The two guards came into view and stopped at the sight of Niki at the end of the hallway and the two open cell doors.

Al tapped Tom’s arm, and they sprang around the corner. Their rifle butt’s made short work of the two men.

Grunting in pain, Niki hobbled up to see the two Afghani’s satisfaction on her face.

A sneer curled up on Niki’s mouth.

She kicked one of the men with her good foot. “You know.” A rage simmered in her, fighting to get out. “If one of them was alive, we could have questioned him.”

“Yeah, well, hindsight.” Al stood after recovering one of the guards AK’s. “You know that guy?”

She kicked the dead man again. “He was part of the group who killed my father.”

“Got what he deserved then.”

Tom reached down, picked up the other AK, and offered it to her.

She looked at it and shook her head. “I don’t think I can carry it, let alone use it.”

Stolen novel; please report.

He withdrew the magazine and stuffed it into a back pocket. The AK he threw back on the man who'd owned it. “If we find a pistol, it’s yours.”

Al ejected the magazine from the other gun. They might need the extra ammo for later.

A tear slid down Niki’s swollen cheek. She wiped it away, angry at herself. “Let’s go.” She limped toward the stairs, a new intensity driving her forward.

Tom and Al glanced at each other and followed.

“We’ll start,” she said, “on level four, medical storage.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Al said.

She fell back against the wall. The ferocity on her face made them stop. “Let’s get this straight. My family’s dead. I’m a mess. According to you, Mike and Julia are missing, and Hotak is alive and well. No doubt he's planning something terrible with whatever is on level five.” She stared at the two men, gritting her teeth in pain and anger. “We need to work together to stop Hotak. I need you, but don’t push me.”

“And trying to contact Farid?” Al said.

“Seeing those men.” She paused. The dead guards were a reminder of what happened to everyone she loved. Did she want to leave here while Hotak lived? “If we can, we will. Until then, we stop Hotak.”

“Our priority is to find out what’s going on here and get the info back to someone who can do something about it.”

“After that,” Tom said. “We’re going to find Mike and Julia, and if we get the chance, we’ll kill everyone here.”

“Okay.” She pushed herself off the wall. She was angry, not at them, but at everything. “We’re going to level four. If we're lucky, something there will help tell us what all this is about.”

Tom and Al watched her limp up to the landing.

“Come on,” she said.

“Yes, ma’am.”

A glimmer of anger surfaced on Tom’s face.

Al put up his hands and shrugged, following Niki up the stairs.