by M A Comley
Kayli battled to hold back the bile burning her throat. She’d never witnessed any form of torture before. She abhorred it. However, she was eager for the men to suffer if it meant getting Mark back. The thoughts invading Kayli’s mind sickened her. Is this what soldiers had to contend with when they had to endure battle zones? Their characters changing at the flick of a switch? She looked over at Abdul. He was shaking from head to foot, his eyes tightly squeezed shut. His lips moved as he mouthed a silent prayer. Bloody hypocrite!
Jacko stopped pouring the liquid and whipped the towel away from the man’s face. “Ready to talk yet? Where are you keeping Mark, the Western man?”
The man shook his head in defiance despite his eyes being wide with fear. Jacko draped the towel over his face again and proceeded to pour the water. This time, he refused to remove the towel until he thought the man was close to death. Once the towel was withdrawn, the rebel spluttered and gasped to catch his breath, but still, he refused to talk. So Jacko kept up the pressure and draped the towel over the man’s face again. He picked up a second jerrycan and proceeded to pour the water over the man’s mouth and nose. Moments later, the man stopped struggling, and his body went limp.
Abdul yelled at the soldiers to stop and pointed a shaking hand at the blood covering the towel. Jacko motioned for Bandy and Mac to toss the man aside and grab Abdul. He tried to back away from them. “No, please, I tell you. Please, I have wife and children. We desperate for money. They pay me, order me to get you to library.”
Jacko shook his head. “You knew you were leading us into a trap, and you expect us to forgive you for that?”
“I sorry. If you quick you can catch them.”
“Who?”
“The men who transport your friend to Kabul. They left few hours ago.”
Mac kicked his contact in the leg. “You bastard. If you have a family, your stupidity has just put them at risk.”
“No, please, leave my family out of this,” the man pleaded, clutching his hands together.
“You’re the one who has involved them, not us. Where are the men taking him? Don’t lie either. Remember, we know where you live.”
“To secure place. I take you.” He smiled and nodded eagerly.
“My take is we waterboard him, make sure he’s telling us the truth now. I don’t trust the weasel,” Jacko said quietly to the others.
“I agree,” Kayli surprised herself, uttering the words before anyone else responded.
Amused, Jacko ordered the men to take up their stations while he dragged a reluctant Abdul into position, the rock digging into his back. He screamed. “Please, I tell truth this time. Don’t do this. Think of my children.”
Kayli leaned in close and snarled. “Tell us the truth and your family will be safe—you have our word. Where is he?”
“I told you. We catch them, if we go now,” Abdul insisted, adding a little smile.
“We’ll see if this changes your mind,” Jacko warned as he placed the towel over Abdul’s face. The man started crying and begging, but his words were swallowed up when the water began pouring over his nose and mouth. Jacko halted sooner than he had with the first man.
Abdul gasped for breath and pleaded with Jacko, “Please, I speak truth. I no want to die. My children need me. My wife is sick. I did it for money. You have to believe me.”
Jacko again put the towel over the man’s face and poured the water. Kayli sensed the man was telling the truth this time, but was there any way of really knowing if he was. She placed a hand over Jacko’s to stop him. “I think he’s telling the truth. If you kill him, we’ll never see Mark alive again. We have to believe him.”
Jacko scanned the room, searching for the other men’s approval. One by one, they nodded their agreement to put a halt to the torture. Kayli sighed with relief as Jacko uncovered Abdul’s face, and Mac and Bandy sat him upright. The man spluttered and gasped heavily.
“Take it nice and slowly,” Jacko said. “We’re done with you, Abdul. I swear, if you’re lying to us...” He picked up the gun lying on the floor beside him and placed it to the man’s forehead. “I’ll take pleasure in killing you, then we’ll return to your house and wipe out all of your family. You got that?”
The man snivelled. “Yes, I understand. Please, I no want to harm my family. I tell you only truth now.”
“Good,” Jacko said, patting the man on his shoulder. “Untie him—no wait, let’s leave his hands and feet tied. We’ll carry him out to the car. Looks like we’re going to Kabul, folks.”
“That’s over four hours from here. We’re going to need to top up the car first,” Bandy said. “I think there’s some diesel left in the yard. I’ll do that now. You guys stay here until I give you the nod.”
Bandy left the room and returned a few minutes later to give them the thumbs-up. Everyone piled into the car. Abdul was squeezed in between Mac and Giles. Kayli was against the door, the door handle digging into her thigh. Great, nice comfortable journey ahead. It’ll be worth it, though, if we can rescue Mark.
The journey was conducted mostly in silence. Abdul was the only one to fall asleep.
“Sleeping beauty, he ain’t!” Giles joked, trying to keep their spirits high.
Kayli chuckled and sighed heavily. She was tired, but the thought of falling asleep with a traitor in the car prevented her eyes from drooping. Dozens of questions ran through her mind. Would Abdul be able to take them to where the Taliban were keeping Mark? Would it turn out to be yet another trap? Could they save Mark before the Taliban got spooked and killed him?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Kayli felt stiff as well as tired when they arrived on the outskirts of Kabul. They had driven mostly through a vast desert to get there. Looking all around her, she could tell the area was still a war zone. Every building was either missing a corner or had hundreds of bullet holes in its façade. How could people live like this? They just got on with life apparently. Maybe it was pointless rebuilding the city with the Taliban and ISIS fighting it out for control.
“Someone give Sleeping Beauty a prod, will you?” Jacko called over his shoulder.
Both Giles and Mac elbowed the man heavily in the chest. He screamed out, and Kayli wasn’t sure if it was because of fear or pain. “I not asleep.”
“Glad to hear it. Where should we be heading now?” Jacko asked.
The man glanced out the window to get his bearings. “You want west of city.”
“You’ll need to give us more than that. Give us directions from here.”
The man proceeded to tell them which roads to take. Some were main roads, and others were narrow side streets. Giles and Mac had the guns aimed out the windows at all times. Kayli felt like a sitting duck in her position next to the door, but she refused to let on to the others, as they had enough to deal with already.
Around thirty minutes later, Abdul shouted, “Stop. The cave is near here. We must approach on foot.”
Silence filled the car for a moment or two as Jacko and his men surveyed the area. At only three in the morning, it was still dark. Any movement they made would be shielded by the night. There were no streetlights in this part of town.
“How are we going to play this then, Jacko?” Mac asked.
“I’m thinking.”
“One of us needs to recce the area on foot, I’d say,” Giles suggested.
“Where is the building?” Jacko asked Abdul.
He pointed ahead. “Down there, on left.”
“I’ll go,” Mac volunteered. He opened the back door, slipped out of the car, and closed the door softly behind him. With his machine gun aimed and ready to fire, he slid along the side of the nearby buildings into the darkness. A full ten minutes passed before he returned.
“I think I’ve found it. There are two armed men on guard. Looks like an old wooden door they’re guarding. I think I could make out a chunky padlock too.”
“Good, sounds conceivable. We need to figure out how we’re going to distract the
men. The last thing we want to do is start a gun battle at this time of the morning,” Jacko said.
“We could use Abdul as bait,” Mac replied.
“What? Me? No, please, sir, not me. I no want trouble. I have...”
“Yeah, we know, a family to consider,” Mac interrupted him. “Well guess what, dickhead? We’ve all got family to consider. Life sucks at times, right?”
Abdul’s head dropped to his chest. He was clearly ashamed of the way he had begged. “I do it if you want,” he mumbled.
Mac patted him on the shoulder. “Good man. I knew you’d see sense sooner or later.” He cut the rope around Abdul’s wrists and ankles.
“Okay, I think we need to split up. Mac and Giles, you go with Abdul. If he screws up, then shoot the bastard.”
Abdul gasped and covered his heart with his hand. “I no screw up. I be good from now on. You trust me.”
“You’ve got to earn our trust, man. This could be an ideal way to do that,” Mac told him, a sneer tugging at his lips.
Abdul nodded profusely. “I do that. I promise. Don’t let the men hurt me. I have family I need to care for.”
“Will you fucking give it a break about your family, man. I’ve heard enough about them. You’re lucky you’re not dead by now after leading us into a trap. You fucking deserve to be.” Mac sneered in the man’s face before yanking him out of the vehicle.
Kayli grabbed Giles’s forearm and pecked him on the cheek. “Please be careful.”
“That’s a given, sis. Stay in the car. Let Jacko and Bandy do what’s necessary at the other end, but you remain in the car. Got that?”
“I hear you. Just take care of yourself. I can’t believe we’re so close.”
“Keep the faith. We’re not sure of that fact yet.” Giles followed Abdul and Mac out of the car. Kayli watched them leave, her eyes straining through the darkness until they disappeared out of view.
“Kayli, get down. We’re going to drive past the men,” Jacko warned.
The car started up. Kayli lay flat on the back seat. They drove past at normal speed to avoid raising the guard’s suspicions.
“Although heavily armed, they seem lightweight to me,” Bandy said.
“I agree. They should be easy to take down. We’ll pull over at the end of the street and double back. Kayli, you stay in the car. Lock yourself in. You hear me?” Jacko ordered.
“Okay, I won’t disagree with you. Don’t leave me hanging around, though. I’m eager to see Mark.”
“We’re aware of that. You do anything foolish, and you could jeopardise the mission.”
Kayli sighed. “Grant me with some sense. I’ve learnt my lesson. You’re in charge. I’ll follow orders, I promise.”
Jacko didn’t respond. The engine died, and she heard Jacko and Bandy get out of the car. She quickly locked all the doors and looked out the back window at the men until they too disappeared into the darkness. She began chewing a fingernail. Time dragged by. Her gaze shifted from window to window, mindful that she needed to remain vigilant of what was going on around her.
All of a sudden, five figures approached the car. Recognising them, she unlocked the doors and sat forward in her seat. Giles opened the back door and shot in beside her. She tried to read the expression on his face, but it was impossible. Mac forced Abdul into the car then climbed in after him. Bandy and Jacko hopped in the front seats.
Kayli’s heart was racing. “Jesus, will someone tell me what’s going on? Where’s Mark?”
Giles shook his head. “He wasn’t there. The men were guarding an ammunition storage cave.”
“Shit!” She reached across her brother and slapped Abdul across the face. “Where is he, you bastard?”
The man eyed her, defiance blazing in his eyes. “No woman should lay her hand on man.”
“Tough. I just did, arsehole. Now tell me where Mark is?”
He hitched up a shoulder, his gaze boring into hers. “I thought he was there. I was wrong.”
Kayli tried to scratch the man’s eyes out, but Giles grabbed her wrists before she made contact. “He ain’t worth it. He’ll get his comeuppance. Don’t worry about that.”
She slumped back into her seat as tears of frustration and desperation slipped down her cheeks.
“He’s around, Kayli. Just hang in there. We need another informant to find out where they’re keeping him. Abdul says he knows a couple of men in the city who should be able to help him. We’re going to see them now,” Jacko told her.
The car started up, and she mumbled, “Great, you’re still going to believe this piece of shit in spite of him leading you up the garden path, not once—but twice.”
“Wind your neck in, sis. You ain’t helping matters,” Giles reprimanded her.
She folded her arms and gazed out the window, her own angry reflection making her flinch. The car pulled up outside a house a few minutes later. Mac and Jacko took Abdul with them and entered the house.
“Kayli, look, we’re so near,” Giles said. “Don’t let your faith desert you now, not after we’ve come this far.”
“Believe me, I’m trying not to let that happen. I feel so helpless, knowing how much Mark is suffering. I sense he’s close. We just need to find him. I hate being reliant on this shitty weasel, though. He’s caused us nothing but grief so far. I wouldn’t trust a thing he says.”
Giles shrugged and shook his head. “I hear what you’re saying, but he’s all we’ve got, love.”
The door opened, and the men piled back into the car. “Nothing,” Mac informed them.
“What now?” Giles asked.
“We have another address nearby to try. Point the way, Abdul,” Jacko ordered.
The man gave them directions, and within minutes, they were pulling up outside another rundown house similar to the one they had stayed in when they arrived in Kandahar. Again, Mac and Jacko accompanied Abdul into the house. This time, they came running out a few moments later with good news.
“The bloke reckons Mark was moved again this evening to another cave close by. Abdul, give me the directions,” Jacko demanded.
Abdul shouted out the directions that took them to the outskirts of the city. More rundown houses lined the dusty streets. In the distance, the sunrise was breaking over the desert.
“We need to make it snappy, guys. The sun’s coming up,” Kayli pointed out.
“We’ll do it. Don’t worry,” Giles replied, winking at her.
Abdul directed them to a short road and said the cave they were after was at the end of that road. Kayli’s mind whirled and pondered how this man knew the area so well when he lived in Kandahar. Yes, he’d received the directions from one of his friends but...
Jacko interrupted her thoughts. “Mac and Giles, you go ahead. We won’t be able to drive past this time. Report back with your findings, and we’ll go from there.”
Her brother and Mac left the vehicle. Abdul remained in the car beside her. Her skin crawled as if a thousand cockroaches were feasting on her flesh. She hadn’t known the man long, but she detested him. Whether he was genuine about his family or not, being mere inches away from him had a devastating effect on her that she’d never felt before. Maybe it was because she thought the man was toying with them. Had he been a suspect on a case back in Bristol, she would have clouted him one and put it down to resisting arrest, or at least ordered Dave to give him a good hiding.
It seemed an eternity before Mac and Giles returned. Breathlessly, Mac filled them in. “A similar scenario to last time. Two men guarding a large wooden door. It’s going to be tricky to overcome them if we can’t surprise them from both sides.”
“Let me think about this for a moment...” Jacko rubbed his forehead with his hand.
“If I could make a suggestion...,” Kayli said tentatively.
Jacko nodded. “I’m open to that. Shoot.”
“I could distract them,” she said.
“No way,” Giles said immediately.
“Don’t
start pulling the big-brother act on me, Giles. Needs must on this one. I’ll walk past and ask the way or something.”
Giles ground his teeth and shook his head. “No. I won’t allow you to do it.”
“I’m inclined to agree with your brother. It’s too dangerous. If these men recognise you as being a Westerner, there’s no telling what they’d do to you. They despise Western women. It’s drilled into them at an early age not to trust them,” Jacko told her.
She flung her hands up in the air in frustration. “Then what are we going to do? It’ll be sunrise soon, guys. We need to get a shift on if we’re going to surprise these shits.”
“We use Abdul to distract them,” Mac said.
Abdul began to shake his head. “No, I not do it. These men no trust anyone, not just Western women.”
Mac slapped him around the head. “You will do it, or I’ll ring our boys back in Kandahar and tell them to round up your family and put them before a firing squad. It’s your choice, mate.”
“Okay, okay. What you want me do?” Abdul agreed reluctantly.
“Strike up a conversation. Get them to relax a little. That’s when we’ll attack,” Jacko said.
“How?”
Mac poked his temple roughly. “Use this. Come on, Abdul, remember what I said. It’ll only take a phone call from me.”
“Okay. I thinking what I say. Stop the threats.”
Mac glared at him.
“Mac, you and Bandy go with him. Stay back until you think you can strike. Have you got your knives handy?”
Mac nodded and patted his belt. “Yep, I’m all for slicing their throats open.” He turned to Abdul. “Yours too if you step out of line again.”
The man cowered from Mac. “I won’t. You have my word.”
Mac, Abdul and Bandy left the car.
Jacko sat forward in his seat to observe them as the darkness gave way to light. “Shit, they better hurry up. Sod it. Come on, Giles, I can’t stand sitting around here.”
“Please, let me come with you. I promise to behave,” Kayli pleaded.
Giles sighed. “I’d rather have her with me, Jacko.”
