by Dave Hazel
“I will bring the men here,” Towbar said quietly and walked away.
Towbar returned and the men kept their distance so they wouldn’t all be bunched up. “What the hell happened here?” Marine Staff Sergeant Fuller asked when he saw the dead dog and two dead men. He saw what looked like two bullet wounds to the head of the dog, but the two men had been chopped to pieces.
“They had to be silenced,” Mykal whispered as if there was nothing out of the ordinary going on. The six men behind Towbar looked back and forth to each other and the bloody body pieces under the stairwell. The other six were spread out along the buildings. “Okay, this is what we gotta do,” Mykal whispered. “I’m gonna go looking for the princess by myself cuz she’s up here somewhere. I’m not sure what floor she’s on, but I can go quietly. I need you guys to watch that no one comes by here. Put a couple of guys on the end of the building and watch for anyone coming this way. Put a couple of guys under this stairwell and have them go back toward the end of the building to ensure no one will come from that back way. And have all the men keep watching from all directions cuz if any of these soldiers get up and start walking around and see us we’re gonna be in a world of hurt. Have a couple of men push their bodies, and the body of that poor dog under this wooden stairwell so they won’t be seen should some of the soldiers come by this way.”
“What the hell happened here?” Another voice whispered as more approached the stairwell.
“We will discuss this at a later time,” Towbar said which stopped the questioning.
“Hey Mykal,” Green Beret Sergeant Freeman said to get his attention. Freeman had been with him from the original Lost Patrol and Freeman had always been on point. He was essential for keeping the men safe because of his keen eye on the trails. “I’ll take Bush with me and go back under this dark stairwell and check it out back there,” he added and pointed to the other side of the buildings. It looked like there was another street on the far side.
“Me?” Army Ranger Sergeant Bush asked. “You want me?” Bush whispered and felt honored. Freeman had earned a great reputation among the men because of constant risk taking in volunteering to walk point at all times fearlessly.
“Yeah Sarge. Even though you’re a damned Ranger, I’ll take your sorry ass with me,” he chuckled and lightly hit Bush on the arm.
“Anka, come with me,” Staff Sergeant Fuller said as he took it upon himself to go to the end of the building so they could watch for any surprises.
“Yes Sir,” Anka replied and gave a thumbs up.
“Listen,” Mykal whispered and stopped them before they all departed. “I’m not really sure what floor she’ll be on. I think it was the third or maybe the fourth so I’m gonna start at the top and work my way down. If I get detected and the alarm gets sounded I want you guys to haul ass and get outta here. Try to make it back to the vehicles or if it gets really bad then have Cremona call on the radio for them to come riding in here with weapons blasting and pick us up. If we get separated Towbar has the special powder to create the green fog and I also have some. So don’t freak out and wait for me if I’m up there,” he added only because he knew he could turn invisible and get away. He didn’t want the men to worry over him as much as he was going to worry over them.
“If everything goes to shit,” Mykal continued. “Get to the vehicles and leave without me cuz I can make it back and I don’t want you guys to be put at risk,” he added and felt remorse that he wasted so much time. He had no remorse that he butchered the animal abusers, but he was angry with himself that his selfish feelings elongated the time his men were being exposed to potential dangers. He put his selfish desires above everything else and now that the momentary pleasure was gone, his men were at more risk because of the delayed time.
“Are you sure you don’t want any of us to come with you Mykal?” “Green Beret Staff Sergeant Campbell asked. He was another from the very beginning and was one of the Silent Killers.
“I really think it will be safer if I go by myself,” Mykal replied. “If I yell, then obviously something went wrong and I will need as much help as I can get,” he said and snickered. “But do me a favor, either of you, or have one of the other men tell Cremona to get on the radio and pass it on to Captain Diaz and Finley that we’re going in now.”
“Hey Mykal,” Army Ranger Sergeant McPherson whispered to him. McPherson was another who had been there since the very beginning and he too wanted to do his part to help complete the mission. “I know I’m only a lowly sergeant,” he chuckled with self-deprecating humor. “But please, don’t be a hero. If you need us, use us. We’re here for you. We wouldn’t put our asses out on a limb like this if we really didn’t wanna be here with you.”
“Hooah,” Campbell said quietly.
The others agreed with quiet “Hooahs” for the US Army personnel and quiet “Ooh-rahs” from the Marines.”
“I will. And thanks. I needed to hear that. Tell Cremona to tell them I’m going in in five minutes,” he whispered and looked at his watch.
3.
Mykal waited at the top of the fourth floor landing. He listened at the door for any sounds inside the room but even with his increased hearing he couldn’t detect any noise within. He turned invisible and knocked on the door. He waited and when there was no response he knocked a little harder. Still nothing. He stood to one side of the door and pushed down on the steel rod that was to work as the door handle.
To his surprise the door opened, but the room was completely dark. He stared intently, listened hard and sniffed for any clues. When his eyes adjusted to the darkness he quickly deduced it was a room for storage. There were many crates, wooden boxes and many other such items piled high into the room. He sensed a soulless emptiness that made him feel the room was vacant and he shouldn’t waste time there. He wasn’t sure if it would be that way through the entire floor, but he just sensed Doninka wouldn’t be in this room or on this floor.
Mykal rushed down to the third floor landing. He listened at the door and could hear muffled voices but they sounded farther into the room which meant it could be coming from a room off of the room adjacent to the door. Mykal felt terribly nervous because he believed this was where Doninka was being held. If she was being held in this room, she wasn’t alone. He strained to focus and it sounded like two male voices, but he couldn’t make out any more than that.
Mykal tried the door and it opened. The immediate room was dark, but the adjoining room was lit up with torches and candles. He snuck in while being invisible and ensured the door closed behind him. He slowly moved to where he could see into the room that was lit up. This wasn’t the room where Doninka showed him the outside through the windows, but he clearly saw Doninka sitting at a large round wooden table with food placed before her.
He was so happy to see her, but she looked scared. She didn’t look as happy as she did when Towbar made contact with her through Mind Talk. There were chains and shackles lying on the floor beside her. There were at least two men in the room. One sat on a large comfortable sofa while the other paced back and forth behind her. They looked like regular soldiers with swords at their sides and daggers in their belts. There were a couple of spears and shields with their helmets set aside near a wall.
The man who paced behind her held a large leather skin that he kept drinking from. “Have some wine with me woman,” he said and thrust the skin toward her. He sounded like he had too much to drink as it was and a seething rage twisted inside Mykal. The one on the sofa looked as if he had been drinking as well. He looked a little numb under his unshaven face. They both looked like muscular young warriors.
“I am not allowed to have drink,” Doninka said weakly and refused to look up. She seemed to be playing with her food more to keep herself busy than she was actually eating.
“I will not speak of it if you partake with me,” the man stopped behind her and touched her pretty brown hair. “I will make you enjoy your time if you partake in a drink with me,” he said s
oftly as if he was trying to convince her.
“Please, my Lord,” she said weakly out of respect. “I am not allowed to have intoxicating beverages,” she added in hopes of ending the conversation.
“If we are to remain in this room together, we might as well enjoy our time together. Do you not agree?” The wine skin carrying man asked and continued to pet her hair.
“I do not know how the Supreme Ruler will respond,” she replied and he quickly pulled his hand from her head.
“The Supreme Ruler will never know if one never speaks of our actions,” he said and pushed the skin of wine toward her cup. “I will reward your silence. If you please me woman, I will ensure you live in comfort all your days here,” he said and it sounded like a line he was using to get what he wanted from her.
The one on the sofa started to laugh which made it appear the other was lying to her. Clearly they both had too much to drink. “If it were any other wench I would say throw her to the ground and have your way with her Yurkin,” the one on the sofa laughed. “Then I will have my way with her after you. However, with such a lovely creature as this one, we should have our way with her and then charge all the others for time with her. We could easily make some substantial lucre,” he paused to release a belch. “We could present her to Commander Riesendon as a gift and earn a great position in his favorability ranking.”
“Gomnon, some times you speak great ideas,” Yurkin said and looked at his drunken partner on the sofa. “Then some times you go too far and talk like the fools who have no sense.”
“What did I say that was wrong my brother?” Gomnon asked and tittered drunkenly.
“We will make the most of this opportunity presented to us today,” he added and touched Doninka’s hair again. “We will have our way with her and she will submit to those we sell her services to. You were wise in that suggestion Gomnon. However my drunken friend, the last person we should share her with is Commander Riesendon. Will he not take her from us? Then we will miss out of the pleasurable services she will provide for us. Then we will be out of the bartering tender we will earn.”
“Yes. Yes, yes, you are correct,” Gomnon laughed wildly like a drunken pirate. “I did not think through my thoughts.”
“You can not do that to me,” Doninka said softly and raised her spoon to her mouth. “I am a special--”
Suddenly Yurkin grabbed her hair tightly with his closed fist and yanked her head back violently. Her spoon and the little food on the spoon fell to the floor. “Do not tell me what I can or can not do wench. No woman will speak to me like that. Do you understand me wench?” He snarled into her face and breathed his alcohol breath on her. “I am a man who gets what I desire. And no worthless criminal woman will instruct me.”
Mykal wanted to explode. He had to stop himself from raising his Glock 17 and emptying the clip into the scumbag’s face. His rage matched the rage he felt with the animal abusing brothers and then soared past when Yurkin grabbed her hair. He wished Doninka would have remained quiet and allowed the intoxicated men to continue their drunken discussion. They were going to get what’s coming to them for touching his Doninka.
Doninka knew not to scream though she whimpered and winced at the alcohol odor he breathed into her face. She reached for the pain but his grip was powerful. “Please, my Lord,” she begged and the terror could be heard in her words.
“Yes Yurkin. Let us have our pleasure with her. We will discuss selling her when we have had our fill,” Gomnon said and licked his lips. “She looks soft and tender. She seems sweet and fragrant like a pretty flower of the field,” he added and licked his lips more. He rubbed his hand over his mustache and beard. “It has been some time since I have been with a fair maiden who was not a bar room whore. Perhaps this one will not pass on burning sores like the others.”
“You speak such poetic words for a murdering fool my friend,” Yurkin laughed. It sounded like a backhanded compliment.
Mykal wanted to erupt and start shooting up the place. But he had to make sure there weren’t others in any of the other rooms. He was going to kill them. There was no doubt about that, but he had to make sure there weren’t others in another room that could expose his presence. Just for their talk and the way they treated her he wanted to do worse to them than he did to the two animal abusers. ‘Damn, this friggin ring is getting to me,’ he thought. ‘But these scumbags got it coming to them. Especially if they lay a filthy finger on her,’ he pondered and wanted to explode.
“Though you speak with poetic words, I agree with you,” Yurkin said as he eased his grip on her hair. “She truly is a lovely maiden to behold. She will be a much lovelier maiden to spend the night with,” he added and almost drooled his lust. “She looks so soft and lovely,” he groaned like a deviant caricature of a sexual pervert. “I would like to bite her lips while I caress every part of her--”
Suddenly Mykal knocked loudly on the door he just came through.
They both looked up and then looked at each other. “It must be those stupid brothers,” Gomnon suggested. “Do you think they locked themselves out?”
“I gave them orders not to disturb us,” Yurkin replied. “Not until we have had our fill of this pretty little thing,” he said and rubbed the back of his hand over Doninka’s face. “Go see if it is those fools,” he barked when the knock on the door repeated. “And then tell them to leave until we call for them. I have real work to do,” he added. He licked his lips at Doninka and pushed his nose into her hair and breathed deeply which made Doninka shudder.
“You should go to the door Yurkin,” Gomnon argued. “They are your sister’s fool kids. You are the one who said you would take them under your wing and help them to become men,” he added with a mocking tone as he staggered to the darkened room. “I do not think they will listen to me the way they will listen to you.”
“Just do as I say. You will have your pleasure after I have had my pleasure,” Yurkin said. “If it is those two fools, tell them I said to stay away until the morning light or until I call for them. I plan to make her enjoy being with me,” he gurgled. “As a matter of truth, I plan to make her beg for my presence when I am away from her,” he said with a bigheaded confidence.
When Gomnon opened the door there was no one there. He looked up and down the stairwell. There was no one there to knock on the door and whoever knocked on the door couldn’t have gone all the way down the stairs that quickly.
“There is no one there Yurkin,” the drunken man said and turned away from the door. “Not even those two fool kids of your sister,” he added with a snide smirk. When Gomnon turned around he didn’t see the invisible Glock 17 just inches from his face. Mykal fired two rounds into his head but the silencer prevented the blast from being heard. The sound of his heavy dead weight crumpled to the wooden floor. After his dead weight hit the wooden floor, the odd sounding clatter of the two spent brass casings hit the wall and floor. The strange noise of the casings rolling on the wooden floor reached the other room and created an eerie moment of indecision for Yurkin.
“Gomnon. Gomnon,” Yurkin called out and stepped closer but stopped at the end of the table. “Gomnon, answer me. Dabinau and Angolow is that you in there?” He questioned the darkness.
“Doninka, get down,” Mykal barked though he couldn’t be seen. He was grateful she didn’t question him but dropped to the floor immediately despite the fact she couldn’t see that an invisible force came into the room. She clearly recognized his voice and responded to his command.
Mykal stood just two feet away from Yurkin when he turned himself visible and shot Yurkin in the face with the silenced Glock 17. Just as suddenly Yurkin’s head snapped back and his body crumpled to the floor. The rough and tumble bully weakly lay where he fell. Mykal followed the slightly twitching and squirming man and eyed him with hatred. The medieval thug struggled to understand what happened. He was dazed and felt as if he had been kicked in the face by a horse though much harder. The pain was unbearable. His eyes
shifted back and forth in his sockets as if trying to assess what happened to him.
Mykal stood over the near lifeless body and wanted to shout a string of obscenities to express his hatred for the man who planned to rape his Doninka. Yurkin’s eyes continued to dart back and forth wildly while he tried to understand what just happened to him. He couldn’t get to his feet. His head felt like it had caved in on him.
Without saying a word Mykal pumped two more rounds into Yurkin’s forehead and ended his reign as a mediocre medieval thug. He really wanted to empty the rest of the clip into the ‘filthy dirt bag’s’ head. “Is there anyone else up here?” Mykal whispered to Doninka and held his pistol at the ready.
Doninka was stunned and couldn’t believe her two guards, her two potential rapists, were dead. How could they have been killed so quickly without any sound? Two of her guards and tormenting bullies no longer existed. She eyed the soles of Yurkin’s feet and expected him to jump up and abuse her. Doninka was terrified. She was sure she heard Mykal’s voice and expected to hear his thunderstick, but she heard only the sound of spitting air. She feared for her life and well-being at the hands of her new guards.
“Doninka, is there anyone else up here?” He questioned harshly when she didn’t respond to his first inquiry.
“No. No,” she cried out quietly and jumped to her feet and ran to his arms. While in his grasp she eyed the three holes in Yurkin’s face and head and was surprised by all the blood that seeped from his head. She didn’t hear the noise of the thunderstick and yet, there lay Yurkin dead.
Mykal desperately wanted to make the brute suffer as he wrapped his free arm around her. Not knowing if others were on the floor could have caused them problems so he had to settle on killing the ‘groping jerk’ quickly.
“Mykal. Mykal. Oh my Mykal, I am so glad to see you,” she said and began to sob as she melted into his arms. She hugged him tightly and squeezed so snugly that she tried to become one with him. “Please help me. I’m scared,” she sobbed and started to kiss him, not in a lustful or sexual way but in a happy, grateful manner that desperately expressed her thanks.
