by D. K. Hood
He headed north, using his reliable sense of direction to get him out of the town. He cut his headlights the moment he turned onto a long dark road, pulled to one side, and dragged out a pair of night-vision goggles from his backpack. With luck, he’d make it miles before being spotted. In daylight it would be different. Alone out here, he’d be stopped by the militia, and his mission would be ended fast. He needed intel on the troop movements. He checked his watch. It would be hours before daylight and hunger gnawed at his gut. He’d driven five miles or so before spotting a bomb-damaged building. The car bumped off the road as he weaved through debris and parked inside the broken shell. He took a long deep breath and checked his surroundings. He’d be safe for a while and have long enough to fill his empty stomach. He pulled the pot onto his lap and pulled out the spoon—well, ladle would be a better description—and tucked in. After a few mouthfuls, he hit his com. “Terabyte, do you copy?”
He waited, repeating the message a few times. The sky was clear and the moon surrounded by a million stars. It was a small piece of normality in his tumultuous world. He’d often stare at the moon while stateside, and at times of deep conflict, he wished he could be way out west, maybe in Big Sky Country, hunting, fishing, and miles away from any hostiles. Maybe one day he’d go way off the grid and find him some peace. He’d get a dog and find a cozy little diner that sold the world’s best peach pie. He’d given up the idea of marriage, kids, and a white picket fence the moment he’d finished military training and picked up a sniper rifle. He’d known what his life would be like. He’d never inflict the insecurity on someone he loved. It had been different for his dad, a two-star general on the way up. He’d moved around the world, taking his family with him. He’d enjoyed his childhood, growing up with his baby sister, but the day the men in dress uniform arrived to inform them his father had taken a bullet, he’d witnessed firsthand how his mom had suffered. She’d given up on life and died a month later. He pressed his com again. “Terabyte, do you copy?”
“How are things in Vegas?” Terabyte cleared his throat. “Damn cold at this time of the year, I hear. Win any money at the casino?”
“Copy that. Man, I hit paydirt.” Ninety-eight H took another scoop of stew or whatever and chewed slowly. “But let’s cut the crap.” He drank from his canteen. “I need you to guide me out of here. Where do I pick up the package?”
“Here lies the problem.”
Chapter Six
Too terrified to close her eyes, Annie had huddled on the bed all night. The noise of boots on the floor outside her room made her tremble but she refused to cry. They’d taken photographs of her and she could hear men arguing long and loud into the night. As the first rays of sunlight pierced the boards across the window, she heard the key in the lock turning. The woman from before walked in and stared at her, shaking her head.
“You’ve slept in your clothes. I thought you would. You have no sense at all.” She placed a tray of food on the chair, dropped a pile of fresh clothes onto the bed, and glared at her. “The mighty general you call father has abandoned you. Our leader wanted to behead you to show everyone how much we despise all America stands for but he had a better idea—a bigger insult. We are selling you to the highest bidder.” She backed out of the room. “Make sure you don’t smell. We have bidders arriving soon.”
Dry-retching, Annie ran for the bathroom. Head throbbing, she hung over the filthy toilet but only bile filled her mouth. She straightened, undressed, showered, and brushed her hair. A tremble shivered over her. She didn’t want to even imagine what it would be like being a sex slave. Swallowing her fear, she walked back into the bedroom, dressed, and collected the tray. She had to think. Escaping from her current prison would be impossible but there may be a slim chance from a brothel or wherever they’d take her. Surely if someone purchased her, she’d have some value to them. They may in time give her a modicum of freedom. She’d need to keep up her strength and she ate the fresh bread and cheese. She craved coffee but water would have to do, although the smell of coffee had drifted through the door. Obviously, it had been brewed for the men.
It seemed like forever before the door opened again. The woman walked in flanked by two men. One of them tied a rough rope around her wrists and led her like a dog through passageways and down steps into a hall of some kind. The noise in the room sounded like a flock of geese, and no wonder, from the groups of men waiting inside. The room was in reasonably good shape, the windows intact, and from the tables and chairs along one wall had at one time been a function room in the hotel. The heavily armed men fell silent as she walked in. It was obvious who were the prospective buyers from the way the armed men surrounded a central figure in each group.
Pulled by the rope, Annie stumbled behind the man dragging her to stand before each of the seated men. They all looked at her, not that they could see much with only her eyes visible from the gap in the burka. After they’d paraded her and the man dragging her had argued with them like a barking pack of wolves, the money came out, or other items including gold jewelry and coins. It seemed the daughter of an American general was in high demand. She trembled at the thought of what they’d do to her and kept her eyes on the floor. Making eye contact would be a definite insult to these men. She heard loud voices and the man pulling her stopped. Someone of importance had come into the hall. She chanced a glance at a tall man in robes surrounded by heavily armed militia. The man spoke fast and within seconds, another man ran forward and produced a chair for him, followed by a small cup without handles of something that smelled like coffee. The important visitor waved a hand beckoning her forward and leaned back, looking at her, but she couldn’t see his eyes behind the sunglasses. He sipped the drink and made a comment, his mouth spreading into a wide grin. The next moment someone pushed her and she stumbled closer. When one of the other men produced a stack of US bills and placed them on a table with a confident smile, the tall man shook his head and snorted in amusement and then waved one of his men forward. The man dropped a brick of something, probably drugs, wrapped in plastic onto the table and then took hold of her rope. The bartering was over. No one argued. Had a drug lord purchased her? The tall man finished his drink and stood. Annie gaped at the back of him as he walked from the room. In all her time in the Middle East she’d never seen a man that size.
Dragged out into the sunshine, she followed the man toward an old limousine, bearing flags on the hood. Whoever this man was, he must be someone of high standing. Once outside, the big man turned to look at her. He didn’t say a word as he untied her, tossed her over one broad shoulder, and carried her to the limousine. He opened the door, dropped her to her feet and pushed her into the vehicle. As she fell onto the seat, and he sat beside her, the vehicle took off at full speed in a convoy of four old cars. Heart thumping, Annie kept her head down, too scared to move. The man beside her was conversing with the driver in Arabic and after about an hour they drove into a small town and pulled up outside a house. The door opened and a man beckoned her out. Armed men surrounded her as they ushered her through the front door and pushed her into a room with a table and chairs and a stove of sorts. The home smelled of spices, coffee, and bread. Surely this dump couldn’t belong to the man with the limousine. It was barely a lean-to. One of the men dragged the burka off her head, took a photograph of her with his phone, and left her alone with the tall man. Petrified, she stared at her feet as the door closed behind him.
“You sure don’t say much, Annie.” The American accent caught her by surprise. “I figured you’d be screaming and trying to scratch out my eyes by now.”
Anger running out of control at his arrogance, Annie turned and looked at the man. “Traitor! Drug trafficker! I hope you die real slow when they catch you, and they will. My dad won’t leave me here. He’ll hunt you down.”
The man removed his sunglasses to reveal dark blue eyes. His teeth flashed white as he grinned. “Your dad must be a close friend of POTUS to send me to get your ass out of trouble.
What were you thinking, wandering around the backstreets of Israel at night on your lonesome?”
She wanted to slap the silly grin off his face. “I’m twenty-one and I work for the US Embassy. I don’t need your permission or anyone else’s to do as I please.”
“Twenty-one, huh?” He studied her more closely. “FYI, you’re not going back to the embassy.” He pulled out a chair for her. “Sit down, we aren’t out of this yet. I don’t have a team and we’ll have to rely on a few friendlies. It’s going to be tough going. Are you tough enough, Annie?”
Lifting her chin, she glared at him. From his expression he considered her a burden, too weak to survive, but she’d done fine so far. “Can I keep up with you? Sure, I can. I’m tougher than I look.” She gripped the arms of the chair. “I can use a weapon. My dad took me out to the practice range regularly and taught me self-defense.”
“We’re gonna need more than self-defense to make it out of here. I’m the only weapon you need, but people will die and I can’t have you screaming or fainting every time you see blood. It’s going to be nasty. Depending what happens between now and then, we might have to find our own way back to the States.” He placed a small cup without handles in front of her and filled it from a pot and then pushed the plate on the table, filled with bread, dates, and cheese toward her. “Eat. We need to keep moving. It’s only a matter of time before they discover the guy I impersonated is dead.”
Annie sniffed the yellowish spicy drink. It smelled like coffee. The strange brew was sweet and rich with spices. “I won’t faint or scream. I just want to make it out of here alive.”
“Well, I’ll do my best but you must do as I say.” He narrowed his gaze at her. “A mistake, a split-second hesitation could cost us our lives.” He waved a hand as if encompassing their surroundings. “Best you don’t think, just follow orders. Keeping you safe is my priority. You’ll just have to trust me.”
“Okay.” She watched him eating slowly and cleared her throat. “What’s your name?”
“If I told you, I’d have to kill you.” He gave her a long cold look. It was as if he’d turned to ice. “As an Army brat, you’d know all about classified information, so don’t ask me again, and when we get stateside don’t ask your dad. It’s safer you don’t know.”
Annie glared at him. “Well, I can’t yell out ‘hey you’ every time I need to get your attention. Make something up.”
“Sure, I can do that.” He changed as if slowly defrosting, shrugged, and stared into space for a beat. “You can call me Dave.”
Chapter Seven
As they traveled the rest of the day and into the night, Annie took in the man beside her. He stood at least six-five with broad shoulders. His dark brown hair was cut short, and his eyes were so intense they took her breath away and reminded her of the darkest blue sky before nightfall. He’d broken his nose at one time, and she doubted the scars on his chin and above his eye were the only ones on his body. He was a warrior and, she had to admit, to-die-for handsome, and he’d use his body to protect her. Arrogant maybe, but she felt safe with him and had fallen asleep and woken when he’d pulled up behind a collection of houses. Heavily armed men had rushed out and gassed up the vehicle from cans. They’d all peered at her through the window but she’d remained covered up with only her eyes showing during the trip on the chance they ran into a roadblock. Dave removed his night-vision goggles, climbed out of the sedan, stretched, and then walked around and opened the door for her.
“Keep my body at your back at all times.” He took her by the arm and the men surrounded them as they entered a small dwelling.
The house smelled of sweat, potatoes, and the same aromatic coffee. A woman came out of a back room but said nothing as she waved them to a table. As soon as Annie sat down, hot food arrived, with bread and the same yellow coffee. Dave spoke to a man in fast Arabic and gave him a wad of bills before sitting at the table with his back to the wall. Armed men guarded the door but Dave’s attention shifted all around as he ate his meal.
They’d driven in virtual silence, although he’d been in communication with someone by the name of Terabyte. At times they’d veered off-road and bumped over uneven farmland or driven behind buildings and waited as a convoy drove past. It was as if he sensed when trouble was approaching. She’d been too intimidated by him to ask questions. What had he meant by “I’m the only weapon you’ll need”? Annie kept her head down and ate slowly, eyeing him from under her lashes. He acted like a robot, as if he never tired. They’d been driving for hours, stopping only when nature called, and apart from thick black stubble, he looked as fresh as when they’d left the last town. His strength was formidable and when he’d lifted her over his shoulder, it had been like hitting a brick wall of solid muscle. His handsome face always had a stern expression, but then at times his eyes danced with amusement. He’d also treated her with respect and gentleness. There was obviously a nice guy under the shell of a hardened soldier. There had to be a reason. She wondered if he was a family man. She sipped the coffee. It gave her a rush of caffeine and, feeling much better, she met his scrutinizing gaze. “Are you married?”
“Negative.” Dave refilled his cup and his gaze moved over her and then back to his plate. “Of all the questions you could have asked me, you want to know if I’m married.” He continued to eat, shaking his head.
That went well. Annie shrugged. “Just making conversation. It’s obvious the mission is classified, so asking you anything is a waste of time, but are the long silences really necessary?”
“It’s okay to talk in the vehicle but remaining silent will save your life.” Dave lifted his head but his attention was constantly moving from door to window. “Muslim women don’t speak to men in this area, and as you’re dressed as one, you should act the part, plus if anyone hears your accent, they’ll kill you. We’re in the heart of a rebel militia stronghold. The people helping us are placing themselves in danger by just speaking to us.”
The reality of the situation hit Annie like a sledgehammer. She’d been under the impression that after so long, they’d moved out of danger. She clasped her hands together to stop them trembling. “I’m sorry I didn’t understand how much danger we’re in. I thought we were well away from the people who’d kidnapped me.”
“Nope, the bounty on us will be high.” Dave pushed his plate away and then pulled out his weapon, checked the load and his ammunition. “I’m in communication with someone who’ll guide us out of trouble, but apart from a few friendlies who can be bought for a price by both sides, we’re on our own.”
“I see.” Annie refilled her cup. “So, this could be our last meal for a time?”
“Yeah, but these people will give us some food and supplies.” Dave checked his backpack. “I still have cheese. It keeps well but I’m restricted for space. I have a sniper rifle and will need to pack more ammo and the US bills into my backpack. There’s not room for much else. My backpack is crucial to our survival, so you’ll have to keep it safe.” He gave her a wink. “Which means if we meet up with anyone suspicious on the road, you’ll hide it under your robes. No man will touch you. They’ll think your pregnant. We’ll ask for another bag to carry the food. It’s lucky it’s winter. We’d never make it in summer.” He stiffened as a man walked into the room.
The man spoke in rapid Arabic and handed him two bags. Annie waited for the man to leave and looked at Dave. “Food and ammo, right?”
“Yeah, and we need to go.” Dave swapped cheese from his backpack and replaced it with ammunition. He inspected three grenades and placed them inside a pocket in the backpack and then took out a pair of night-vision goggles. “Take the food. We need to leave right now. Eyes down, don’t look at anyone.”
They hurried to the Audi and Annie stowed his backpack at her feet, the food and ammo went behind them under a blanket. She clipped in her seatbelt as Dave pulled on the night-vision goggles and took off at speed. “Is there a problem?”
“Maybe.” He press
ed his ear. “Terabyte, do you copy? What have we got?”
There was a pause as he listened to the transmission coming through his earpiece and then Dave turned suddenly off the road and headed across the barren landscape. The old car bumped and leapfrogged over the uneven ground. They moved at full speed and Dave spun the wheel, sliding the old sedan behind a small clump of trees. The movement had kicked up a cloud of dirt, which settled over the vehicle in an orange dust.
“Grab the food.” Dave shrugged into his backpack, slung the other bag over one shoulder, and took her hand. He took off at full tilt toward a pile of rocks.
He moved so fast Annie had to suck in huge breaths to keep going. Her legs cramped but she kept running. As they got closer, she could see the ruins of a building made from mud bricks. Part of it still stood but most had been damaged. Bullet holes riddled one wall in a sickening show of violence. Heart pounding at a million beats a second, she allowed Dave to drag her up the side using the broken bricks as steps. She stood panting, bent over with her hands on her knees, sure her lungs would burst.