Chapter 4

“We got company coming.”

The words broke Ashley out of her reverie and she was immediately all business.

“You hear that guys? “Our guests are almost here and since we’re the welcoming committee let’s give them a real warm greeting.”

Ashley spoke the words into her mic even while maneuvering into a better position. A series of mic clicks indicated everybody got the message.

“How far out Wiz? She asked the scout.

“Less than a mile and closing fast. Looks like they’re making up for lost time.”

“Okay everybody. I’d say we’ve got 10 minutes max. Let’s make this happen as planned. We stay quiet and remain in position until the lead vehicle hits the land mine. That’ll bring those SOBs to an abrupt halt and should leave them right over the second surprise. Once it detonates we pour rifle fire into what’s left of them.” Ashley gave her final orders.

As the convoy of terrorists neared its target for the night the beardless young man in ragged clothes driving the lead jeep grew more and more nervous. Moe Abbay usually made it a point to stay clear of the gangs raiding the camps of the Western oil drillers. He didn’t like the violence that went with the attacks and figured the gangs would only get away with it for so long before someone decided to retaliate. But desperation drove him to put aside his misgivings and join them. His excuse was that times were so hard it was getting more and more difficult to feed his family and since the gangs offered a share of the loot, it looked like an easy way to get lots of American money. He reasoned that after a couple of raids he could slip away from the gang with enough money to provide for his family for months.

As the newest recruit his job was to drive Ali, but the leader of the gang terrified him. He was short and squat and usually wore a scowl. The closer they got to their destination, the more his piggy eyes glittered with vehemence through his thick, bushy beard. And the more his tongue slipped out of his mouth lizard-like to move across his dry lips.

Ali seemed to sense Moe’s growing apprehension. He laughed loudly as he looked sideways at his young driver who was white faced and clutching the steering wheel tightly with both hands as they climbed the hill which would have them overlooking the camp.

“First time eh.” He mocked. “Well don’t shit your pants on me boy cuz we got work to do tonight and I don’t want you stinking up my jeep. Besides, these camps are so easy to raid. Thanks to Eli we can act with impunity. We’ve already hit them a few times and got away with it because the soldiers have been ordered to let us be.”

“On-going negotiations,” Ali snickered in derision at his driver.

As the jeep crested the hill he turned and looked back and was pleased to see that the canvass covered three-ton truck was right behind them. He used the vehicle to transport gang members and carry away stolen equipment for which they would sell for big dollars. He mused, another haul like this one and the one they pulled off a couple of nights ago and he would sitting pretty and holding lots of American dollars. It was too bad those stupid idiots had to die in the last attack because they foolishly decided to fight back. He shrugged and reasoned it was all part of the game. They shouldn’t have gotten in his way.

Ali was still lost in thought while Moe, growing more and more apprehensive, fought to steer the jeep down the twisted road that wound down the final hill. He was having second thoughts. If he could have, he would have stopped the jeep right there and abandoned his plan for quick riches, but one look at the fierce features of Ali compelled him to keep driving.

This is it. Raiding camps is not for me so I’ll do it this one time and disappear with my share of the money and my family he was promising himself when all hell broke loose.

The jeep hit the land mine with a loud bang. The blast was so powerful it launched the vehicle high into the air. It rose five feet above the ground before crashing back down to earth. Since it was the passenger tire that ran over the land mine, Ali was killed instantly. Moe was luckier. Being the driver, but without a seat belt he was thrown right out of the jeep while it was still in mid-air. He landed just off the road in some bushes. The solid thud when he hit the ground knocked the wind out of him and made him think he’d broken every bone in his body.

But as he lay partially concealed by some bushes he realized, to his surprise, he was still alive, just mostly shaken up with his only real injury being his leg. It felt like it was broken. A quick look made him stifle a scream and gasp in shock. He could see a bone sticking out of it. Then he heard the second explosion which demolished the truck. It was followed by the sound of rifle fire cutting down any survivors. Desperately he turned and tried to scramble away on his one good leg for better concealment.

But he didn’t get far. His progress was stopped by a pair of army boots that blocked his way. Even through the morning mist and desert sand the boots managed to hold a shine.

“Got another one here Ashley,” a loud gruff voice announced. “He must have been the driver of the jeep. Somehow he survived the blast and now he’s trying to sneak away from us. Want me to shoot him and put him out of his misery?”

Moe’s reaction was instant. He looked up with wide, pleading eyes at the big, bearded man that looked like a giant to him. He was dressed in camouflage and was pointing a smoking rifle at him. His hands shot up in the air and he tried to stand, despite the excruciating pain flooding through his bad leg. He turned at the sound of another pair of boots crunching through road side gravel, tree limbs and course grass. He was shocked to see this assailant was a woman because in his world, females rarely if ever took up guns and went to war. They mainly stayed at home and looked after the kids and waited for their husband to bring home something to eat.

“No, no please don’t shoot me.” Moe pleaded to the woman.

Ashley looked down at the skinny man in ragged clothes and wondered what she should do. Despite her anger towards the terrorists and her belief they all deserved a bullet right between the eyes, she also knew she just couldn’t shoot an unarmed man, even this pitiful excuse of a human being.

She looked at the man holding the rifle on him. Her second in command Travis Boyd held her eyes, shrugged his shoulders but kept the rifle pointed directly at the snivelling creature at his feet. It was clear he didn’t know what to do either and was looking to her to make the move. After all, she was the squad leader.

Moe broke the silence. “Please, don’t shoot. I can give you important information,” he blurted out.

Ashley stared down at him. Despite her fierce demeanor she was looking for an excuse to spare him. She looked over at Travis and gave him a slight nod.

He caught the signal. It was a game they had played before. He was going to be the bad cop while Ashley would play the good cop. It was a ploy they used whenever they wanted to wring information out of a prisoner.

Ashley glared down at their captive.

“Okay, okay, maybe we won’t shoot you, but you’d better have something we’re interested in or it could be all over for you.”

“What the fuck,” Travis exploded. “You really don’t believe this slimy, little bastard has any intel we might be interested in. He’s probably stringing you along with a line of bull shit just to save his sorry ass.”

“No, no bull shit,” Moe sobbed.

He kept holding his hands high in the air as he looked beseechingly up at his captors. First he tried the big giant of a man, but he saw no mercy in his hard, unblinking eyes. He just angrily shook his head and scowled in disgust at him. Then he turned to the woman who also looked icy, but seemed a bit softer which gave him hope of getting out of this place alive.

“Okay, let’s hear it,” Ashley demanded.

“I’m not a real terrorist,” Moe sobbed. “I only joined this gang last night because they offered me some easy money, and I thought I’d go with them just once to get some American dollars to feed my family.”