12 Minutes (#2 in Military series)

Chapter 14

"Put your hands up!" Marc shouted instantly and saw the woman freeze, her shoulders stiffening underneath her dress.

Julia kept her rifle trained past Marc's shoulder at the lady. She was dressed in a midnight blue dress with silver stitching that shimmered under the kitchen light and a black hijab which covered her hair and draped over her shoulders but what worried Julia was that she could not see the woman's hands.

"Put your hands up slowly," Jules told her as calmly as possible, noticing the way the woman's hands twitched momentarily at the sound of another woman's voice, "and turn to face us."

The woman did not react instantly which only cause Jules more discomfort when she noticed the lady begin to raise her arms over her head and begin to turn on the spot.

"Please," Hasan shouted from out in the corridor but Jules kept her eyes on the woman. She knew that Carlos and Twitch would sort out Hasan.

As the woman turned, Julia and Marc checked her hands first and saw that they were empty though a sharp knife lay on the counter behind her beside a pile of food which she seemed to be preparing.

Julia and Marc glanced at each other, nodded, and slowly lowered their guns.

"Clear," Marc called back out to Carlos and Twitch.

As Julia held her rifle across her body, pointed to the ground, she looked back at the woman and saw that her brown eyes were watching Julia intently.

She was a beautiful woman, Jules noted, with soft caramel skin and plump lips. Her nose was small and her chin was dainty; everything about her seemed to scream nonthreatening but yet the way she looked at Jules made her weary.

Jules noticed the woman look down at the difference in their clothing and the gun in her hand when somebody shoved past her into the kitchen.

She narrowed her eyes at Hasan as he hurried across the woman, taking her hands in his, "Are you alright?"

She nodded but said nothing.

"This is Darya," Hasan looked at them in disgust, "She is my wife, not a threat to have guns pointed at her."

Julia would not apologise; the safety of herself and her friends was more important than hurting someone's feelings for having a gun trained on them for a few seconds.

"I apologise," Marc spoke up from beside her, "But we had to be sure."

Jules stared at him in confusion and mild betrayal. Marc gave her a look that she knew meant she was not to start something so she turned and left the kitchen.

She made sure to knock her shoulder against his as she did so to show her feelings on the matter.

Carlos raised an eyebrow at her as she passed but he said nothing, knowing better than to argue.

*

A half-eaten plate of food lay untouched, going cold, across the table from her as she dismantled the second AK-47 rifle and began to methodically clean every component as best she could.

She scavenged the materials she needed as best she could but she had to make do with a few pieces of clean rags which may have been curtains at one point but all the windows had now been boarded up.

Their only light now came from candles which had been placed strategically throughout the apartment. Candles which had been secured onto a plate with their own wax rested on a bookcase behind her, showering the table in an orange hue.

It allowed her to see what she was doing whilst keeping her out of the way of the others that were all sat around on the blankets in the living room, eating their food.