Payback - John Hayes Series 06 (2020)

by Abbott, Mark David

  “Why do I get the feeling you aren’t being very helpful?”

  They heard a click and looked up to see Karam standing up, his AK 47 cocked and pointed at them both. Mansur spoke softly in Arabic, and Karam relaxed a little, the barrel dropping toward the ground, but he stayed standing, watching.

  Naeem stared back at Steve. “Because it’s a stupid idea. We can’t just go in there and take those women. They belong to my brothers. We will get killed.”

  “Are you afraid?”

  “I’m not afraid of anything.” Naeem stuck his chin out. “Allah is with me.”

  John stepped forward as Steve glared at Naeem from inches away.

  “Hey, hey, calm down, guys. This is not helping anyone.” He looked up and down the street. “You are just going to attract attention.”

  Steve relaxed his grip and stepped back. John caught his eye, and with a jerk of his head, indicated he should move away. Steve stepped back further, still glaring at Naeem, his eyes hard, flexing his hands. John stepped between them and fixed Naeem in his gaze.

  “Naeem, Mia says she won’t leave without them...”

  “I won’t,” Mia piped up from the front seat.

  “See?” John nodded at Naeem. “Now, if you want her and your daughter to get out of here safely, I suggest you help us. Understand?”

  Naeem nodded reluctantly and straightened his jacket.

  “The sooner we get out of here, the better.” John waited until Naeem nodded again. “Now, tell me how many men are there? Will they be in the building?”

  Naeem sighed. “There are normally eight of us, including me and Karam. They might be there, I don’t know. We have a couple of days’ rest from the front, there’s a ceasefire, so they could be there or out getting food.” He shrugged. “I really don’t know. There will be at least one there. A guard.”

  John pursed his lips and studied Naeem’s face.

  “Aren’t you supposed to be with them?”

  “Yes...”

  “And?”

  “I don’t get on with my commander, Abu Mujahid.”

  “The guy who captured us?”

  “Yes.”

  “So, something I’m puzzled about, Naeem. Why did they let us go?”

  Naeem looked down at the ground and scuffed the ground with his boot.

  “I told them to.”

  “You told them to? You and,”—John nodded toward the boy standing in the tray and gave him a reassuring smile—“Karam here?”

  “That’s right.” Naeem’s tone was defensive.

  “And they just said okay?”

  “Yeah.” Naeem looked away, crossing his arms across his chest. John looked across at Mansur, who gave a subtle shake of his head.

  They knew he was lying. But why? What was really going on?

  “Okay, so you will take us to this house, we’ll check it out, and if we can get the women out safely, we will. But first, we will take a look. Okay?”

  “Okay,” Naeem mumbled.

  “Is that okay with you, Mia?”

  “Yes, thank you.”

  “Steve, Mansur?”

  “Yup.”

  John looked at Mansur, who nodded in return.

  “Mansur, tell Karam what we are doing.”

  Mansur started translating, the young boy looking down at his weapon as he listened. Mansur stopped speaking, and the boy nodded. John saw him glance in his direction, then back at Mansur. He said something, and when Mansur replied, he nodded again, lowering himself down, so he was sitting in the back of the pickup again.

  “He’ll help us if we help him go home.”

  “Raqqa?”

  “Yes.”

  “Shit.” John pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is never-ending.” He looked over at Karam, who was watching him from the back of the pickup. He nodded at him and smiled. “Poor kid. Okay, one thing at a time.” He looked at Steve. “You okay?”

  “Yeah, mate. Let’s do it.”

  John turned back to Naeem, who was still leaning against the vehicle, a sullen look on his face.

  “Let’s go, Naeem.”

  John climbed back into the rear of the pickup and placed a hand on Karam’s shoulder.

  “Shukraan, Karam.”

  The boy nodded and looked away shyly.

  John sat down beside Mansur as Naeem started the pickup.

  “One thing’s for sure, we will need another vehicle. We won’t fit another seven women in the back here.”

  “Don’t worry, John, it will be okay.” He smiled. “We have a saying, la tehmel ham Allah yehellha. God will provide.”

  “We will find out soon enough, Mansur.”

  76

  Naeem slowed to a stop beside a row of damaged buildings and parked. He climbed out and came around to the rear of the vehicle.

  “We can’t go any closer in this. It’s too dangerous.”

  “Where is it?”

  “I’ll show you.”

  John vaulted out of the pickup and looked around. The street reminded him of pictures he had seen of European cities during World War II—partially destroyed buildings on each side, separated by gaps where other buildings had once stood, piles of rubble and garbage filled the gaps and lined the road. There were few people around, and those who were, hurried with their heads down, avoiding eye contact.

  “This way.” Naeem walked off while Steve and Mansur climbed out of the car and followed, leaving Karam to watch over Mia and Malak. About two hundred meters up the road, there was a road heading left. Naeem stopped just beside the junction, keeping close to the wall of the building on the corner and waited for John, Steve, and Mansur to catch up.

  “Down this street on the left. There are three buildings, then a gap. It’s the building after the gap.”

  John nodded, stepped forward to the edge of the building, and peered around the corner. He counted and found the building. The angle was wrong, though. He needed to see it from the other side of the street. He ducked his head back and thought for a moment.

  “Give me your jacket.” He pointed at Naeem’s camouflage jacket.

  “Why?”

  “Just give it to me.”

  Naeem unfastened his jacket, unslung his AKM, passed it to John, then shrugged off the jacket. John passed the weapon back and took the jacket. He slipped it on, covering his vest, then stepped into the junction and crossed the road, turning his face away from the street. He hoped anyone looking in his direction would just see another fighter walking down the road. Reaching the opposite corner, he crouched down as if relacing his boot. He had an unobstructed view of the building now. It stood alone, the buildings on each side destroyed in earlier air raids, but it was partially damaged, exposed rafters showing in the roof, and the walls peppered with bullet holes. No glass remained in the windows, and the corner of the upper floor had a gaping hole in it. John spotted movement as a figure stepped out of the doorway into the street, wearing a mixture of camouflage and what looked like an AK47 on a sling, hanging off his shoulder. He seemed relaxed as he put a cigarette in his mouth and lit it from a lighter cupped in his hands. John stood up and crossed back the way he had come before the man looked in his direction.

  “There’s a guard, but he looks relaxed. I couldn’t see anyone else, but I don’t know if there are more inside. There're no vehicles outside.”

  “Then maybe they aren’t there,” said Naeem. “Usually, the pickup is outside, and if they were there, they wouldn’t keep a guard. The guard is to stop the... women escaping.”

  John stared at Naeem, a retort on the tip of his tongue. What would drive a man brought up in modern civilization to think keeping women as slaves was okay? That it was God’s reward? He bit his tongue and returned his thoughts to freeing the women.

  He was sure they could handle one guard, but they desperately needed another vehicle before they rescued the women. There was no way everyone would fit in the single pickup they had, but so far, the only vehicles he had seen were rusted
shells or filled with H.T.S. fighters armed to the teeth.

  “Naeem, where can we get another vehicle? Where did you get this one?”

  “I took it.”

  “You took it?”

  “Yes. This morning before we rescued you.”

  “Took it from where?”

  “One of the locals.” Naeem shrugged. “He was driving past. I needed a car, so I took it off him.”

  “They must love you in these parts,” said Steve, shaking his head.

  “If I hadn’t done it, you would be dead by now,” Naeem shot back.

  John gestured to Steve not to respond and looked back at Naeem. “I need you to get another one and quickly. Bring it back here.”

  Naeem frowned, hesitating.

  “Now, Naeem!”

  He nodded, adjusted the strap of his AKM, so it hung in front of him, and set off down the street.

  “Do you trust him?” Steve asked as they watched him walk off.

  “No.”

  “Maybe Mansur should go with him?”

  John considered the idea, then shook his head.

  “No, we need an Arabic speaker with us just in case anyone comes.”

  “Mia?”

  John shook his head. “No. No-one will speak to her. They’ll only want to speak to another man.” He exhaled loudly. “We have to trust him. Let’s go back to the car.”

  “Okay.”

  “I still don’t buy his story about how he freed us,” John mused as they weaved their way through the rubble.

  “Neither do I. Little shit. I want to strangle the bastard.”

  “Steve, we need him, so stay calm.” John put a placatory hand on Steve’s arm.

  “But let’s be careful.”

  77

  It was a tense thirty minutes before Naeem returned. Two other vehicles had passed, but the H.T.S. flag flying from the aerial and the sight of Karam standing on the back, cradling his AK47, had prevented anyone from stopping.

  Naeem pulled up behind them in a small Hyundai Truck. John walked around it and nodded his approval. The goods tray had tall sides, and anyone sitting down in the rear would be hidden from sight.

  “Perfect, Naeem.” He beckoned to Steve and Mansur to join him. “Call Karam.”

  He waited until they were all standing by the truck, Naeem still sitting in the driver’s seat.

  “Mansur, please translate for Karam.” Mansur nodded, and John continued. “The guard won’t have seen this vehicle before. Steve, you and I will approach the building from the rear on foot. Naeem, you and Mansur drive up in the truck. Stop just short of the building, so he can’t see you clearly... maybe call out for directions or pretend the truck has broken down... you decide. Anyway, wave the guard over, distract him, we’ll approach him from behind, and grab him. Then we go in, get the women, put them in the truck, and get out of there.” John looked at each of their faces, “What do you think?”

  “Sounds okay.” Steve looked back toward the pickup. “What about Mia and the baby? I don’t want to leave them alone here on the street.”

  “No.”

  “And the women might not want to come with us,” added Mansur. “They don’t know who we are. They will be suspicious.”

  “Yeah,” John sighed. “You’re right.” He closed his eyes and visualized the street, pictured what they were planning to do. Opening them again, he asked, “Can Karam drive?”

  Mansur asked, and the boy shook his head.

  “What about Mia? Naeem?”

  “Yes, she can.”

  “Great. Naeem, wait here. Steve, come with me, you too, Mansur, bring Karam.”

  The four of them walked forward, and John crouched down beside the open door of the cab. Looking inside, he saw Mia staring out the windshield, a distant look in her eyes while Malak dozed on the seat beside her.

  “Mia?”

  She jumped as if surprised she wasn’t alone, blinking rapidly as she tuned back into the present.

  “Mia, we’re going to rescue your friends. We are leaving Karam here to protect you. Naeem says you can drive?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good, I want you to wait in the vehicle. Karam will wait on the corner over there.” John pointed up the street. “When he sees us grab the guard, he will signal you. I want you to bring the pickup down to the building. Can you do that?”

  Mia nodded, her eyes flicking toward Karam, who was listening to Mansur’s translation.

  “Then I’ll need you to come inside the building and tell the women to come with us. They’ll need to see someone they can trust. Okay?”

  “Yes.”

  John stood up, stepping back as Steve leaned over and looked in.

  “Are you okay?”

  Mia nodded at Steve and John.

  “Don’t worry, I can do it.”

  “I know you can.” Steve smiled and winked. “See you soon.”

  “Wait.”

  The two men paused and looked back in.

  “What is it?”

  Mia leaned forward and flipped open the glove compartment. “Look what I found.” Lying in the glove compartment was a handgun.

  Steve reached and took it out. He stood, making sure his body blocked Naeem’s line of sight and showed it to John.

  “A Glock 17.” He pressed the magazine release button, checked the magazine, and popped it back in again. “Fully loaded, too.”

  “Give it to Mansur. He’s in the car with Naeem.” John looked at the tall Bedouin. “Mansur, keep this with you in case Naeem tries anything stupid.”

  Mansur took the weapon and slid it into his waistband, pulling his jacket over the top.

  “Karam understands what he has to do?”

  “Yes.”

  “Good. Okay, guys, let’s do it.”

  78

  It took John and Steve a good twenty minutes to get in position. Fortunately, this part of town had been shelled heavily at one time and was now mostly abandoned. However, it took them time to work their way around behind the building and approach it from the rear. By the time they were pressed up against the back wall, they were covered in dust, and their hands and knees were scraped from tumbles and falls in the piles of rubble. John crouched down and moved slowly along the side of the building until he could see the corner where they had left the others and could just see Karam’s head. He raised his hand and gave him a thumbs-up signal. John saw Karam nod, then his head disappeared behind the wall. John slowly turned and keeping low, moved carefully back to the rear of the building.

  “Okay?” Steve whispered.

  “Yup.” John looked back to the front of the building. “Let’s go around the other side. When Naeem stops, the guard might see us. We’ll be better hidden on the other side.”

  Steve nodded, turned around, and headed toward the far side of the building. They made their way carefully through the piles of broken concrete and bricks. A pile of bricks dislodged and slid to the ground. John winced and held his breath. They both waited, crouched low to the ground, in case someone had heard them, but all they could hear was the truck approaching on the road. John crept forward until he was at the corner of the building, waited until he heard the vehicle stop, then peered around the corner. Naeem had stopped the truck just short of the building, and fortunately, the angle of the sun prevented a clear view into the cab through the windshield. John heard a noise and saw the guard step out of the doorway onto what remained of the pavement. He held an AK47 in his left hand, but it was pointed at the ground, and his trigger finger was outside the guard. He seemed relaxed, the battered Hyundai mini-truck not appearing to be a threat. An arm waved out of the vehicle window, followed by a shout in Arabic. The guard stepped into the road and slowly walked over to the vehicle.

  “Here we go,” John muttered to Steve and stood. He stepped around the corner, bent down, and picked up a brick, then walked quickly and quietly after the guard.

  The guard approached the vehicle, and just as he neared, a cloud went across t
he sun. The reflection on the window disappeared, affording him a clear view inside. He stopped and raised his weapon.

  “Naeem?”

  John sprinted forward, raising the brick. The guard must have heard him. He turned… but was too late. John brought the brick down on the side of his head, knocking him to the ground. The guard groaned but was still conscious. John kicked the AK out of his reach and followed it up with a kick to the guard’s stomach, knocking the wind out of him. He laid in the dirt, gasping for breath as blood ran from a split in the side of his head.

  “That’s going to hurt in the morning,” Steve said as he joined John beside the truck.

  “Quick, let’s secure him and get him out of sight.” He looked over at Mansur and Naeem, who had climbed out of the truck. “Check the building. There might be others. Mansur, take the AK.” John bent down and flipped the guard onto his stomach and knelt between his shoulder blades as Naeem and Mansur set off at a run toward the building.

  “Steve, find something to tie him up.” John pressed the guards face into the dirt with his right hand and turned slightly, so he could monitor the street. He heard an engine and saw the pickup rounding the corner at the end of the road as Steve came back with some rope he had found in the rear of the truck. John bound the guard’s wrists, then removed a Glock from the holster on his belt before going through his pockets. He found a cell phone, which he pocketed and a pocketknife which he used to cut the excess end off the rope, then threw it to Steve.

  “Tie his feet together.”

  Using the knife, John tore off a section of the guard’s shirt and tied it around his mouth as a gag, then stood, slipping the knife into his pocket.

  Mia pulled up behind the truck, and both she and Karam climbed out and ran toward them.

  “Mia, wait until they’ve checked the building, then go tell the women we have to leave straight away.” As he said that, he saw Karam look past him and turned to see Naeem in the doorway, giving the thumbs-up.

  “Mia, all clear. Go!”

  Mia ran across the road as John bent down and grabbed the guard’s arm.

  “Steve, give me a hand. We’ll hide him in the building.” Steve grabbed the other arm, and they dragged the fighter across the street and through the doorway past Naeem. “Over there.” John nodded toward a gap under the stairs. They dragged him over and dumped him face down in a dark corner. John turned and saw a look of discomfort on Naeem’s face.