The Last Infidel (11 page)

{
17
}

“I was just telling Lisa that there is no way we can allow her to take Marcus and Katrina with her,” Tracy said, as Cody and Jose entered the basement area.

“Hmm,” Cody said, and he came over to Lisa and put his hand on her shoulder.  With his other, he playfully tugged on her braid.  “I love your hair, Lisa.”

“Cody?  Why is it that Marcus and I, who have done so well on our own, are now being told we can’t leave together?” Lisa asked.  “If I want to take my son, I should be able to take my son.  I think I can get him and Katrina through the lines without a problem.”

“Because what I say goes,” Lisa replied.  “This is my jurisdiction now.  I know what’s going on out there better than anyone.  And no, I don’t mean that you can’t handle yourself.  We need someone who can move fast without stopping.  Two other people are just going to drag you down.”

“Bashar is tightening up the perimeter,” Cody said.  “He’s even mining some of the trails as we speak – that’s what Jose is saying.  Some new little plastic bastards that go poof.”

“41A is being watched,” Jose said.  “And the Old Salem Highway – same thing.  Plus, Bashar’s got teams set up for ambush.  He’s being told what to do from higher up – that’s what my guy says.  And that cost me a whole freaking gold bar, too.”

“Cody will back me up on this,” Tracy said.

Cody pulled up a chair beside Lisa and put his hand on hers.  “I hate to say it, but Tracy’s right.  Marcus and Katrina – I’ll keep them safe.”

“Since they live with me here in the dungeons, I’ll watch them,” Tracy said with assurance in her voice.  “Besides that, we’re half way through reading Huckleberry Finn.”

“You know your way to Tullahoma,” Cody said, looking at Lisa.

“Head for Manchester,” Tracy ordered.  “What’s left of a mobile combat team is working out of Arnold Air Force Base, and they’ll be watching the trails and roads there.  They’re still there unless they aren’t.  All you’ll have to do is hand them a piece of paper.”

“Unless they aren’t?” Lisa asked.  “What kind of intel is that?”

“The best I can give you,” Tracy said.  “Frankly, I think it’ll be a miracle if you make it out of the county – but we have to try.”

“Then why the hell don’t you go?”  Lisa asked.  “I thought you just said I’d could do this?”

“Well, since you so gloriously shot Zafar Katila, someone’s going to have to keep up the illusion he’s still alive and well.”

Cody nodded.  “Whenever Bashar finds out one of his men is missing, he starts torturing people.  He starts with the infidels – us.”

“Cody, you know the old Beech Grove roads better than anyone,” Tracy said.  “Tell her how to get out.  She’ll be taking my silenced pistol, a pack with two day’s rations, and two canteens.  Jose is going to get her set up.”  She got up, took one of the oil lamps, and headed out through the second entrance to the basement, the one leading back towards the courthouse.

“Remember, we gotta be at breakfast shortly,” Jose said, half to Tracy, half to Cody.  Then he hurried out behind Tracy.

“Cody,” Lisa said, watching Jose leave the basement.  “I don’t want to leave Marcus and Katrina – or you – here.  Why can’t we just all go?”

“For the same reason why I wouldn’t take you along,” Cody said.  “I’d be afraid what might happen out there.  And I’m already scared to death about you going alone – but you’re faster than I am.  You’ll make it.”

Lisa smiled faintly and squeezed Cody’s hands.  “You’ve been good to us – Marcus and I.  We’d never have gotten so far if it hadn’t been for you.”

“That was all your doing, Lisa.”

“When I was sick a year ago – you remember, with bronchitis – you came every morning for a week, even though you didn’t have to,” Lisa said.  “Antibiotics, water, food, and you took care of Marcus.  Why?”

“You would’ve done the same for me.”

Lisa smiled.  “Yes, I would have.  But you could’ve just left us, just like---”

“You don’t trust men much, and neither do I – we both have our reasons.”

“But I’m finding myself remarkably unreasonable these last few days,” Lisa said with a smile.

“And you can trust me to respect that,” Cody said.  He became aware he’d been leaning closer and closer to Lisa, that he’d been mimicking her every expression – even syncing his breathing rhythm with hers.  And he knew that she knew.

“Could a man ever love an unreasonable woman?” Lisa asked.

“Could an unreasonable woman respect a man who loved her, even if he told her she was making a huge mistake?”

“She’d tell him he was wrong about the mistake part, and she’d know he was right for his loving her.  So, what he thought wouldn’t make any difference.  She’d love him all the same.”

“And he’d know he had the most wonderful woman in the world,” Cody said, as he locked his fingers into Lisa’s.  “And he and she, they’d---”

“Live happily ever after?”

Cody and Lisa had a minute together. They shared a few memories, shared a few laughs, and Cody kissed her and hugged her tightly.  Then he whispered to her, “Just run the way I know you can run – and don’t stop for anything.  You get to Manchester, do what you have to do, and you wait for me there.  I’ll meet you at the post office Wednesday night.  I promise I will protect Marcus and Katrina, and I will come for you.  I promise.”

Cody pulled away.  He unbuttoned the top buttons of his shirt and pulled out the thirteenth crescent shield which hung around his neck.  He put it over Lisa’s head, letting his hands gently brush the side of her face as he lowered it to the base of her neck.  Her hands met his and she pulled his back up to her face.

“If you get caught, show them this shield,” Cody said.  “This means you are Bashar’s emissary.  It will allow you access anywhere in the county, except it can be refused at the final checkpoints if the guard feels he has sufficient reason to refuse it.  But use it only as a last resort.”

Cody, when he looked up, saw Tracy standing in the passage. 

“If you two are finished, we need to get her out of here and on the road,” Tracy said.  She stepped into the basement and flung a suit of body armor at Lisa, and she set a camouflage pack down on the floor.  Then she stood behind Lisa and made her sit down with her face forward. 

“What do you want me to do with this stuff?” Jose asked, holding up a small can filled with dark, oily liquid.

“Just hold it while I---” Tracy produced a large pair of shears and, with a loud snip, removed Lisa’s long, brown ponytail just below a rubber band.  She threw it on the table in front of her.  “There.  Now you look like a man.”  She grinned evilly at Cody.

Lisa gasped.  “You didn’t just---?”

“Time for you to join the club,” Tracy said calmly, looking at what remained of Lisa’s hair.  “Cody, bring up the flashlight, will you?”

Cody managed an apologetic smile when Lisa looked up at him, and he could see the heartbreak in her eyes.

“We need to cut back the rest of this, if you don’t mind,” Tracy said.  “Then we need to blacken it up.  She needs to look like a man.”

Cody leaned over and put his lips close against Lisa’s ear.  “She’s just getting some release.”

“Keep it so we can all hear it, if it’s all the same to you, Cody,” Tracy said.

Cody handed Jose his flashlight and snatched the shears away from Tracy.  “If it’s all the same to you, I’ll finish this.”

Ten minutes later, Lisa stood up and ran her fingers through what remained of her hair.  Maybe she knew she needed to lose it, or maybe she didn’t want Tracy having the satisfaction of knowing that she regretted losing ten years’ worth of glorious ponytail.  Lisa turned to Cody and smiled.  “Thanks, Cody.  I’d rather you do it than Tracy.”

Cody smiled and put this hand on her cheek.  “Jose will take you through Lytle Creek towards the south end of town.  He’ll show you the old road when he gets you there.  And do just as I told you to do.  Run.  But be careful and keep as low as you can.  This isn’t anything different than what you have done for the last two years.”

Lisa geared up.  Tracy gave her a full face, camouflaged mask, the kind soldier’s on both sides wore.  Then she handed her a silenced pistol, six clips, and then helped her with the canteens.

“Remember everything I told you,” Cody said.

“I got it,” Lisa replied softly.  “See me to the door, will you?”

Cody put his hand on Lisa’s waist and started for the passage back towards the hardware store. Jose brought up the rear.

Lisa stopped and looked back towards the basement.  “You guys have only until Tuesday – I want to know what you’re going to do.  And I want to know now, before I leave.  I need to know what’s going to happen to Marcus and Katrina.”

Cody looked at her and smiled.  “Just trust me, Miss unreasonable.”

{
18
}

Cody felt a strong bout of hatred seething like hot oil in his veins.  He looked up from his breakfast of scrambled eggs and cheese.

“And so we begin our Saturday morning with questions for every infidel – well, almost every infidel – living in Murfreesboro,” Jadhari said. 

Cody dropped his fork on his plate.  The last thing he wanted to do before being water boarded was eat a full, satisfying breakfast.  He hadn’t even touched his stale vanilla wafers, probably not a bad thing given that a couple of tiny winged creatures flew out of the box when he’d opened it.

“By now, everyone knows that my house has burned to the ground,” Jadhari said.

“So I’ve heard,” Cody said, smiling with reckless abandon when he looked up.  “By now, everyone also knows that the mosque still needs some careful attention before the last day of Ramadan.  And I can’t think of a better way to piss off what’s left of my work crew when we have so much left to do.  I was out late last night – and so was Jose – so why don’t you give us our forty lashes and let’s call it a morning?”

“Speak for yourself!”  Jose said, as he shoveled the last bit of his eggs into his mouth.

“I confess, we burned it to the ground!” Cody said.  Then he stood up and yelled, “Now, will you leave us all the hell alone?  Can’t we have at least one day of peace before you line us up and use us for sword practice?”

Every single man sitting at the long, common table, and there were twenty of them, stopped eating and looked up.

“You think you can talk to me like that in front of these men and not be punished?” Jadhari demanded.

“What are you, deaf and stupid?” Cody shot back.  “I told you – if it’ll help, you can either beat the hell out of me or drown me.  Right now, I couldn’t give a flip.  Now, if it’s all the same to you, I would like to finish my breakfast and finish that mosque so I can tell St. Peter I accomplished at least one thing here on this earth.”

“You’re a funny man, Cody Marshall!” Jadhari retorted with just as much fury.  “Enjoy your meal.  Today you will miss lunch and dinner!  Let’s see how your men like that!”  Jadhari left, stomping away, taking his two thugs with him.

Cody’s work crew, with one voice, began to yell and curse at Cody. 

Jose watched through the window as Jadhari climbed into an old, beat up pickup truck and drove away from the square.  Then he smiled and yelled, “He’s gone!”

Cody’s men rose to their feet and cheered.  Since Tracy had shown Cody the tunnels beneath the buildings on the square, and since he’d told his men about them, a number of men had taken to stealing food.  Every night at midnight, two men would use the tunnels and find and take anything they could from the surrounding buildings.

Cody raised his hands in the air and the room fell silent.  “I’m not pretending that everything’s guns and roses around here – and you know I always tell you what you need to know.  But I do have a treat for all of you today.  Jose will fill you in.”

Jose finished what remained of his water and stood up.  “All of you know that Bashar is under orders to kill us all on the day after Ramadan, which is Wednesday morning, only four mornings from now.  But two of our men, Billy and David, have been stealing ISA clothing.  We now have enough suits for everyone, which means we are all going to – well, you know, so I won’t say it.  But, come Wednesday morning, each of us will be on our way south.”

“Each man will have a pack with enough rations for two days or more,” Cody said.  “I assume each of you has a blade of some sort – but if you don’t, be sure to come up with something.  How we get out of here you won’t know until the moment it happens.  But I assure you that you will be successful.”

“Billy is also preparing for each of you five, ten-ounce gold coins in the event you are caught,” Jose said.  “You know how corrupt these bastards are.  Or you can bring a goat, because there are a lot of lonely ISA soldiers out there these days.”

The room erupted in laughter.

“If you can get a gun, it’s your business,” Cody said.  “But make sure you label it and give it to Jose so he can hide it.  If you have any questions, see me during the work day.”

By eight o’clock, and not a minute later, Cody’s men were at the mosque, all of them eager with their inspections and touch ups. 

Cody, not to mention Jadhari’s guards, noticed the change in the men, how they hurried along with their tool boxes, smiling and talking to one another.  He wondered if he should have told them to keep their joy under wraps, finally deciding that maybe it was a good thing to keep the guards wondering and worrying.

At ten o’clock, Jose found Cody standing just inside the main entrance of the mosque with his head tilted up towards the ceiling.  He handed him a small piece of dried meat, what it was he didn’t know, but Cody enjoyed it all the same.

“It’s hard to imagine it,” Cody said.  “This building will hold nearly five thousand people for one prayer service – and you and I are responsible for one of the greatest architectural wonders in the modern world.”

“Yeah, and who would have thought it?” Jose said.  “I mean, right in the middle of Murfreesboro, Tennessee.”

“Do you think they’ll put up one of those historical markers with our names on it?”

“Like that’s gonna happen,” Jose said, and he took a drink from his canteen.  “You know, you’re starting to act like a sheriff again.  That was quite a work over you did on Jadhari, may he burn in hell, last night and this morning.  I thought you were a dead man for sure.”

“I Surprised myself,” Cody laughed.  “You can act timidly when it comes to the small things.  I thought I’d tell him the truth – that we burned down his little playpen – because he’d never believe it.  Bold always carries the day.”

Jose handed his canteen to Cody.  “But I still don’t get Tracy.  Zafar – he’s dead as a doornail.  And she’s good.  She can get out of here if she wants, but she don’t want that.  She wants that C-4 of yours.  What she can do with it now, I haven’t any idea.  I mean, without Zafar, she doesn’t have any connections.  She’s like dead in the water.”

“Never underestimate Tracy,” Cody said with a raised eyebrow.  “She suddenly wants to use the bombs for small things.  You know, here and there, like the terrorists used to do back when we were still a country.  Thinks she can do some good that way.”

“We could never get the bombs in here, though,” Jose said.  “They had me down to my underwear this morning, even asked me to show them my cojones – can you believe that?”

“And I know exactly where we could put those bombs, too,” Cody said, shaking his head.  “But the president of the mosque – if you can believe that – brings dogs in here at night, bomb-sniffing dogs.  Allah must allow it.”

Jose rolled his eyes.  “I thought they hated dogs, like they were against their religion.”

“They kill women for cheating on their husbands, but the husbands are screwing little boys and sheep,” Cody said.  “Go figure.”

“Maybe you should just give Tracy some of your bombs and let her go to work.  Maybe that’ll make her happy.”

Cody turned around and looked out across the uneven and potholed gravel parking lot.  A truck was coming, dodging the deep holes, swerving this way and that.  “Well, I guess it’s time for me to lick Jadhari’s wounds a little.  I’ll see you later.”  He handed the canteen back to Jose.

Jadhari, with two of his men, one the driver, the other his body guard, pulled up to the front of the mosque and got out of the old pickup truck.  Five other guards, all standing under the shade of the mosque’s front porch, hurried out to see him.  They all gathered around their boss.

“We are just going to have to make some of the soldiers work,” Jadhari’s guard suggested, with his hands folded in front of him.  “We have many, of course, and they are best when it comes to fighting, but they can all use a shovel.”

Jadhari waved for the guard to be silent.  “My idea, exactly.  Let us scour the town for shovels.  And while we’re at it, we will make the president of the mosque work, too.”

Another guard, one of rank, leaned over and whispered something to Jadhari.

Jadhari pulled out his small, rubber truncheon and beat the man over the head, knocking his camouflage hat off.  “I do not care who hears me!  If they wanted all of this gravel smoothed out, they should have said something!”

“We should have no problem clearing a path from the road to right here in front of the mosque,” another man said.  “At least the president will have a nice place to park.”

“And did I ask you for your opinion?” Jadhari barked, with his fist up in the air.  “Am I surrounded by incompetents or what?”

A guard came out of the mosque and stepped up behind Cody.  “He’s your friend, why don’t you go talk some sense into him?  All the guards would appreciate that.”

Cody rubbed his hand across his face.  What kind of world was this, where a guard, who would normally take glee in beheading a man, raping his wife and children, and then take pleasure in torturing them to death, speak so kindly with one of his victims?  Darkness.  Plain and simple.  “Jadhari would never see the light.”

“What was that, Cody Marshall?”  the guard asked.

“Never mind,” Cody said, and he walked across the gravel towards the one-sided fight taking place beneath the hot, summer sun. 

Jadhari saw Cody coming.  He pointed at Cody and said, “You are not a Muslim, so don’t say anything!”

“Okay, I won’t say anything,” Cody said, and he turned and walked back towards the shade.

“What was it you just said?” Jadhari yelled at another guard.  “If you don’t shut up, I will beat you, too!  Just round up a hundred shovels, that is my order!  And bring up a hundred soldiers, today!”

The guards saluted and hurried towards the shade of the mosque.  One of them had a notepad and started writing while another spoke.

Jadhari hurried over to Cody.  “I don’t like looking small in front of my men,” he said.

“Then keep your pants on, Jadhari,” Cody said.

“That’s very funny.  Very, very funny.”

“The parking area is really no big deal, Jadhari,” Cody remarked, looking out over the uneven, potholed mess that stretched a hundred yards to the road.  “And you have it right.  Get me a couple hundred of your men, shovels, wheel barrows, and pick axes, and I’ll have this place cleaned up by Monday.”

“You know, that courthouse – every room – is filled with the Imam’s men and officers,” Jadhari said.  “And the Imam?  He says, ‘Oh, it’s too hot to come out today!’ and he orders Bashar---”

“That would be your dad, right?”

Jadhari stepped backwards.  “He . . . how do you---?”

“Your dad and I are friends,” Cody said, as he put his arm on Jadhari’s back.  “Well, at least I am on my part.  I’ve known for years,” he said, lying.

“And you still like me?”

“Like you?  Hell, you didn’t beat me this morning.  That’s gotta count for something.”

“But I’ve never beaten you.”

“See what I mean?” Cody said with a smile.  “And I have a lot to be grateful for – you’ve killed how many men now?”

“I don’t remember, so don’t remind me.”

“But you’ve never killed me.”

“And I won’t kill you, Cody,” Jadhari said, and he threw his arms up.  “How have we ever come to this?”

“The Koran, I think.  And that brilliant con artist – what’s his name? – Mohammed.”

“Yes – and you know, I never really liked reading his book.  But they made me memorize parts of it.  All I ever wanted to do was get married, settle down, and that’s it.”

“Why don’t you just give us all some guns, let us mow down all these guards and all of the other soldiers on the square at the next execution, and give yourself something to smile about?”  Cody asked Jadhari, waiting for a reply from his old friend, who seemed stung speechless by the suggestion.

“Just let’s come up with a plan for the driveway and the parking spaces, okay?” Jadhari shot back with fervor.  “And if you say anything like that again, I will kill you.  Maybe.  Have you eaten lunch yet?”

“Just what I was going to ask you about,” Cody said.  “But you told me there’d be no lunch today.  Nor dinner.  But since I’m going to solve this latest problem of yours, can you rustle up a barbecued goat by tonight?”

Jadhari, without a thought, whistled, and one of his men came running over.  “Take the truck – get Nabeeb on this right away.  And I mean right now.  I want a young goat, cooked over hickory, by six tonight.  It is to be delivered to the hardware store.  Go, hurry, like it was yesterday.”

Cody smiled.  He put his arm around Jadhari and walked him towards the shade.  “How many officers did you say were staying up at the courthouse?”