Page 66 of The Fourth Option
“You’re okay, buddy,” he said. “Let’s get the girls.”
Staub’s eyes looked glossy.
“Can you move?”
The big man shook his head.
“Get the girls, Chris. Rina’s dead.” He drew his pistol. “My legs aren’t working.”
Walker stared at his friend.
“You get the girls and get to the Turi contact,” Staub said, his breathing labored. “We’ve got to be close.”
“Fuck that, you’re fine. Let me help you up.”
“Hey! Chris, I’m not. You get the girls and get the fuck out of here. We didn’t get very far. Those shitheads will be on us soon. Now fuckin’ go!”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“Hey, you owe me a favor, right?”
“What?”
“You owe me. Now get the girls. And hey,” he managed a smile through labored breathing, “if you make it out of here, look in on Leigh Ann and Connor.”
He slipped the Tudor Submariner from his wrist. “You know what to do with this,” he said, handing it to Chris.
Walker reluctantly slid it into his pocket.
Staub set the Glock across his chest.
“I’ll blast anyone that comes down the road,” he said, now coughing up blood.
“I’ll get the girls, but then I’m taking you with me.”
They heard the unmistakable sound of an incoming mortar.
“I said go!” Staub shouted.
Walker ran to the back of the overturned SUV and grabbed the screwdriver from his plate carrier as a mortar landed and exploded fifty yards long.
They are bracketing us in.
He tried to pull up on the liftgate, but it was jammed from the crash. The rear window had been blown out but splinters of glass were held in place by the weather stripping, which Walker scraped away with his screwdriver. He then crouched low and crawled into the toppled SUV.
The interior was still filled with smoke and dust. Walker could feel it burning his lungs. His left shoulder bumped the back of the rear passenger seats. He reached toward the screaming.
“It’s okay, I’ve got you,” he said, trying to calm the hysterical child as he dragged her past the rear seat. It was the youngest daughter, Zahra.
He looked back and could see Fatima through the smoke. She appeared to be breathing.
“Can you crawl?” he yelled at her. “Crawl. Come to me.”
Nothing.
“Shit! I’ll come back for you!”
He grabbed Zahra under his arm and hauled her through the SUV.
