was losing even more face by not answering. âRussian roulette,â he blurted.
âThatâs not a good game,â Pistachio said.
Major Khan and Rapviz said nothing.
âRapviz, what do you think?â Lieutenant Saeedi asked.
âWhatever you guys want to do,â Rapviz said.
Lieutenant Saeedi mocked Rapviz: âWhatever you guys want to do. Youâre always so yellow-bellied, you never have a thought ofyour own.â Although many Quds Force commandos were more concerned with skill than rank, Lieutenant Saeedi took the ethos to the extreme. While running death squads in Iraq, he butted heads with an incompetent superior officer. The next day, the officer was found deadâthe official report said the superior officer was killed in action, but most people believed Lieutenant Saeedi killed him. Saeedi never confirmed or denied the rumor. Because he was the son of a powerful general, officers were hesitant to investigate. If Saeedi had kept his nose clean, he wouldâve been promoted to captain like Rapviz and Pistachioâa constant source of irritation for Lieutenant Saeedi, but even Lieutenant Saeediâs powerful father couldnât help his son get promoted.
Pistachio put his hand on Lieutenant Saeediâs shoulder. âRelax. Have a smoke and relax.â
âI want to play Russian roulette. Are you going to play with me or not, Rapviz?â
âWhatever you want,â Rapviz said.
âI want to play Russian roulette.â
âThis is crazy,â Pistachio said. âDonât.â
âHey, Iâm not talking to you,â Lieutenant Saeedi snapped at Pistachio. âRapviz is a grown man. He can speak for himself. Go get that revolver of yours, Rapviz.â
Pistachio shook his head. âDonât get your gun, Rapviz.â
Rapviz left the room.
Lieutenant Saeedi turned to Major Khan and said, âYou going to play Russian roulette with us, sir?â
Major Khan didnât like the way he said âsir,â filled with envy and hate. They were friends, but now Lieutenant Saeedi was using Major Khanâs rank as a way to manipulate him into proving his friendship over rank, but it didnât matter what Lieutenant Saeedi felt or said because Major Khan always did what he wanted to do anyway. Major Khan hated his own monster, hated himself, and in a rare moment of clarity, wanted to die. He verbally threw Saeediâs rank back in hisface: âThatâs the smartest thing youâve said all evening, Lieutenant. Of course Iâd like to play Russian roulette.â
âThatâs what I like about you,â Lieutenant Saeedi said nervously. âYou always say what you think.â He said the words like he only half believed them. Of course, Major Khan knew the words were nonsense. Lieutenant Saeedi liked to hear only the things he agreed with, and Major Khan told him only a fraction of what was on his mind.
Rapviz returned with the revolverâand a bullet.
âOkay, letâs get this game started,â Lieutenant Saeedi said.
Major Khan saw a slight tremble in the corner of Lieutenant Saeediâs lips and smelled falseness in Saeediâs bravado.
âOkay, youâre all badasses,â Pistachio said. âNow put the gun away and letâs play Shelem.â
âIâll go first,â Rapviz said. âMajor Khan will go second. Lieutenant Saeedi will go last. Then weâll start again with me.â
Major Khan calmly nodded.
Lieutenant Saeedi paused before nodding.
âThere are no winners in Russian roulette,â Pistachio said, trying to reason with them, but the boulder had already been pushed off the cliff and it was about to hit the ground.
Rapviz slid the bullet into one of the six chambers and spun the cylinder. Then he pressed the barrel to the side of his head, turning his head so that if the bullet fired it wouldnât exit the other side of his head and hit one of the
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