Last night we hadn’t headed out until late afternoon, so we’d dressed for darkness. We’d heard rumors that one of the priority targets on our list was going to be in that village. We were never able to confirm and it was unlikely he’d stuck around after last night’s activities.
“You guys going back to the market?” I asked, as we trudged along in the deep sand. We made it to where we had our camels tethered. The beasts were worth their weight in gold out here. We could turn them loose and they’d find their own food and water, but in the morning they would always be back where we left them. They were unendingly loyal to us.
We’d saved them from the Taliban about six months ago. Now they followed us everywhere. A gentle hand and some fresh fruit would do that. Since they chose to stick around, we used them.
Pulling my saddle off the branch of a nearby bush, I swung it up over Dasha’s back. Her long neck swayed as she brought her head around to inspect what I was doing. She lipped at strands of my hair.
Probably thinks it’s straw.
Rafe and Arsen rode the two males, but Dasha and I had connected right away. I’d been more than happy to claim her as mine.
Rubbing her neck, I glanced over at Rafe. He was saddling his mount with a thoughtful look on his face.
“Yes. We need to find out whose force that was and how they knew we were coming,” he responded.
“They might have been there for the downed helicopter,” Arsen said.
“With a force that big? They hardly ever put together a team bigger than five men. There were nearly two dozen. Something’s up.”
Arsen frowned. “If they knew we’d be there, then our cover is probably blown.”
“Which means we shouldn’t go back to the market,” I pointed out.
A few villages over there was a larger one that had an outdoor market. People came from all over to buy their wares. It’d been the perfect hot bed of information, but Arsen was right. If our cover was blown it’d be dangerous. I usually stayed outside the city walls with the camels.
Unlike Rafe and Arsen who had dark hair and could blend in, my golden hair made me a target. Whenever I went in I had to wear a kufiya. The scarf covered my hair, helping me blend in. My light eyes and lighter complexion still made it difficult even with the covering. The other two had deep tans from being out in the desert sun and mixed with the locals easier. Their tans could be mistaken for many ethnicities, which came in very handy with how much we spanned the globe.
“We’ll go in a few days and see what the atmosphere feels like,” Rafe said, as we hopped on our mounts and headed back toward the village we’d escaped from last night. “Then we’ll decide what’s best.”
We rode in silence from there, each of us lost in our own thoughts. It wasn’t until we were about halfway into our ride that I finally spoke. “What are your plans for the woman?” I didn’t use her name. It made everything too personal. The last thing we needed was to get attached to her.
Rafe’s eyes snapped over to me. “I don’t know,” he admitted.
I considered his answer for a moment. “Look, Rafe. I get it. She’s beautiful and sexy. I’ll be the first to admit I miss having women around, but we can’t kidnap a soldier. It’s going to bring too much heat our way.”
Arsen snorted from my other side. “Let them try to find us.”
“It’s not like keeping the camels or a stray dog. Granted, you will need to feed her and walk her…”
“Shut up.” Arsen growled. Neither man was amused at my teasing.
Raking my hand through my hair, I sighed. “We don’t want them to actually try, though. Not really. You know how the Americans are about their people.” We’d been gone from our homelands for so long, we had no allegiance to anyone. No homes. We were always on the move looking for the next job. The next fight. Searching for whoever would pay us the most. It had always satisfied us. That didn’t seem to be the case anymore. We were all restless, but didn’t know why. I couldn’t fight the idea that something was changing.
Lately, it was getting harder and harder to find fulfillment in our work. The vast sums of money weren’t as enticing anymore. Not when we had more than we’d ever be able to spend, strategically kept in safe places throughout the world. The only problem was, we were still young, all of us only thirty-five, and not really the retiring type. What would we do with ourselves for the next fifty years if we quit?
The money was just a way of keeping score anyway. Really, it came down to the fact that we lived without rules. We didn’t have a vested interest in our targets. Didn't really care if they were bastards or upstanding citizens, although they were almost always bastards. It was the thrill, the endless chase. Hunting men. Unlike hunting game animals, men fought back. That’s what made it worth it. We lived for the excitement and the chase.
“They won’t find us,” Rafe said in a short, clipped tone.
I gritted my teeth together and let the subject drop. We’d just have to deal with whatever came from this because clearly both of my friends were planning on keeping her. There was a tiny piece of me that wanted that as well, despite how much I was protesting. Admittedly, that tiny piece was growing by the minute.
Buildings came into view and I sat up a little taller in the saddle. Smoke filled the air from the burning structure. Otherwise, the village seemed quiet. It was supposed to be uninhabited and who knew, maybe it was. If we’d been set up, the insurgents had likely just holed up waiting for us and had left when they hadn’t found us amongst the rubble.
We hopped off our camels and left them a safe distance from the village, choosing to walk the rest of the way. We’d be less noticeable and it wouldn’t put our animals in harm's way.
It didn’t take us long to make our way back to the building we’d pulled Colby from. We all stood around it, frowning at the charred remains.
“No one could have survived this,” I said. It was too bad. The Americans had just been in the wrong place at the wrong time. No one deserved to go out that way.