Deployed (29 page)

“We’ve got company.” Pike’s growl barely reached Bekah’s ears, but she caught his nod toward Daud and a group of his men, including the big man, who were accompanying them.

Daud acknowledged Bekah with a nod. “Rats always leave a route they can use for escape. I do not think Haroun will have left himself nowhere to run.”

Bekah silently agreed and continued to follow the thick, snakelike cables bundled into a cluster. She passed through the door to another hallway that had not been lighted and spotted a group of al-Shabaab lying in wait in the darkness.

35

BEKAH BARELY HAD TIME
to throw an arm in front of Pike and get herself back to the safety of the doorway before bullets raked the walls and ricocheted down the hallway. Pike scrambled back as well, cursing the whole time.

Shouldering her rifle for the moment, Bekah plucked two grenades from her combat harness. She pulled the pins from the explosives, counted off a second, then heaved them into the hallway. Pike shadowed her toss with his own grenades a split second later.

Bekah covered her ears and waited. The explosives ripped through the hallway, magnified inside the constrained space. And a cloud of dust and stone fragments vomited out of the doorway in a rush.

The lights in the main room went out, and Bekah realized the explosions must have taken out the electrical cables in the hallway. But lights in the building’s upper stories remained, so she guessed that other wiring paths still existed. She hoped all of the generators were kept in the same area.

She flipped down her NVGs and found them still operable. Then she led the way into the hallway with Pike on her right.

Several of the al-Shabaab waiting to ambush them were dead or heavily wounded. Only a few remained alive and willing to fight. She spotted them in the green imagery afforded by the NVGs and opened fire as Pike did the same. They left dead men in the hallway as they kept advancing at a rapid pace.

Daud was behind her, breathing heavily. He kept his fingers resting lightly on her shoulder, and she knew it was because he couldn’t see in the darkness. The thought of him being there unnerved her, but she concentrated on the job Heath had assigned her to do.

The hallway ran straight another fifty yards, then turned sharply to the right and began a steep descent. There was only enough room for three people to walk side by side. Another group of al-Shabaab waited in the darkness at the bottom, but they couldn’t see the Marines advancing until she and Pike had opened fire and left them sprawled across the floor.

They kept moving forward. Daud stumbled momentarily over one of the dead men, but he maintained contact. Bekah couldn’t help wondering what drove the man so fiercely. Heath had mentioned that Daud had brought in a boy to be treated at the medical facility, but she knew from the intel briefing on Daud that the man’s son had been killed in an attack engineered by Haroun and the al-Shabaab. Vengeance might have brought Daud along, but Bekah couldn’t stop thinking about the boy, and her thoughts kept connecting him with the baby she’d buried and with Travis.

She knew how she’d feel if anything happened to Travis and if she knew who was responsible, but it was more than that. When the boy had tried to smuggle the grenade into the medical clinic in Mogadishu, Bekah had tried to protect him as well. In her eyes, he’d been an innocent, just a tool the al-Shabaab had constructed to carry out their war.

Daud’s hand left Bekah’s shoulder as the glow of electric lights dawned in the tunnel ahead. Before she knew it, Daud ran past her. She tried to call him back, but he wasn’t listening, and the big man and the other bandits ran at their leader’s heels.

Then Bekah heard the generators ahead of them. More than that, the rumble of truck engines punctuated the growl of the generators. Realizing there were vehicles up ahead, Bekah picked up her own pace.

Heath’s voice came over the comm and the connection sounded scratchy, no doubt strained by the stone separating them. “Bekah, we’ve just discovered the building’s been mined. We’ve found two emplacements so far, both of them attached to structural supports. This place has been rigged to bring it down. Do you copy?”

“Copy, Leader. We’re in a tunnel beneath the fort. We’ve found the generators, and there are vehicles up ahead as well.”

“Understood, but you need to clear the building. Haroun has this place wired to implode. We’re pulling out now.”

“Affirmative, but we’re out of the blast zone, I think. Going back would take too long.”

Heath paused just a second. “Good luck then. I’ll see you on the other side.” Then he was gone.

Ahead, the tunnel widened into a cave that held a dozen generators and four jeeps. The noise was intense, and the men waiting in the jeeps didn’t notice the Marines and Daud’s people converging on them from out of the darkness.

Beyond the jeeps, a large tunnel continued, swallowed in darkness beyond where the jeep headlights could penetrate. Daud had been correct. The original builders had designed an escape strategy in the event they were overrun. It was a tactical necessity for any fort that stood out in the wilderness not far from enemy territory.

Bekah lifted her NVGs and followed Daud into the cave. Movement on the right side of the cave drew her attention, and she spotted Haroun emerging from a tunnel there. A dozen men guarded him, and two of them pushed Matthew Cline and one of the other doctors ahead of them. Another man carried a young boy, and Bekah realized that it must be the boy Daud had brought to the camp.

Haroun wasted no time heading toward the waiting jeeps.

Daud took cover behind one of the throbbing generators and raised his AK-47. He fired without warning and Bekah was certain his target was Haroun, but one of the al-Shabaab stepped forward at that moment and the bullet caught that man instead. The harsh
crack!
of the rifle ignited a powder keg of action as the al-Shabaab suddenly reacted like an irritated wasp’s nest.

“Shoot the drivers!” Bekah took cover behind one of the generators as well, then aimed for the lead jeep driver on the left, hoping to create more confusion. She sighted on the man’s head and squeezed the trigger. Her first shot missed because the man jerked his head around to look over his shoulder, but her second round cored into his cheek and killed him instantly.

When the dead driver’s foot slipped off the clutch, the jeep jerked forward and the engine stalled, causing just enough movement to roll into the jeep beside it and form a logjam.

Pike took out two of the other drivers in quick snap shots. Those vehicles also sputtered and died, ramming into each other.

Rolling around the generator’s side, Bekah went forward, intent on the al-Shabaab guards holding Matthew and the other man prisoner. Pike followed on her heels as they stayed low behind the generators. Bekah spoke over the comm, knowing her fellow Marines—including Pike—would hear her. “I’ve got the man on the left.”

“Cool. Whenever you’re ready.”

“Let’s get as close as we can. We’ll need to get the hostages out of the way.”

The two guards never knew Bekah and Pike were on them till the last second. They reacted instantly then, trying to sweep their weapons up and around.

“Now.” Bekah bracketed the man’s chest and squeezed off a three-round burst. Pike fired a heartbeat behind her.

Bekah’s bullets drove the al-Shabaab man back and down, and he was gone before he hit the floor. The other terrorist went down as well, his face now a gory mask.

Bekah raced forward and threw an arm out to catch Matthew, who stood stunned in the middle of everything with fresh blood staining his scrubs. Her arm went around his waist and knocked him backward into relative safety behind one of the jeeps. Bekah forced him flat on the ground and yelled into his ear. “Stay!”

Matthew nodded and lay fearfully as Pike planted the other doctor next to him. Then the two Marines returned to a standing crouch at the jeep’s back bumper. Bekah pulled her rifle to her shoulder and loaded a fresh magazine into the weapon since she knew she only had a few rounds left.

The assault had set off a miniature gun battle that left more al-Shabaab strewn on the ground. Some of Daud’s men and one of the Marines were down as well.

Bekah estimated that out of the twenty-three al-Shabaab terrorists she had counted in the cave, nine remained. She and Pike and Daud and his lieutenant were still standing, along with two other Marines and two more of Daud’s men.

They were almost evenly matched, all of them taking cover where they could. Bekah breathed frantically, tasting the oily smoke from the generators and feeling it burn into her throat and sinuses. The rasp of her breathing sounded loud in her ears even with the generators banging away.

“Take out the generators.” Bekah lifted her rifle and fired at the generators. Pike and the other Marines opened fire as well. Sparks and flames flew, and the lights in the cave went out.

The al-Shabaab and the bandits panicked, and muzzle flashes tore holes in the darkness. Then Haroun’s voice rose above all the clamor and confusion.

“Stop! Stop shooting! Listen to me!”

Bekah flipped down her NVGs and powered them on. The green imagery chased away the darkness, and she focused on Haroun’s position. The al-Shabaab leader remained hidden behind the jeep where he’d taken cover.

“Haroun.” Daud’s voice was a harsh bark. “You will not leave this place alive.”

Bekah crept toward the front of the jeep she sheltered behind, closing on Haroun’s position. The crepe soles of her boots made no noise.

“I will, Rageh Daud, or I will kill the boy.”

For the first time, Bekah realized she’d lost track of the boy in all the confusion.

“Do you hear me, Rageh Daud? I will put a bullet in his head, and you will be helpless to do anything.”

“The Marines care nothing for that boy.” Anguish made Daud’s voice rough.

“Are you listening, Americans?”

Bekah glanced at Pike and nodded. The Muslim leader wouldn’t like dealing with a woman, and Bekah didn’t want to give away her position.

“We’re listening.”

“I have the building above mined with explosives. If you do not allow me to leave this place, I will detonate those explosives and bring this fort down on top of your comrades.”

“There’s nothing to stop you from doing that once you leave this cave.” Pike sounded cold and hard, like a man who didn’t care about anything. “Me, I’d rather bury you down here than take a chance on trusting you.”

Bekah didn’t know if the Marines on the upper floors had all gotten clear of the building. She knew they wouldn’t just leave her and the others here, and she didn’t know how big the danger zone was. She took another step forward in the darkness, trusting that Haroun and his people were blind as she left the safety of the jeep to get a better angle on Haroun.

“You are a fool, American. I am giving you a chance to save your comrades.”

“I don’t believe you.”

Moving in a crouch, sliding her feet from side to side so she didn’t cross over and trip herself, Bekah took four more steps to the side and brought Haroun into view. He was crouched behind the jeep. The boy lay on the ground, held in place by one of the al-Shabaab. Haroun held a remote control device in his right hand.

“Then you are a greater fool. This is the only chance you will have.”

“Surrender. That’s the only chance
you
have.”

Another shadow crept in from the right. Bekah recognized Daud crawling forward on his belly and knew the man was moving blindly, making his way by feel, closing in on the sound of Haroun’s voice.

A surge of fear filled Bekah. She stared at Haroun, and her thoughts were of the boy. If she did not have the position, if she did not have this shot, she thought the boy might die. The Marines above and the Marines below in this tunnel might die. The chance to eliminate Haroun and further destroy the grip the al-Shabaab had on Mogadishu might not exist.

For an instant, the fear held her. Then she remembered the verse her granny had taught her so long ago.
We are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Had God brought her here, to this moment, to this job, halfway around the world? Was this part of the work God had planned for her? Could eliminating a man—even an evil man—be considered a good work?

Those conversations with Matthew Cline, with Heath Bridger, and with her granny came tumbling back through her head. Anyone else could have been here. Anyone else could have made the shot she knew she needed to make.

But she was the one who was here, and she knew she could do the job before her. It was what she had trained to do.

In this moment, she had more clarity about her place in life than she’d ever known. She’d been torn between family and duty, called to serve her country, but this calling was higher than that. She remembered that small prayer she’d allowed herself when she’d helped Varisha bury her son, and she thought about how Matthew Cline believed so strongly that God had a plan for everyone who wished to make a difference in this world.

That plan—that moment—now stretched before her, and she knew it.
God, if this is what you have in mind for me today, let it be done. In Jesus’ name, please let me shoot straight.

She centered her aim at Haroun’s right shoulder. In training, she’d been told about the brachial nerve, which controlled the arm. Hostage rescuers were trained to make that shot, and if it was successful, the wound would cause the arm to go dead.

God, please, if this is part of the plan you have for me, then be with me now.
Bekah felt the warmth and confidence surround her, banishing her fear and uplifting her courage. Her finger slid over the trigger and she squeezed.

The rifle banged against Bekah’s shoulder, and she lost sight of Haroun in the sudden onslaught of light from the muzzle flash. Then, when her vision cleared and she caught sight of the Muslim leader again, she saw that he had fallen back with a look of surprise.

The detonator lay on the ground near the boy.

Desperate, Haroun tried to reach for the detonator with his other hand. Bekah shot him in the face twice, and his body flopped back. Tracking on, she shifted her aim to the man holding the boy to the ground and put a three-round burst into the man’s chest.

By that time, the Marines were up and taking advantage of the darkness and the NVGs. Two more al-Shabaab went down before the rest threw away their rifles, lay flat on the ground, and begged for their lives.

“Kufow!” Daud sounded fearful.

“I am here.”