Chapter 22

Max was viewing it all and decided it was time to contact Donna. The poor woman was probably going nuts by now waiting for his call.

“It’s a go. Move out now.”

Donna was elated at the call. Since there was no need to pretend anymore she immediately called Connors and Adams. Within in minutes they had medi-vac helicopters in the air heading towards the co-ordinates Max had given her. Right behind them was a squadron of helicopters equipped with the latest armaments and full of heavily armed soldiers.

Husseini, his aides and the negotiators were startled by all the activity on the base. They rushed to the windows and witnessed the helicopters taking off one after another.

“What is the meaning of this?” Husseini demanded. “Under our agreement there were supposed to be no such activity until the talks were finished and this outrageous display of armed force is definitely going to set them back for a long time.”

“No wait,” the negotiators pleaded as Husseini stomped angrily around the room and gestured at his aides.

“We’re leaving because this is just a waste of time. I knew all the time you people had no desire to deal with us in a civilized manner,” he ranted and stared accusingly at the negotiators.

By the time Donna barged into the room accompanied by several soldiers, the frantic negotiators had managed to get Husseini to sit down in a chair. Donna had deliberately made sure the group accompanying her were all females and wearing the shorts they normally wore in hot weather when on base because she knew how much it would irritate Husseini.

“It’s that damn woman again. She’s the one causing all the problems.” Husseini cursed. “Get her out of here immediately or the talks may never resume. This is all her fault. Just think of those poor hostages.”

“Hey, there’s no longer any need for talks,” Donna announced as she strode swiftly towards the outraged man. She brushed aside the protests and feeble attempts the negotiators made to stop her, raised her boot and kicked the horrid man in the chest. It sent him flying backward across the room, and he ended up sprawled on the floor.

“Search his aides and then this piece of shit. Confiscate any guns or phones you find,” she ordered. She stared down at Husseini who was glaring up at her with verminous eyes as he struggled to get back on his feet. But Donna pushed him back down again with the toe of her combat boot, like he was a minor irritant.

“Haven’t you heard? The negotiations are officially over and the hostages are being rescued even as we speak.” Donna announced. “And the fun for this piece of shit is also over.”

She glanced at her female crew who had finished searching the aides and dropped a couple of knives, two pistols and two I phones on the table.

This time when Husseini tried to get up, Donna helped him up with a yank to his collar that propelled him to his feet. Then she held him securely so her searchers could move in on him.

“Don’t even move a hair on your head, don’t even think of moving,” she warned when she saw him struggling and tying to wiggle away from the females who were patting him down. When they finished they dropped another pistol and two more I phones on the table.

By now Husseini was trembling and his fists were clenched with barely controlled rage. As Eli’s chief negotiator he wasn’t used to being treated in such an abusive manner, especially by mere females he felt nothing but contempt for.

“Interesting,” Donna said as she grabbed the two new phones. “Why two? Is one of them the one you use to contact Eli?”

Husseini shook his head and screamed “you’ll pay for this outrage.”

“You can’t barge into our room like this and treat him in such a manner,” one of the negotiators complained but Donna ignored her. However, her nagging was beginning to get on her nerves so she decided it was time to put an end to the travesty.

“Sit down, everybody,” she ordered and shoved Husseini back into a chair.

She looked at a soldier who was holding an I pad. When the woman nodded, she took the mini computer and placed it on a table where everybody could see it.

“I guess it’s time to watch a movie,” Donna said. Moments later, as the computer flickered to life, she added. “It’s in real time and features a pretty good, but lopsided battle.”

She could hear Husseini loud gasp of shock when he recognized the location and realized what was happening. He tried to leap out of his chair and make a grab for the I pad but Donna saw it coming and pushed him back down.

“Sit and watch,” she sternly ordered. You see, they finally found Eli’s hideout, the hostages have been rescued and his compound is now under attack.”

She pointed to one scene that showed the hostages being loaded onto the medi-vac helicopters. “You see, the hostages are being freed. They are going to be flown back to this base to receive badly needed medical treatment. And this is the battle for Eli’s kingdom.”

Another scene showed soldiers from her base and members of the Galaxy Guardian Security forces pouring rifle and mortar fire into his fortress.

“But, but,” one of the negotiators stuttered in confusion. “How did that happen? Under our agreement all soldiers were supposed to stand down until the talks were completed. You took an unbelievable risk which could have resulted in death to the hostages. We were making good progress, weren’t we?” The woman looked at the other negotiators who nodded in support.

Donna laughed in derision. “You were getting nowhere because this piece of shit here.” She pointed at Husseini. “He was playing you for a bunch of fools. You want to know what he was doing when he wasn’t in negotiations? Then watch this.”