by Low, Gennita
Everyone was ready. He could feel the bite of anticipation in the air as last minute orders were taken care of and satellite calls came and went, updating Hawk and all the men on what was happening in the mountains as well as at the US Central Command, where Admiral Madison was getting all the generals and the upper echelons of the political stage on one page.
He hadn’t really trusted the undercover operative, Shahrukh, much when they’d first met, but the man sure knew how to get things done quickly. The immense responsibility he was currently carrying was sobering. He had to satisfy all political fronts, enabling a US deployment of power by timing a weapons delivery so they could be captured. The cache would in turn placate the ruling Afghan and Pakistan parties, especially since they were from a Taliban controlled area.
Also, Shahrukh had to prevent any misunderstood flare-up between yet another local warlord and the US presence. Lucas wasn’t sure how he managed to get someone to deliver the weapons without arousing suspicions, but from listening to his co-commanders communicate with him and each other, he’d achieved that objective. Lastly, and perhaps the most important of all, he was in charge of bringing back the missing girl. If things did come in threes, Lucas wished the man every success in that last endeavor. The latter was putting his life at risk, personally going in to make a rescue of someone he didn’t even know.
Knowing from experience how dangerous such an act was, Lucas’ respect for the commando had grown exponentially. Also, he owed him his kidney, if not his life. He hadn’t had a chance to properly thank him.
Right now he felt like he’d had gone a few rounds with a champion boxer. He’d already caught hell from both his commanders and his woman. He supposed he should have shown more concern about that cut, especially when Shahrukh had warned him, but it was such a small nick. How was he supposed to know it would get all infected like some kind of alien bug had crawled into his body? He’d examined it and secretly admitted it looked horrific. The salve Shahrukh had placed on it had helped ease the fiery burn and he seemed to be able to think clearer. Maybe that unpleasant potion he was forcing down his throat was really some kind of antidote.
While the others went off to take their positions, he’d been given the lighter duty of sniper post, where he didn’t have to move out of position.
He gave Kit a stern look. “You stay in that hatch. You don’t come out. You don’t take pictures. Or I’ll tie your hands up and you can spank me later.”
Her eyes narrowed. Then she grinned. “You promise?”
He gave her a reluctant grin but resisted flirting back. His friends were watching and the Stooges were elbowing each other.
“Kit, don’t put others’ lives at stake because of a few pictures,” he said instead.
She rolled her eyes. “Of course not. I’ll do as I’m told. My brother is—”
“A fucking Airborne Ranger!” roared the Stooges and a few others.
Obviously, they’d all been filled in with the details. They chuckled as Kit gave them the finger. A minute later, his commander gave the signal and they started upriver, the huge boat slithering like a shadowy monster under the darkening skies.
When they stopped, Lucas glanced at Kit. She nodded and after handing him yet another vial of antidote, she quietly climbed into her hatch.
“And now, we wait,” Hawk mouthed.
*
Shahrukh climbed off his steed. He’d already given the signal to Jazz Zeringue. His men inside had their orders. The first explosion and they were to fan out in different directions. Their job was to compromise the exits, then allow the SEALs and the other military outfits with them to do their jobs.
The Kurdish blood in him demanded he join in but he had another assignment. His men were war-conditioned, experienced in the art of stealthy attacks. They would take advantage of these insurgents and disappear into the night.
He already had messages passed around through the hotbed of insurgent tribes. Whispered through the channels, the news would spread about this particular mistake by the clan.
Who would be so stupid as to take in weapons when they had just been attacked the previous night?
Didn’t they know they were being watched? Surely we could not trust them to be in our network.
They’re Taliban. Of course the US would watch them and attack. We must not join forces with them.
Shahrukh had no problem with the border wars. That was for the people to decide. But the Taliban, with their subjugation of unwilling people and their association with Al-Qaeda, was a different animal altogether. Fewer insurgent groups joining them would be a good setback for a while.
The first explosion hit the front wall.
It had begun.
*
Kit heard the distant boom and knew the attack had started. She’d never felt so tense in her life. She wasn’t afraid—not really—but her heart was beating hard and her senses appeared to have fingers, reaching out for and grasping every sound, smell and taste, until they echoed like rolling thunder in her brain.
The hatch had some kind of battery-operated lighting and she could peer out through the slight crack of the small entry way. Nothing to see, really. But the noise fed her imagination.
*
Shahrukh remembered how the first group of SEALs snuck inside during the initial attack and seizure, through the hole under the barn. He wondered whether Yakob’s people found it. It might not have occurred to them, since the invasion happened so quickly. He recalled a hole through the ceiling that had been shot out by somebody. There was a chance they’d thought the attackers had broken inside that way.
He circled the wall in the dark, heading toward where the barn was situated. That Branson fellow was a big man and if he could fit through that hole, Shahrukh would too.
A small grenade exploded behind the wall and a body fell to the ground nearby. He kept on going. His men would open up the side entrance soon and there would be plenty of mayhem.
*
“Cumber, position, over.” His commander’s voice came over his helmet mic.
“Position 3, over. I have my eyes trained for the Shah,” Lucas replied quietly. They’d given Shahrukh that moniker. “I’ll cover him if he’s successful.”
He tried to stay positive. He didn’t doubt his team and the few gunboat crew members would win and retain the weaponry Shahrukh had used as bait, but he had his doubts about the latter’s finding a young girl in the melee. Sure, he’d recognize her and she might even attempt to escape again, but this time, the risks were higher. If she were running around in that big area where the men were engaging in deadly combat, chances are she’d get caught in the middle of some heavy artillery fire.
Shahrukh had told them the women would probably be in hiding in the main house, although the Taliban did sometimes have a nasty habit of using their women as shields or even as weapons. But that was mainly when they planned some kind of attack, such as strapping explosives on a woman to act as a human bomb in the market place.
Still, Lucas hoped Kit was mentally prepared she might not see the young girl alive again. She’d spent the whole day totally invested in her safety and well-being. Losing her when she thought all might end well would be devastating.
The explosions were getting more numerous. His comrades had already taken off, running towards the entrances illuminated by the fires inside. His eyes scanned the terrain, looking for signs of hostiles and Shahrukh.
*
Shahrukh went down on his hands and knees. That hole was still there and it was damn small. Those three SEALs must have crawled on their stomachs, which accounted for all that foul animal offal stuck on their uniforms that night. He remembered the smell all too well. He would have to leave most of his weapons and hang on to his main one while crawling in.
He stood up to unstrap his belt and rounds of ammunition. The sound of heavy breathing caught his attention. A small hand reached out from the hole and grabbed his shoe. A shriek followed and the hand receded. Without los
ing a beat, he was back on his knees, reaching in with his long arm and finding a limb. Determinedly fighting biting teeth and sharp nails, he tugged hard and pulled a screaming, struggling body out of the hole.
He covered her mouth. The skin felt slippery from all the muck she’d crawled through.
“It’s me,” he said in Pashto, shaking her. “Ahmin.”
That was his Pashtun name when he mingled among the clans.
She was sobbing, almost hysterical. “Ahmin, Ahmin, Ahmin,” she chanted.
“Do you remember me?”
“Yes, yes, yes. Help me. They caught me again. Help me.” She threw herself on him, her voice filled with a desperation that would haunt him later.
“I’m here to help you,” he told her. “Be that brave girl again for me. Stop crying. We have to go but you must stop acting like a child and be brave now.”
She was crying so hard, her tears soaked through the front of his shirt. His hands were wet. Her neck felt slippery. Her hair was a mass of wet tangles and goop stuck to it. Her breathing sounded very raspy, as if she was having difficulty breathing through her sobs. He frowned. Something wasn’t right.
“I will stop crying. I will stop crying.” She kept repeating the line.
But her breathing remained horrible, sounding like she was suffering from asthma. Shahrukh quickly restrapped his weapons and then tugged on her arm toward the shrubs and line of trees leading to the hidden pathways. She stumbled behind him. He recalled she’d been more nimble last night. Had she been beaten? Was she injured?
He paused and turned her face toward the illuminated destruction behind them. A curse escaped his lips. He had difficulty checking the tide of anger engulfing him as he stared down at the young face.
They had cut off Minah’s nose.
*
Lucas aimed. Fired. No outside help. That was Shahrukh’s suggestion to Hawk. He’d told them his sources would spread the word it was a tribal warfare. Many would stay away if there was a blood feud, but there would be some who might be clan related coming in to assist.
Joker was on the opposite side doing the same thing. The walled area, which housed the main living areas and the storage facilities, was bursting out in flames all over. There were shouts and war cries, sounds from fleeing panicked horses and people running out. The firelight made it easy to see the men trying to escape.
A lone figure on horseback charged up the dark trail. Lucas aimed his weapon at him. He seemed to know his way, heading toward the meeting place, not far from where the rest of the river crew waited.
It was Shahrukh.
And he was being followed by three other men on horses. One fired his weapon. Shahrukh’s horse continued its way through the night towards where Lucas was in position. The three men continued the chase.
Lucas took careful aim and fired.
*
When his steed entered the clearing through the shrubbery, Shahrukh let out a whistle, then nudged his horse back into the shadows. Minah was hunched over in front of him, her hands grabbing to the mane for dear life. He patted her back gently, then jumped off his horse.
“Minah, you can let go now,” he told her in a gentle voice. “It’s safe to let go. Jump down.”
She’d been very quiet since his outburst, as if his fury calmed her. She unclenched her fists and slid into his arms. He carried her like the child she still was—should be—and not some married woman to a warlord three times her age.
A whistle came back. Then another from the river.
All clear.
He started toward the boat. Same procedure as last night. He regretted he hadn’t been able to snatch the young girl somehow then. She wouldn’t have had to go through her ordeal then.
The same crew met with him and helped him get the rescued girl into the craft.
“Hawk came over the radio. They’re coming back in five, with the seized boxes of weapons. How’s the girl?”
Shahrukh recognized the voice. It was the one they called River Rat.
“She’s going to need medical attention,” he said.
“Serious?”
“I’ve placed something on the wound to stop the bleeding, but she’s lost a lot of blood. Get ready to transport her where she can be out of harm. I don’t think the base will be able to take care of her injuries. Is everyone on the team coming back?”
“Affirmative, no injuries. Yet.”
Shahrukh nodded and tucked the girl closer for a few moments, pulling his coat over her tightly. She was refusing to turn her head.
“Minah, these people will need you to speak in English where we are going. It’s okay if it’s just a little English because I’m sure they’ll have interpreters. They’re going to help you. I cannot stay, do you hear me?”
“Why can’t you stay?”
“Because I have something I have to do. You will let the Americans take you away from here and live a happy life. You will be safe.”
There was a pause.
“Okay,” she finally said, in English. “Will…I…see you again?”
“Insha’Allah,” Shahrukh replied. “God willing.”
He opened the hatch. There was someone there.
“Ah, Kit,” he said. “I have someone for you but you mustn’t frighten her with your questions right now.”
“Minah! Thank God.” Kit moved things around. “Put her here. I’ll take care of her.”
“Kit?” Minah sounded grateful she recognized someone else.
“Please do not scream when you see her,” he continued in a low voice. “And…maybe ask permission before you use that camera.”
“What?” Kit asked.
He placed Minah next to Kit. “They cut off her nose.” He could feel Kit’s shock in the silence that followed. He continued, “She’s all right but she needs medical attention as soon as possible. Don’t make her cry again. She’s trying to breathe through her mouth and not her nose. It’s clogged up. Can you handle this?”
“O…Okay. All right. I…yes,” Kit said, her voice growing stronger. “Yes, close the hatch. I’ll take care of it.”
“Good. I have full confidence you can handle this.”
After all, he’d seen how determined she’d been, taking care of that SEAL of hers when he should have been out of commission hours and hours ago. Yet, the man was alive and out there doing his duty.
Lucky fellow.
Meanwhile, he had his own duty. He was going to kill the bastard who cut off Minah’s nose himself.
*
The boat ride back to base was uneventful. Lucas was glad Kit opted to stay where she was. Safer. One never knew when a hostile decided to appear by the banks and start shooting. They stayed mostly quiet, keeping a watchful eye. They had a whole load of seized weapons to show any inquiry into their decision to attack the insurgents again after last night’s successful raid to retrieve The Cob.
That episode seemed so long ago. It was the nature of life in the theatre, though. Things could move fast; lives could be taken just like that. Or, things could slow down to a plodding pace, hours that would turn into days of waiting for action. The last forty-eight hours fell into the former bracket.
River Rat had filled him in on what Shahrukh had told them before he left. That poor kid. He hadn’t really checked in on their female passengers since they were in a hurry to get out of there. He’d knocked on the entryway and Kit had confirmed they were fine. He couldn’t imagine the horror and pain of being thirteen and being disfigured like that. All of the guys who had been out in the battle zone had grown silent when they heard the report. He had a feeling he knew where Shahrukh had gone off to and he fucking approved.
Back at the secured area of the river, they disembarked quickly. It was already lit up and a larger than normal group was waiting for them. Medics. Vivi V-Z and Amber Hutchens. Other personnel to help account for the “confiscated” weapons. And some civilians he didn’t recognize.
Hawk signaled the men to move a bit further away t
o give Kit and Minah room to get to Vivi. The medics, having been alerted of Minah’s condition, were ready with beds and equipment. Jazz and a few of his team mates went to stand in front of the civilians and Lucas could hear some arguments coming from that direction.
Kit emerged from the hatch first, dirty, disheveled and so damn beautiful. He wanted to snatch her up and kiss her for a good long time. Then the young girl with her stood up very slowly. Since he was still on the boat to help them out, he was the first to see her face.
He stopped himself from uttering the angry curses that rose to his lips. He clenched his jaw and willed himself to look normal as they approached. Where her nose used to be, there was just a bloody mess with two black holes. Someone had wiped most of the blood off but the red dried smears were horrific evidence of the torture she went through. Quickly he pulled out a hanky from his pocket and handed it to Kit. She shot him a grateful look before turning to Minah.
“Here you go. My friends will take care of you, okay?”
Minah nodded, holding Lucas’ hanky in front of her disfigured face.
The moment they stepped off, the medics took over. Lucas stood to one side as Vivi, Amber and an interpreter took over. Urgent orders passed between the medics as they put Minah onto the bed and began checking on her vitals.
“Hey, Kit! Kit!” Someone called out.
Lucas turned in the direction of the civilians. Kit also swerved around.
“Sean? Sean!” She glanced quickly at Lucas and mouthed ‘be right back’ before trotting off to her colleagues.
So that was Sean and her media team. He vaguely remembered them at the morning fight now. He frowned as he caught the gist of the argument going on. Sean was protesting the fact Jazz wouldn’t allow them closer to Minah.
“This lieutenant won’t let us talk to Minah and take photos,” Lucas heard him say to Kit. “It’s part of the interview. Go take some pictures.”
Kit shook her head. “No, Sean. It’s not the right time,” she said. “Minah is very traumatized. I think…we’re going to need permission from her to take any more pictures.”
