by Abbi Hemp
“You’re something else.”
“Tell me what happened, crazy woman.”
“Well, this guy rescued me. I don’t remember any of it. They knocked me out.”
“Is the guy cute?”
“Is that all you ever think about?”
“Does anything else matter?”
“I think so.”
“He’s a dog. Okay, I get it.”
“No, he’s not. I think he’s hot. He’s got the buff body of a solider.”
“My, oh my, Mercy has turned into a slut in Afghanistan.”
“Shut up, bitch,” I shot back.
She sighed again.
“I miss you so much. When are you coming back?”
“In two weeks,” I said. “And I miss you too.”
She made a kissing noise.
“Are you there…” Crackle. “…Mercy?”
“Hello?” I said into the static.
I lowered the phone and thought about trying to call her back. Instead, I set the phone down and typed up a description of Tyler to maybe use later for my story.
If he was involved in something bad, he would make it into my final story, I reasoned with myself as I wrote my observations of him, mostly bad traits. Some good slipped in.
Before I finished the writing session, someone knocked on the door. Who could that be? I closed the laptop and stood up, ready for anything Afghanistan threw at me.
“Hold on.”
I turned the doorknob and saw Tyler standing outside. His bulging muscles were about ready to rip his olive-green tee-shirt. He grinned that cocksure grin of his.
“Hey, Tyler. What’s up.”
“The CO wants to see you.”
“Me?”
“Yeah.”
“Do you know why?”
He glanced to the left then right then said, “Do you have a sat-phone with you?”
“No. It’s against the rules.”
“We intercepted the signal going out. You’re dealing with the U.S. Army, not a bunch of idiots.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I insisted.
“Can I give you a tip?”
“Sure.”
“Tell the truth, okay? If you do, he won’t restrict you in your quarters.”
“He can’t do that to me,” I said. “I’m a private U.S. citizen.”
“Look, Mercy. I’m just trying to help you out. He has a lot of power out here.”
“Yeah? What kind of power? Anything going on I should know about? Like those samples?”
His eyes widened almost imperceptibly, but I saw the surprise on his face.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about. Let’s go.”
“Yeah, just like I have no idea what you’re talking about with the sat-phone you said you saw me using. Right?”
“Come on,” he said, turning. “I have to bring you to him.”
I took a deep breath then walked outside into the cool evening air. With dinner in an hour, he wouldn’t yell at me long. And making the Captain Jeffries upset might work to my advantage if he got sloppy and made a mistake.
As I followed Tyler across the central plaza in middle of the base, I planned out answers to the questions he would ask me. No matter the situation, I liked to be prepared. It’s what had gotten me through college and made it possible for me to find freelance assignments around the world.
Tyler slowed down as we approached the Captain Jeffries’ office.
“Just be honest, okay? It’s for the best.”
“Like you being honest with me about the samples, huh?”
He frowned.
“Like I said…”
“Forget it,” I interrupted. “Don’t worry about me. I can handle myself.”
We stopped and turned to face each other. I stared into his blue eyes, betting many women had fallen prey to them over the years.
“Suit yourself,” he said as he pointed to the door. “I’m off to enjoy my downtime.”
“Good for you,” I said, tired of the back and forth with him.
I walked up to the door and opened it without knocking. Tony looked up from his desk with a look of terror on his face. He was a man easy to manipulate.
“The CO wanted to see me?” I asked.
“Yes,” he said. “Hold on.”
“I’ll go back.”
He looked at me like a frightened mouse as I walked past his desk and went into Captain Jeffries’ office. By the time he stood to stop me, I’d closed the door of the CO’s office.
“Sit down,” the grizzled commander practically growled.
“Is this about my phone call?” I asked as I walked over. “I know it’s against the rules, but I had to call my father. He’s dying.”
Captain Jeffries leveled his icy stare at me.
“If there’s one thing I hate, it’s liars.”
“I’m telling you the truth.”
“You didn’t call your father.” He glanced down at a paper on his desk. “You called someone named Jennifer Johnson. Who is she? Your contact? Were you speaking in code?”
I crossed my arms over my chest as I stood in front of his desk.
“You were listening to my call?”
“I said sit down.”
With a sigh like a miffed teenager, I sat down and crossed one leg over the other.
“You’re in a warzone, Ms. Jones. I know modern journalist blogger types like you don’t respect the unspoken agreements between the media and the military, but you’re not going to endanger the lives of me and my men while you’re here. Do you understand me?”
“Yes,” I mumbled.
“I can’t hear you, Ms. Jones.”
I repeated the word louder.
“That’s better. If I could get you the hell out of here tonight, I would do it, but it’s not possible. The Taliban are making a move because of the firefight you caused yesterday.”
“That I caused?”
“Shut-up and listen,” he said. “You would be out of here tonight, but I can’t risk bringing a transport copter in to take you to the Kandahar airport. That said, you’re out of here in a few days or a week at most.”
“No,” I said, moving to the edge of my seat. “That’s not fair. The agreement said two weeks.”
“And you broke the agreement, Ms. Jones.”
The smugness in his voice told me he enjoyed the strict discipline of the military way too much.
“Fine. I’ll just have to finish my story earlier. You can’t stop me from doing my story.”
“Your story on the villagers here in the province?”
He stared into my eyes. I used my many years of practice to lie.
“Yes, that story. Why else would I be here?”
Don’t push him!
“Get out of here before I change my mind and fly you out of here over the enemy for the fuck of it.”
I stood and saluted, which he hated.
Outside, I saw Tyler standing a few feet away.
“How did it go?” he asked.
“He’s making me leave a week early.”
He stared at me like he wanted to say something.
“Spit it out,” I said. “I’m running out of time.”
“There’s things going on here you don’t know about.”
“Yeah? Tell me more.”
“I can’t right now.”
“Fine. I’ll ask Roger and some of the others.”
“You need to stay away from Roger.”
“I do?”
He nodded.
“He’s not a good guy.”
“I have to decide that on my own.”
I took a step away. He put a hand on my shoulder.
“Mercy, wait…”
I spun around. He stared into my eyes.
“What is it?” I asked, lips barely moving.
“Just be careful, okay? Afghanistan is a rough country.”
“I’ll be fine,” I said then turned and walked away.
He was hot, but not anything other than a possible one-night stand.
SIX
Mercy
After Tyler warned me about Roger, I had an even bigger desire to see and talk with him. I went to where I usually saw him, the makeshift outdoor gym on the south wall of the camp.
I saw him on the weight bench lifting some ridiculous amount into the air while a slightly smaller man stood behind him. Neither of them had shirts on. Their bodies glistened with sweat.
“Hey, boys,” I said as I strolled up.
Roger grunted then placed the barbell on the hooks. He sat up and stared at me with a disgusting lusty look on his face. I consciously pressed my chest out.
While not afraid to apply my female charms when needed, I never took it too far. Most of the time, I got the information I needed. Roger might help me break the story wide open.
“What’s going on, foxy reporter?” he said, standing up.
The other man wandered away, leaving Roger and I alone.
“Your CO is making me go home early.”
I pouted briefly.
“Get out of here. We were just getting to know each other.”
“I had an idea. Do you want to be in this story I’m writing? It would be a profile piece online. You’d get a lot of fan mail from women all over the world.”
“Who says I don’t get that already?” he asked, stepping toward me.
“Well, it would be even more with a nice story online.” He stopped in front of me. “Maybe some photos.”
“You want to take photos of me?”
“Maybe later. What I need is information.”
I glanced to the left and right then back to his face, that ugly, stupid mug.
“Information?” he asked, a puzzled expression on his face.
He was a grunt, not too smart.
“Yeah, about what goes on here at the base.”
“What have you heard?”
Does he actually know something?
“Nothing specific, but you’re the real big man on base.”
A smile spread over his face as he lifted an arm and flexed his muscles.
“Impressive,” I cooed. “You have time to talk?”
“Not now,” he said. “Give me an hour.”
“Um, sure. At the mess hall?”
“No, I’ll come to your quarters.”
“I don’t think…”
Before I finished, he turned and walked away.
“Dammit,” I muttered.
Oh well. I can handle him.
* * *
Well over an hour later, someone knocked on my door.
“Hold on,” I said, standing up.
I crossed the room and stopped.
Be strong, I told myself as I took a deep breath.
After opening the door, I saw Roger dressed in camo pants and a tight green tee-shirt, all standard issue. He grinned and stepped forward. I had no other choice but to step back and allow him in.
“You made it,” I said.
“I keep my word.”
As he shut the door behind him, a sense of dread rushed through my body.
“Have a seat, and I’ll pull up my list of questions,” I said, walking to the desk.
He stepped over and closed the laptop lid while looking into my eyes.
“What are you doing?”
“We can do the interview after.”
“After what?”
I narrowly avoided his kiss as he lurched forward.
“Whoa. Hold on a minute,” I said, stepping back toward my bed.
“The hard-to-get act is getting old,” he said, his voice thick.
“Are you drunk?”
He laughed.
“Alcohol isn’t allowed on the base. How would I get some?”
“Smuggling,” I said, staring into his eyes, wishing I could read his thoughts.
“What do you know about smuggling?” he asked as he stepped toward me.
I took a step sideways, toward the door, and said, “it’s happened during wars throughout history.”
“Yeah? Well, Afghanistan ain’t no war. It’s a hell-hole all the time.”
As he spoke, I continued sliding toward the door.
“Where you going?” he asked. “You afraid of me or something?”
Or something, I thought but said nothing. What have I gotten myself into now?
“Come on,” he begged. “You want this hot body.”
He lifted his shirt off, showing the ridiculously huge muscles.
“You’re just not my type, guy. No hard feelings.”
Two more steps to the door…
“Oh, I’ve got hard feelings,” he said with a nasty grin.
I reached out to put my hand on the doorknob, ready to run away. He stumbled forward, pressing his palm against the door, holding it shut.
“Where you running off to, beautiful?”
“You need to leave,” I said firmly.
Do not show fear. Do not show fear. Do not…
“Look, you fucking cock-tease. You’ve been playing Tyler and me both, and that’s not right. If you want information for your damn story, it’ll cost you. He’s not the man you think he is.”
“What do you mean? Is he involved in the smuggling?”
He sighed.
“There you go with the damn smuggling again. All you do is ask questions. Time for you to give some up.”
“What the hell are you talking about? You’re not making any sense.”
The moment he reached out to grab my arm with his hand, I screamed, hoping someone noticed.
SEVEN
Tyler
When I heard her scream, I leapt into action, rushing toward her CHU. The lights were on, but I had no idea what was happening inside. Had she seen a rat or something?
The door burst open, and she ran outside. Roger lumbered out right behind her, a sick and demented smile on his face. I slowed down, stopping near Mercy.
“What’s wrong?”
“You need to teach your boy some manners,” she said, pointing at Roger.
He smirked.
“What did you do?” I demanded.
“Nothing you don’t want to do with her,” he said, puffing out his chest.
I stepped forward, pressing mine against his. He stood a few inches taller than me, but I wasn’t afraid of fighting him in the least. Brain won over brawn all the time.
“What the fuck did you to do her?”
“Nothing happened,” Mercy said, grabbing my arm with both her hands.
She pulled at me, but I didn’t budge, standing my ground.
“You like me, don’t you babe?”
Roger patted her ass with his hand.
“Hey,” she said.
“That’s it you son of a bitch.”
I swung and punched him dead on the temple.
He growled and bent into a defensive stance, his fists up.
“Knock it off you two,” Mercy cried.
“She’s right.”
I lowered my hands.
“Too late for that, punk.”
He lunged, hitting me with an uppercut to the jaw.
Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Mercy run outside.
“Why are we fighting?” I asked, not wanting to get into it with him.
“Because you need to know who’s the alpha dog around here.”
I dodged out of the way as he swung again, missing completely.
He threw his arms up as I punched again, hitting his forearm.
“What the fuck, guys!” Harris yelled as he ran into the room.
“Roger needs to get the fuck out of here and not come back.”
I kept my hands up as I bobbed up and down, waiting for him to take another crack at me.
Harris stepped in between us. Mercy walked back inside.
“All of you need to leave,” she said.
I stared at Roger, daring him to make a move.
He put his hands down, grinning like an idiot.
“I’m out of here.”
As he stepped toward the door, I stepped aside.
“That’s better,” Harris said, following him.
I hung back, looking across the room at Mercy.
“Are you okay?” I asked.
The other two men walked outside.
She took a deep breath, shaking her head.
“I came because you were yelling. I’ll go.”
“No, wait,” she said, putting her hand on my arm.
“Yeah?”
“I’m leaving soon, and you seem to have little time for that romantic date you promised me. I need something to remember Afghanistan by.”
I smiled, my heart still racing.
“Fine. I’ll stop by tomorrow. If you need anything just yell, and I’ll come running.”
“Promise?”
“He won’t bother you again. I can promise that.”
She moved her hand away. I missed her touch.
“Have a good night, Mercy.”
“You too, Tyler.”
I walked outside her CHU, closing the door behind me. The half-full moon had risen in the sky as I walked to the sleeping quarters I shared with Harris.
As I approached, I saw Roger standing outside the door. He punched his fist into the palm of his other hand and shrugged his shoulders a few times.
Do you want more? I’ll give it to you.
He tilted his head back and puffed out his chest. I stopped in front of him.
“We can’t be fighting over pussy, bro.”
“I’m not fighting over anything.”
“Oh, so now you didn’t sucker punch me?”
He laughed.
“What do you want, Roger?”
“I want to make sure you don’t open your stupid mouth to that reporter chick about what we got going on.”
“What you got going on,” I said. “I’ve told you I want nothing to do with it anymore.”
“And I’ve said you don’t have a choice in the matter.”
His chest bumped against mine as he stepped forward.
“Hey, Tyler,” Harris called from behind Roger. “You coming in, bro?”
“I’ll be there in a second,” I said. “Me and Roger have some stuff to work out.”
“Alright, man. No more of that fighting bullshit.”
“He said go inside!” Roger yelled, not taking his eyes off mine.
