Unleashed (Mr. Black Series Book 1) (10 page)

“Everyone hold on!” the pilot yelled as he tried to rectify the chopper’s trajectory.

I held on tightly to Nasima’s body, bracing myself for impact. The pilot was able to right the helo as he flew straight out of the haze. I exhaled as I loosened my grip on Nasima when I realized that we weren’t going to crash. As the chopper veered to the right, I could see the dusty brown building that had held me captive for so long begin to blend in with the rest of the city.

“Are we headed to base?” I asked as I turned to one of the men.

“No, sir. We’re headed to the Embassy. The base was compromised, that’s why it took so long to find you. All the intel was ransacked during the bombings,” he replied.

That was a downside to the black folder missions. Those folders meant my team and I were going dark. Black op missions were above top secret, and only a select few in the DOD and CIA would know our whereabouts, giving the government plausible deniability should anything go wrong.

“How long have I been gone?” I asked.

“A month and a half, sir!”

A month and a half
.

I looked out the window to contemplate the time lost. The sun shone brightly into the cockpit shining over Nasima’s beautiful face.

I caressed her cheek, and said, “Nasima. We’re safe, baby!”

Nasima slowly woke up, and as her eyes fully opened, she was thrust into a panic as she had been unaware of the rescue. Frantically, she grabbed at my arms, screaming my name.

“I’m right here. I’m right here,” I said as I pulled her back toward me and wrapped my arms around her.

“I thought I lost you,” she whispered in my ear.

“Never,” I whispered as I rested my forehead on hers and smiled.

Boom!
The sound of a missile grazing the left side of the helicopter left me disoriented for a brief moment.

When I came to, I could hear the co- pilot yell to the pilot, “We’re hit, we’re hit!”

Unfortunately, the pilot’s head was bobbing back and forth, having been on the side that was hit by the missile.

The pilot’s throttle veered to the right as we neared the tall metal gates of the Embassy. I could see the United States flag waving in the wind, beckoning me to freedom.

The co-pilot checked the pilot’s neck with his fingers. “He’s dead…hold on.”

I took stock of the situation, looking around the cab. I could see that the pilot and one of the SEALs were dead. I held onto Nasima tightly as the helicopter careened toward the ground.

“Brace yourselves,” hollered the co-pilot.

A soldier grabbed onto one of the handle bars closest to my head and threw his body on top of mine and Nasima’s in an effort to shield us from the impending crash into the middle of a city street.

DOUBLE

The deafening sound of metal smashing into the ground, along with the flashes of fire, mixed in with the suffocating clouds of dust, disoriented me. There was a sudden jolt as the tail of the helicopter banged against the shredded cab.

I opened my eyes to Nasima shaking me and screaming, “Elijah, wake up!”

The scene was a hazy blur, and the voices sounded as though they were being muffled through a door. “Nasima.”

“Yes, let’s go. They want us to go,” she screamed as she was pulled away by another soldier.

“Let’s go before it explodes, Lieutenant,” said a soldier, who had blood streaming down his face.

He unhooked the seat belt and flung my arm over his neck. The moment I stood up I knew my leg was broken, but I kept the information to myself since there was nothing anyone could do to fix it except help support half of my body weight as we tried to escape.

Exiting the cab of the helicopter with only half of the original crew left, and cringing with each step, I asked, “How far are we from the Embassy?”

“It’s only about two klik’s away, sir.”

I nodded my head. “Then let’s get the fuck outta this shithole.”

BOOM!

The helicopter exploded, thrusting the contorted black metal into the air, and propelling the remaining four of us face first into the dirt. The heat wave from the explosion singed my bare skin and wrenched my broken leg and ribs even further out of place.

“Fuck! Is everyone okay?” I growled as I took in slow breaths to keep the pain at a tolerable level.

“Yes, sir.”

The two SEALs, Nasima, and I got up, and hobbled over to an adjacent building to use as cover. Through the blazing fire, I could see there were about twenty onlookers who had run out of the half imploded dilapidated buildings, but no one offered help.

“It looks like we’re going to be together for a little while longer. What are your names?” I asked through bated breath.

“I’m Morales, and this is Correa,” Morales said.

“Do your coms work?” I asked Correa as I leaned against a wall.

Correa checked his SAT phone, which had a cracked screen and broken antenna. As he pressed the buttons, the beeping that came from it stuttered and died.

“No, we’re on our own, sir,” Correa said, pressing on the buttons.

“Okay, we can do this. We’ll stay on the main streets so we can keep a line of sight open behind us in case we’re being followed,” I ordered.

“Yes, sir,” Morales sounded off as he peered out the door to see if it was safe.

“Nasima, are you okay?” I turned and held out my hand, motioning for her to come toward me.

“Yes, I am fine. Here let me help,” she said as she took my hand and laid my arm over the back of her neck.

Once they started down the street, Nasima asked, “Is your leg broken?”

“Don’t worry about it, keep your eye on the prize,” I cajoled.

A crowd of men began to point at us and talk amongst themselves. One of the men was on a cell phone call, nodding, as he watched us make our way down the street. I thought his behavior to be suspicious, so I kept glancing back at him to see what he was going to do. Suddenly the man pulled a gun from behind his pants and pointed it directly toward us.

“Get down!” I yelled as I let all my body weight fall to the ground, dragging Nasima and Morales down with me.

The shooter’s cohorts started running toward us with guns in hand. Correa and Morales, still on the ground, rolled over onto their backs and quickly brought their rifles from behind, returning fire. They took out four of the five insurgents easily, but the fifth disappeared into a building.

“Let’s get into a building,” I yelled to Morales.

“Correa, help me grab the Lieutenant!” Morales hollered.

The two worked together to pick up my battered body as Nasima followed close behind.

A fifth man popped out of the building and shot at us, the bullet grazing Nasima’s calf. She fell to the ground just short of the building.

I turned and yelled, “Nasima!”

She reached out her hand as she tried to push herself off of the ground.

“Go help her, I’m fine,” I ordered.

Morales let go of me, leaving Correa to take on my full weight, and ran over to Nasima to pick her up.

Correa set me down just inside the door and pulled his gun out. He whipped around the door frame and aimed his gun directly at the fifth man’s head as Morales and Nasima ran behind him into the building. Correa fired one shot through the barrage of bullets, and suddenly, the gunfire ceased.

“Did you get him?” I yelled from inside the room.

“I got him; let’s go while it’s clear,” Correa yelled, as he ran back into the building to grab me.

I stood up on one leg and grabbed Morales’ vest as I walked past him. “If something happens to me, keep her safe. Promise me.”

“You have my word, sir,” Morales said as he continued on to the exit.

Nasima looked back at me, limping alongside Morales.

I mouthed the words ‘
I love you’
to her as Correa positioned himself underneath my arm.

“Ready, sir?” Correa asked.

“As I’ll ever be,” I replied, taking a deep breath before I took my first step.

I agonized over the first few, but after a couple feet my adrenaline kicked in and my leg became numb, enabling me to move at pretty quick pace. Well…for someone with a broken leg, that is.

“Anyone behind us?” Morales yelled.

“No one. Just the friendlies,” Correa replied, quickly surveying our surroundings as we ran.

“Only half a klik to go,” Morales yelled, almost out of breath.

The sun was beating down on the four of us as we trudged on toward the Embassy. With no water and countless injuries among us, our pace began to slow. A soft breeze blew through my hair, followed by the faint sound of helicopter propellers. I looked up and saw a Black Hawk zooming toward us, then passing directly overhead. It slowed down and hovered over the intersection in front of us, slowly landing onto the dirt, kicking up copious amounts of dust.

Morales smiled. “Let’s go home, sir.”

I patted him on the shoulder and took a deep breath before I journeyed forward toward the awaiting chopper. Morales helped Nasima in, then turned to pull me in as Correa positioned his shoulder under my thighs to push me off the ground more easily. Nasima hugged me as I fell, exhausted, onto my back, on the cold metal. My arms wrapped around her tightly. The chopper took off and flew the remaining short distance to the Embassy.

“How did you find us?” Morales hollered to the pilot.

“The pilot from the chopper you were on sent out a distress signal before you crashed. Good thing y’all were out on the street or I would have missed you as I passed over,” the pilot replied.

“Look, there it is. We’re safe,” I whispered to Nasima as I pointed to the Embassy.

The helo started its descent and landed on the concrete parking lot, just short of the gates. Morales and Correa jumped out first in order to help Nasima and I from the cab.

“There’s freedom sir, hurry!” Morales yelled to me over the loud propellers as he tugged on my arm and motioned to the gate.

“I’m trying,” I hollered back, almost out of breath, clutching onto the side of my broken ribs, while my other arm clung onto Correa. Nasima was by my side, trying to keep up with me as she grasped tightly onto the blanket in order to keep it from flying away with the strong winds the chopper blades created.

I yelled through the blaring noise, “We’re gonna be okay, Nasima!” as I grabbed her hand for the final few steps to freedom.

Nasima started to slow down, her arm becoming dead weight in my hand. I turned my head toward her as she yanked her hand away from me and started to back away from the gate. I looked at her, confused. The wind from the propellers caused her hair to whip around her face like a beautiful black frame around her olive skin. Time seemed to slow for me as her beauty radiated like an aura around her.

She mouthed the words,
‘I’m sorry.’

“Wait…where are you going, Nasima?” I asked, still clutching onto my ribs, my face battered and bruised.

“I…forgive me, Elijah,” she said as she continued to inch away from the gate, the wind whipping through her hair, causing it to fly across her eyes and mouth.

As she shifted the wisps of hair away from her eyes, and lodged them behind her ear, I saw it. The reason she wasn’t going to walk through the Embassy gates with me.

“
It’s you
,” I whispered as my hand dropped from my ribs, my face paralyzed in complete and utter shock. “It’s you.”

She backed away, increasing the gap between us. “I did not mean for this to happen. I did not mean to fall in love with you, Elijah. I had a mission…just as I was yours,” she said as a tear cascaded down her cheek.

“Lieutenant Black, let’s get inside, sir. It’s not safe out here,” Morales urged as he grasped onto my bloody arm.

I swatted him away as I inched toward her, my gaze laser focused on the missing piece of her ear. I hoped that my eyes were playing tricks on me, but as I slowly advanced to her position, the absence of the flesh was undeniably apparent. That, coupled with guilt and grief visibly weighing on her face as she backed away, let me know that I wasn’t wrong. I let go of Correa and under my own strength, stood on my broken leg.

Looking back, I supposed that it made sense…all the pieces fitting together nicely in a neat little puzzle. Why I hadn’t caught on was beyond me. I was trained to decipher puzzles, and weed out liars. The night of her first visit should have alerted me, but maybe my battered body or my nutrient-deprived mind was slow to connect the dots. How was she able to get in my cell without having access to Amadi’s keys, unless she
had
easy access to Amadi, or the times the guards listened to her when she asked them to leave the chains off my wrists?

Why would those men listen to a woman? Not in this country.

My heart sunk into my stomach, and a tear rolled down my cheek.

“Was any of it real?” I asked as the wind whipped between us.

“Nothing has ever been more real in my life,” she replied, trying to tame her hair.

“Then why?” I asked, shaking my head.

“It was not supposed to be this way. You have distracted me. I allowed myself to fall victim to your charms.”

“Oh, you’re blaming me for being who you are?” I yelled angrily.

“No, never! I had a mission, and I let you distract me. That is it. It is my fault. All my fault,” she said as her voice cracked and tears continued to stream down her cheeks.

“Come with me; tell my people what you know…I will protect you,” I promised, holding out my hand, praying she would take it.

I didn’t want to leave her here in this God forsaken place, wishing I had never let her hand go in the first place. Although she was only a few feet from me, with all my impeding injuries, she might as well have been standing miles away.

“I have work here,” she said as she looked back to the sandy city we’d just fled.

“I don’t want to believe that you’re a killer, Nasima. That you bombed all those cities; all that innocent blood on your hands,” I said as I worked through my pain to inch closer to her.

Unfortunately, she countered every inch I advanced with an even larger step back.

“A killer? You do not understand. I am a double. I am the agent that has been working with your government to help stop the bombings. You were supposed to extract me that night so no one would suspect anything,” Nasima replied.

“A double agent? Then come in, Nasima! We can be together,” I said as I continued to hold out my hand.

“It is not that simple.”

“It doesn’t have to be this way,” I pleaded.

“While I waited for rescue to come for the both of us, more men came to pick up bombs for another plot. I must find out more information to stop it.”

“They will kill you if they find out. Nasima, come with me,” I urged as I made the final push toward her and grabbed her wrist, pulling her toward me.

I pressed her body to mine as the wind whipped around, creating a chasm of calm that enveloped us.

I rested my forehead onto hers, and said, “Just come with me, my love. I want you to come with me.”

She smiled slightly. “I thought you didn’t fall in love?”

“I never said that I didn’t fall in love. I just said I wasn’t willing to…
until now
,” I responded with a nagging ache in my heart.

“Men like you are a rare breed, Lieutenant Elijah Black. And I would love nothing more than to be with you, but there are so many innocent lives at risk…lives that are bigger than our love,” she said as she hugged me tightly then ripped herself away, turning to run toward the city that almost killed us a few moments earlier.