The two slaves were sleeping when Sheik Demitri came into their cell obviously intoxicated. He mauled both of them before passing out on the carpet. Daniel’s eyes immediately focused on a set of keys that haddropped out of his robe. A few minutes later Ali was shoved into the cell by a huge, black, eunuch. Daniel displayed the keys and Ali said. “PraiseAllah”. They waited until the guard left and then opened the cell door and carried the drunken sheik to his quarters and tossed him onto a leather couch. Ali opened a closet and announced, “We have clothes. And, lookhere; weapons too”. Daniel and Jon rushed over and looked at the guns.

“Ak-47's and Uzi’s”, Jon exclaimed with excitement. “The garage is down the back stairs; they often took me down there to service the contractors”, Ali said. The three dressed and then helped the groggy Demitri down the steps to the basement garage. “Key’s in the ignition”,Daniel whispered as they approached a long, black, Cadillac with tintedwindows. “Get him inside; I will drive”, Ali said as he climbed into the front seat. Ali took the garage door opener and held his breath as he pushed the button - the door raised and they were out! Minutes later theycame to a gate with a lone guard. “I will run through the gate”, Ali screamed as he increased speed. Thankfully, the guard seen the speeding car and thinking it was Sheik Demitri, quickly opened the gate before they raced past with the passed out sheik.

“Ok. Slow down. Does anyone know where we are”? “Diyirbaker. Or something like that was the name I was told by a contractor”, Ali answered. “Look, here is a map. And, there is a sign”, Jon added. The sign was written in Turkish, Arabic, and English. “Mosul. That is in Iraq.Head that way”Daniel instructed. They proceeded down a dark highway unmolested until they arrived at a check-point. “I think this might be the border”, Ali said. A sleepy soldier looked up and waved them past”. “This is too easy”, Jon whispered as they passed a sign that said, “Iraq”.

“What are we going to do with him”, Jon asked? “I will deal with the bastard right now”, Ali said as he pulled the car off onto a dirt road. They helped the still drunk sheik out of the car and Ali said, “Strip himnaked”. Jon and Daniel quickly pulled the robe from Demitri as Aliproduced a knife. “He will die today. But, not as a man. Hold him tight”,he ordered.

Sheik Demitri screamed as Ali went at him with the shiny blade. “This is for what you had done to me”, he hissed as the Sheik’s red blood coated his hands. It only took a minute before Demitri’s legs weakened and he collapsed in the sand. “Ok, let’s get moving”, Daniel said. The three gotback in the car and silently drove away. It was almost two hours later when they sighted green colored armored vehicles blocking the road. “My God, I think they are American’s”, Jonsaid with excitement.

“You have to be shitting me”, a Army Captain said after listening to theirstory. “I wish we were. I swear it. Every word is true”. “Well, ok. Look,what he did with that Turk guy isn’t a big deal. We will dump the car in a sand dune and blame everything on PKK rebels. What I need to do is to get you to Baghdad so we can figure out what to do with you”. They were allowed to shower, given new clothes, and fed before being usheredinto a Blackhawk helicopter for the flight to the capitol.

Once in Baghdad they were separated and interrogated by military intelligence and agents from the CIA and a dark skinned Arab from the Egyptian Mukhabarat. They all were given polygraphs and signed statements before being brought back together.

“I am Assistant Ambassador Samuel Robertson. Here is where this crap is; The United States cannot afford to embarrass a trusted ally like Turkey with even a hint of a scandal of this magnitude. We have contacted the Turks and they have made a generous offer to secure yoursilence in the form of one million dollars apiece. As to you, Ali, you are free to return to your country or we can issue you a US passport and you can go to America with these two. “I have unfinished business in Cairo”, Ali said. “I anticipated such feelings from you”, said the man from the Mukhabarat. He then reached into his bag and produced a jarwith a man’s bloody balls inside. “Your brother did not die easily. This Iswear”.

Daniel’s Dad was in the garage when he seen the yellow taxi cab stop atthe curb and a tall boy get out. He capped a beer and watched in stunned amazement as his son came up the driveway. “You have another one of those”, Daniel asked. “In the cooler”, he answered. “You don’t want to know and I won’t ever tell you”, Daniel said as he hugged his father.

“Done”, the man said.