The Relentless Hero

by Angel Vane

  Tubeec contemplated his options, not sure he wanted to continue to deal with Adam. He had other preparations to begin and this assignment was dragging on longer than he expected. “Set up a meeting point and get the Jeep ready. I’ll ride out with you.”

  Turning back around, Tubeec walked to Adam and placed a hand on the man’s shoulders. “Good news, my friend. Mena Nix is being delivered to our scheduled drop off point now. My team and I will go out personally to collect her and bring her back to you. Cangrejos will stay behind as a sign of good faith.”

  Adam smiled, exposing deep dimples. “Good. Before you leave, there’s one more person I need you to bring to me. He should be easy to lure here.”

  Chapter Forty-Nine

  “Taye! Slow down!” Julian ordered, leaning forward in the passenger seat of the Humvee. About a hundred yards ahead, near a copse of dying trees, a Jeep lay overturned on the road.

  “Looks like that motherfucker flipped his Jeep,” Enzo said, from the back seat. “How the fuck did he manage that? Ain’t shit out here.”

  The Humvee slowed to a stop a few yards from the Jeep and Taye put the vehicle in park.

  Julian opened the door and jumped out, jogging over to the Jeep, which rested on its side with the passenger side door facing up to the sky.

  “Julian, these tracks look familiar,” Glaze said, squatting down to peer at the skid marks in the dirt. “Like the ones back at the safe house in Takaba.”

  Sprinting ahead, Julian stepped on the axel beneath the JEEP’s chassis and hoisted himself toward the top of the Jeep. The vehicle rocked as he peered through the window. The cab was empty. Dropping back down, he walked to the other side—

  Leaning against the roof of the Jeep was Hakeem Underwood. His breathing was ragged and he held his side, grimacing in pain.

  “Where the fuck is Mena, you bastard?” Julian demanded, stepping toward Hakeem. Lifting the man from the ground, he drug him toward a tree.

  “Hakeem?” Taye said from behind Julian. “Hey, Hakeem is over here. He looks hurt.”

  Hakeem looked up at Julian, contrition and shame in his eyes. He exhaled, then said, “Al-Harakat ambushed us. They took Mena. They’re going to hand her over to Tubeec Hirad for the bounty.”

  Julian rammed his forearm under Hakeem’s neck.

  Gurgling from the force of the blow, Hakeem’s eyes grew wide with fear.

  “What were you planning to do with Mena? Why did you take her and not tell us?” Julian demanded.

  An arm wrapped around Julian’s waist. He felt himself being pulled backward.

  “Take it easy, man,” Enzo said, holding Julian back. “Don’t do something you might regret later.”

  “We’re waiting for an answer, Hakeem,” Glaze said, rounding the corner. The four of them surrounded Hakeem as he stared at each of them.

  “I was never going to hurt her. But I needed to use her as … bait,” Hakeem said.

  “Bait? For what? What were you planning to do?” Julian asked.

  “Kill that bastard Tubeec Hirad. I knew he was desperate to get Mena back. Tubeec doesn’t put out a bounty for anyone, but he did for Mena. If I could deliver her, it would get me a chance to be alone with him. To end that miserable bastard’s life,” Hakeem said, venom and hatred oozing from every word.

  “What beef you got with Tubeec? Where is that coming from?” Enzo asked, releasing Julian.

  “He kidnapped my sister and held her for over a year. Forced her to do … despicable things. I’m going to make him regret what he did,” Hakeem said.

  Julian closed his eyes. After rescuing Hakeem from the diabolical leader of the militia, Sunny had been kidnapped by Tubeec for masterminding Hakeem’s escape. Hakeem knew what his sister had gone through to help him and he wanted Tubeec to pay.

  “Julian, I promise you I wasn’t going to let Mena get hurt in any of this. I was going to get her back to Nairobi safely after I’d finished gutting Tubeec,” Hakeem said, the sincerity in his tone ringing true to Julian.

  Julian rubbed a hand down his face. He couldn’t be distracted by Hakeem’s revenge plot. He needed to find Mena. “How do you know it was al-Harakat that hijacked you and kidnapped Mena?”

  “I recognized their gear. The brand new TIGR Jeep they were riding in was supplied by Russian benefactors,” Hakeem said.

  Glaze asked, “So, where do you think they are taking her? To Tubeec?”

  “Yeah, I’m sure it didn’t take them long to contact Tubeec, he’ll instruct them to take her to El Wak. Wasn’t too long ago that they took her. I’m sure you can overtake them,” Hakeem said.

  “And what are you going to do?” Julian asked.

  “What I came here to do. As soon as you help me get this Jeep turned over,” Hakeem said.

  “You can’t go after Tubeec alone,” Glaze warned. “He’ll kill you for sure.”

  “No, he won’t. He thinks I’m on his side. I’ve been doing small jobs for him, trying to get close enough to make him pay for what he did to my sister,” Hakeem admitted.

  “Does Sunny know about this bullshit?” Enzo asked.

  “No! And you aren’t going to say anything about it to her. Just help me get the Jeep turned over and go find Mena. I’ll do this on my own,” Hakeem said.

  “No, you won’t. I’m coming with you,” Glaze said. “You’re going to need back up.”

  Turning toward Julian, Glaze asked, “Think you can manage without me?”

  “Yeah, I can,” Julian said. He could manage to save Mena even if they all abandoned him. “Let’s get this Jeep back on four wheels.”

  Taye, Glaze, and Enzo lined up along the side of the Jeep, then on Julian’s count, they heaved and pushed the vehicle in unison. After several tries, the Jeep creaked and rocked, tipping over onto the tires.

  “We need to get going,” Julian said to Taye and Enzo. He couldn’t keep Mena waiting any longer.

  Chapter Fifty

  “Based on the terrain and the available routes, al-Harakat will have to cross this road to get to El Wak,” Enzo confirmed.

  Julian peered through the binoculars, looking for any movement on the horizon. An hour had passed and they’d been in contact with TIDES HQ. Zale had helped navigate them across open desert, showing them the main roads to avoid as they tried to cut off al-Harakat before they reached El Wak. Taye had given them an update about finding Hakeem and his plans to go after Tubeec with Glaze.

  Sunny was noticeably absent. Simon and Zale indicated she hadn’t come into the offices yet and no one had heard from her. Where the hell could she be? Did she know what was going on with Hakeem and his quest for revenge against Tubeec Hirad for her? Was she out trying to stop him?

  Julian pushed the thoughts from his mind. He couldn’t worry about Sunny. She could take care of herself. His only concern right now was finding Mena and extracting her from the hands of terrorists hoping to trade her for a big payday.

  The radio crackled, and Zale’s voice lingered in the air, “Transport spotted, traveling east parallel to Saba Route. Closed convoy, one TIGR, four gunmen, hidden Barbie.”

  Zale and Simon had been flying drones with mounted cameras over the area, and scouring the live feeds to assist them with locating al-Harakat.

  Julian pressed the button to speak through his comms. “How far out?”

  “Five minutes.”

  Hidden Barbie.

  No identifiable sign that Mena was actually in the convoy, but there was no other reason for a convoy to be heading in this direction. The heavily armed team in that convoy had to be al-Harakat.

  “Look, coming up over there,” Taye said, pointing as he shifted the Humvee into gear. The military vehicle propelled forward, sending up a cloud of red dirt as it bumped over the uneven terrain. Visibility was limited through the dust, but Julian could make out the sleek gray TIGR gliding across the desert land.

  Julian had kept his memories of Mena in the far corners of his mind, refusing to indulge in the pain of missing
her, afraid they would swallow him whole into an abyss of loneliness if he let them run rampant. He’d needed to focus his energy on finding and rescuing her.

  Knowing he was within minutes of resting his eyes on her beautiful face again sent a surge of adrenaline through him.

  Bouncing over a small hill, he had the TIGR in his sights, leaning out of the window with the M4 Carbine perched on his shoulder. In the periphery, he could see Enzo, mirroring his movements, ready to make a coordinated attack on the tires of the TIGR.

  Clutching the steering wheel tighter, Taye barreled ahead, turning the Humvee toward the TIGR in a wide arc to give Julian and Enzo the best vantage to shoot at the vehicle. The Humvee swerved again as Julian and Enzo unleashed a steady stream of shots toward the TIGR. The bullets popped through the air, pelting then bouncing off the bulletproof metal and glass. Julian cursed. His shots had been too high to hit the tires. Readjusting his aim, he unleashed another round of bullets, hitting one of the front tires.

  The TIGR careened across the dirt road, jerking back and forth. A door swung open and a gunman leaned out, unleashing a round of shots toward the Humvee.

  Enzo rebounded, taking several shots. A body fell out the open door of the TIGR, tumbling across the red dirt before rolling to a stop on the ground. The TIGR sped up, racing away from the Humvee. A rifle emerged from the back window, pelting the Humvee with more bullets that pinged off the surface.

  Taye swerved in a wider arc, then floored the vehicle until they were on the other side of the TIGR. The erratic movement of the Humvee was destroying Julian’s aim. He had to get the TIGR to slow down. Julian jumped out of the Humvee, gripping the rifle tightly as his body banged against the hard earth, rolling several times before coming to a stop. He kept his eyes trained on the moving tires. Fingering the trigger, he focused on the turning wheels and hit each back tire with successive shots.

  The TIGR swerved wildly across the sand, tilting and rocking as the driver struggled to keep control of the vehicle. The TIGR spun in a one-hundred-eighty-degree arc. Julian caught sight of the driver through the window. The man’s head was barely above the steering wheel. Time stood still as Julian focused on the cadence of his heart beating, slow and methodical. He inhaled, then pulled the trigger over and over.

  The rapid-fire of the rifle thundered in his ears, then fell silent.

  The TIGR slowed to a stop.

  Julian stared at the hole pierced in the front windshield. The driver’s head slumped backward, his face a bloody mess of torn skin and bone, unrecognizable as human.

  Julian watched the Humvee slowing to a stop on the other side of the TIGR. Enzo emerged from the passenger door, his gun raised as he approached the back door of the TIGR.

  “Enzo! Wait!” Julian screamed as he took off running across the sand.

  In an instant, the back door of the TIGR opened and shots rang out, pelting Enzo’s body. Julian watched Enzo fall, his body jerking back and forth as the bullets hit him.

  Raising his gun, Julian shot the two men leaning out the back of the TIGR, their bodies falling on top of Enzo.

  Taye raced over, moving the rebel’s bodies. One gripped his ankle and Taye placed a clean shot right between the man’s eyes, before leaning down to check on Enzo.

  “Is he okay?” Julian asked, panting as he stood over Taye and Enzo.

  “Fuck yeah, I’m okay,” Enzo said, through shallow breaths. “Bulletproof vest took most of the damage, but this arm is bleeding like a motherfucker!”

  “We’re going to get you some help!” Taye said, looking at Julian with concern in his eyes.

  No doubt, Enzo’s injuries were a lot worse than his friend realized.

  Julian pressed the comms, “Zale, where is the closest hospital?”

  “What happened? Is everything okay?” Zale asked. Julian could hear her typing on the keyboard, likely homing in on their location.

  “Enzo got shot, need to get him to the hospital asap,” Julian urged as Enzo’s blood oozed across the sand, darkening the already rust-colored dirt. Lifting Enzo’s body, Julian caught sight of torn muscles and bones, areas where the bulletproof vest hadn’t been able to protect his friend. Taye grabbed Enzo from the other side and they carried him to the Humvee, placing him in the back seat.

  “Keep heading east to El Wak to the district hospital. I’ll arrange for a helicopter to meet you to Medivac Enzo back to Kenyatta National Hospital here in Nairobi,” Zale said.

  Julian ended the call. “You heard the lady.”

  “What about you?” Taye asked, hesitating.

  “I’ll drive the TIGR and follow you to the hospital. It’ll be slow on busted tires, but I can get there. If we aren’t there by the time the medivac arrives, leave without us,” Julian insisted.

  Taye nodded, started the Humvee, and drove away from Julian, tires skidding in the red dirt.

  An eerie silence filled the air as Julian watched the Humvee grow smaller and smaller into the distance. Stepping over one of the dead militants of al-Harakat, he headed toward the TIGR.

  Reaching the back door, Julian took a deep breath. Swinging the door open, Julian crawled into the back, then stopped abruptly.

  He felt like he couldn’t breathe.

  Mena was huddled in a tight ball, wedged against the floorboard, her face splattered with the blood of the dead driver slumped over the back of the seat.

  Julian scrambled toward the back of the compartment and pulled Mena into his arms. She clung to him, her body trembling. Kissing the top of her head, he squeezed tighter, loving the feel of her body in his arms. He weaved his fingers through her tangled hair as she wrapped her arms tighter around his waist.

  “Did they hurt you?” Julian asked, leaning back to look at her. She looked shell-shocked and confused, suffering from the trauma of being kidnapped multiple times over the past three days.

  “No,” Mena said, burrowing her head into his chest. “I didn’t think you would be able to find me this time.”

  “Hey, don’t start doubting me. Nothing was going to stop me from finding you. I would have searched forever,” Julian said, sliding a finger down the side of her face. “You sure they didn’t hurt you?”

  Mena nodded.

  Julian leaned back and grabbed a canteen of water. Opening the top, he handed it to Mena. “Drink this.”

  Grabbing the bottle, Mena gulped the water. Lowering it, she wiped the back of her palm against her mouth.

  “Can we go home now?” Mena asked, leaning back against the seat.

  “TIDES is sending a plane to El Wak and I can have you back in Nairobi within the hour,” Julian reassured her.

  “No … not Nairobi,” Mena said. “I want to go back to St. Basil. I don’t want to be in Kenya anymore.”

  Julian rubbed her arms. “Okay, we’ll go home … tonight.”

  Mena’s eyes drifted behind him, her face frowning.

  “What’s wrong?” Julian asked.

  A sigh escaped her lips. “We won’t be going home after all.”

  Chapter Fifty-One

  Mena stared into the cold, lifeless eyes of Tubeec Hirad. Three heavily armed gunmen dressed in dark green were jogging up behind him, flanking the militant leader on the left and right sides. Bandanas shielded their noses and mouths from the swirling red sand blowing across the desert.

  “Look at me,” Julian said.

  Mena averted her gaze from the gunmen storming toward them across the flat, desolate terrain.

  “We’ve been in worse situations before and we got out of them alive. We’re going to get out of this one too,” Julian said, grabbing her hands. “You trust me?”

  Mena searched his soulful brown eyes, but couldn’t force herself to respond. Her trust in him wasn’t the issue.

  “Three gunmen behind me, right?” Julian asked.

  “Yes,” Mena whispered.

  “Big guns or small ones?”

  “Really big.” Mena watched as the men approached and stopped next to Tub
eec at the back door of the vehicle.

  “No sudden movements and follow their instructions. Okay?” Julian said, then reached into his pocket and held his hand in front of her.

  Mena glanced down at her bracelet resting in the palm of his hand. Tears sprung to her eyes as she grabbed it and slipped it back on her wrist.

  “I love you,” Julian said.

  Mena nodded, “I love you, too.”

  Julian turned around and faced Tubeec.

  A bullet whizzed through the air, slamming into the back of the seat with a loud bang, mere inches away from Mena’s head.

  Mena shrieked, jumping closer to Julian.

  “We will do whatever you want,” Julian said, waving his empty hands in the air. Mena’s eyes drifted down his back toward the bulge in his waistband.

  “Get out,” Tubeec said, stepping backward. “Both of you.”

  Mena watched Julian climb out of the jeep, then he turned and reached for her. Grasping his hand, Mena crawled out and stood next to Julian. The bright harsh warmth of the sun burned her skin as she stared at the assault rifles pointed at them.

  Julian stepped in front of her, his muscles tensing. His hand reached backward toward the gun tucked into his waistband. Trying to outshoot three heavily armed men at this close range was foolish. She couldn’t let him do it. She couldn’t let him continue to put his life on the line for her.

  “Kill him and grab the woman,” Tubeec said, then turned to walk away. The gunmen raised their rifles, locking in on Julian.

  “Wait! No, please don’t!” Mena screamed, pushing Julian and rushing forward toward the men. She held up her hands. “I will go with you! You don’t have to hurt him.”

  Tubeec turned around, a confused look crossing his face. The gunmen looked back toward the leader.

  Tubeec flicked his wrist downward and the men responded by lowering their weapons. Walking to Mena, Tubeec stopped. “You must love this man very much.”