Jack thought about what these men and their followers had done to his family and the others that Yuri’s network had killed. There was no end to the evil these people were capable of inflicting on an innocent public. He looked around the room as he crammed reloads into the magazine and yelled “cease fire!” Anita was coolly reloading when she heard a handgun begin to fire. Jack yelled, “Look out! Shooter under the table! I have no shot!”
At the same time, Anita went down with the impact of two 9mm hits in her right calf and thigh. She rolled quickly toward the table and saw a blood-soaked Angela trying to get a clear shot at Jack. Anita drew her knife from her boot sheath, and using her left leg and powerful arms propelled herself under the table and on top of Angela. Angela got off one more shot striking Anita in the chest, but not before Anita, with a warrior’s scream, plunged her knife into Angela’s throat.
Jack moved toward the shooting and yelled, “Anita, are you hit?” He heard her softly call his name. Kneeling on the floor, he saw her with a pumping chest wound. Jack pulled her out of the bloody mess of bodies and held her in his arms.
Anita looked up and said, “Jack, we both know I’m done. Get out of here! Take care of my sister in Greensburg. Her daughter is mine.”
Anita died in Jack’s arms. He laid her down gently and began a quick search of the room. He left the casings and shotguns, as there were no fingerprints on them. The weapons were untraceable. A quick check showed Abdul Ali Fahad and Hakim Al-Lami among the dead.
Jack took the message Arjun and Bernadette had written from his pocket. The message said the Maoists and in particular the Bahadur Thapa Battalion had declared war on the Muslim Arabs who were using their country for drug profits. Arjun had assured Kathy the message could not be traced to anyone in this group. Jack carried the folded letter in a piece of cloth that he held over the table and shook the message free to fall on the small area of the table top not running with blood.
He noticed two blood-splattered briefcases under the table and scooped them up. Jack didn’t remember hurrying down the narrow stairs. He noticed he was taking deep breaths and crying as he spilled out of the shop into crashing thunder and a heavy downpour. No one was on the street. No signs the police were on their way. He jumped in the car, and the driver moved away from the curb. Ten minutes later they parked in Bernadette’s driveway. No one said anything on the trip back to the bungalow.
Kathy ran out to the driveway as they pulled in. As soon as she saw Jack’s anguished look, she knew something terrible had happened. He held her and said, “Anita is gone. She died in my arms. There was no chance. Two terrible wounds. One severed her femur artery and the other a killing wound in the chest. I could do nothing. She made me promise to leave her. Just asked me to take care of her sister.
“Angela killed her. I was as shocked to see her as she was to see us. She reacted faster than any of the men. She started to slide under the table as soon as we burst through the door. She had a Browning 9mm in her hand. I shot her, but although I hit her hard, she didn’t die. As Anita and I were finishing up, Angela started shooting from under the table. She hit Anita in the leg and was trying to get a shot at me. Anita scrambled under the table and killed her with her boot knife, but not before Angela shot her again in the chest. She gave her life for me.”
With tears running down her cheeks, Kathy hugged Jack and led him inside where she told Bernadette and Arjun Anita was dead. Bernadette put her arms around Jack and Kathy, held them tight, and said, “Anita was a true warrior. I’m sure she was proud to give her life for yours on the field of battle. You would have done the same for her. Come, we’ll drink to her life, and then Arjun can get us out of here. Anita would want us to tend to business. We don’t have time to mourn now.”
While Bernadette and Arjun cleaned up the forensic mess, Jack showered and turned over his bloody clothes to Bernadette. Kathy examined the briefcases Jack carried out from the kill zone. Neither one was locked. Inside the first one was an address book, a cell phone, several maps and drawings that looked like casing reports. All writing was in Arabic and beyond Kathy’s ability to translate. The second briefcase contained a cell phone, a 9mm handgun, bundles of British pound notes, diagrams showing communication addresses and schedules, and an envelope containing three by five photos of Peter Brandon and Jack, along with photos of the Brandon house before it was attacked and burned.
Kathy called Arjun, who was leaning on the kitchen counter talking with Bernadette. She showed the pictures to them and said, “The speculation is over. Al-Qaeda now knows who their enemies are. Just maybe these are the only copies, but I think that is wishful thinking. Let’s wrap up the papers and take them with us.”
Jack joined them and said, “Arjun, please take the handguns, cell phones and the British pounds. And please carry the papers across the border for us.”
After another hour of planning and what ifs, Arjun said, “I must take my leave. The van will be here tomorrow at 11:00 a.m. Don’t bring anything you don’t absolutely need.”
Bernadette gave Arjun a goodnight hug Kathy thought would last him at least a few days. Kathy was holding on to Jack’s arm so tightly, he said, “Hey, kid, don’t worry. I’m not going anywhere you aren’t until you throw me out.”
“No danger, lover. I am your woman whether it is legal or not. Come on, you need to get a good night’s rest. Tomorrow may be a hard day.”
Later, lying in her lover’s arms with the sweat drying on her body, Kathy made a vow she was never going to leave this man no matter what. She had never known before how good it was to make love to a man who loved her in return. Anita was right. If he throws me out, I’ll sneak back. Not a bad philosophy for keeping a love affair going. I’ve learned so much from Anita, about life, love and fighting with an uncluttered mind. I’ll never forget her. Without her, Jack would be dead. Angela, damn bitch, I should have killed her in the riverside camp. Never again will I trust anyone without a lot of checking.
Facts and Fictions 