Page 9 of Fighting for Valor
Zaman drags the doctor back into the main house, and Faruk carries Mateen after them. She’ll die here, and that’ll be one more red mark in my ledger.
Tonight. After midnight prayers. If I can get him alone, maybe…I can kill him.
The knife is heavy in my hand. Yet, somehow familiar. The loose tunic mostly hides the weapon, and I slip into the room off the kitchen with the bank of five computers.
A quick check of the time, and I roll my head, letting my neck pop and crack. I know Faruk’s routines. In a few minutes, he’ll be back in his office for his weekly 1:00 a.m. call with his contact in the States. Some government grunt who feeds him information and helps facilitate the arms sales that provide much of Faruk’s income. He won’t be checking the security cameras for at least half an hour.
With a few keystrokes, I prepare to disable the cameras but freeze. In the basement hallway, a man dressed in black pants and a black tunic leads Joey down the hall. He’s not one of Faruk’s men. Even if he’d brought in someone new without telling me, the way this guy moves…he’s been trained to do this.
Quickly, I cycle through the other feeds. The camera trained on the front gate reveals another man, dressed similarly, fiddling with something under the hood of one of the Jeeps. The man outside touches his ear, then shakes his head. A moment later, he sprints for the west side of the compound, and…fuck. Runs right into Faruk’s wife, Lisette, and Mateen. Lisette grabs his arm, begging. They argue for a moment, and then the man picks up Mateen and motions for Lisette to follow him.
They’re getting out. All of them.
This is my chance to find some sort of redemption. I can help. I can protect them until they’re safe. Disabling the cameras is simple, but I only have fifteen minutes before an alarm goes off in Faruk’s office.
Where the hell is the first guy taking the doctor? Shit. Down to the old storage rooms in the basement. The last time I was down there, Faruk beat me so badly, I couldn’t lie on my back for a week. Double-checking the cameras and locking the workstation with a new password no one else at the compound can crack, I grab the woefully dull kitchen knife, tuck it into my pocket, and take off at a run.
Where the hell are they? I should have found them by now. They weren’t underground, and I hurry out the kitchen door.
Fuck.
“Stop,” I call out as two men and the doctor rush around a corner.
The shorter one—the one I saw take Joey from her room—raises a gun. “Don’t move.”
“I am no threat to you,” I say quietly as I hold up my hands and drop my gaze to the ground, “but you cannot go this way. I disabled the cameras, and in fifteen minutes, if I do not turn them back on, an alarm will go off and Faruk will…hurt me.”
He’ll do more than that. But I don’t have time to explain why I’m helping them. I just hope they trust me. “Your other man is headed for the front gate, but there are too many guards between here and there for you to escape that way. Come with me. There is an underground tunnel that leads out of the compound.”
“Fuck, no.” The shorter man lunges for me, but with a quick sidestep, I’m out of his reach, my hands still held high.
“Please. Let me try to atone for my sins.”
“For your sins?” The taller of the two men, who’s leaning heavily on Dr. Joey, winces as he tries to stand up straighter. “Your accent…you’re American, aren’t you? What’s your name?”
Several of Faruk’s men shout from the opposite side of the compound, curses in Pashto and orders to find the invaders.
The shorter man takes Joey’s free arm. “We have to go. Now.”
“Wait!” I hiss. “The doctor is wearing a tracking device.”
“What? Where?” Dr. Joey asks as her eyes widen in the light from the waning moon.
“In the hem of your pants. He trusts no one. Not even his own men. Not even his wife.” Definitely not me.
The first man crouches and runs his fingers around the bottom of Joey’s pants. With a curse, he pulls out a knife, then rips through the thin fabric. After he drops the tracker on the ground, he stomps on it and stares me down. “Why tell us?”
Shame heats my cheeks. “Faruk took my name. And my honor. Let me earn a piece of it back.“ Falling to my knees, I bow my head and rest my palm over my heart. “I’ll kill him for what he’s done. Then…maybe my ledger won’t be so full of blood.” And maybe I can die in peace.
The two men exchange a glance, then the shorter one says, “Get up. Show us this tunnel. But if you’re lying to us, I’m putting a bullet in each of your kneecaps before I shoot you in the head.”
That wouldn’t be punishment enough, but if I can’t get them out, at least I know I won’t have to face Faruk and his torture ever again. With a nod, I lead them through the dark shadows to the rear of the compound and a wooden trap door.
“The tunnel leads under the wall. I’ll give you a two-minute head start, and then I’ll send the guards to the opposite side of the compound. After that, I will have to tell Faruk the doctor is gone and the cameras were shut down. And if I’m lucky, I’ll be able to kill him before he kills me.”
The men nod at me, and Dr. Joey whispers, “Thank you.”
Gunfire explodes from the front gate as I duck into the main house and head for Faruk’s office. I’ve lost my best chance. Any hope of surprising him. But I can still fight, and if he’s not expecting the attack, maybe…the knife will be sharp enough to sever his carotid artery.
