Fatal Convictions

66

Nara talked to their captors in Arabic-argued with them, as far as Alex could tell-and their captors seemed to respond with growing frustration. Through it all, Nara kept her voice measured but firm, even as the men spoke louder, their words biting and harsh.

A noise startled Alex, as if somebody had kicked over a box. He tensed, waiting for the blows to start.

“What are they saying?” he asked.

“Not now,” Nara snapped.

She engaged them again, her voice more cautious this time. But her words engendered the same angry response.

It sounded to Alex like there were three or four male voices in the room. He had a gun pointed at his head and his hands cuffed behind his back. He assumed that Nara was in the same position. For whatever reason, she didn’t seem to be backing down. She talked for a long time, uninterrupted, and this time the response seemed less angry. Like maybe they were seeing her point. She answered again, and they didn’t respond at all.

And then, just as Alex began to relax just a little, Nara shrieked. There was the sound of wrestling and a muffled groan.

The room grew quiet.

“Are you okay?” Alex asked.

A hand grabbed Alex’s hood and yanked it off. Alex blinked and looked around. A lantern in the corner of the carriage car provided dim light and cast long shadows. There were four men, each wearing a hood, the slits revealing hard eyes and eerie-looking mouths. Three of the men held AK-47s. One had the barrel of his gun within inches of Alex’s temple.

Nara was sitting across the aisle with her hands cuffed behind her back. Her captor had wrapped white cloth around her face, but there was an opening for her eyes. The man behind her had gathered the white linen in his fist behind her head and was pulling on it, tilting her head back and exposing her neck. With the other hand, he held a long knife, its blade touching the side of Nara’s neck. Her eyes were wide with terror.

“Have you ever seen a beheading?” asked the man standing in the aisle a few rows in front of Alex. He spoke English, just as Nara had predicted.

Alex shook his head.

“Unless you do as we say, you may get your chance with your pretty girlfriend.”

Alex glanced at Nara, whose dark eyes were pleading with him to do this right. He turned back to the man in the aisle. “Tell your buddy to take the knife away from her neck,” Alex said.

The man clenched his teeth and shook his head, his eyes narrowing. He held his index finger and thumb an inch apart. He mumbled something that made Nara close her eyes and tense; then the man behind her sliced the blade ever so slightly into Nara’s neck, creating a small sliver of blood.

“Do not think you give the orders here,” the first man said.

Alex tried not to panic. He watched the blood trickle down Nara’s neck. “What do you want?” he asked, his voice shaking.

“We have a little script for you to recite,” his captor said. “If you perform it flawlessly, you will save two lives.”

Alex looked at Nara; she gave him the slightest nod. The man pulled her head back tighter, and she winced. The blade rested against her artery.

“Okay,” Alex said quickly. “Just tell me what you want me to do.”