by Holden, Abby
Lifting her head, she got a better look. Definitely a stable. It looked like she was in a small holding area. A bag of grain with Arabic writing sat against the wall. Two shovels leaned in the corner. And that pile of manure.
Another snake like movement gave her a look outside. She could see the sky. Instinctively she analyzed it. Clouds were rolling in as another storm front threatened. This huge front definitely was going to stall in the mountains. And rain. She knew it would drop tons of rain.
Sounds of footfalls quickly approaching caught her attention. They were coming from the right, over her shoulder. A hand grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head up. With a sneer, the man clutched her coat, yanking her to her feet.
Megan swayed badly. The whole stable area swirled in circles around her. She blinked, desperately trying to stay conscious.
The man cut her bindings and pushed her toward the opening in the wood fence.
Megan promptly fell flat on her face.
Again he roughly jerked her up, and this time he kept a pinching grip on her arm. He dragged her along with him.
Megan worked on getting her eyes to focus and to move her feet in some sort of walking motion. Mostly she just stumbled. Only his grip and forward motion kept her moving.
The first part of the trip was just a blur of colors. None of it registered in her brain. By the time she was focusing and making sense of her surroundings, the man opened a rough wooden door. Megan focused on the interior of the room.
Seated at a table were three men, all dressed in local garb, expect one. He was dressed in a camouflage outfit and wore sunglasses. Her captor dragged her in front of them as he spoke. It was Dari but her brain wasn't making sense of it. He stood by her side until she gained a semblance of balance.
She brought her hands together and touched each one gently. Her eyes panned down to look at them. They were a light brown and quickly becoming painful as blood flowed back into them.
"What is your name?" It was asked in English.
Megan's head snapped up to the three men.
The silence drug out. One of the locals spoke again. "Your name. Give it to us."
Megan licked her lips. She opened her mouth to speak when a moan caught her attention. Her eyes swiveled to the side of the room to find Jake crumpled in a corner, barely conscious. But his eyes were open and he seemed to be focusing on her. She panned her eyes back to the men.
"Mary…" Her voice cracked from lack of use then she continued, "Mary Poppins."
The two men nodded but the one in sunglasses smiled. He spoke softly to the other two in the dialect she didn't know. They grimaced and the one spoke again.
"Do not lie to us. What is your name?"
"Mary Poppins," Megan said louder.
A small discussion then commenced between the three.
While this was going on, Megan looked around the room quickly then focused on Jake. He was actually smiling. She gave him a slight grin back.
A man stepped up and kicked Jake in the back.
"Bite me," Jake whispered.
Megan almost smiled again but returned her attention to the table and the three men.
"What were you doing in the valley?"
"Obviously, we were screwing."
The two other men put their heads together. The sun-glassed man smiled again.
"Why were you there?"
"We heard it was a good place to neck." Megan shrugged her shoulders. "By the way, thanks for interrupting the action. I finally find a guy that isn't a jerk and you go and stop him mid-grope…"
A rifle butt hit her in the small of her back, tossing her forward onto the floor. She caught herself with her hands then immediately fell to her face as her hands hurt worse than her back. Before she had a chance to think, she was yanked back upright.
Megan took a deep breath. "You're just jealous."
The sun-glassed guy laughed out loud as the rifle butt descended again. Once more she was brought to a standing position. This time she was slightly bent, holding her side. Must've cracked a rib. She blinked back tears, grimacing.
"Who is that man?" the local pointed at Jake.
"Bart Simpson."
"Is he a member of the United States CIA?"
"I dunno know." Megan grimaced in pain as she moved slightly. Her vision swirled a little.
"What are you doing in this country?"
"I heard the waters were good for my health."
The two locals glanced at each other in puzzlement. Again the sun-glassed man smiled. He leaned over again and whispered to the other two. They nodded in agreement and spoke in the local dialect.
Megan was quickly hustled out of the room by two men each with a grip on her arms that caused her hands to tingle. She was moved swiftly down the hall and tossed into a room. The door slammed shut.
Megan lay on the ground taking short breaths. She was close to passing out again. The small rug in the room gave her something to focus on as she willed her swirling vision to go away. The door opening and the sounds accompanying it barely registered in her mind, then the slamming of the door. She hardly heard the slight grunt in pain from behind her.
"Chief?"
Megan opened her mouth but nothing came out.
"Chief?" His voice had taken a more urgent tone.
A slight shuffling noise followed several grunts and groans.
Megan willed her eyes to focus on the edge of the rug. Black and red. Typical Persian rug pattern. Worn. Worth a mint, I bet.
Suddenly Jake crawled into her field of vision. His blue eyes looking into hers as he laid his head on the rug in front of her. "Chief, talk to me."
"Can't focus," Megan whispered.
Jake frowned then grimaced in pain. "You've taken some mighty hard hits to the head, Mary Poppins."
Megan gave him a slight smile. "Practically perfect in every way," she quoted. It had been her favorite movie as a kid.
Jake smiled back but the swollen lips and bruised cheek made it more of a lopsided grin. "I wish I had a spoonful of sugar."
"Figures. What good are you then?"
"I give a good grope."
Megan chuckled. "You give an excellent grope."
"You weren't doing bad yourself, Lady."
"Talk about coitus interruptus."
"Yeah. What do you think?"
"We're in a shit load of trouble, Cupcake."
"Who are they?"
"al Qaeda."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah. The guy in the sunglasses is on the American hit list from Homeland Security, Ali Albunimda or something like that." Megan closed her eyes. "I'm dead." She whispered to herself.
"What? What did you say?" Jake asked, his hands gently exploring her head.
"I'm dead."
Jake's hands paused momentarily as he stared into her eyes. "Why do you think that? You're a woman."
"Precisely."
"At the rate they're going, we're both dead."
"Yeah." Megan groaned as Jake's hands began to examine her again. "Stop. That hurts."
"Chief, your head doesn't look good."
"Yeah." Megan locked eyes with Jake. "If you get a chance to escape, go."
Jake merely shook his head.
"That's an order."
"So fire me."
Megan huffed and moved slightly to get into a more comfortable position. The room swayed only a little. Jake lay next to her and gently swept the matted hair out of her eyes as they lay side by side.
"I'm sorry."
Megan made a face. "For what?"
"Disrupting our concentration."
"Forget it. I just wish they'd have waited until we'd finished. I haven't been laid in a long time." She smiled at Jake's astonished look. "I wanted you really bad." Her eyes twinkled. "Wanna try again?"
Jake suddenly laughed. Then stopped and held his head. "Oh God, that hurts."
"Yeah." Megan closed her eyes again.
It wasn't much longer and Jake was shaking her t
o consciousness. "Footsteps."
"Round two," Megan said as the door swung open.
Jake was yanked to his feet and dragged out of the room. The door slammed shut, but the latch didn't sound like it was thrown on the door.
Megan struggled to sit. The room again began to dance, but she crawled painfully to the door. She lay down and put her ear to the gap under the door. There were no sounds. With energy she got from where she didn't know, she cautiously opened the door.
The hall was deserted. She stuck her head out and looked both ways. No one. Gingerly she pulled herself to her feet, swallowing down the pain throbbing in every part of her body. She shuffled and swayed down the hall, bouncing from wall to wall.
Several doors down was an open doorway. Peaking out, she noticed it opened to the area where the animals were obviously kept, and farm equipment. She also recognized the stall she had been kept in. Her eyes rose to the sky involuntarily.
The storm was hanging on as she had predicted, and from the light it would seem to be about mid-day, which meant that they had probably been held over night. She looked around the valley. Familiar. Yes. This is the village where I killed that guy. And there's the ridge to the valley where…
Cowboy.
Her stomach twisted. The pick up had been compromised. And the only person who knew about it had been Cowboy. She had never considered him the leak. Yet it fit. Every mission that had been loused up, Cowboy had flown or been a part of. Her mind registered the betrayal, but her heart pleaded with her. Cowboy's a friend. Friends don't do that. He wouldn't. But there's no other explanation. He knew. Only he knew. I trusted him.
Tears stung her eyes as she pushed herself off the doorpost. She glanced once more at the open doorway and the ridge. She hesitated a second. She should leave, but couldn't. Jake was taking the beating meant for her. She gave one last look at the sky and the ominous storm clouds before softly shuffling back to the room.
She lay down and tried to not think about Cowboy. It hurt more than anything else.
***
Megan sat against the wall, much later the door opened. She didn't even move except to look up to see two men drop Jake's body into the room. They glanced at her, but retreated and closed the door behind them. Again there was no sound of the door being locked.
She frowned as she crawled over to the moaning body. Her heart stopped when she saw the damage that had been inflicted on him. His face was bloodied almost beyond recognition. His bare chest already showed bruises forming along with several swollen areas.
Megan reached behind him and as fast as possible untied his hands. He grunted at her when his hands came free. She moved him into what looked like a more comfortable position and with her fingers wiped at the blood on his face. She cleared his eyes and nose first. Then using her coat, cleaned the rest as best she could.
"Thanks," Jake whispered.
"How are you?"
"How do you think?"
"I meant, are you mobile?"
"Possibly."
Megan leaned down and whispered in his ear. "They're not locking the door. Four doors down on the right is the exit to the fields and animal paddocks. The storm's stalled on the mountain and it looks like a doozie."
Jake's eyes caught hers as she backed away from him. "Why didn't you go?"
"Never leave a man behind."
"That's my line." Jake's face changed into what was probably a smile. "They're only taking a break, you know."
Megan nodded. "Yeah. And when they start on me, they won't stop." At his puzzled look, she grimaced but continued, "I'm a woman."
He grimaced. "They tried to get me to make a video."
"And?"
He motioned to his face. They sat in silence for a few minutes.
"Cupcake?"
"Yeah?"
"Remember that old lady when the kid had the bomb attached…"
"Yeah?"
"The father of the kid beat her to death before we even left the area. And she was his mother. They don't give a shit about women."
Jake cursed softly under his breath.
"If you get the chance, take it. Don't come back for me. I'm already dead," Megan said softly.
Jake's blue eyes were devoid of emotion.
"It's part of the job description when you take it," Megan said leaning against the wall again. She saw his disbelieving look. "No, really."
"But this is a stupid reason…"
Megan interrupted him. "Promise me you'll take the first chance. Promise."
"No. Can't do it."
Her heart twisted again. "You have too. I need you to make it back to base and do a dance on Cowboy for me."
"Cowboy?"
Megan studied the blood splashes on her boots. "Who else could have compromised the pickup?"
"But…"
"Yeah," Megan barely whispered. "Revenge, Cupcake. And you need to be the instrument that deals it out. For me. Promise me."
"I'll get your revenge." There was an odd tone to his voice. "Trust me."
Megan nodded, still staring at her boots.
Jake moved to lay his head on her thigh. "I'm sorry."
Megan didn't answer as one tear fell on her cheek. The betrayal hurt the worst.
They sat that way for a few more minutes.
"Hey, just so you know…" Jake said as he moved to a more upright position with lots of grunts and moans. "That kid with the bomb, when we almost bought it in Famine…"
"Yeah?"
"I checked out his head wound, just like you ordered." A frown curved one side of his mouth down; the other side was too swollen. "The doc said that the big area was a massive blood clot and that disturbing it might cause him to bleed to death, instantly." Jake took a deep breath. "I didn't see the metal until you yelled at me. The doctor was in shock when I pulled the cloth away."
"In that case, sorry I yelled at you."
"No. I deserved it. I just wanted you to know."
"Thanks. Speaking of that…" Megan looked up into his eyes as the door opened. "I haven't felt like this before, about a man…"
Both of them were yanked to their feet, but their eyes stayed locked. Jake's blue took on a sad look as he was hustled first out of the room. He struggled to an extent; mostly it looked like he was trying to keep sight of her as long as possible.
Megan didn't even struggle. With her head down, she let them pull and drag her out of the door and down the hall. Soon she was stood against the wall in the same room as before.
"Which CIA plant at White Pine stole the treasure? And why did you kill the leader here?" Ali Albunimda stood before Jake.
Megan lifted her head to watch.
Albunimda grabbed Jake by the hair and pulled down on his head, ramming Jake's face into his thigh. Blood spurted all over his pants as Jake's nose mushed.
Megan grimaced. Her lover was taking the beating that she should be getting. And she knew he was doing it to protect her. Being a man, they assumed that he was the CIA agent. What they thought she was, she had no idea.
"Where is the gold? Tell us and when we retrieve it, we will release you."
Jake lifted his watering eyes, another effect of the nose impact, to meet Albunimda's eyes. "Fuck you."
Instantly, Albunimda hit Jake so quickly with four punches to the stomach that they were a blur. A quick motion brought Jake back up off the floor. Two more punches landed on Jake's back, right at kidney level. This time Jake fell on his side. Albunimda landed a kick to the ribs. Another motion and once again Jake was stood up, this time held by two other men.
"You can last a long time with this kind of beating, American. It is extremely painful and you will beg for me to put a bullet in your head. Answer the questions, and I will put you out of your misery."
"Eat my shorts, asshole."
Ali swung and took Jake off his feet again.
"Stop!"
Everyone turned to look at Megan, including Jake from the floor.
She shrugged away from the man h
olding her and stumbled to stand in front of Ali Albunimda. She stole a quick glance at his watch to see that it was nearing early evening. A break maybe, if she played this right.
"He has no idea about anything Ali Albunimda."
Albunimda took a step back with shock on his face.
"Yes, I know you. I'm briefed on all of the al Qaeda in the area. I also know that you're a frequent guest of bin Laden and various warlords in Pakistan." Megan was now staring into the eyes of the terrorist.
He swung on her, but she blocked the punch.
"What? The idea of a woman CIA agent gets you right in the old gonads, huh?" The silence in the room was deafening.
"Chief?" came whispered from the floor.
"He's a piece of shit no name." She pointed at Jake. "A drone worker if you understand the analogy. You were educated in New York right, you pig-shit, towel head?" Megan adjusted her weight on her feet. This would get ugly real fast, and she was counting on that.
Sure enough, several punches flew her way. She blocked most of them, but one landed on the side of her head as she blocked a different one. She landed on the floor, inches from Jake's face.
Megan blinked several times then winked at him. Two men hauled her to her feet.
Ali Albunimda was breathing hard in anger. Then a light seemed to go off in his head. "You are the Ghost? It is true, a woman pilot. It is you that was dressed as a man. I gave no credence to the rumor."
Megan wiped the blood dripping down her face. "Your Momma raised a slow one in you." She swiped at more blood pouring down her face as she swayed again. "Ain't no fast ones here. Did all of you eat pig dung for breakfast or what?"
A red flush flooded his face.
Megan laughed. "I hate all you men. What? A woman can't do as good a job as a man? Yes, I stole that treasure. It didn't belong to you, it belongs to the Afghanistan people, asshole. I'll be damned if I'm going to let a pig-eating terrorist organization use it to kill more innocent people in the name of your religion. Bullshit. Just 'cause you got a dick doesn't mean you're better or smarter than me. I would guess that half of the women in this country are smarter than the lot of you."
"What are you…" Jake began as he was yanked off the floor. "Don't go this way, Chief…" Was all he got out before the door slammed closed behind him.
