“Click… zero, this is Captain Steve, how do you read me”? 

No response from the other end… 

“grrr…. dang it! I’m reporting from the northern border, we’re under attack, I repeat, we’re under heavy attack. Casualties and KIA’s involved, over”…

“20, 21, 22”… I continued with my head shot count as captain Steve called for back-up. Those were my first kills ever and there were about to be my last. I thought… 

The worst thing about this ambush was that they had us in a kill box, we were surrounded. No escape whatsoever, all we had was little or no hopes for back-up… 

Steve called the remaining 20 of us to cover; “sergeants! I hate to break it to you but this is it, back-up most likely isn’t coming. This is how we go down; we fight till the last man. See you on the other side sergeants” he said… 

“Aye aye sir!!!” We echoed as we nod our heads in agreement with the Captain. “Side by side sir”…

I watched my brothers in jungle as they fall one after the other by the weapon of the enemy as they run out of ammo… 

It was just I and Steve now; we just had one round of bullet left before we gladly join our brothers on the other side. We have to make it count. One more kill for each of us, for me it’ll be the 30th kill for the day and ever, but for Steve it was just another day in the office…   

Multiple tangos approached us from 10 O’clock as we sat behind our cover, prepping for the last strike. 

“We attack on 3”, Steve whispered. I nodded in affirmation… 

“NOW!!!” Steve shrieked, signalling me for the attack… 

BLACK OUT…

*************************************** 

We woke up next to each other, our hands tied behind a wooden chair in what looked like an abandoned warehouse. “Boss, this doesn’t look like the underworld sir”… I said in total confusion, not knowing how we got there… 

“well, that’s because it isn’t. You’re very much alive sergeant”… Captain Steve replied as he spat out blood from his mouth. Puff!

************Previous day***********

We made our last strike as we await them to send us to the great beyond but to our greatest surprise that wasn’t the case. At least, not yet…

“Well well well alkabtin wahiwanuh al’alyuf aldhy la yafwat fursat iitlaq alnnar…” (well, well, well… the captain and his pet that never misses a shot) a deep and thick voice spoke with pride as he approached us while his men had us under surrender with their riffle pointed straight to our head. He must be the boss around here. 

Steve understands Arabic so he quickly interpreted what he said through tapping codes and from the wince on his countenance I could tell he recognized the voice. “Oh crap!” He cursed under his breath…

“Today is your lucky day captain, a quick death won’t be fair… we need these ones alive, bring them in…” the deep, thick voice spoke again, commanding his men. Just then, they hit Steve and i on the head with the butt end of their riffle. They knocked us out, unconscious…

*************************************** 

Fast forward to the present day, Oct. 21st 1962, we woke up next to each other, our hands tied behind a wooden chair in what looked like an abandoned warehouse.

“Boss, this doesn’t look like the underworld sir”… I said in total confusion, not knowing how we got there… 

"well, that’s because it isn’t. You’re very much alive sergeant"… Steve replied as he spat out blood from his mouth. Puff!

“Dang it! So they’ll torture us, then what? They kill us still, why not make it quick? What exactly do these guys want by the way? What are you not telling me, captain”? 

Just then, that same thick, deep voice interrupted our dialogue, the sound of his foot echoed in the empty warehouse as he walked towards us. He has a huge figure, an intimidating height and the scary part was his untrimmed beards which covered the whole of his countenance, revealing only his eyes which were the only bright thing on his face as he was very dark in completion… 

His name is Zaheed, Ex. Military turn head of terrorist group, fought side by side with the troops deployed to Afghanistan 1951 before he turned rogue. He deals on nuclear war heads, bio weapons, assassinations and drugs. He also has allies in Russia and Germany. Zaheed is the badass terrorist nobody wants to mess with… 

ZAHEED: Morning sunshine… Look who is up; my old friend… chuckles…

ME: Hey, bread head, why don’t you skip the pleasantries through to introduction; who the heck are you! And why the hell did you invade our camp!

ZAHEED: mmm… seems the captain hasn’t filled you in on the details yet. Call me bread head one more time and I’ll shove your head down into your butt… (Motions towards Steve) Nice to see you too Steve, last time we met you stole something from me and that’s what this is about: you give me Intel on where and how to retrieve it? Then you can walk away with your pet like a free bird. Easy, nobody gets hurt…

STEVE: or I could take a hard pass and then kick your black butt the same way I did the last time. Just untie me and you’ll have a piece of me –a piece of my fist actually…

ZAHEED: there you go again old friend, flaunting your ego around…

***********Meanwhile****************

Back-up actually came for us that night 20th Oct. 1962 but it was too late, the camp was completely and cleanly swept before they arrived. They identified all the KIA’s (Killed in Action) safe for Steve and I so they knew the enemy must have taken us as hostages. The authorities put a search team on our name but they hit a dead end…