12. Cash
CASH
My head throbbed and my throat scratched with dryness. The first thing I noticed was the awkward angle at which I was sitting. The second was that my arms were tied to a chair. Fuck, everything hurt.
I could no longer feel Sally at my back. And if she was gone, so was the gun at my hip. Voices filtered in from the distance—a language I hadn’t heard in years, not since my days in the military. Not since I was last here, staring down a sniper from his nest.
It seemed like so long ago, yet it was still fresh in my mind. I could still remember creeping through the deserted streets, eager to get my hands on that HOGs tooth. It was the only way to ensure that fucking bullet wouldn’t catch me in the skull at a later date.
It seemed like a silly superstition now, since I was currently tied to a chair in the same fucking country I escaped from all those years ago.
Someone could easily put a bullet in my head.
The HOGs tooth hanging around my neck was nothing more than a talisman, and right now, it wasn’t doing a damn bit of good.
“He’s awake.”
I rolled my head toward the heavy accent, peeling my eyes open. Thankfully, it was dark where I was being held, which kept the throbbing in my head to a manageable degree.
The man standing in front of me studied me carefully, bending down in front of me. “Who are you?”
Judging by his accent, he was a local, but he spoke English very well. That had to mean that he spent time around Americans. At least, that was my hope.
“Cash,” I answered, not bothering with a last name.
He nodded and pulled something from his pocket, letting it dangle from his fingers so I could see what it was.
My dog tags.
“Military. Why are you here?” he questioned.
That’s when I saw the rifle in the corner, leaning against the wall. He followed my gaze and nodded.
“It was you. Why?”
I shook my head, denying it instantly. “It wasn’t me.”
“You have a rifle!”
“I didn’t fire it,” I argued, wincing as the pain in my head increased.
“Then who did?” he shouted, getting in my face.
“I don’t know.”
I was in a house, not a camp or some kind of hole. There were other family members around, all of them sitting in fear. Of me. They couldn’t be part of some terrorist network. At least, that’s what my instincts were screaming. So, I did my best to calm the situation.
“He wasn’t the target.”
“Then who was?”
That, I wouldn’t give away. Just because I didn’t think this man was a terrorist didn’t mean I trusted him either.
“You have a rifle, and from this,” he said, tugging on the dog tags, “you had the capability to take that shot.”
I was all alone in the Middle East. My team had turned on me. Or I had turned on them. Either way, there was no one to help me out of the mess I was in. If I refused to talk, they’d keep me here or hand me over. But if I explained myself…
It was a risk.
A huge fucking risk. There was no guarantee this man would believe me, or that he would be willing to help me.
The woman stood and started frantically arguing with the man in Arabic. She was afraid, terrified that I was here to destroy more of their country. And worse, that by me being here, someone would accuse her or her family of aiding in the plot to kill President Codi.
Every minute I stayed, I was putting their family in danger. So, even though my instincts were screaming at me not to open my mouth, I just couldn’t add to their terror.
“The target was Al-ahmar.”
Both of them went silent, slowly turning to face me with what appeared to be relief.
“I don’t know who took the shot and killed President Codi. But now I’m trapped. My team abandoned me here, and if I don’t get out, I’m as good as dead. But I swear to you, I did not take that shot.”
The man strode back over, pulling up a chair. “You work for CIA.”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Then who?”
“Who is not important. We know who Al-ahmar is. He may appear to be reformed, but we know the damage he’ll cause. And now that he’s escaped assassination, his power will only grow.”
He shoved out of his chair and strode over to the rifle, picking it up. He shoved it in my face, though I couldn’t grab it with my hands tied. “You will finish the job.”
I shook my head instantly. “No, I can’t. I have to get out of here. If I don’t escape now, I never?—”
“I will help you. There are tunnels. I will get you out.”
“You don’t understand,” I gritted out, trying to explain myself. “When I failed to take the shot, my team turned on me. I have to leave now.”
He shook his head again, pushing the rifle at me once more. “You will finish the job you came here to do. Then, I will get you out. I swear it. You must kill Al-ahmar.”
“I don’t have a team. I don’t know where he will be,” I stressed. “And now that President Codi has been killed, his security will be tighter.”
But no matter how much I explained, this man refused to back down. The hope on his face was impossible to ignore. These people lived in absolute terror every day.
“Please,” he said quietly.
It was already too late for me to get across the border. If I wanted to get out, I would need his help. It seemed I really didn’t have a choice in the matter. He was the closest thing I had to a friend right now.
“Do you know where he’ll be?”
“I will find out.” His face lit with hope. It was something I recognized all too well from my military days. Either people were hopeful you were in their country, willing to help them, or they were terrified of the implications—the possibility that our actions would only make their lives worse.
But if he helped me, that would put his entire family in danger. He had to realize that.
“You do realize what this will mean for you,” I stressed, narrowing my eyes at him, hoping I wouldn’t have to spell it out with his family right there.
He gave a tight nod, glancing over at his family for only a moment. “I do, but it will be so much worse if he is alive.”
There was really nothing more I could say. If he was willing to risk everything to help me, I would do the same. Even though it had nothing to do with my original objective. Even though it might ruin everything for me. If there was a chance it would work, I had to take it.
“Okay. I’ll do it.”
Ibrahim led me through a tunnel, hurrying along as if he traveled this way on a daily basis. With my rifle slung over my shoulder, I was prepared for what we were about to do, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t making my gut churn.
“He is to make an appearance today. It might be our only chance.”
I had to trust that Ibrahim had gotten the correct intel. If I was caught, there would be no escaping this country.
We came out through a hidden door in a shop, and when Ibrahim was sure it was clear, he waved me out.
The shop looked abandoned, but that didn’t mean no one was watching.
He led me to the back and up a set of stairs that wound higher until we reached the roof of the building.
For miles, all you could see were shops scrunched together and sand.
I was already sick of the desert and I’d only been back a few days.
There was a reason they called this the sandbox, and it wasn’t because it was fun to play in.
Even with the material wrapped around my face, I could still feel the sand biting at the skin around my eyes. I fucking hated it over here.
“He’s just over there,” Ibrahim pointed in the distance.
I followed his direction, but I couldn’t see anything. “What are you talking about?”
“There. Do you see that tall building? He’s inside.”
Frustrated, I turned to him. “That’s not a clean shot. And that’s not an easy distance either. Ibrahim, I need something that’s guaranteed to be successful. If I fuck this up, it’ll only make things worse.”
“This is our opportunity. You have to take it.”
There were too many factors. The distance, for one, reminded me of the last time I was here.
When I collected that fucking HOGs tooth.
That had been one hell of a shot, but I didn’t have days to sit on my target and hope for the perfect shot.
Not to mention the wind was an issue, along with the fact that I’d be shooting through glass, which could change the trajectory of the bullet.
And if I didn’t succeed, they would have a secondary location to search. It would make leaving even harder. This time, I would have Al-ahmar’s men searching for me.
But there was no way around it. I had to try.
I took Sally off my shoulder and set her up, then started scouting the best position for the shot.
Several hours passed as I waited not only for the shot to become available, but for the wind to die down enough where I was confident I could be successful.
I settled into my position, readying for the shot. My finger slid over the trigger, calming me instantly. This was where I was most confident, where everything fell together just right. I was never so sure of myself as I was behind Sally, but that didn’t mean the shot was a sure thing.
Deep breath. Exhale. Squeeze.
The bullet pierced the glass, and Al-ahmar tumbled to the ground.
I kept my eye to the scope, waiting to see if he would get up.
Chaos erupted in the room as people rushed around him, blocking my view.
I wouldn’t be able to stick around for long.
It was best to get out before they had an idea of where the shot came from, before I could be spotted.
After another minute, he still hadn’t gotten up. I rolled to my back and quickly dismantled my weapon, packing up Sally in the case. Wiping the sand away, I removed all evidence of where I’d been. They might still notice the marks, but there would be nothing to place me at the scene.
I was on my feet and moving down the steps in just seconds, following Ibrahim into the shop and back through the tunnel. My feet pounded on the ground as we ran through almost complete darkness. I trusted my instincts, which told me that this man was good and he would lead me to safety.
I had abandoned all my things at the hotel, which meant I had no means of escape.
I had to rely solely on others to make sure I got out.
But I wouldn’t take a dime from Ibrahim.
His family needed every penny they had. I was used to finding unique ways to get by, and this time wouldn’t be any different.
When we reached the end of the tunnel, he once again peeked through a door, making sure it was clear before waving me out.
“This is where I leave you, my friend. There is a vehicle waiting for you out back. I have left you everything you need to cross the border.”
“But—”
“I must go, my friend. Be safe.”
He slipped back inside without another word and left me alone once again. I went around back and found the vehicle he was talking about, only then understanding what he meant by his words. Inside was a disguise waiting for me, along with papers that should get me across the border.
Getting into the vehicle, I drove away and prayed I didn’t get caught.