Echo Six: Black Ops 6 - Battle for Beirut by Eric Meyer Page A
Authors: Eric Meyer
Tags: thriller, Literature & Fiction, Action & Adventure, War & Military, Genre Fiction, Mystery; Thriller & Suspense, War
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her no water, and her tongue was glued to the inside of her mouth. The intense heat made her thirst even worse. Her body was desperate for water, and without it, she knew she would soon die.
Yet her captors had no interest in any kind of humanity, only to deliver her to their paymaster and collect their reward from the unknown Saudi. The man about whom she'd conjured up so many nightmares and fantasies. A man who no doubt intended to abuse her even further. She gritted her teeth. His would be another name for the growing list she had etched into her mind. Those people she would take revenge on.
The truck stopped again. They were at some kind of a service station, with gas pumps and a restaurant. She could hear the murmur of voices around her, and the smell of food cooking. But when she went to cry out for help, her tongue was still stuck to the inside of her mouth, and all that emerged was a faint croak.
I have to get out, to escape. I have to live.
She’d been working at her bonds for some time, and she felt the rope slacken a little, but it wasn't enough. It was vital to keep trying, and ignoring the heat that burned into her skin, her hands reached for a sharp surface she may be able to use to cut through the ropes. All she succeeded in doing was burning her blistered skin even more. And then the rear doors opened again.
She was confronted with more Arabs staring in at her. She could make out ten or twelve of them. Their glances were vicious, hostile, and not lascivious. It seemed they were having an argument with her two kidnappers. Something was wrong, badly wrong.
"Where did you get this woman? Where are you taking her? You say she's a Jew, so prove it! We kill Jews.”
“We’re taking her for sale. The Saudi, he will be angry if you interfere.”
“Fuck the Saudi. It is the will of Allah that we kill Jews.”
The argument went back and forth, and then the fighters abruptly stepped back and cocked their rifles.
"Turn out your pockets! Both of you, we need to see what you're carrying."
The two Arabs obeyed, and put their pitiful few possessions on the ground. A few brass-jacketed bullets, some coins, crumpled banknotes, and a gold crucifix. Her crucifix.
"You're Christians! No Muslim would carry a cross! You’re spies, what game are you playing? What are you after?”
"We took the cross off the girl," the Arab blurted in panic, "Truly, it is just a piece of jewelry. We are both Muslims!”
“You said she was Jewish. How could she be Jewish with a cross like that?"
"I don't know. I don't know," her kidnapper shouted desperately. They were the last words he would ever utter. The chatter of gunfire cut off his voice as one of the fighters opened fire, and the two men were flung to the ground by force of the bullets fired at such short range.
There was silence for a few moments, and Nava assumed they would kill her, too. They talked and argued among themselves, and she heard them say they would talk to the Saudi. One man barked an order, and they closed and locked the doors.
Once more she was sealed inside her prison. As the sun became even hotter, she knew she would not survive until darkness came and it began to cool the hot metal of the interior. Without water, it was the end. She rested her head, trying to keep it from the baking floor, and felt sadness sweep over her. She would die here, in this hot cell, never to set eyes on Abe Talley. Never to feel the warmth and comfort of his arms. If she’d had enough moisture in her body, she would have wept.
* * *
It was broad daylight when they hit the first checkpoint, a mile outside Beirut.
Goldstein cursed. "It wasn't here two days ago. This one's new." He glanced at Talley's camos, "They'll check inside, and when they see a foreign soldier, we'll be in trouble. I'll have to smash through. I take it you're loaded and ready?"
He didn't reply. They'd already been over that back in the shopping arcade.
Goldstein nodded. "Of course you are. The
Yet her captors had no interest in any kind of humanity, only to deliver her to their paymaster and collect their reward from the unknown Saudi. The man about whom she'd conjured up so many nightmares and fantasies. A man who no doubt intended to abuse her even further. She gritted her teeth. His would be another name for the growing list she had etched into her mind. Those people she would take revenge on.
The truck stopped again. They were at some kind of a service station, with gas pumps and a restaurant. She could hear the murmur of voices around her, and the smell of food cooking. But when she went to cry out for help, her tongue was still stuck to the inside of her mouth, and all that emerged was a faint croak.
I have to get out, to escape. I have to live.
She’d been working at her bonds for some time, and she felt the rope slacken a little, but it wasn't enough. It was vital to keep trying, and ignoring the heat that burned into her skin, her hands reached for a sharp surface she may be able to use to cut through the ropes. All she succeeded in doing was burning her blistered skin even more. And then the rear doors opened again.
She was confronted with more Arabs staring in at her. She could make out ten or twelve of them. Their glances were vicious, hostile, and not lascivious. It seemed they were having an argument with her two kidnappers. Something was wrong, badly wrong.
"Where did you get this woman? Where are you taking her? You say she's a Jew, so prove it! We kill Jews.”
“We’re taking her for sale. The Saudi, he will be angry if you interfere.”
“Fuck the Saudi. It is the will of Allah that we kill Jews.”
The argument went back and forth, and then the fighters abruptly stepped back and cocked their rifles.
"Turn out your pockets! Both of you, we need to see what you're carrying."
The two Arabs obeyed, and put their pitiful few possessions on the ground. A few brass-jacketed bullets, some coins, crumpled banknotes, and a gold crucifix. Her crucifix.
"You're Christians! No Muslim would carry a cross! You’re spies, what game are you playing? What are you after?”
"We took the cross off the girl," the Arab blurted in panic, "Truly, it is just a piece of jewelry. We are both Muslims!”
“You said she was Jewish. How could she be Jewish with a cross like that?"
"I don't know. I don't know," her kidnapper shouted desperately. They were the last words he would ever utter. The chatter of gunfire cut off his voice as one of the fighters opened fire, and the two men were flung to the ground by force of the bullets fired at such short range.
There was silence for a few moments, and Nava assumed they would kill her, too. They talked and argued among themselves, and she heard them say they would talk to the Saudi. One man barked an order, and they closed and locked the doors.
Once more she was sealed inside her prison. As the sun became even hotter, she knew she would not survive until darkness came and it began to cool the hot metal of the interior. Without water, it was the end. She rested her head, trying to keep it from the baking floor, and felt sadness sweep over her. She would die here, in this hot cell, never to set eyes on Abe Talley. Never to feel the warmth and comfort of his arms. If she’d had enough moisture in her body, she would have wept.
* * *
It was broad daylight when they hit the first checkpoint, a mile outside Beirut.
Goldstein cursed. "It wasn't here two days ago. This one's new." He glanced at Talley's camos, "They'll check inside, and when they see a foreign soldier, we'll be in trouble. I'll have to smash through. I take it you're loaded and ready?"
He didn't reply. They'd already been over that back in the shopping arcade.
Goldstein nodded. "Of course you are. The
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