11. Kat

11

Kat

I felt sick to my stomach. I hated this place. Memories flashed back of my friends being blown up and everyone running for the plane. It hadn’t changed at all, except now the Taliban were everywhere. Damn, I didn’t know there were this many of them. I saw one grab a girl and pull her down an alley.

Fucker. I wanted to kill every one of them. Why were they allowed to take girls in an alley and rape them? Without thinking, I turned to follow them down the alley, but Steven grabbed my arm and stopped me.

I pulled my arm free, knowing I couldn’t go after these bastards. We had to act like we belonged here, which meant I had to play the role of a submissive woman who listened to her husband—one who never looked a man in the eye and always did as she was told.

“Lieutenant, you can’t try to save anyone, or they’ll kill us. Let’s get the Captain's daughter and get the hell out of here. Damn, I feel like I’m in a pit full of rattlesnakes. Are we almost there? ”

“Yes, just a couple more blocks. We have to be careful. If the husband is home, he’s a snake in the grass—always trying to please the Taliban. Even when we were here before, he tried to kill us.”

We walked until I saw the house. “Here we are. Let me knock. I can speak their language,” I said, stepping closer to the door. When it opened, it was Janelle’s mother. I quickly looked around.

“Kat, what are you doing here? My husband will be home soon.”

“I came with Joel Jackson to get his daughter,” I explained.

“Hurry, come in. Sierra, come here.” A little girl appeared. She was small for her age, but I saw her father when I looked into her green eyes.

I opened the door wider, and Joel stepped inside. “Hello, sweetheart, I’m your Daddy. Cover her head so no one sees her.”

“I’m going with you,” Janelle’s mother said.

“Cover yourself. We can’t be spotted. We have to hurry. Where’s your husband?”

“He went to talk to the man buying Sierra for his wife.”

I knew Joel would kill the man if he had the chance, so I pushed everyone out the door. I looked around for Steven and saw him in a jeep. Good, I’d hoped he’d find one. We jumped inside and sped off but hadn’t even made it out of town when we saw them coming for us.

“Let me out. I’ll slow them down,” I said, my only thought being to safely get Sierra and her grandmother out of there. I knew the husband would kill his wife, and no one would do anything to him.

“Joel, take over; I’ll help Kat,” Steven said. “Go to the plane. If we’re not there in ten minutes, leave. ”

“No, I won’t leave you.”

“Think of your daughter,” Steven shouted.

Steven and I ran behind a building as the men in the jeeps pursued Joel. I shot their tires, and the vehicle swerved before crashing into a building. We darted down alleys with men hot on our heels. A door suddenly opened, and someone motioned for us to come inside.

I didn’t hesitate. We were dead if we stayed outside, and hopefully not dead if we went in. We stopped and looked around. A woman stood there, watching us. She motioned for us to follow her.

We walked upstairs and into another room, where she tapped a board, and it slid open. There was a hidden area, a tiny space barely big enough for two people. I looked at Steven—his broad shoulders and tall frame barely fit. He grinned.

We squeezed inside, and she shut the wall. “I hope she lets us out soon,” I said, sliding down the wall. I sat down, and Steven followed. I never liked tight spaces.

“She’ll probably wait until it’s dark. We have at least four hours. So, tell me what you’ve been doing since I last saw you?” he asked.

“How long has it been? Five years?”

“At least five.”

“I got married, then lost my husband and my baby boy on the same night. Now, I work for the Golden Team.”

“I’m sorry. That must have been hard.”

“Yeah, it was. I disappeared for three years. It’s something I’ll never fully get over.”

“So, the Golden Team. How’s that?”

“I love my job. I go around the world with them. I didn’t tell them I was coming here. If they knew, they’d probably be here by now. I told them I needed a two-week vacation. No use upsetting them. So, what have you been up to?”

“My life is what you see. I volunteer to rescue Americans in other countries. Sometimes, even in America,” Steven said. I noticed a sadness in his eyes.

“How’s your family? I sometimes see Jason in the news, always with a different beautiful woman on his arm.”

“Yes, Jason is running for Senate.”

“What about Michael? What’s he doing these days?”

“Michael was killed three months ago.”

“Oh my God. I’m so sorry. What happened?”

“I believe he was set up. It’s something I’m still investigating. Michael was too smart to die the way they said he did. Jason is ready to go to Russia and kill all of them. Do you remember how he always talked things out? Well, with Michael’s disappearance, he’s different. I had to almost hold him down. He wanted to go to Russia and accuse them of kidnapping Michael.”

“Tell me.”

“Michael fell in love. The woman he loved was a lying bitch—dangerous too. I tried to warn him, but he wouldn’t listen. Her name is Sasha Petrov. She’s a spy. I told Michael, but he refused to believe me.”

“He went away with Sasha to Russia. I warned him she’d use him, make him work for them because he was a famous scientist. He got mad at me; that was the last time I saw him.”

“Did you see his body after he died?”

“No. Sasha claimed tigers mutilated his body. She said he was cremated. I don’t believe a word she says.”

“I agree—it sounds suspicious. What are you doing about it?”

“I’ve got some people over there trying to find out what was happening before he died. He was there for a month, and I called him every day during that last week. I think she told me he was dead because I was about to visit them.”

“Let me know if I can help. They probably have him locked up somewhere. He wouldn’t be the first scientist they’ve kidnapped. But they knew they had to separate him from you and your brothers because they knew you’d figure it out.”

“So, you think he’s alive?”

“Yes, I do. You should talk to the Golden Team about it. You know them—you’re a former Army Special Forces guy, like them. Ever run into them?”

“Just once. Faron dated my girlfriend when I was overseas. The best thing that ever happened to me.”

“That doesn’t sound like Faron. He’d never date another man’s woman. He must not have known she was yours.”

“Maybe not. He looked surprised when I confronted him. I probably should’ve thanked him instead of punching him.”

“I bet he hit you back.”

“Yeah, he did—then he laughed.”

A few hours later, the woman opened the wall. “You must go.” We grabbed our backpacks.

“Thank you,” I said, taking her hand.

“Lieutenant Kat, you saved my daughter’s life. You are my friend. Stay safe. These men are horrible, and they enjoy causing pain to women. Be careful,” she said.

We stayed close to the wall as we made our way out of town. I could feel it in my bones—we were being hunted.

We were still hiding two days later, the Taliban close on our heels.

“We have to make a run for it,” Steven said. “If they see us and start shooting, I want you to keep running. If I get hit, don’t stop.”

“Will you stop running if I get shot?” I asked.

“I can carry you. You can’t lift me. I’m not arguing—just keep running.”

“Let’s go.”

We were almost out of town when they spotted us. Bullets started flying, but we kept running. I felt a bullet hit me, then another. I turned and saw Steven go down. I aimed and fired, hitting one of the men. Steven turned and shot the other.

I helped him into a nearby building. Inside, I noticed the people watching us. A man rushed over, checking Steven, then me.

“Both of you need to be in a hospital. They’ll be here soon, you can’t stay inside. They’ll kill you if they haven’t already. You need to leave right now.”

I watched them leave, forcing myself to concentrate. I needed to hide Steven and then go for help. Where could I hide him? I saw a door and checked—it was a small closet.

I dragged Steven over and got him inside, then cleaned the floor. Blood kept appearing, and I wiped it up again and again before realizing it was mine. I was losing too much blood.

“Kat, where are you?”

“Steven, don’t say anything,” I whispered. “I’m hiding you in this closet. Stay quiet, no matter what you hear.”

“Go. Get out now. They know we’re in here. Get out before it’s too late.”

“Promise not to say anything, and I’ll leave,” I pleaded.

My head was spinning. I piled more boxes on top of Steven, then left. I had to get help before I passed out from blood loss. I stayed close to the wall, trying to stay awake. Where was I going to find help?

Maybe Captain Jackson would come back for us. I just needed a little rest. I knew it was over when I slid to the ground and blacked out.