ShadowShot : L'enfant Guerrier

by T. M. Deans

  That night Jada told me there was an old woman who had passed away some years ago, who had the ability to see the future. She was known to their family for several generations, and had known what had transpired during the war the night of the mercenary raid.

  “When I was 16 years old I went to her and told her about my feelings for you. I asked her if it was wrong for me to feel this way about you, I also wanted to know if I would ever see you again.”

  She answered, “It was never wrong to give your love to someone who tried to save your life, at a possible cost of his or their own. Yes, someday he would be back.”

  “I pleaded with her to tell me more, but she would not. She did say that my uncle had asked if she could tell him where you and the Frenchman were. She told me that my uncle left knowing no more than when he first came to her. I confided what the old woman had told me to Albert. We have no secrets between us. She gave me hope that someday, you would return to me. I know it all sounds like a foolish young girl’s dream, but it wasn’t to me. And now my one great dream in life has come true and the old woman was correct.”

  I was once again taking a plane ride. This time instead of being chained to a bunk bed by my would-be lover, my heart was being chained to Jada’s. I was well equipped. I had money, thanks to Albert and Lana. I had Boom-Boom, and most importantly, I had Jada. She had taken me down to their personal armory, which was extensive. Amongst other things, I had chosen a very well balanced throwing knife. It had no markings on it, as it was hand forged. With a six inch blade, it had enough weight for a good throw, but was not too difficult to conceal.

  It turned out that Lana had chosen to be taken to Italy. When I knew she had arrived safely without incident, I was very much relieved. In spite of our beginnings, she had become a great partner and a friend. Had the Arabs not hired her, who knows how things could have unfolded.

  Now I was with a beautiful woman, who believed it was written in stone, that we would be together. I hoped she was right. I hoped she would be the only woman ever again in my life. I hoped we would grow old, very old together.

  Besides Jada, Boom-Boom and me, there was our pilot. He was a Spaniard who had flown for the family for many years. Also there was a Dutchman who was acting co-pilot for the last six months. It would be a long flight and we would have to refuel several times. In addition to our pilot and co-pilot, Jada was also licensed to fly. So it meant that she could relieve the pilots and we would have less ground time that way. We were anxious to get to France and find Gerard before we had another run in with the Arabs. The plan was to fly to Malaga, Spain and from there, either go by land or charter a flight to France in an effort to throw off any pursuers. In addition, we would probably send the plane back to Albert as a precaution.

  The fabled Timbuktu was to be one of our scheduled fuel stops. As we made our approach I was excited to have the chance to visit the town known as the last outpost. I had always wanted to see the historic town. In my travels to Morocco back in the 60s, I had gone as far south as Gulemin, Morocco, where I had taken a photo of a sign that said 55 days by camel to Timbuktu.

  When we landed we were informed that our fuel supply would not be replenished until the next day, even though we had called ahead and were assured that they had fuel for us. That was okay by me. I welcomed the opportunity to spend some time in Timbuktu. Our co-pilot, offered to stay with the plane and take a nap, while Jada, Boom-Boom, our pilot and I, did the tourist thing. To me the magic of Timbuktu was not its beauty as a town, but more it’s history, as a legend in time. When we came to the far side of the town there was a stable. I couldn’t resist checking out the horses. I was in heaven. The owner had four or five Arabs, the four-legged kind. You could tell he was proud of his horses. They might not have come from the Royal Egyptian stables but they definitely were of good breeding. I instantly knew exactly what I wanted to do.

  “Do you ride Jada?”

  “Yes I love riding, let’s do it”

  “That’s my girl, Boom-Boom how about you?”

  “I would sooner death by a bullet.”

  Our pilot bowed out as well.

  We arranged with the owner for two of his best horses. It was still early morning. I asked him to supply us with saddlebags and canteens. We would rent the horses for the whole day. We went back to the plane to dress for the occasion. Boom-Boom was not pleased about leaving us. He said he would brave being on a horse to be with us. I told him not to worry we would arm ourselves. What I was really thinking was I wanted to ride with the wind and not worry about Boom-Boom falling off the horse. I thought our copilot seemed unduly worried as well. In spite of their lack of enthusiasm we set off.

  I asked Jada, “How often do you ever get a chance to take a gallop around Timbuktu?” What do you say we pack for an overnight? Then if we want to stay out we can.”

  Boom-Boom and our pilot accompanied us back to the stables. They would continue their tour around town after we left. We stopped at a restaurant and had them pack food for us. I chose a beautiful fire breathing black stallion. Jada chose a gorgeous dappled gray gelding. These were my two absolute favorite horse colors.

  After we were out of town we walked the horses holding hands, and talking till we came upon a long stretch that was slightly uphill. It was wide with good ground, a good place to run a horse you didn’t know for the first time.

  “Jada shall we run them? Put them in a trot and a slow lope first. Then we will let them out.” Side-by-side in perfect control, I looked over at her and said, “When you’re ready.”

  The gray jumped out like he had been catapulted, so much for easing them into a gallop. In what seemed like a second, he was three lengths ahead. My black was closing slowly, two lengths then one. We were neck and neck. Jada looked over at me and blew me a kiss. Why the little vixen. She had been saving the dapple. They pulled ahead three lengths. I started closing again on her, but she was holding her lead. Then my black ever so slightly stretched his head forward, as if to ask are you ready to win this race? In a moment, we were alongside. I blew her a kiss. I believe she hissed at me. Now they were both running full out and my black was pulling away. I looked back over my shoulder once just to make sure she was all right. I didn’t have to worry about her. She was up on the dapple’s neck to give him every advantage, but it didn’t help. The black was increasing our lead. I went a little farther and put up my left hand signaling to stop. The slightest pull on his reins and he started to slow down. She came up alongside and took my hand. We had two incredible horses. I had an incredible woman. For the rest of the day we just ambled along.

  I kept track of the time, so if we wanted to return to the stable before dark we would have enough time. We did not. We were having too much fun and for the first time in what seemed like a long time, I was totally in the present. We found an interesting place for a suitable camp. It was a reasonably small area with some ruined walls, surrounded by large high boulders. It had some water, firewood and even a little grass for the horses. The owner had provided us with two thirty foot lunge lines and said they were trained to use them. We unsaddled the horses, prepared our camp, and climbed up on a rock with a bottle of wine to share the sunset.

  After the sun went down I lit a small fire for ambiance rather than heat. Even though desert nights can be chilly, this night was warm. I told Jada how much I loved camping out with horses and what a great day it had been. I also complemented her on her equestrian skills. It pleased me to imagine us camping with horses at different places around the world.

  She was standing near me looking into the fire. I reached up and took her hand and gently guided her down on to our sleeping blankets. She straddled me. I slowly unbuttoned her blouse until it was completely open in the front, ever so slightly caressing her breasts. She reached over her head and pulled her blouse off. Then in a fluid motion she reached behind her back and undid her bra, while all the time swaying her torso as if she was dancing. She leaned forward and began teasing me, letting first h
er left nipple and then the right, caress my mouth. Before I could capture one of those beautiful nipples between my lips, it would escape from me. Finally she surrendered her breasts to my mouth. Then she slid down, took my face in both of her hands and slipped her tongue into my mouth. My hands cupped the two most incredible breasts I had ever seen. In one swift motion I flipped her off me, so she was on her back, I undid her belt and zipper while she drew her legs up so I could slip off her boots and pants. Then she executed the same maneuver. I was on my back while she removed my boots and pants. She reached up and undid her long, beautiful, thick black hair. She shook her head and it tumbled down over her breasts. She stretched out next to me on my right side. Both of us still had our underclothes on. I took my left foot and hooked my big toe under the top band of her panties and slid it down her legs while she raised her buttocks. She did the same to me and she crawled into my arms. When neither of us could wait any longer she indicated that she wanted me to take her from the rear. I started to kiss the backs of her calves and worked up to the base of her spine, and then up to her neck. I mounted her the way the male lion takes his lioness. My teeth gently held the back of her neck. She moved with incredibly exotic movements. Her arms were stretched out in front of her, her hands clawing the sand, and when we came we stayed connected. I lowered myself on top of her and rolled us over so she remained on top. We both faced the stars. I took both of her breasts in my hands and began fondling them. I drew my legs up as far as I could and repeatedly let my feet caress the inside of her legs. As I slid them up and down, one hand remained on her breasts while the other moved down over the flat of her belly, past her mound, and finally inside her. She was able to twist her head around just enough to find my mouth. It was as if liquid lightning was pouring through me and into her.

  We lay there looking up at the stars. Our bodies were wet from the heat of our passion. Jada’s skin felt like velvet. Now it glistened from the light of the fire. I spread her thighs apart and blew cool air between her legs to dry her. We put our clothes back on and laid there in silence. I was determined not to lose this woman as I had done with Misha. I knew what I wanted. I kissed her, looking deep into her eyes and said, “Are you sure you want to be my woman?”

  “I want you as I want my next breath of air and every breath there after.”

  “And I want you with every fiber of my mind, body and soul.”

  Then I will ask you now my Jada, “Will you marry me? Will you be my wife? Will you let me love you for the rest of my life?”

  “Yes my Jack. Oh yes.”

  “Then let the heat of my passion forever keep the embers of your heart aflame.” I fell asleep holding my woman, with the desert beneath me, the stars above me. I knew at last I had found my place in the sun.

  When morning came we cared for the horses, had a small breakfast, and saddled our courageous steeds. We were just about to mount up when Jada cautioned, “Listen! I think I hear a vehicle.”

  We scrambled up a rock to look. Sure enough there were two Land Rovers coming our way from the direction we had come. They were staying to the south of our tracks.

  “They could be tourists Jack, or anyone.”

  “Keep an eye on them. I’ll be right back.”

  I jumped down to the sand and went to my horse. Frank had taught me to always carry binoculars. I climbed back up to where Jada was. She said they had stopped and were looking at the ground possibly for tracks. With the binoculars I could see two vehicles, four men in one, four in the other. All had rifles and then came the clincher. One of the guys stood up on the seat, bringing binoculars up, to bear down on us. And I knew him.

  “Get down! They have binoculars on us. Damn. It’s them. One of them is the same guy who walked into the old ladies hotel before we met you. How the hell did they track us to Timbuktu?”

  “Can we make a break for it back to the soft sand the way we came in? Maybe the vehicles can’t follow.”

  “Listen to me baby. They will be here any moment. No we can’t do that. We wouldn’t be out of a rifle range. They might still be able to get over the sand, at least until we got to those dunes we passed. They may still want me alive, but they would shoot the horses for sure. Then we’d be trapped. You have to go out the back way. I’ll hold them off and you can hook around to the soft sand. They may already have taken out Boom-Boom.”

  “Jack you can’t take down eight of them by yourself. There’s no way I’m going to leave you. You have to trust me, I can handle myself.”

  Albert had warned me there was no arguing with her. I was about to try when they started moving again. They split up, one from the north, the other from the south.

  “Right. We make our stand here. How many clips do you have for your nine?”

  “Three in all.”

  “I have two plus my old friend. We have a slight advantage because I don’t think they know for sure we are here. Take the ones from the north. Try and get behind them. It’s best if you don’t open up on them until you hear my shots first, if possible. If I go down, try to get to a vehicle and get back to the plane. I love you. By the way, have you ever killed anyone before?”

  She smiled, wrapped her arms around me, and kissed me hard. She scrambled off to take her position.

  I did the same. They were moving slowly, cautiously. I guess I had killed enough of them that they considered me to be somewhat of a threat. I was really pissed off. I wasn’t in the mood for a firefight. I was in love. They were putting my woman in danger and they were spoiling my ride. I would make them pay. Time to bring this war to them.

  I should have told Jada that we should try and take one alive. It was too late now. I knew which one of them that should be. He was probably the leader, but that also meant that he was probably the best of the bunch. I had been taught to always take out the worst threat first if possible. When Jada had showed me the family arsenal before we left, one of the weapons I chose was none other than a Colt 45 Army revolver. It was hardly the right weapon for this occasion. I could not resist the temptation to take it on the ride, a tactical error. I did have my 9 mm but the machine pistol would have been nice. I was feeling cocky. I had to remind myself that we were in a very bad situation.

  They were on us now. I couldn’t see them, but I could hear them getting out of the Land Rovers and fanning out. The boulders and broken down walls of the ruins were tall enough to cover me. Some were as much as 10 feet tall. The horses were tied right in the middle. I hoped they wouldn’t be hit by a stray bullet, or break their lead ropes and bolt in fright. Albert told me that Jada had proven herself on numerous occasions. Lana thought that she could handle herself. But if anything happened to her….

  I could hear someone moving in front of me. Black shirt and another one were right in my gun sites. I was about to squeeze the trigger when that old friend with no name said to me, “No Jack wait.” I thought maybe there was someone right behind me. If I opened up on the two in front, the other one or two could pop out from behind me and take me down. But then I knew why the voice had told me to wait. I had a glimpse of the other two moving between the rocks. They were ahead of black shirt. It meant that they would trap Jada between them. Six against one if I couldn’t come up behind in time. I knew exactly what I had to do. It was a reckless move, and I had to be faster than I ever was before.

  I stuck the nine in my belt behind my back. Then I stepped out from behind the rocks and yelled, “Black shirt!”

  The black shirt and his partner swung around with their weapons pointed at me. I had my hands up in front of me. In a loud voice, I asked, “Why do you want me?”

  The other two stepped out from behind the rocks. Black shirt yelled out something in Arabic.

  I didn’t know if Jada could see me, but she could probably hear me. I voiced the words, “Now Jada. Now baby. Shoot now!” And she did.

  The four of them did a half turn towards the shooting. I executed the fastest cross draw I had ever done in my entire life. Black shirt went down fi
rst and then the man beside him. My next two shots drove the other two to cover. I holstered the 45 and pulled the nine. I was trading potshots with the other two. They had spread out. I had them pinned down but they also had me pinned down. I couldn’t get to Jada, but there was a lot of shooting coming from her direction. As long as there were shots being fired I knew that she was still okay. Nevertheless I had to get to her, which meant I had to take out these other two first.

  All of a sudden the shots from Jada’s direction ceased. I immediately became fearful for her. Then an amazing thing happened. I had a clear shot at the Arab that was the furthest away from me where Jada should be. Suddenly there was an object flying through the air and landing on the Arab. It was Jada. She had taken a running leap off a tall rock and landed on him. She took him down and stuck a knife in his heart. The other Arab and I were frozen in awe at what we just witnessed. I snapped back a millisecond sooner than he did, and put three slugs in him. I rushed over to where Jada was picking up black shirt’s weapon on the way. My 9 mm was empty.

  “Are you okay? Are they all down?”

  She nodded yes.

  “That was an incredible move but why not shoot him instead?”

  “Out of ammo. I knew you were pinned down in a partial crossfire. I couldn’t get to any of their weapons soon enough. I would have to take his. I have a surprise for you. I’ll be right back.”

  “I’m going to check them out. I will meet you at the horses.”

  They were all dead. I gathered up some weapons and went to where the horses were. They were unharmed but tense in a way that only a horse can get. I knew they had been around a lot of gunfire, I was whispering to them that everything was all right when Jada appeared pushing a young Arab in front of her. What a woman my Jada was. I gave her a knowing look.