At his desk, Baabaa Hotak looked out at the night sky through the plate glass window of his office. His two youngest sons stood at the large window, the moonlight gleaming off their faces. They shifted their attention from the valley below to each other and his reflection in the glass. He made no comment to them, and they began to wrestle as they watched outside. He couldn’t help but smile. These two were the only members of his family currently at the fortress. Most of his wives, older sons, and daughters were in Europe.

The boys continued to wrestle the valley, no longer on their minds. He had told them he had a surprise for them tonight, but boys will be boys. He hoped the fight with the four Americans would last long enough to impress his children. The prisoner hadn’t wanted to talk, but Badi always found a way to get the information Hotak needed and or wanted.

The handheld radio on his desk transmitted a breathless voice.

“Boys.”

Both children immediately stood. “Yes, father,” one of them said.

He stood up and joined them at the window. A rock outcropping covered the window from overhead observation. In no way did it hinder their view. The moon lit up the landscape of the valley below. It would give his children an excellent outlook for tonight’s festivities.

“Look.” He pointed down to the left. “It has started.”

“The bad people are trying to get away?”

Hotak smiled and met Aarif’s gaze. The little boy’s eyes were full of admiration and love. He placed his hand on Aarif’s head and tussled his hair. The boy was more intelligent than any of his children at that age. Well, he corrected himself, except for his first daughter. She was the best and most capable of all his children.

“Watch now. Look more of the green tracers I told you about. I gave our men more tracers than usual tonight. I told our soldiers to fill the night with green if the bad people don’t surrender.”

“Father,” Jabbaar said. “Badi told me that a kind of paint goes on the bullet and that it lights up when it is shot out of a gun. He showed me how to load the tracer bullets, every fifth bullet in the magazine. He said a line of tracers help the man shooting see where the bullets go and help him aim to kill his target.”

Hotak looked down at his youngest son and put his other hand on his head. Like boys everywhere, Jabbaar wanted to show his father how smart he was. “That’s right. Badi is teaching you and your brother some hard-earned lessons for later in life. Learn them well. I don’t know when you’ll ever need to put them to use, but that day will come.”

He glanced down and saw more tracer fire. Both boys smiled at him, proud of their father, who had led them to greatness.

“Boy’s, outside.”

“Yes, Father,” they said in unison.

Family. I have laid the foundation for a dynasty. With intelligence, loyalty, and ruthlessness, his family will rule an empire that Hotak built.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

The three gazed through the window. Jabbaar started to bounce under his hand. Hotak cleared his throat, and he stopped.

A man spoke on the radio. His patrol had made contact. Soon, a second man spoke and issued orders to the men on the ground.

The boys were squirming with excitement.

Look!” Jabbaar said.

A line of green streaked over the valley.

A second line of green dashes raced through the trees. It lasted longer than the first group.

A third AK fired. Only two tracers raced through the night air.

"That's a lot of guns shooting," Jabbaar said. "Did they get the bad people?"

Aarif's breath fogged up the glass. "It's not over."

Powerful spotlights from the north and south scanned the area.

More tracers flew across the valley. A few struck rocks and bounced up into the night. The luminescent paint burned out high above, and the colorless bullets fell to the ground.

Hotak leaned back. The boys had their hands and faces pressed against the glass.

The radio was now a constant low conversation. Breathless men took orders from someone calmly giving them.

More tracers flew through the trees, most exiting into the valley below.

"There's so many." Jabaar looked up and smiled.

Hotak tussled the boy’s hair and smiled.

A small fire started near the valley floor. The fire spread and became a large beacon for his boys to hone in on. What had been a grand torrent of tracer fire subsided as the fire grew.

He heard the door behind him open and close. A man walked in and stood in front of his desk.

“Yes?”

“Baabaa Hotak,” the man said in a deep raspy baritone. “The men below have chased two of the four into the fire.”

“Do I know where that fire is?”

The big man chuckled. “We were at that very same place. Chased into the same bamboo grove.”

“One of the mysteries of life, he chased us into that bamboo grove, and now we chase him in there.”

Badi grunted but said nothing.

“And the other two?”

“Unknown?”

“Ah.” Hotak turned and faced the man. “Boys.”

“Yes, Father,” they said without moving.

“It’s past your bedtime. Get ready for bed, and I’ll be there soon to read you a story.

“Ohh, can’t we stay up?” Jabaar said.

“What about the bad men.” Aarif pointed down into the valley.

“Not tonight. I have business I have to attend to. Don’t worry. The bad men are trapped and will be taken soon.”

Heads down, they walked around the desk.

“Boys,” Hotak said sharply. “Don’t walk out of here without hugging your uncle Badi.”

The boys raced to Badi, throwing themselves at his legs, one on each. They tried to make Bidi lose his balance. Badi never did.

With a big smile reserved for these children, Badi turned. The boys laughed and hung on to the giant man as he walked to the entrance to the living area. “Good night, my favorite little nephews.”

“Good night, Badi.”

They ran through the door and disappeared.

The door closed, and Badi walked back to the desk. “I told the group at the fire that I want them in the tunnel when it dies down. The two who went down there, we know where they’ll end up.”

Hotak let his eyes follow the up and down rhythm of the fire. “If they take the wrong branch, they’ll turn around and head toward the chamber.”

Badi nodded. “I’ve sent a squad of men to the chamber to meet them when they arrive.”

A frown formed on Hotak’s face. “I want every man out in the valley tonight. I want them all found.”

Badi joined him at the window. “I’ll send a few men down to the water pump level. I want to be sure.”

“Whatever you think best, Badi.”

The flames reached outward for more bamboo, rock, and dirt, making a poor substitute. The fire had reached its zenith. Without new fuel, it slowly burned itself out.

“I want them all captured or their dead bodies laid out before me by morning.”

“It will be done. If we capture them?”

“Of course, you may do whatever it takes to find out everything they know and dispose of them however you see fit.”

The window reflected the giant’s grin/sneer.

Hotak could never tell, but it made him happy that Badi, his friend, was excited at the prospect.