CHAPTER 18
SOMEBODY WAS DRAGGING HIM.
Craig coughed violently. His throat was filled with sand, his vision, hazy.
He couldn’t breathe.
What the fuck happened?
“Move your ass, Major, c’mon! They’re waiting!”
He looked around dazedly. That was the executioner talking, minus the Arabic accent.
What the fuck…? Was he dead? Who were waiting? And why did the fucker suddenly sound like a Briton now?
“C’mon, buddy, wake the fuck up!”
The executioner slapped his face hard.
His vision cleared. The shell-shocked synapses in his brain connected again, bringing him back to the present. The executioner was no longer wearing a black robe but a camouflage uniform of an ISIL soldier.
It was Craig now who was wearing the black robe, his face covered by a ski mask. No wonder he couldn’t breath properly. He was garbed like a fucking Muj.
“Let’s go, brother. Time’s running out.”
Brother? Did he just call him brother?
The man helped him to his feet. Pain ripped through the side of his leg. “Shit, I think I’m hit.”
“Here.” The man handed him a small automatic rifle and a round of ammunition.
He stared at the weapon, then at the man. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Ask me again later. C’mon! They’re leveling this place and we don’t wanna be here when that happens in like…” The fucker looked at his watch, “three minutes.”
“Who?”
“The Ruskies. You know how they are.”
“Fuck…!” He grabbed the gun and ammu.
“Exactly. Let’s go!”
——*****——
Russian MiG 29s rained X-29 missiles all over Raqqa.
Craig had experienced all kinds if G-forces in space but the earth shaking was an entirely different experience. The ground vibrated as if a major earthquake was rocking the entire city. They might just be collateral damage soon if they didn’t get out of there fast enough.
The executioner who turned out to be his savior led him towards the mouth of what looked like a dug-out. But he found out seconds later it was a tunnel. An underground tunnel. “Shit, these are the tunnels I’ve heard about! They’re real!”
His “savior” grinned. “Yeah. Don’t worry, you’re a Muj today. But keep your face down. Your eye-color will give you away. If anyone makes a double-take and stops to investigate, shoot and run.”
“I can do that.” He raised the little automatic rifle he was holding. His new friend was fond of Israeli gadgets, though he wouldn’t trust the fucker completely yet. But why would a captor give his prisoner a gun?
They crawled into the tunnel that was probably 4 x 4 feet. It got bigger as they advanced inward until they could stand up and walk. He was amazed at how the ISIL had built their escape routes effectively. No wonder they were able to survive massive airs strikes everyday. They went underground, with electricity, too! Lamps illuminated the tunnel.
“This way. They’re all converging in that direction,” the dude pointed to the right. “They’ve built dozens of safe houses 100 feet below that can accommodate hundreds of people. The tunnels are bigger in those parts. These are the alternative and emergency exits, seldom used.”
He was even more astounded. Raqqa had an underground city!
“These men are different. They can easily adapt to any condition. Their beliefs are absolute and unshakable. That’s the most dangerous of all. We don’t wanna say hi to them after you ruined their live entertainment by keeping your neck intact and scoring a touch down on them.”
“I was gonna blow us all sky-high. That room was a bomb.”
“Sorry, I didn’t wanna join your little suicide party. I still have missions waiting for me in Israel, Cuba and Philippines.”
“You’re a commando?”
“Let’s just say I’m a freelancer.”
The walls of the tunnel vibrated, sending dirt showering over them. The Russians are having a merry day, for sure.
“If the ground caves in, we’re dead rats. It’s a long way back.”
The dude snorted. “Now I know why the Marines call you Air Force guys pussies.”
“I didn’t survive a hypersonic missile and a beheading just to end up buried alive in an ISIL tunnel. That would be the height of irony. They wouldn’t know what to say in my eulogy.”
The dude chuckled. “Fifteen minutes and we’re outta this hellhole. Hurry your pussy ass, Major.”
“How the hell did you end up as one of their leaders?”
“That will be a tale over a round of beer, man.”
“Sounds good. My treat.”
They walked for a few minutes more until they saw sunlight filtering at the far end.
Exit.
They practically crawled their way out of the tunnel.
They heard the distinct whirring of choppers.
——*****——
His adrenaline started to wear off as the Apache flew out of Raqqa. He can feel the biting pain in his left leg now. He was bleeding but the wounds weren’t bone-deep.
“Don’t worry, just shrapnels from that fucking grenade. You’ll live.”
“Okay, tell me now, why am I still alive? I don’t remember anything much after I pulled the pin and the earth shook.”
“Shit, man, that almost gave me a heart attack. I managed to jump you and throw the grenade away before it turned you into dog food. What the fuck were you thinking?”
“I didn’t wanna die like a pussy. I wanted to die fighting. And I thought you were my executioner. How was I supposed to know you were there to rescue me? You never gave me a clue. You let the mofos beat me and starve me to death.”
“Sorry, I didn’t wanna risk getting my cover blown, man.”
“At least you let me take a dump in the sand.”
The fucker laughed. “I promise not to tell your woman you pissed in your pants.”
“So, fill me in on the puzzle, will you? I still can’t believe I escaped execution.”
“As you were reciting the pledge of allegiance, I was expecting Mavericks to drop near the building we were in. I was coordinating with your friends in the sky. Your capture shook up the entire coalition, man. Even the Ruskies were pissed big time.”
“Yeah? I thought they didn’t give a shit about the ISIL.”
“Not when the ISIL’s messing up with Hypersonics.”
“Yeah, that was definitely a Hyper that nearly got me.”
“The big boys are not using those toys in the war yet and the ISIL beat them to it breaking nuclear weapons protocol. Not that they ever obey any protocol. They make their own rules. The big boys hate that, you know, when someone’s balls are bigger than theirs.”
“God help us all if they have more of those.”
“But I tell you, that pledge of allegiance shit, man, that was a masterclass move. I didn’t see that coming. I hope the whole world saw that before signal was cut off.”
“That was really going live?”
“The whole world was watching today.”
“So, what was your plan? You captured me. You could have just let me go.”
“You crashed in the middle of their territory. There was no way for you to escape. I didn’t want the other platoons to get you so we had to do it. The men were watching. We could’t risk getting caught and compromise the entire operation. But capturing you helped our mission.”
“So, you used me for your mission. As a bait.”
“It would have happened the same way. But if it weren’t me in-charge of your captivity, it could have ended badly for you.”
He nodded, conceding. “I know. Thank you.”
“When I saw you were still alive and your plane’s still intact, the mission was definitely on. You were a very valuable prisoner. A Major flying an Eagle. No Muj has captured an Eagle and its pilot ever. Our mission was simple. Gather the officials in one place and boom! We’ve been trying to do that for a year now, to no avail. But they came to see you die. You’re quite the celebrity eh?”
“Did you get them?”
“Half of them, yeah. Caught them all by surprise. A few of them were probably killed by your grenade. Had to drag you outta there because Mavs were raining. They leveled the building.”
“You think they would have taken selfies with my head?”
The dude smiled. “I really like you, Major Walker,” he said in his Arabic accent. “Defiant even at death’s door. If you were not so patriotic, the ISIL would like to recruit you.”
He grinned. “Who are you, brother? You think you can tell me that now that we’re relatively safe?”
The man extended his hand. “Trevor Maddox.”
They exchanged a tight handshake.
“Thank you, Trevor Maddox. I owe you.”
“Call me, Mad. I’m with the Task Force: Black.”
He nodded. Task Force:Black was a covert operation composed of British SAS, Delta Force and Seal Team 6 soldiers with the special mission to deeply infiltrate the ISIL Forces.
“We saw your plane taking a nose-dive closely followed by a missile. The missile exploded and we thought you got hit. Then you emerged from the ball of fire, spinning wildly. We all thought you were gonna crash, man, but your Eagle suddenly flipped upside-down and cruised like nothing happened. I tell you, my platoon became your instant fans. They’d never seen anything like that.”
“They beat me to pulp. Some fans.”
“Yeah well, you got them for a few seconds then you fell off the sky like a dead fly. That was not impressive at all.”
“Ran outta fuel.”
“I figured that.”
“What happened to my plane?”
“That’s the last thing you should be thinking about at this point, Major.” Maddox fished out something from one of the many pockets of his uniform. “Here.” He handed him a folded brown envelop.
It contained his personal belongings he’d brought with him in that flight, including the pictures of Andi and Richard.
Staring at the picture, he inhaled deeply. He swallowed hard as his throat constricted with emotion. “Thank you,” he said shakily.
Maddox nodded. “Relax now. You’re going home.”