guys or someone elsewhere in the house. He squeezed the trigger, causing the hammer to cock back until it slammed forward. Bang! His brains splattered across the floor, and he slumped in his chair.
âAllahu akbar!â Pistachio exclaimed. âLook what you did, Saeedi!â
âMe?!â Lieutenant Saeedi defended himself. âRapviz spun the cylinder! Whyâd he have to stop the cylinder on the bullet chamber?!â
âIt was random! Iâm not going to clean up Rapvizâs brains!â
âIâll clean up his brains!â Lieutenant Saeedi snapped. âGive me a rag!â
Major Khan stared coldly. I deserved to die more than anyone. Why couldnât it be me? It shouldâve been me. Allah wants to torture me by making me stay in this world.
8
----
A t 2200 hours, Alex and Pancho stood in the main room of Leilaâs house wearing Iranian menâs clothing. John and Leila each wore a black burqa, the Islamic womenâs garment, disguising them from head to toe.
Leila smiled at John. âWhy are you wearing a burqa?â
John ignored her.
âThere are not many blacks in Iran, but your skin is not so dark, and itâs difficult to see at night.â
âMy father was African-American and Cajun, and my mother was French,â John said. âAnd Iâm not gay. I just think itâs the best disguise.â
âYou are an interesting person,â she said. âI asked you the other night why you do what you do, and you told me about the world as it is. But you didnât tell me what made you join.â
John said nothing. He was a private person, especially with people he hardly knew.
âShould I tell her, or do you want to?â Pancho said.
John glared at Pancho, then turned to Leila. âI was reading poetry to a friend when her boyfriend showed up,â he explained. âHe was a control freak with a temper. The guy wigged out, went to his truck, and came back with a gun. He fired at us, so I picked up achair and threw it at him, stunning him. Then I picked up another chair and killed him in self-defense. After that, I couldnât live in that town anymore, so I joined the Navy. At boot camp, our company commander made us take the SEAL physical screen testâI was the only one who passed. So I figured maybe my destiny was to become some sort of modern-day Paladin.â
âWhat happened to your friend?â Leila asked.
âOne of the bullets from her boyfriendâs gun killed her.â
âI am sorry.â She put her hand on his shoulder.
John covered his face with the veil ( niqab ). Leila did, too.
Carrying their kit and an extra tank of water to keep in the vehicle, the SEALs and Leila left the house, walked through the darkness, and loaded into her car. It looked like a Peugeot with wide off-road tires and heightened suspension. Leila sat in the driverâs seat and Pancho rode shotgun. Alex sat behind Leila with John next to him. The guys secured their doors, but Alexâs wouldnât lock. âHow do you lock this?â he asked.
âLock is broken,â Leila said. She started the engineâit purred. Great, weâre riding in a pussycat with a broken door. When she stepped on the accelerator, the vehicle sucked Alex back into his seat. Iâm beginning to like this cat. In spite of its power, the vehicle ran quietly.
Alex reminded Leila to exit Abadi Abad from the southeast so if anyone followed them, the followers wouldnât immediately know the Outcastsâ true direction. Pancho kept a lookout ahead, Alex watched their left and right flanks, and John kept an eye on the rear.
Pancho asked, âWhat kind of car is this?â
âSamand,â Leila said. âIt is an Iranian car. Samand is a fast horse.â
âThis doesnât look like an average sedan,â Pancho said.
âDanny customized it.â
Just after the Outcasts left the village, John said,
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