Page 47 of SEAL's Spitfire
Two men jumped out of the truck and approached the jeep. A third must have gotten out of the back since when she looked up there was a gun pointed at her head through her window. The other two approached Waltham, guns pointed directly at him. The one she assumed was in charge, motioned to him to open his window.
As he rolled it down, everything seemed to slow down. Her heart no longer beat in double or triple time. It was like the calm before the storm when everything is peaceful just before all hell breaks loose.
Unable to understand a word they were saying, she kept silent and still as Waltham instructed. The last thing she wanted was to look into the barrel of whatever type of gun was pointed at her face.
The man in black, Johnny Cash was probably spinning in his grave, but she didn’t know what else to call him, spoke in a language she couldn’t understand. At first, Waltham answered in English, but then he switched to what had to be Pashto. No wonder Tex had sent him to help her. She was like a newborn babe out in the middle of nowhere and completely defenseless.
The only word she understood was ‘no,’ and Waltham was using it a lot. Probably not the best thing to yell at people who looked ready to kill. She didn’t have to be a rocket scientist to know they weren’t ‘friendlies’ and that these were the people she’d traveled to see.
The man in black yelled and the other two moved closer to the car. Waltham continued to argue and as his voice got angrier and Meghan hoped he wouldn’t get them both shot. No sooner had the words formed in her mind when everything when to hell in a handbasket.
The leader yanked open the driver’s door and dragged Waltham out of the jeep. Then he punched him in the stomach with his machine gun and knocked him to the ground.
As he struggled to get up, he glanced at her, motioning to stay put, and then pulled himself up. She wished she knew what they were saying, but even if she understood the language, they spoke so quickly she’d never have been able to keep up with them.
The one in charge was growing impatient. His voice rose and he lifted his rifle. Meghan thought he was going to beat Waltham again, but instead, he pulled the trigger. She watched in disbelief as Waltham fell to the ground. It had to be a mistake, this couldn’t be happening. Why They’d been driving to Bamyan and talking about tea and now his blood was spreading in the desert sand somewhere in the middle of Afghanistan.
She told herself to stay strong even though her stomach churned with fear and desperation. It wasn’t looking good for, she was all alone in the middle of nowhere, with no way to defend herself. Her sole reason for being there was to talk to the Taliban, to hopefully get close to Charlie. Instead, she was miles and miles away from him and might never see him again. As she met the man in black’s eyes, they opened her door and dragged her out of the jeep. Unsure what their next move would be, she braced for a bullet. It seemed the logical next step for them, so she was surprised and temporarily relieved when they pulled her toward their truck.
“Come.”
“I have to get to Bamyan.”
“You will come with us,” his English was broken and stilted, but maybe he could understand her and let her go.
“No. I have to get to Bamyan. I am with the Press.” He didn’t look impressed. Or maybe he didn’t understand. “Newspaper? I am writing a story.”
“You come with us now.” The man holding her arm raised his rifle.
“Can I get my pack?” At least then she might have a chance of contacting Tex as long as they didn’t take her phone. Where her bravery came from, she had no clue, but she was going to go with it as long as possible.
After a moment, he nodded, and she went to the jeep and grabbed it from the floorboard. She didn’t even have time to swing it onto her back before he dragged her away from the car and toward their armored truck.
She tried to see if Waltham was still alive but could only see his legs lying still in the sand. It was her fault this happened, she didn’t even know if he had a family. If no one found his body, they would never know what happened and he’d be sucked into the desert and disappear forever.
“Come.” She wondered if they knew any other English words. When she’d made the decision to try to save Charlie, she’d never considered they might not be able to communicate. Hopefully, she’d find someone that would be able to understand her.
After being shoved into the back of the truck, they used a zip tie on her hands and feet, then put a black bag type thing over her head. It smelled of blood and sweat and made her gag from the stench. Fear rose in her throat along with the bile as she thought about what had happened to the last person who’d worn it.
As the truck’s engine roared to life, she prayed for Waltham, for Charlie, and for herself. It wasn’t supposed to be like this. Rafe’s words about leaving things to the professionals echoed in her brain and her heart ached knowing she’d probably never see him again. “I’m sorry, big guy. I do love you.”
Chapter 15
It took almost an hour for Murph to free Miranda from the explosive laden belt. Not only were there several trip wires, but the seat itself was wired to explode if she stood up. They’d been worried about keeping Miranda calm, so she wouldn’t accidentally trigger the explosives. Halo’s presence helped at first, but once Cam flashed his big ole’ blue eyes and bright white smile, she even smiled back. It was unexpected but whatever it took to keep her from freaking out was fine with them. The more still she remained the easier it was for Murph to work his magic. Leaving him and Cam inside, Rafe and Jake joined Ryan near the front of the cave to keep watch.
“Did you get new orders?” Rafe asked as they approached the cave opening.
“No. I haven’t heard anything new.”
“I wondered if that had just been for Miranda’s benefit.”
Jake tipped his head in agreement. “But I do know where the other hostages are. Mr. dirtbag finally spilled his guts. If he’d yelled much more, I’d have had to sic Halo on him.”
“I’m surprised. I didn’t think he’d give you anything. Hell, the way this operation was run, I didn’t think he’d know anything,” Ryan added as he joined their conversation.
“I agree. Considering she was their best chance at negotiation I don’t understand why they had the “b team” in charge,” Rafe added.
“Actually, he wasn’t the “b team,” Hibatullah was the brother of Azfaar, the local commander,” Jake said as he pulled his map out of his pack.
