. I'd lost count. I guess the gods were on my side."
"Go to hell."
"You too."
***
I stashed Declan's pistol before Blue and I walked out into the night, headed toward the mess hall.
I passed a group of women who were chatting under the yellow glow of an exterior light. They nodded at me and I nodded back, keeping my eyes off their weapons, feeling conscious of the fact that they might be ordered to use them on me soon.
The mess hall was mostly empty, just a few small groups of women sat around having tea and desserts. Zerzan was with Sazan and the major. She caught my eyes and I gave a slight shake of my head before turning and stepping back outside.
Zerzan came around the side of the building a few minutes later. "We need to go," I whispered.
Zerzan followed my gaze to the front gate where armed guards stood. Zerzan had just her knife and I only had Declan's handgun; we’d given up our rifles when the major picked us up. Not only were our weapons paltry compared to what we were up against but I also didn't want to hurt any of the soldiers here. We weren't even on opposing sides. Everyone here wanted the same thing: defeating Daesh.
"Did anyone recognize you?" I asked Zerzan.
"I'm not sure."
"How did Mujada get me out?"
"We have allies here." Zerzan started walking back along the side of the mess hall, Blue and I followed.
A side door opened and the major stepped out. She saw us approaching and smiled. "What are you two doing?" She asked her hand lingering on her pistol. "Where's Declan?"
"Declan? He was exhausted. Needed a nap."
"Really?" the major said. "And what was the conclusion of your conversation?"
She went for her gun and Blue went for her arm. She didn't have a chance. The major was on the ground, Blue attached to her forearm. Her grip on the pistol lost, it tumbled across the road.
Zerzan dropped onto the major. Putting her knees on the woman's shoulders and her knife to her throat.
"Don't," I said. "Don't kill her."
"I won't. We should take her with us, for insurance."
"Great idea. Funny, I hardly ever think of abduction, but it really is a useful tool."
I called Blue off and Zerzan hauled Major Garcia to her feet. I patted her down and found a pistol in an ankle holster and a knife at her waist. She was staring at me with narrowed eyes and a deep frown. "You'll never get out of here alive."
"You have no idea how many times I've heard that."
Zerzan laughed. "Me too."
Zerzan put her knife away and pushed Garcia’s pistol into the woman’s stomach, keeping a tight grip on her bicep. Blue flanked the major so that she had nowhere to go.
We hurried down the road. Zerzan turned left and the motor pool appeared ahead of us: a small, squat, square structure on the edge of a large parking lot lined with vehicles.
We got to the office and Zerzan opened the door. There was a woman inside, standing at her desk holding a clipboard. She had a pencil between her teeth and long, dark hair pulled back into a neat ponytail.
She looked up as we came in and taking the pencil out of her mouth said. "Major?"
Zerzan spoke in her native tongue and the woman nodded before going to the back of the room, opening a lockbox on the wall, and pulling out a set of keys.
She handed them to me and Zerzan gestured with her chin to a side door that led out to the parking lot.
The keys were for the closest Humvee. I climbed into the driver's seat. The major, Zerzan, and Blue got in the back.
The Humvee was wider and higher than anything I'd ever driven. The big diesel engine rumbled to life when I turned the key. The powerful vibrations matched the tone of the thunder rippling at the edges of my mind.
Riding in something so high and big and strong provided the illusion of safety. But I had recently seen how an IED could send it twisting through the air with the greatest of ease.
I pulled out of the parking space, and as I drove onto the road, Zerzan directed me to the exit Mujada had taken me through. Not as large, but just as fortified as the one we'd entered.
Soldiers stood guard, their stances relaxed, the night sky sparkling above them.
"What do we do about them?"
Zerzan pressed her pistol into the major's temple, wrinkling her skin.
"That is what a hostage is for."
At the gate, one of the soldiers approached us. Her rifle was up and she was yelling something.
I took my hands off the wheel and held them up. I looked down at the window control, then back up at the guard, then down at the control again, making it clear that I was going to move my hands before I did.
I rolled down the window and Zerzan spoke.
The other guard was on Zerzan's side of the car, her rifle aimed into the backseat.
The major yelled, "Shoot them."
Zerzan yelled louder. The young woman in front of me flicked her gaze between me, Zerzan, Blue, and the major before finally stepping back. The other guard did the same. They looked at each other through the vehicle. Then raised their guns to the sky. The major groaned. "Fuck."
The first guard stepped up to the control booth and opened the gate. The road stretched out before us and I gunned it. The big engine responded with an aggressive growl and we shot out into the night.
I kept checking our rearview, but no one seemed to be following us. After twenty minutes, I pulled over.
"Let's get rid of her," I said to Zerzan turning in my seat to look at the major.
Zerzan's pistol was still pressed to the woman's temple. "You don't want to kill her?" she asked.
"No. Just let her go," I answered.
"I left Declan in the interrogation room by the gymnasium. Shot in the stomach. Maybe you can save his life," I said to the Major.
"You bitch."
"He was threatening me and I had no choice."
"It was a choice."
"You're right. I chose to save myself instead of him. I chose me. Now get out of my Humvee."
"I'll find you. I will track you down."
"Why? Don't you realize we're all fighting for the same thing? We all have a common enemy. And yet you're acting like Zerzan and I are the problem."
"You're terrorists."
"So are you. You think you haven't struck terror into the hearts of the people who live here? Don't you think bombs raining down from unmanned drones is fucking terrifying? Because I can tell you, as someone who was recently bombed in a drone attack, it's real scary."
Zerzan opened her door and climbed out, dragging the major with her. The older woman stumbled and Zerzan kicked her to the ground. Blue was standing on the seat and he barked, his tail wagging. Zerzan aimed her gun at the woman's face. The major stared up at her defiantly.
"Under different circumstances, you'd probably get along with us just fine," Zerzan said.
"I'm a patriot, and that woman," she thrust her chin in my direction, "is a traitor."
Zerzan kicked the major and she arched her back away from the pain. Zerzan climbed back into the Humvee and I hit the gas, headed in the direction I was going, with no idea of what came next.
Chapter Ten
"Where are we going?" I asked Zerzan.
"We'll join another platoon; they are not far. A day and half, maybe two.”
“Another platoon?”
“Yes, FKP has many troops in this area. My platoon was one of many.”
"I think that you should come with me and we should go back to my base and figure out what you need and how to get it for you."
“Where is your base?"
"A day and a half, maybe two of travel." I smiled. My route involved plane travel, but it was the same amount of time.
"I can't leave."
"Zerzan, you're a leader. It is your job to make sure that your forces can continue fighting. You have to marshal resources and find new allies. Going headfirst into another fight does not make sense for you or your people." Well, didn't I just sound like the most reasonable person in the stolen Humvee.
The Girl With The Gun (Sydney Rye Book 8) Page 9