Thrilling Thirteen

by Ponzo, Gary

  The surrounding thirty acres were wired with enough miniature cameras and microphones to detect an ant colony shifting locations. Hasan drove down the tortuous dirt road, his mind searching for answers. He knew the police hadn’t shot Rashid, but he struggled for an explanation. Hasan would inherit the top spot under Kharrazi’s regime, and he needed to assume his post with answers, not problems.

  A hundred yards before he reached the cabin, he could feel the eyes of the armed sentries concealed in the treetops lining the road. He parked the van behind the cabin under a clump of overgrown shrubs and tugged on his left ear. A signal to the invisible eyes that he was alone and not followed.

  The back door opened and Hasan entered the kitchen where Kemel Kharrazi stood at the head of a large oak table, leaning over a map of the United States. Two personal guards stood stoically behind Kharrazi, while a dozen soldiers surrounded the table, listening to his instructions.

  Kharrazi was clad in his usual khakis. His skin was pale from lack of sun and his full eyebrows protruded from his forehead like antennae. His eyes were cold and as dark as tunnels. He was barely five foot nine and maybe one hundred and sixty pounds, but just by the way he carried himself, everyone looked busy when he entered a room.

  When Hasan approached the table, the room became quiet. Kharrazi raised his eyebrows as if to say, “Well?”

  The first few words out of Hasan’s mouth were in Kurdish, then he caught himself and spoke in the practiced English that Kharrazi ordered everyone to use while in America. “I bring bad news, Sarock. I found Rashid in the Wal-Mart parking lot . . . dead. He was shot in the head. I saw two Americans leaving the van when I approached. I waited for them to leave the area before I risked a look.”

  Kharrazi’s lips pursed. “Where is he?”

  “He is in the back of the van where I found him. I drove it back here as soon as I was certain I was not being followed.”

  Kharrazi rose and the soldiers backed away, opening a path for their leader. He motioned for Hasan to follow and he walked out the kitchen door. The two of them were alone when they reached the van. Kharrazi opened the back door and saw Rashid. He was lying on his stomach, his head turned away. Kharrazi grabbed a fistful of hair and twisted the dead man’s face toward him. He inspected the wound for a long minute. Hasan felt as though Kharrazi was praying, but soon realized he was reflecting. Maybe considering the actions that took place in order for Rashid to wind up this way.

  Suddenly, Kharrazi spun around, a Beretta magically appearing in his hand. He pressed the muzzle of the Beretta to Hasan’s temple and pulled the slide, chambering the first round.

  Hasan stood motionless, eyes wide. He made no attempt to protect himself. He was going to die and instantly accepted his fate.

  Kharrazi withdrew the gun and returned it to his holster.

  Hasan let out a breath.

  “You had nothing to do with Rashid’s death,” Kharrazi stated.

  “Of course not.”

  “I know now. If you had a guilty mind you would have been prepared for my attack.”

  “Sarock?”

  While staring into his eyes, Kharrazi placed both hands on Hasan’s shoulders and gripped down firmly. A rare smile creased his face. “Hasan, you do not think I know how you felt about Rashid?”

  Hasan was taller than Kharrazi by four inches, yet he met his leader’s gaze as if he was an overgrown child listening to his parent. “I’m not sure I understand.”

  Kharrazi reached an arm around Hasan’s shoulder and led him down a path with twilight simmering around them. Hasan heard the kitchen door open and knew Kharrazi’s bodyguards were trailing them.

  Kharrazi sat on a fallen tree at the side of the path and nodded for Hasan to join him. From his wallet, Kharrazi removed a folded piece of paper and handed it to Hasan. Once unfolded, the paper revealed a photograph so old the back was peeling off. The picture showed two young boys standing with their arms around each other. They had huge smiles and leaned into each other with complete ease.

  “We were only twelve when that was taken,” Kharrazi said.

  “Rashid?”

  “Yes. The day before that picture was taken, Rashid taught me the most valuable lesson of my life. We were eating fish in an alley that afternoon when a group of older boys gathered around us. I was nervously watching the boys while Rashid ignored them. They wanted our fish. At least that’s what they said they wanted, I’m sure it didn’t matter what we had, they would have wanted it. I was just about to hand one of the boys my food when Rashid grabbed my hand and shook his head.

  “Well, I have to tell you, Hasan, I was terrified. One of the boys produced a pipe as long as my arm and began slapping it against his thigh. But all through this Rashid kept eating his meal. Just as the group was about to launch into us, Rashid jumped toward the largest boy and jammed his fork into his testicles. The boy howled like a cat while the others gawked at the blood spreading from his crotch. Rashid grabbed the pipe from the boy and waved it over his head like a wild animal. He kept screaming, ‘Who’s next?’”

  Hasan watched his leader reminisce. It seemed Kharrazi was speaking to the trees and the air around him, only occasionally making eye contact with Hasan. Kharrazi stood up and snapped a branch from a low-lying limb. He withdrew a knife from a skintight holster attached to his chest and began working on the branch.

  “Of course the group fled,” Kharrazi said. “And Rashid returned to his meal as if he’d just swatted away a fly. I’ll never forget that day. He taught me the efficiency of going after the biggest bully.”

  Kharrazi slashed at the wood while pacing up and down the narrow path, working the stick with incredible dexterity. Hasan couldn’t tell if he was whittling anything in particular or just flicking off tiny fragments of anguish.

  “America is the biggest bully,” Kharrazi said. “For decades we’ve endured prolonged attacks from the Turkish government while the world turned their back.”

  Kharrazi pointed his knife at Hasan. “Where was America when the Turkish Security Force sent warplanes to bombard our villages with cyanide gas? Ten thousand Kurds massacred in one Friday afternoon. Your own sister fallen at the threshold of her front door, never to rise again. Where were the American zols then? Now that we finally exact some deserved revenge, America sends troops into our homeland to interfere. Our homeland, where we have yet to gain our own sovereignty.”

  Kharrazi kicked up dirt while Hasan sat in silence, allowing his leader to vent, busily carving up the branch. He knew Kharrazi was mixing rationalization with grief. It was Kharrazi’s idea to come to America and now it had cost him his best friend’s life. Explaining his motive to Hasan was entirely unnecessary but perhaps just what he needed.

  Kharrazi glanced at the group of soldiers carrying Rashid’s body from the back of the van. Shovels could be heard plunging into the earth one after another, rhythmically excavating a final resting place for Rashid. Kharrazi was not a religious zealot. He ruled from the strength of his devoted Kurdish following. Thirty million people searching for a state to call their own. This is what drove Kharrazi—what was here on earth, not up in the sky. He would allow his soldiers to mourn however they saw fit, but he would not participate in any formal ceremony. Hasan knew that Kharrazi was unique in this manner and it seemed to allow him a freedom that a more spiritual person couldn’t afford without inviting contradictions.

  Kharrazi looked away from the scene. “I allowed Rashid to act foolishly at times and I know it cost me a certain amount of respect from my men. But not you. You kept your mouth shut when I allowed such blunders. You were loyal and loyalty is what I need from someone in your position. When I return to the cabin I will announce you as the new captain of the American mission. You are now my eyes and my ears. I may allow you to make mistakes also, like Rashid, because you are loyal and deserve that right.”

  Hasan felt his body quiver. Was he just now getting over the gun to his head, or was he absorbing the importance of Kharr
azi’s words? “Sarock,” he said, “Rashid was killed, but not by an officer of the law.”

  Without looking up from his whittling, Kharrazi said, “You make me proud, Hasan. I test the strength of your integrity with the notion of death, and yet you present me with the issue we need to discuss at once.” Kharrazi looked around the facility they’d been working on for almost a year. “We are safe here. Whatever Rashid did to deserve his fate, it will have no affect on our plans.”

  Hasan nodded.

  Kharrazi closed his eyes and said, “Did you get the license plate of the vehicle the Americans traveled in?”

  “Yes. It was a rental.”

  Kharrazi smiled. “Good. Speak with our local contact and get the name of the person who rented the car. I will give Rashid the only thing he would have asked me for.”

  “What is that, Sarock?”

  Defiantly, Kharrazi gripped the stick with his right hand and held it up to the deepening purple sky. It had taken the shape of a razor-sharp fork. “Revenge.”

  Chapter 13

  “I’m getting worse,” Nick said.

  Dr. Morgan sat across from him in a tall, leather chair. He had no paper or notebook, no pencils to write with. Nick felt more comfortable knowing the psychiatrist wasn’t documenting his fall from mental stability.

  Dr. Morgan folded his hands across his stomach. “Nick, your brother was kidnapped, there’s been an attempt on your life, and terrorists have decided to bomb the country until we withdraw our troops from Turkey.” He leaned forward. “Do you think it’s possible that these things have something to do with your worsening condition?”

  Nick gave a reluctant shrug. He didn’t like hearing the events stated out loud; they sounded more dangerous that way.

  Dr. Morgan continued, “Remember when we first spoke and I told you stressful situations could cause consequences? These headaches you’re suffering, the dizzy spells, these are all symptoms caused by stress. I promise that if you spent a month in Hawaii or, I don’t know, a cabin up in the mountains somewhere, you would find your headaches would subside. How are the breathing exercises going?”

  “They work better on days that I’m not stepping over dead bodies.”

  “My point exactly.”

  Nick pointed out the window. “Doc, you don’t know what’s going on out there. How can you expect me to relax when terrorists are prowling the streets at night with missile launchers and canisters of plastic explosives?”

  Dr. Morgan sighed. “If it wasn’t terrorists blowing up houses, it would be someone threatening to poison our water supply, or someone using chemical weapons. You’re looking at this situation as if it’s the final threat to our society that we will ever face. Long after you and I are gone, someone will be performing dastardly deeds on our culture. That will never end, and the sooner you realize that the better.”

  Nick smiled. He could see the frustration on his shrink’s face and was beginning to wonder who was affecting whom the most. He imaged Dr. Morgan fixing a drink and lighting up a cigarette the moment Nick left his office. Maybe glancing out the window for anyone suspicious.

  “Doc, I see all of this deception played out by terrorists and generally we’ve come to expect it. It’s like playing a game of chess with an opponent who’s allowed to move any piece on the board in any direction they want, yet the FBI is restricted by law to move its pieces in only the direction the game allows.”

  “It doesn’t seem fair, does it?”

  “No, it doesn’t.”

  “And what do you intend to do about that?” Dr. Morgan asked.

  Nick looked out the window at nothing in particular. “I don’t know.”

  “But it’s not going to be fair for terrorists, is it?”

  Nick shook his head. He was working on something, but nothing solid. Sometimes he just needed to let his mind float. That’s when his best ideas seemed to surface. “Whatever I do,” he said, “it’ll sure beat breathing exercises.”

  Nick didn’t need to look over to know that Morgan was rolling his eyes.

  “You’re still working toward getting out, aren’t you?” Morgan asked.

  Nick knew precisely what he meant. He nodded. “Soon.”

  * * *

  Tommy Bracco woke to the low growl of his dog and instinctively rolled onto his stomach and reached under the pillow for his Glock. It was three thirty in the morning, and the German Shepherd stood still, glaring at an invisible sound from the front of the house, teeth exposed.

  “Sheba,” Tommy whispered. “What is it?”

  Sheba lifted her nose and sniffed in the direction of the open bedroom door. Tommy had won Sheba in a card game three years earlier and she proved to be a great asset. She was so protective of her owner that Tommy couldn’t play basketball in Sheba’s presence without her assaulting anyone trying to defend him. Unlike other dogs who would yelp at the first sign of an intruder, Sheba would lie in wait, a soft growl her only warning. She’d rather sink her teeth into the prowler than chase him away with a vicious bark— another quality Tommy loved about her.

  Tommy eased out of bed wearing only a pair of boxer shorts and a fierce stare. He crouched down next to Sheba and felt the hairs bristled on the back of her neck. He gave her a quick pat, then crept down the dark corridor with the Glock hanging by his side. Tommy didn’t have an alarm system, but his house sat strategically in the middle of a cul-de-sac—a built-in barrier for anyone who might try casing the place. The neighbors in the bedroom community all knew each other and any unfamiliar vehicles were immediately conspicuous. Tommy was the single guy who made it a point to know everyone and even help build a fence or pitch in with the yard work when he could. One Christmas Eve, Tommy dressed up as Santa and made a special trek through the neighborhood, treating all the kids to presents he’d purchased himself. To his neighbors, Tommy was golden, and that’s just the way he wanted it.

  Now he heard the sound of a car engine idling. It seemed close, definitely within the cul-de-sac. He saw the dim shadow of headlights moving across his living room wall. He decided to slip through the kitchen and sneak out the back door. Sheba was at his side, anxiously lifting her legs in a mock trot. She wanted a piece of the action, but Tommy wasn’t sure he could control her. “Stay put, sweetheart,” he said, squeezing through the narrowly opened door. She gave a slight whine as the door clicked shut behind him.

  Tommy crept along the side of the house, the wet grass cool on his bare feet. He wondered what the neighbors might think if they saw him sneaking around in his underwear carrying a gun. A noise from the bushes beyond his pool startled him. He aimed the silenced gun at the bush and was about to squeeze off a quick round when a cat leapt out and ran across his lawn, jumping up and over his block fence before he could even put the weapon down.

  He continued his slow advance to the front of the house. He peeked out from the corner of his one-story home and saw a black sedan with the passenger window open and a hand tossing a newspaper into the neighbor’s driveway. It rolled gradually past his house and another newspaper was flung into his driveway. Tommy grinned. Sheba was usually pretty accurate when it came to sensing danger. But even she was allowed an error every now and again, he thought.

  As he turned to go back, he heard a faint clang, a metal on metal sound that seemed out of place. When he glanced back he saw the sedan still lingering in front of his house. Tommy looked down at his attire, as if maybe he’d grown a pair of pants since leaving the back door. When he looked up he caught a flash from the open window of the sedan and realized he had only a moment to react. He dove to the ground just before the blast ignited the house, propelling debris and waves of flames that rushed over his body as he covered his head for protection. He wasn’t sure if the blast had physically moved him or if he was simply disoriented. He thought he began on his stomach, but now he was on his back, his legs kicking in the air.

  The explosion deafened him so he couldn’t know how loud he was cursing as he frantically brushed l
ive embers from his bare skin. He also couldn’t hear his wooden-framed home teetering like a house of cards. When he finally managed to extinguish himself, he braved a peek back just in time to see his roof collapsing. A segment of exterior wall began to drop and before Tommy could scramble away from the structure, it toppled towards him and landed flush across his back. His head was jolted down into the earth. The last thing he remembered thinking was, “Sheba.”

  Chapter 14

  “It’s happening,” Matt McColm said. “See you at the office.”

  Nick hung up the phone and noticed it was four-thirty in the morning.

  Julie rolled over, rubbing her eyes. “Who was that?”

  Nick didn’t answer. Instead, he flipped on the TV. He and Julie watched a split-screen image of two different CNN reporters in two separate states. One talked over the commotion of fire trucks and police evidence-collectors’ vans. The other reporter waited his turn with the details of another grizzly terrorist attack. The camera showed the incongruous picture of neatly manicured lawns and gardens with the devastated ruins of houses abruptly destroyed by the KSF. One home in each of the fifty states.

  Julie held her hand over to her open mouth, “Oh my gosh. Nick, this can’t be happening.”

  Nick flipped channels. A woman in South Carolina was screaming, “My baby! They killed my baby!”

  The camera followed the woman as she was led away from her smoldering home by a couple of firemen. The distraught woman fought with the two men who were trying to pry something from her grasp. In the dim light of early morning, the camera operator maintained the woman’s battle as she was twisted and maneuvered away from the two men. The camera zoomed in on the focal point. The woman held her hand up high playing keep-away with the firefighters. In her hand was the mangled remains of a child’s arm. “It’s mine!” she shouted. “You can’t take my baby, it’s all I have left.”