by Lili Tufel
Javi, who had made a mad dash past the double doors of Maurice’s old bedroom, struggled to keep a grasp on the arm of a detainee. “Look who I found.” He brought her into the room.
“Susan?” Stunned, Dallas dropped his arm letting down his weapon. “Abby thinks you’re in Coco Beach.”
“Of course she does darling. Although…” She ran her freed hand of red fingernails into her knotted hair. “I suppose the Colonel thinks otherwise. He never did trust me.”
Javi tightened his grip. “And with good reason, it’s all about the money with you Suze.”
“Money brings security, Captain Santos.” She puckered her lips at Javi.
He shook his head in disgust, letting his guard down, as Susan seized another opportunity to get away. Terribly annoyed, Javi gripped her arms. Distracted and struggling to keep her still, Javi didn’t notice Faisal emerging from a mural passage behind Dallas.
With a quick jerk of the large tapestry hanging over the adobe wall, Faisal pointed his gun at the back of Dallas’s head. “I will kill you.” His hand shook. “You murdered my nephew and his father. I will kill you.” He squealed.
With his back to the gunman, Dallas cocked his head coming face to face at point blank range with the barrel of a 9mm. Unaffected, he uttered, “Your nephew was a barbarian.”
“His father was the barbarian.” Then he yelled, “My sister’s husband was an animal!” Taking the bait to converse even further, he excused Maurice’s behavior, as he had grown so used to doing throughout the boy’s life. “I kept that boy alive all those years when his father would beat him mercilessly. My nephew was a disgrace to his father.”
Javi, after having had his rifle swatted away by Susan with a painful kick to the groin, grabbed his pocketknife and pressed it to her throat. “Drop your weapon, Faisal.”
Faisal aimed for Susan, “I will kill her myself. She means nothing to me,” and while his nervous hand changed its target, Dallas sent a skillful karate chop to his throat crushing his windpipe and sending him to the ground. Upon hitting the floor, Faisal pressed the trigger sending a bullet to Susan’s chest.
Catching her in his arms, Javi repeated, “Susan, Susan.” He immediately applied pressure over her bloodied blouse, and kept her from going unconscious. “You’re gonna be alright.”
Faisal, while struggling to breath pointed his weapon at Dallas. Dallas fired first and when Faisal was no longer a threat, he ran over to Susan, “I’m gonna get you some help.”
“No,” she panted. “I’m not gonna make it. Leave me here.” Her pale face became translucent and her eyes empty.
Putting a knee to the floor Dallas said, “Abby needs you Susan. She would want us to save you.”
“Why did you have to drag her into this kind of life, Dallas? Her father promised me that he would never bring her into the CIA with us.”
“What?” Javi regretted having bruised her, “I had no idea Susan, I’m sorry.”
Dallas added, “How could the Colonel allow you to come out here all by yourself?”
“I wasn’t alone. You killed a couple of my men out there.” She gave Dallas a weak grin. “Besides, James can’t tell me what to do, I’m his boss.” She drifted in and out of consciousness. “Dallas,” she whispered, slurring her final words. “Don’t tell Abby, don’t blow my cover.”
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