by Aiden James
It’s for times like these that two thousand years of experience comes in handy. That, and the fact unless they scored a direct hit on a vital organ, I would recover, and quickly. More like immediately. Therefore, threats of burning holes in my face or searing my eyeballs out of my head didn’t have quite the same effect it would have on most folks.
Just as the brand touched my skin, sending terrible pain into thousands of nerve endings on my face, I entangled Nicholas’s legs with mine and drew him closer. The brand’s fiery tip gouged into my face as layers of skin fell away. I could hear Amy shrieking in the background, along with my boy’s anguished cries for my assailants to take him instead.
Like I’d ever let that happen.
But I had a plan. Holding my breath in order to minimize the excruciating agony inflicted upon the right side of my face, I stood up with the heavy chair attached to me. I may not look like Superman, but years of strength training and ‘mind over matter’ exercises made this easier than some might think. Definitely easier than Nicholas or Vera did, I’m sure.
Nicholas let out a surprised gasp as he stumbled into Vera and then landed on his back upon the floor. I moved in quickly and swung the weight of the chair into her arm holding her brand. It flew out and landed on Nicholas’s chest.
Here’s where it could’ve all gone disastrously for me, and I knew I only had a few seconds to overtake them. I couldn’t do anything immediately about the shrill screams he let out as the fiery brand ignited his shirt, but before he could stand up I swung around once more, throwing my weight fully into the movement. Thankfully I didn’t lose my balance and Vera was too stunned to step out of the way. I hit her full on, and she landed on her blazing cohort.
She was too surprised to let out anything more than a yelp. I had to finish the job on them before the pair raised enough holy hell for Viktor, Petr, and the rest of the gang to realize it wasn’t William Barrow screaming inside this building. Again, the fact the fire quickly spread from him to her wasn’t a deterrent for me. It couldn’t be. I couldn’t let that possibility exist, despite the incredible pain I endured after my right cheek was destroyed. Charred flaps of skin and gum tissue hung from the right side of my face. But I only allowed myself a quick glance toward the door, to make sure no one was coming to crash this party. Then I dove on top of Vera and Nicholas, using the combined weight of the chair and my frame to inflict a crushing blow.
I heard Vera’s spinal column crack open, which immobilized her. To seal the deal on this, I rolled over their faces. Suffocation wasn’t possible, but the flames spread across us all. I had no choice but to lie there, writhing in my own fiery hell and praying it didn’t take too long for them to expire. Otherwise, there would be three smoldering corpses when Stanislav’s supervisory team returned.
Luckily, the fire spread across the bonds upon my arms and hands as well, and soon I was able to tear through them. Able to pat down the flames before too much living tissue upon my upper body had died, I kept the only eye I still had—my left one—on the smoldering pile of human flesh that had been my assailants. Both were dead. But until Nicholas’s legs quit moving from death spasms, I had to wait to rescue Alistair and Amy.
Both looked at me with slack-jawed fearful expressions, surely stunned by how quickly the tables had turned in our favor. Or, more likely, they were dumbfounded by the transformation going on before them. My body’s regeneration process was in high gear. A familiar tingling sensation flowed down from the crown of my head toward my feet. I didn’t need a mirror to confirm the re-growth of hair, eyelashes, skin, and muscular tissues. Not to mention my blurred vision in one eye soon became clear sight in both eyes. I don’t always feel everything, but in all the hundreds of times I’ve had this experience, I’ve never healed incompletely. Not once—not even when I’ve died and suddenly ended up somewhere else.
“W-what the hell just h-happened?” Alistair was too taken aback not to stammer.
Yes, he’s witnessed some amazing things from dear old dad before, but nothing quite like this. Like all good parents, I hoped to spare him from ever seeing something this extreme. In fact, this was only the second time he had ever seen me kill someone, and the very first time in face to face combat. The last time had been a rifle shot to protect him from a Colombian cartel assassin.
“No time to talk about any of this right now.” I grabbed the sharpest knife I saw from the table and moved over to him and Amy. “Are you both well enough to travel?”
Not that they had a choice, but the ‘options’ for how to get the hell out of this place relied to a large degree upon their mobility.
“I can make it...just give me a moment to stretch,” said Amy, massaging her arms painfully after I sliced through her bonds. Alistair’s response was nearly the same, and he nodded that he was ready to go.
Ever the realist on what it would take to get out of there intact, I made sure that neither one needed to take care of ‘nature’s call’ immediately. All of us good to go for the moment, I signaled for them to remain silent and quietly follow me to the window farthest from the door. As a precaution, when ready to pull open the heavy draperies, I had Alistair turn off the overhead light.
I carefully pulled open the heavy curtains, expecting to at least see a guard or two. But our captor’s arrogance had overlooked the remote possibility of our escape. This was especially surprising as the sun had long since disappeared and the mountains’ full darkness limited visibility.
“They’ll be onto us in a moment, so there’s absolutely no time to waste! Hold your questions until we get far enough away from here, and I’ll do the same,” I said. They both nodded their consent. “Let’s go!”
As I gently pulled on the window’s latch, hurried footsteps approached the front door. It sounded as if a roundup had gathered on the porch. I silently bemoaned the fact it took less than thirty seconds for the Russians to somehow realize the light had been turned off, despite the front window’s heavy curtains.
I threw open the window, and practically shoved Amy’s shaking body through the opening. Alistair was next, and he just made it outside when the front door opened. Several soldiers armed with assault rifles poured into the trailer, their heavy boots resounding loudly across the cheap flooring.
“Оhu ухоdrт!” shouted one of the Russians in the lead. He pointed his rifle at me, just as I began my climb through the window.
“Stop William!! Stop, goddamn it or we will shoot you!!”
It would take so much more than loaded guns to get me to stop for Viktor Kaslow’s warning, since he intended to kill us all anyway. But as he aimed his pistol at my back, I did offer him something over my shoulder. A shit-eating grin. A really big shit-eating grin. After all, his sarcastic prophecy sort of came true: we did meet again, albeit on this side of the veil.
The last thing I saw from him, just before the barrage of bullets whistled above my head as I bolted through the window, was his own slight grin. One that was as cold and angry as any I’ve ever seen.
The hatred for me that had lain dormant for more than a decade was now reawakened.
Chapter 15
“Run!” I hissed, motioning for Amy and Alistair to meet me over by a covered jeep less than fifty feet away. “Run and don’t stop running until I tell you to stop!!”
Floodlights that surrounded the circle of trailers had just come on, and soldiers were moving between the buildings. They would be upon us at any moment. Not to mention the other mercenaries and scientists residing in the tents along the creek.
“I see them—there they are!” shouted another man, this one with English damned near as lucid as Viktor’s and the refined guttural version of Petr Stanislav.
Other voices joined in, although too excited for me catch what they said. No matter, since we were as good as dead anyway unless we got out of there. Suddenly, Alistair tripped and fell.
Shit!
“Pops, you and Amy need to go on! I don’t.... I don’t think I can make it!!”
he said, between gasps for air after I ran over to him.
Maybe he wasn’t in the best shape of his life, but a fifty-yard jaunt normally wouldn’t be a big deal for him. It made me worry more about what he and Amy had endured in their captivity. Meanwhile, gunshots pelted the ground nearby, clearly announcing our pursuers were on their way.
“You’re coming with us, son—period!” I grabbed his arms and lifted him back to his feet. “Don’t you ever pull that ‘oh please, Dad, go on without me’ shit ever again! Do you understand? ...You and your mom are all I’ve got, so get it in your mind that you’re going to survive! We’re going to make it out of here alive!!”
Although it was dangerous for him and me, I lifted Alistair onto my back and carried him over to the Jeep. But since our angry hosts had nearly caught up to us, there would be no way for me to hot-wire the vehicle in time to get out of there. So, I carried my son even further with Amy alongside me. Fortunately, only the scientists brought flashlights. It sounded like there was some confusion as to how and where to use them effectively—especially since it appeared there were only a couple available. Sheer lunacy, but I’ll take God’s help no matter what form it comes in. The lack of cohesive communication between civilian and army personnel allowed me just enough time and space to find another suitable Jeep among the dozen parked in a row.
Jeep number three was the one I picked, since it was close to the front of the line. A great number, if you think about it. God in three persons, three crucifixions, rising on the third day, the myriad multiples of three in the Talmud, and so on and so on. Call me superstitious—I’ll admit that’s true any day. Yet, more often than not, I do get lucky.
Like right then.
Not only was the vehicle unlocked, it belonged to one of the scientists. Anyone perpetually funded to play around with their pet projects is generally not the most responsible person on the planet. It certainly was the case here. The Jeep’s keys were still in the ignition.
“Keep an eye on Ali for me,” I told Amy, keeping my voice low while directing her to the backseat after I unloaded my son there. “Get in quickly, and keep your heads down!
She hesitated for a moment, and looked as if she wanted to say something. But, a sharp glare from me invoked her obedience...at least for the present moment. She had the presence of mind to close the passenger door quietly, which bought us an extra few seconds before I started the engine and all hell broke loose.
With the Jeep’s tires spitting gravel behind us, I tore out of there. A legion of other Jeeps, and the pair of Mercedes SUVs I saw would be after us very soon. In the meantime, the latest barrage of gunfire cleared out our Jeep’s windows, but missed the gas tank and the rear tires. Most importantly, Amy and my son were spared so far.
Viktor was out to kill me, with little interest in my capture and any further possible embarrassment in front of Petr Stanislav as his chief assassin. That was my assumption at this point. Luckily, only a few bullets had hit me. Two in the right shoulder and one grazing my left earlobe. Even before we crashed through the lone guard station on the way to the main highway heading back to Tehran, the wounds were healing. It’s always faster when the bullets pass through cleanly, instead of lingering like the irritating wood splinters I used to get in my toes and fingers as a kid.
“Where are we going?”
Amy posed the question once we had put several miles between Stanislav’s camp and us. Surprisingly, so far there were no obvious signs of pursuit. In the distance ahead, Iran’s capital city was a sea of twinkling lights. The night sky had grown lighter, morphing into the predawn blue of the coming sunrise. The clock on the Jeep’s dash read 4:14 a.m. We still had time to secure a hideout before daylight nixed that option.
“We’re going back home...to the states,” I said, evenly. “It’s far too dangerous to stay here any longer than necessary to get a flight ready to depart.”
Yes, this was harshly delivered, and not merely because her leaving the hotel without me seriously pissed me off. I had to make sure there were no further screw-ups on this misadventure. Hers and Alistair’s continued existence in this world depended upon it!
“I’m not going back to America!” Her voice was hushed, but her tone seething. “I’ll stay until I find my brother, and there’s not a damned thing you can do to stop me!”
I glanced at her, not at all surprised that she was glaring at me. Sitting in the backseat, my son’s head was cradled in her lap. He appeared to sleep, but knowing how my bloodline works I seriously doubted he wasn’t somewhat awake and listening.
“They will kill you next time—”
“You don’t think they haven’t killed a big part of me already?!” she said, angrily. “They’ve taken my father, and my mother. And while you were out cold the past two and a half days, the men took their time fondling me and trying to force me to take them in my mouth. When I resisted, they hit me. Then, they cut me! And when that didn’t work, they took it out on your son!!”
“I’m so sorry,” I told her, my voice dropping to just above a whisper. I meant it. As sincere an apology as I’ve ever felt. What she stated literally took the wind out of me.
Like Amy, I wanted to swing the Jeep around and go after those miscreant assholes. But, unlike her, I knew we might as well just drive the Jeep off the nearest cliff and call it a day. We’d never get close to Viktor, Stanislav, or whoever else assaulted her and Alistair. It obviously wasn’t either Nicholas or Vera, as I assumed she would’ve said so.
“You’re sorry? Maybe...but not near enough to try and restore something to my soul??”
“You’ll die and so will Ali!”
“But you won’t, will you?” Her anger was heated enough to rouse Alistair from her lap. He sat up, wincing while gingerly massaging the ligature burns around his neck.
I wanted to reply in kind, but forced myself to wait. To stay as calm as possible, and to keep my thoughts lucid while keeping an eye out for a place to hide. Dawn might still be over an hour away, but if we could see our surroundings more clearly than thirty minutes ago, then so could anyone else. We would have to pull over soon—especially if there was any serious consideration of continuing our search for Jeremy Golden Eagle. Otherwise, we needed to get to a hospital to treat Amy’s wounds and give my son a thorough checkup for both external and internal injuries. The latter option was the only sane one.
“Well?”
“You already know the answer to that question.” I eyed her sullenly through the rearview mirror. “Unlike what you might believe, I do have much to lose. Ali is the only flesh and blood I have left to protect. He and his mother mean more to me than life itself.”
Perhaps corny, I swear those words are true. I can’t even allow myself to think about life without either one, as when I do, I feel the very essence of my soul begin to whither. If it dies, what will be left? I shudder to consider what that means, so I push it from my mind. Always.
“We should give it one more try, Pops,” said Alistair, wincing again as if speaking the words was an arduous effort. “She and I heard Stanislav tell Kaslow about a chain of caves that were uncovered yesterday afternoon. Some crystal samples found there showed a high concentration of radioactivity, which apparently is what they’re looking for.”
“No shit?”
“Yes, Ali’s right,” confirmed Amy. “Add that to what I heard on Monday, and I think Jeremy’s definitely around there someplace.”
“What if he’s dead?” I ignored the fact this might come across as insensitive. I had to make some definite decisions right then before we traveled much further. We had just passed the small village that lacked a moniker, and I remember thinking again how strange it was that any town—regardless how small—could exist without a name. “Could you handle it if that turned out to be the case?”
She didn’t respond right away. Going by gut instinct, I cut the lights and pulled the Jeep behind another row of thick evergreens a mile outside of the village. The spot felt right to me
, as if it was the safest place in the entire country of Iran right then.
“I could handle it,” she said, softly, though even in the dimness I saw fiery defiance in her eyes. “But he’s not dead.... I just know he’s not.”
I cut the Jeep’s engine and listened for anything to be alarmed about, whether that was a convoy of Jeeps pursuing us, or one of the Mercedes creeping down the road behind us. For a moment, I worried about GPS tracking. But, unless such a tracker was hidden from view, the Jeep didn’t come with one.
“So, am I correct to assume that we’re going to try to find Jeremy?” said Alistair.
“Well, it depends on a few things, son,” I said. “The most important thing is if these guys come after us with full force, then we’re leaving. Period! Is that understood?
Neither Alistair nor Amy said anything for a moment, and I watched them glance at each other before Alistair spoke.
“Yes, Pops, that’s loud and clear.”
“You don’t have to be a smartass, Ali.”
“I don’t think that was his intent,” said Amy, sticking up for him. “And we both agree with you...we will leave and forget the whole thing if we’re outmatched.”
I nodded, wondering if this would actually be the way it went down should we be attacked.
“So what are the other stipulations?” said Alistair.
I watched him peer warily through the glass-less passenger window to his left.
“Look behind the back seat and see if we’ve got anything for sustenance,” I said, while scanning the area around us. I didn’t detect anything of immediate concern, and I uttered a muted thanksgiving since the sky above was getting lighter, and visibility around us had become significantly enhanced since we pulled in behind the trees. “There could be some first aid supplies, as well.