Chapter 5: Attempted Escape
Rod and Tobias were still in pain due to one dislocating their bones and the second allowing themselves to get stab and lose a lot of blood. The amount of blood they were losing would have put anyone who has not gotten trained to tolerate pain to faint or die. Even though Rod and Tobias took the risk of being masochists to getting stab to take their enemy by surprise, they still need to find a first aid kit to treat themselves. Tobias and Rod decided to rip their sleeves to make a tight tourniquet to stop their bleeding.
Even though Rod and Tobias were trying to escape the enemy hideout, they got pinned down due to the enemy shooting back at Rod and Tobias. No matter how many enemies Rod and Tobias have shot and killed, the enemy kept on coming and firing back at them. Tobias and Rod were getting desperate with how they were going to escape the enemy hideout with their lives intact? Rod and Tobias were going to make a difficult decision to see who would be the sacrifice? So, one of them can escape to safety.
Rod was willing to be the sacrifice so Tobias could escape with his life. Rod wanted to be the sacrifice so he could use it to repent for the sin of his adolescent years. At that moment, Tobias was figuring out a way they both can escape without having to die. Tobias and Rod are under pressure, and it was challenging for Tobias to think of a way out without them getting eradicated. Tobias and Rod would die for one another, but they both want to see a future of being married and having families of their own. Tobias and Rod thought of a strategy that they knew was risky because it involved minimum protection but was a possibility of them surviving the enemy hideout.
The strategy that Tobias and Rod came up with is called the buddy rush. The buddy rush is where Tobias and Rod would run and shoot at the enemy with barely any protection at all. Tobias and Rod ended up with some more injury from the enemy since the bullet ended up grazing them on their hands and legs, but it was still not life-threatening. Rod was getting annoyed because no matter how many enemies they had shot to death, stab, or brutally beaten to death, the enemy seemed like they were multiplying. When Rod gets frustrated, he becomes an insensitive person who enjoys seeing people die or bleed to death.
Tobias was calming down, Rod, because if they both do not start thinking clearly, they will die. Tobias came up with another plan since more enemies appeared to kill them no matter what they did. Tobias's new plan was for him and Rod to shoot everyone and find a bomb so they can start blowing up the enemy's hideout. Even though Tobias was thinking realistically about bombing the enemy's lair, it would be difficult for them to do without them getting blown up into pieces as well.
Even though Rod agrees with Tobias about blowing up the enemy's hideout, it will probably cost them either their life or a body part which could be their legs, hands, eyes, and so on. Tobias and Rod decided that they will kill or put the enemy to sleep who has a map to their hideout. Rod and Tobias are looking for the exits to leave and report to their commanding officer about their findings. Both Rod and Tobias are tired of running around and killing the enemies because they still viewed the enemy as human beings who need psychological help. Tobias and Rod were thinking about what the possibility was of finding a map to the enemies' hideout. Tobias was thinking that the chance of finding a map to the enemy's hideout was one out of one thousand.
Rod and Tobias were not sure how long has it been since when they have gotten captured by The Syndicate of Invisibility if it has been a day or two or weeks since the enemy took and broke their watch. Tobias and Rod's only options now were to keep fighting until they got killed or become exhausted from running away to figuring out where the exit is. Tobias hopes that the commanding officer would send a small unit to investigate why he and Rod have not reported back. Tobias and Rod would generally have up to forty-eight hours to report back before the specialized team would come to assist them if they were in trouble.
Tobias recalls when he and Rod and another member named Albert Dwayne Love have gotten assigned an assignment of protecting a family of four. Tobias remembers that day due to a horrible incident that had taken place because it was Tobias's first mission and the only mission to date, he had failed. Tobias, for a while, could not forgive himself because he allowed a horrible incident to occur that caused fatalities. One of the casualties was Albert, who died under Tobias's watch who respected him and Rod. Tobias and Rod's primary assignment was to protect the family and Albert no matter the cost. Albert was new to the military and the infantry world and passed the test to become a special forces fighter. Albert had just recently passed the test of becoming a special force fighter due to his ability to never giving up on himself no matter how many times he had failed in the past.
Tobias viewed Albert as a little brother that he wanted since Albert was pure of heart. Albert always stayed in a positive mindset. Instead of going into a negative attitude, Albert stayed optimistic no matter what struggle he was facing in his life. Tobias was confident that Albert was ready for this mission that they were assigned. As it turned out, Tobias was wrong, and Albert was not prepared for this mission since it cost him his life. At the time, Tobias was not aware that the family he, Rod, and Albert were to protect was working for The Syndicate of Invisibility. Tobias and Rod have made the mistake of not searching the family to see if they had any weapons. The reason why Rod and Tobias did not examine the family was that they seem like innocent people who would not cause harm to anyone. The first lesson Tobias and Rod got trained on is not to become overconfident and not to make assumptions about anyone being a good person or an evil person due to their appearance. Tobias and Rod did not want to put in their mind that they could get deceived because they are good at reading people. Tobias and Rod did not judge anyone based on what someone looked like but instead on how someone treated other human beings and how they spoke to others.
As night was falling upon them, the family allowed Tobias, Rod, and Albert to stay in their house as their guest. The family prepared the guest room to make Rod, Tobias, and Albert comfortable. Albert asked if he could get the first watch to make sure nothing suspicious happens when the family is asleep, including Rod and Tobias. Tobias, at first, did not want him to be on watch because this was a mission, and it was different from boot camp watch; this is the real world where danger can occur without notice. Tobias told Albert if anything happens, no matter how small, wake us up, okay? Albert agreed to Tobias's terms and said, “thank you.” Tobias was worried, but he wanted Albert to get some experience.
Tobias and Rod both went to sleep at the same time. At some point in the night, Tobias got woken up due to hearing a loud sound. Tobias ran outside to see what was happening since he left Albert on watch. The sound Tobias had heard sounded like a bomb that had just gone off. Tobias noticed that Rod was awake and already outside the house. Tobias saw an expression of anger on Rod's face. As Tobias was getting closer to Rod and looked at what Rod was seeing, he became angry, upset, and frustrated. Rod screamed at the top of his lung; what the F? Tobias and Rod were thinking how could we have let this happen on our watch? Rod and Tobias were not ready to see the body of Albert on how his body was split in half and dead. Tobias was hoping this was a horrible dream, that he was dreaming and more of a premonition of what will happen if they are not careful. Tobias was crying because just this morning, Albert was alive and well, and now, Tobias and Rod both felt like failures for allowing Albert to die on their watch.
Tobias and Rod were shocked and confused about Albert because he was always careful in any situation. Albert would have reported any of his findings to Tobias and Rod if he noticed anything suspicious. The conclusion that Tobias and Rod were able to come up with is that someone in the family they was assigned to protect is a traitor who killed Albert. Tobias understood that they were foreigners in a foreign country and a target, but they are not in the city but in the middle of nowhere where the nearest city is at least five miles of reach. Tobias is hoping that no one in the family of four is a traitor for two reasons. The first reason being they would pay with their life whoever was responsible for killing Albert, and the second reason means since they would murder who was guilty of killing Albert meant they failed to protect the family member.
When the sun came out, the family of four came outside their house in their pajamas, still waking up. Since they were waking up, it took them a while to adjust to the sight they were looking at, but once they came to realize it, the view horrified them and made them vomit. Rod was questioning himself about the family if they were petrified of the scene in front of them or great in acting? Rod's intuition was usually correct, but at this moment, he was not sure since he is angry, in shock, and frustrated that clouds his judgment.
Tobias and Rod found it weird that Albert would not have fallen into a trap quickly unless he was in a setup situation. Albert would believe in anyone who sincerely needs help with anything, and even it meant listening to someone who needed comfort. Tobias told Rod it was time to interrogate the family to see who stories do not match the others or fail to give us their whereabouts.
The first person Rod and Tobias interrogated was the father, who is the head of the family. His name is Abdul Muhammad Barker. Abdul is a middle-aged man who is in his mid-fifties. The first question Tobias and Rod asked Abdul was, "where were you last night?" Abdul replied by saying he was home in his comfortable bed sleeping. The follow-up question Tobias and Rod asked was, did you not hear a loud explosion last night? Tobias told Abdul that the noisy sound should have woken you up. Abdul replied by saying he was a heavy sleeper, and it was rare for him to get woken up with any noise. Tobias and Rod marked Abdul as a suspect. The following person Rod and Tobias questioned was Abdul's wife. Abdul's wife's name is Sanaaa Destiny Barker. Sanaaa, who was also middle age in her early fifties, was gorgeous and with a great body. Sanaaa was healthy and was in great shape physically.
The question Rod and Tobias asked Sanaaa was, “what were you doing last night?” Sanaaa replied by saying she was in bed with her husband but did wake up when she heard a loud bang. The following person Tobias and Rod questioned was the son. The son's name is Kabeer Ezekiel Barker. Kabeer is twenty-one years old, and he was in great shape since he exercises a lot. The question Rod and Tobias asked Kabeer was, “why did you kill Albert?” Kabeer replied by saying I did not kill your comrade, Albert. I was sleeping very comfortably in my bed until my bed moved a little. The last person to be questioned was the daughter. Her name is Hanaaa Sienna Barker. Hanaaa is eighteen years old. Hanaaa is tone and in great shape. Hanaaa is incredibly beautiful as well. Rod and Tobias asked Hanaaa, “why were you in bed with your brother?” Hanaaa replied by saying I would never sleep with my brother; that is gross. I was in my bed until I heard a loud boom.
Rod and Tobias cannot decide who is telling the truth between Abdul, Sanaaa, Kabeer, and Hanaaa because they all could be lying or telling the truth. Rod suspects that Abdul is lying because if his wife Sanaaa heard the sound and woken up, Abdul should have been woken up as well from his wife's movement. Tobias suspects that all of them are lying because their story one did not much up and second is Tobias senses something is off but cannot tell now what the missing piece is. Rod did not care who was innocent or guilty at this moment in time because, in his mind, he already plans to sleep with Abdul's wife Sanaaa since he always liked women who are in great shape. Rod plans to sleep with Sanaaa when her husband Abdul is sleeping to prove he lied and that he would wake up if he heard moaning in the house.
Rod wants to test his theory out, and what better way no other than sleeping with Sanaaa. Rod did not take long to convince Sanaaa she was guilty of allowing Albert to die. Rod told Sanaaa he would forgive her if they slept together when her husband and children were asleep. Sanaaa told Rod, are you out of your mind? Why would I sleep with you? I am not an adulteress person. I believe in God, and I will not cheat on my loving husband, who respects me and treats me as his queen.
Rod said to Sanaaa, “you do not have a choice in this matter, sorry.” I want to see the face of your husband Abdul when he is horrified when he sees us together, and you are moaning in pleasure. I want to prove that your husband Abdul is a liar, and he was the one who killed my comrade, Albert. Abdul said he slept without hearing any sound last night. Sanaaa now sees that Rod is not insane but using a different tactic to see who would betray someone in the family. Sanaaa wants to say her husband Abdul was not in bed when she woke up, but that would make him a suspect, and she does not want to lose him. Rod said to Sanaaa, "I can sleep with your daughter Hanaaa instead since she is of age.” I know you will not allow that as a mother; you are obligated to protect your kids. Therefore, you are all mine for tonight to do as I please. Sanaaa did not object to Rod's response because she knew he was right about her duty of being a good mother.
Tobias disagreed with what Rod is doing. Tobias was desperate for an answer. Tobias did not believe in coercing a family to a crime. He also did not want to assume that Abdul, Sanaaa, Hanaaa, and Kabeer were guilty of killing Albert. Even though Rod's method was unorthodox, it was better than bringing the whole family to the unit they were stationed at to get a verdict. Tobias knows they would have to be processed legally and wait for a trial which can take a long time to get answers, but he wanted answers now.
Rod was looking forward to sleeping with Sanaaa, but another event was in store for them as fate would have it. When nightfall came, Tobias and Rod heard vehicles approaching the house. Tobias and Rod were confused because they did not call for reinforcements from their unit for backup yet. As the Humvee got closer to the residence, Rod and Tobias noticed it was an unmarked vehicle. When the Humvee got turned off, the people inside the carrier got out and started shooting at the house.
Tobias came back from memory lane when he heard gunshots getting reshot. Tobias became disorientated about the situation he found himself in due to thinking about the past. Rod touched Tobias's shoulder to tell him that it felt like an hour had passed since we got shot at. Rod says I guess someone has entered the enemy's hideout. Instead of being shot at, The Syndicate of Invisibility is trying to take out whoever entered the premises. The enemy lost their focus on us for now. We should use this opportunity in the meantime to find either the exit or a shelter we can hide in. Tobias believes his prayer got answered about reinforcement coming to help them. Tobias started quoting the Bible book of Colossians chapter 3 verses 23-25, which goes as follow “And whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ. But he who does wrong will be repaid for what he had done, and there is no partiality.” – New King James Version.
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone