they’ve got first.”
“Money?” Julia repeated, staring at Jack Duggan.
“Just shut up, will you, dear? Let me handle this.”
She felt her face grow hot, as if she had just been slapped.
“Tell them that unless they can tell us something about the doctor, the little girl, we’re out of here.”
Ismael spoke to the group in rapid low tones to the backdrop of bullets falling into empty chambers, as automatic weapons clicked into readiness. Julia realized her feet had gone suddenly weak. She put one heel back to brace herself, hoping no one would notice.
Ismael finally looked up. He turned to Jack. “They say they have a videotape. They want it broadcast.”
“Video? Of what? The doctor? The child?”
Ismael interrogated the men again and nodded. “They say they want ten thousand dollars.”
Jack shrugged. “Tell them we want to speak to their leader and see the tape, otherwise we are getting back into the car and leaving.”
“Jack…” Sean implored. “Take it easy.”
“No, we don’t pay for news. Never.”
Julia exhaled, partially in relief, and partially in preparation for being unable to exhale again until she understood what was going to happen next.
More rapid exchanges took place. Voices were suddenly raised. A weapon discharged.
“That’s it. We are leaving,” Jack said furiously.
“No, don’t go yet,” Ismael cautioned. “They are prepared to negotiate. They say we should wait here.”
“Here? In this back alley, surrounded by a bunch of loonies with submachine guns?” she murmured incredulously. “Not bloody likely.”
“Why don’t you wait in the car,Julia dear?” Sean whispered. “We’ll tell you when it’s time to go.”
She looked at him, her lips stretching tight and thin over her teeth. “Tell them I’ll go with them, Ismael,” she said impulsively. “Tell them, I’ll go alone, unarmed. That I’ll explain this to their leader. I can guarantee that their tape will be aired on prime time. That the whole world will see and hear what their video has to say. Millions of people. Tell them that.”
“I can’t allow that.” Jack waved dismissively.
“Stupid bitch, you’ll get us all killed,” Sean spit out.
“Tell them, Ismael,” she insisted.
She saw the men confer, and then beckon to her. Her heart in her mouth, her ears ringing with fear, she moved forward, falling into rank behind the men. She pulled the scarf close around her head, tucking in all the stray hairs.
“Wait here in the car for me,” she called back to Jack and Sean. “I’ll be back.”
The group piled into two black cars, late-model Mercedes with cream leather upholstery. She looked at the cars in surprise. She had expected the kind of trucks the Che Guevarra guerillas had used in South America, smelling of straw and pig droppings. This was certainly a revolution deluxe. Someone, she thought, has money.
A small stirring of fear and excitement curdled her stomach juices. She felt the adrenaline pumping through her veins as the cars raced forward over bumpy, unpaved country roads through small villages. Outside, it was almost deserted, she thought, watching the long stretches of dusty road with no sign of human habitation. The landscape was all scrub and rocky earth with a scattering of trees. And it looked as if there was plenty of it to go around.
What about this unremarkable place stirred such remarkable passions? she wondered, as she had traveling over the ice-slick dirt trail through the Dabarsko Polje mountains toward the borders that separated Bosnian-Serbs from Croats. There too, the anemic soil produced nothing but poverty andheartbreak. Yet men were willing to commit any atrocity not to share it, to claim it for themselves.
What a moronic species human beings were, she thought, depressed.
Inside the car, no one spoke. Once again, she felt pressed on all sides by insistent male muscles. She tried, unsuccessfully, to contract. But the more she tried to shrink, the
“Money?” Julia repeated, staring at Jack Duggan.
“Just shut up, will you, dear? Let me handle this.”
She felt her face grow hot, as if she had just been slapped.
“Tell them that unless they can tell us something about the doctor, the little girl, we’re out of here.”
Ismael spoke to the group in rapid low tones to the backdrop of bullets falling into empty chambers, as automatic weapons clicked into readiness. Julia realized her feet had gone suddenly weak. She put one heel back to brace herself, hoping no one would notice.
Ismael finally looked up. He turned to Jack. “They say they have a videotape. They want it broadcast.”
“Video? Of what? The doctor? The child?”
Ismael interrogated the men again and nodded. “They say they want ten thousand dollars.”
Jack shrugged. “Tell them we want to speak to their leader and see the tape, otherwise we are getting back into the car and leaving.”
“Jack…” Sean implored. “Take it easy.”
“No, we don’t pay for news. Never.”
Julia exhaled, partially in relief, and partially in preparation for being unable to exhale again until she understood what was going to happen next.
More rapid exchanges took place. Voices were suddenly raised. A weapon discharged.
“That’s it. We are leaving,” Jack said furiously.
“No, don’t go yet,” Ismael cautioned. “They are prepared to negotiate. They say we should wait here.”
“Here? In this back alley, surrounded by a bunch of loonies with submachine guns?” she murmured incredulously. “Not bloody likely.”
“Why don’t you wait in the car,Julia dear?” Sean whispered. “We’ll tell you when it’s time to go.”
She looked at him, her lips stretching tight and thin over her teeth. “Tell them I’ll go with them, Ismael,” she said impulsively. “Tell them, I’ll go alone, unarmed. That I’ll explain this to their leader. I can guarantee that their tape will be aired on prime time. That the whole world will see and hear what their video has to say. Millions of people. Tell them that.”
“I can’t allow that.” Jack waved dismissively.
“Stupid bitch, you’ll get us all killed,” Sean spit out.
“Tell them, Ismael,” she insisted.
She saw the men confer, and then beckon to her. Her heart in her mouth, her ears ringing with fear, she moved forward, falling into rank behind the men. She pulled the scarf close around her head, tucking in all the stray hairs.
“Wait here in the car for me,” she called back to Jack and Sean. “I’ll be back.”
The group piled into two black cars, late-model Mercedes with cream leather upholstery. She looked at the cars in surprise. She had expected the kind of trucks the Che Guevarra guerillas had used in South America, smelling of straw and pig droppings. This was certainly a revolution deluxe. Someone, she thought, has money.
A small stirring of fear and excitement curdled her stomach juices. She felt the adrenaline pumping through her veins as the cars raced forward over bumpy, unpaved country roads through small villages. Outside, it was almost deserted, she thought, watching the long stretches of dusty road with no sign of human habitation. The landscape was all scrub and rocky earth with a scattering of trees. And it looked as if there was plenty of it to go around.
What about this unremarkable place stirred such remarkable passions? she wondered, as she had traveling over the ice-slick dirt trail through the Dabarsko Polje mountains toward the borders that separated Bosnian-Serbs from Croats. There too, the anemic soil produced nothing but poverty andheartbreak. Yet men were willing to commit any atrocity not to share it, to claim it for themselves.
What a moronic species human beings were, she thought, depressed.
Inside the car, no one spoke. Once again, she felt pressed on all sides by insistent male muscles. She tried, unsuccessfully, to contract. But the more she tried to shrink, the
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