Chapter 15
Marc twitched in his sleep as the muffled sound of popping reached his ears from far away, like popcorn in a microwave behind a thick wall.
Groaning, he shifted onto his side. Batting at the side of his head as the popping noise grew louder in his ears, a thin layer of sweat broke out on his skin.
"No," Marc's features contorted in his sleep as memories of a rifle pressed roughly into his cheek flashed through his mind, "No!"
His heart raced inside his chest as he felt the barrel grating his cheekbone, knowing that any moment the man wielding the weapon could end his life. Kaput!
"No!" Marc didn't know when he opened his eyes but he was suddenly sat upright, strapped to a chair in a box room that stank of sweat and blood. His sweat and blood.
Breathing heavy, the rifle against his jaw pressed his head back until he was staring up at the ceiling where a single light bulb hung from the ceiling.
Looking down, Marc was confronted by the sight of the end of a rifle. Looking up the barrel, Marc saw a man with a scarf tied around the lower half of his face holding the rifle against him.
Marc barely saw his features when he heard a voice speak from the corner and he looked behind the man to see him.
Marc's teeth rattled in fear when he saw him standing there leant casually against the wall.
Clenching his jaw tight, Marc tried to swallow but his throat and mouth were dry, his lips cracked from days of dehydration.
"You can stop this," The man in the corner spoke slowly in a thick accent, "Just tell us what we want to know."
The rifle indented in his cheek as he croaked, "No."
His eyelids began to flicker from delirium as the man in the corner nodded to his friend, his eyes hidden in shadow.
Every muscle in Marc's body constricted, his eyes clasping shut, as the man pulled the trigger.
For a second, he felt nothing and he wondered if he was dead but then he heard it again; the soft click of an unloaded rifle.
Slowly opening his eyes, breath tumbled out from between his lips, as the rifle was removed from his face and he realised that it was another trick.
Anger erupted inside of his chest, "Just kill me!" Marc screamed as the man turned his back and left the room, leaving Marc alone with the man who held the rifle.
Throwing himself forward on the chair, pulling at his restraints until they bit further into his flesh, he yelled after the other man, "I'm not going to tell you anything! Just kill me!"
The man whose scarf covered the lower half of his face dropped the rifle and sent a hard punch into the side of Marc's jaw, blinding him.
"Marc! MARC!"
Opening his eyes, Marc found himself being held by the shoulders by Carlos, his worried eyes staring at him intently. He was breathing heavy, taking in big gulps of air as if he had been drowning and had just reached the surface.
Glancing around, he saw that he was in the apartment. Kazeem was stood nearby and Marc let out a sigh of relief. He had been dreaming again, but it had felt so real.
Marc reached out and gripped Carlos's shoulder in an attempt to tell him that he was okay.
A familiar soft popping noise filled the air and Carlos turned to look at the window. Marc followed his gaze and saw that everyone was awake and staring at him.
He looked around them, "Where is Julia?"
"I have a good idea," Carlos sighed as he heard the gunfire again.
Marc frowned as he began to join the dots together.
"Come on, we need to hurry," Carlos dragged Marc to his feet.
*
Walking backwards towards cover, Julia felt the rifle recoil into her shoulder as vibrations tingled through her fingers and up her arm. She wasn't sure if she hitting anything but she could hear the metallic pinging as her bullets hit the vehicles.
Somewhere, she heard a tyre pop.
Her heart was pounding in her chest as bullets whizzed past her head and exploded in the walls behind her, turning brick into dust.
Retreating out of the alley and into the street, Jules knew she was outnumbered and the feeling was almost paralysing.
Kneeling behind a garage, the rifle resting just above her knee, Julia tried to steady her breathing and clear her thoughts.
Peering around the edge, she spotted a man approaching the alleyway. She had to keep them at a distance.
Lining up the shot, Julia fired a single round into his kneecap and watched as his blood decorated the jeep door behind him.
As the man collapsed to the ground, screaming profanities in his native tongue, Jules ducked back behind the garage as another hail of bullets descended upon her.
When there was a pause in the firing, Julia stuck her rifle back out from behind the wall and fired a small burst in their direction, hoping to keep them at bay. A few seconds later, they returned fire.
Julia needed to get across the opening and head back to the apartment. She needed backup and-
"-Marc?" Julia frowned when she glanced up the street, looking for a way to get across, when she saw Marc and the others hurrying towards her in single file.
Motioning with hand signals as they neared the opening, Carlos and Twitch were about to break off and find a better vantage point, when someone ran out from behind Marc and sprinted for the alley.
A second later Julia saw that it was Hasan and she felt as if her stomach had dropped.
"Hasan, stop!" Jules pointed her rifle directly at him, afraid of his intentions, but Hasan kept going, "Hasan, stop or I will fire!" Her finger hovered over the trigger, the rifle aimed at his chest.
"Darya!" Hasan shouted, nearing the alley.
Julia had to make a split second decision. She did not know what Darya and Hasan had planned and she had to protect her team.
As Hasan's hand gripped the corner of the wall to propel himself into the alley Julia shot at the space next to his fingers. Brick blew up into his face, knocking Hasan back into the street next to Carlos who was waiting to take him by the shoulder.
"Hey!" Carlos exclaimed when he saw how close her shot was, "You could have shot me!"
Jules gave him a wink as Hasan held his hand against his chest. Jules saw Carlos beside him giving her an unimpressed look.
Julia shrugged but kept her rifle trained on him as she spotted Kazeem trying to move past Marc but he had a hand on his shoulder, keeping him back.
"Julia, we can explain!" Kazeem called from far away, "They're not hostiles! You don't need to shoot."
"Hostiles?" Hasan looked back at his brother in shock as he realised why they had been shooting.
"She's my wife, not a terrorist!" Hasan screamed at Julia, taking a step towards her. Twitch too trained his weapon on Hasan for Jules's safety.
Julia rose to her feet but kept her gun trained on him, "Then what is she doing slipping out in the middle of the night?"
"Because that's when we thought it would be safest," Hasan snapped, "She's not a terrorist! She's trying to help!"
"Help?" Carlos scoffed, "Funny way of showing it."
Jules decided to keep the fact that she fired first to herself for the moment.
"Hasan, tell your wife and the others to lay down their weapons," Marc ordered him, "If they're not terrorists then they won't mind coming out with their hands in the air, will they?"
Hasan gave him a look but began to call to his wife and the others in their native tongue.
"They're coming out," Hasan shrugged Carlos's hand off his shoulder and stepped forward to greet his wife.
Stepping off the curb and into the street, Julia gave herself a wider perspective of the alley. At the front of the group was Darya and behind her were half a dozen men sporting a few injuries.
One of the men was being supported on each side as he hopped up the alley on one leg, his other clearly having been shot.
Another man was pressing a hand against his shoulder to staunch the bleeding but she could see blood seeping through his fingers, whilst another man supported a wound to the side of his head which looked suspiciously like a bullet had grazed his hairline, causing blood to drip down and cover half of his face.
Julia saw Twitch move away from the street and towards her.
"So, um," Twitch coughed when he reached her side, "they weren't injured before you got here, right?"
"No," Jules rolled her eyes.
"Huh," Twitch muttered with his tongue in his cheek.
Hasan and Darya went to embrace but Carlos interjected himself between them for security reasons since they were still unsure of what was happening.
"Okay, so what the hell is going on here?" Marc demanded to know. He had let Kazeem go and they had gathered around the opening.
Julia spotted the man with a shot knee leaning against the bonnet of a car and giving her a bold look. Jules stared back at him and gave the rifle in her hands a small tap to warn him not to try anything.
"It was my idea," Kazeem apologised, "I knew you guys would need weapons so I asked Darya to contact her brother. He said he could get his hands on some things."
"Her brother?" Marc frowned when a man towards the back raised a hand and gave them a small, dejected wave. He was young, about twenty five, with a thick beard and dark hair.
Julia was glad to see that at least he hadn't been shot. Hasan and Darya might never want to help them again if he had been injured.
"Why not just tell us?" Carlos asked, "We would have come and-"
"-He didn't want to be seen selling weapons to the opposite side; if he's found out he could be executed," Darya told them furiously, "That's why I agreed to do the handover now, late at night. Kazeem and Hasan remained behind so as not to raise suspicion in case anyone was watching."
"Where are the weapons then?" Carlos asked.
"They came to pick me up," Darya said, "The weapons are an hour's drive away but then you followed me."
Julia and Darya locked eyes but neither refused to back down. Julia stood by her decision.
"Why didn't you just tell us?" Twitch shrugged.
"Because you would have insisted on going with her," Kazeem sighed, "I told her she shouldn't go on her own but it seemed logical."
"Well, you're right, I am insisting that we go with her."
"What? No!" Darya looked to her brother, "If they see you-"
"-They won't see us," Marc told her.
"The way I see it, you've got three men out of action," Marc said, "and you're going to need someone to take their place and-"
"-Not her," Darya's brother pointed to Julia.
Jules narrowed her eyes at him.
"These people are expecting my sister and men. If I show up with her they become suspicious." He explained.
"I understand," Marc nodded causing Julia to stare at him in outrage. He wouldn't dare leave her behind!
"Carlos, Twitch, Kazeem and Hasan will go with you," Marc negotiated, "On the way, Twitch can see to your wounds."
Twitch looked at Jules from the corner of his eye, "Thanks for that."
"At least you're going," Jules sulked.
"If we go, we go now," Darya's brother told them, "Or we are late."
They all began to head towards the jeeps, Carlos giving her a sympathetic look as he went past.
"Here," Julia reached out and pressed her rifle into his chest, "You may need this."
Carlos took the rifle and looked back at Marc, "Try not to kill each other whilst we're away."
"No promises," Julia glared at Marc.
"Ready?" Twitch called to Carlos.
"Yeah," Carlos gave Julia a final look before he headed up the alley.
"Oh, and by the way?" Julia called after them.
"Yeah?" Twitch and Carlos looked back at her,
"I hope you're very comfortable together, it could be a bit of a squeeze," Julia smiled, "Have a nice ride."
Twitch and Carlos's brows drew together as they watched her leave. Looking at each other, they turned and headed towards the jeeps.
"She didn't?" Carlos groaned when he stopped before the deflated front tyre of the jeep.
Twitch grimaced when he saw the bullet hole in the rubber, "I think she did."
They looked back up the alley but she had already disappeared.
*
"Julia," Marc called as he followed up the steps to the apartment. She had been ignoring him the all the way back and he knew she was angry.
"Jul-" He began to speak but was cut off when she slammed the front door shut in his face.
Sighing, Marc reached out and opened the door. When he stepped inside, he saw that she was stood by the boarded up window.
"Can we talk about this please?" Marc removed his rifle and threw his jacket onto the sofa.
"Oh, you mean you're actually asking me?" Julia gasped,
"Julia," Marc took a step forward, "You know you couldn't have gone, what Darya's brother said was-"
"-It could have been a complete lie! He just didn't want me there because I shot some of his friends," Julia mimicked, "You're just doing this to punish me."
"Punish you?" Marc scoffed.
"Yes, punish me!" Julia snapped, "You didn't like it because I went off without you."
"Okay, yes, fine," Marc threw his hands up, "I did it to punish you. You caught me. Are you happy?"
Julia frowned as her throat began to close up. She didn't like the way he was looking at her.
"Jules, you can't just go wandering off in the middle of the night on your own-"
"Oh, here we go," Julia rolled her eyes.
"-Yes, oh here we go, because you don't seem to get it into your head. We're a team! Anything could have happened- No, actually, anything did happen!" Marc exclaimed.
"I think I managed pretty well on my own before I met you," Julia turned away from him.
Marc clenched his jaw, "Well, I wouldn't know would I?"
Julia closed her eyes as she heard the defeated tone in Marc's voice.
Turning back to face him, Julia knew she was overreacting but she couldn't help it.
"What if she had something to do with Sofia?" Julia asked, "She could have gotten away whilst I was waking you all up!"
"You could have been killed Julia!" Marc exclaimed.
Taking a deep breath, he ran a hand through his hair and tried to calm himself down, "Why can't you just see that!?"
"I do see that," Julia swallowed, "But Sofia-"
"-You are no use to Sofia, or me, if you're dead," Marc walked up to her and cupped her cheeks, "You have to stop putting yourself in danger like this," His eyes searching hers.
"Why?" Julia whispered, blinking back at him.
"What do you mean?" Marc frowned.
"Why do you care so much?" Jules asked softly, looking up at her husband. Her heart was beating faster now than it could in any gun battle.
"You know why, you know-"
"-No," Julia's face began to crumple, "No, I don't know anymore because you haven't said it."
"Neither have you," Marc whispered as he dropped his hands from her face and turned away.
Jules gasped. It felt like a knife to the gut to see him turn away from her and as he began to walk away she realised that this was the defining moment of their relationship.
If she didn't stop him now, she never would.
"Marc," His name came out broken on her lips but he stopped. It breathed life into her body.
"Marc, I . . . I love you."
Jules never thought it would have been so hard to say 'I love you' to your husband and yet it took all of her strength.
Her knees wobbled and she felt like she could collapse at any moment but her eyes were glued to Marc's back, praying he would turn around.
When she thought he would walk away anyway and leave her in a crumpled mess, he turned around and crossed the gap between them in less than two strides.
His strong arms wrapped around her waist, supporting her, as their lips found each other. Julia leaned into Marc, holding onto his shoulders as he pulled back and rested his forehead against hers.
"Oh, you've no idea how long I've waited to hear that." Marc sighed.
"I'm still waiting," Julia swallowed.
Marc pulled back and tucked a piece of hair back behind her ear, "How could I ever stop loving you?" He whispered.
Jules frowned, "That's not exactly what I wanted to hear but-"
"-I love you," Marc cupped her cheeks and pressed a fierce kiss to her lips, "I love you." He moved away from her lips and began to kiss her cheeks, "I love you." He kissed her eyelids and the tip of her nose, "I love you."
"Okay, okay," Julia laughed, "I get it. I love you too."
Marc swooped down and captured her lips with his in sweet, languorous kiss which had the backs of Julia's knees tingling and her fingers gripping at his shoulders.
Running a hand over her shoulder and down her arm, Marc played tentatively with the bottom of her shirt before his fingers slipped beneath and touched her bare waist.
Julia smiled against his lips before she stepped back and pulled the garment off over the top of her head.
Marc stood and watched as her fingers moved deftly to her belt and began to unbuckle it.
"You're still dressed," Julia reminded him as she unzipped her trousers but before she could go any further Marc pulled her against him and kissed her once again.
Julia's heart was racing inside her chest and as she thought about how much she had wanted this she felt like a gangly teenager all over again, unsure of what to do or where to put her hands.
"Come with me," Marc took her by the hand and led her out of the living room.
"Always," Julia whispered.