Tom looked at his watch. “Three-fifteen.”

Al lifted his arm for the time. “It will be daylight in a few hours.”

Niki reached the top step. She didn’t stop.

“Looks the same as the last level.” Al shifted his head to the left. “Wait. Look at the door at the end, on the right.”

Heavy hinges and locks reinforced a new sturdy door.

“What do you think?” Tom said.

“Hurry up, let’s open it.” Niki led the way to the door. She was tense, angry, upset, and all her emotions were on display as she walked to the end of the hall.

Tom took a calming breath and followed.

Al remained on guard, gave Tom’s retreating back a half salute, and grinned.

Without breaking stride, Tom’s hand reached to unlock the door, but Niki slapped it away.

She raised her finger to her lips. Her eyes and head nodded a signal for him to back up. She turned to the door before he moved and looked at it, putting a hand to it.

He nodded to the back of her head. He was getting irritated. He knew to let it go, Cpt. Amadulah was dead, and her whole family was probably dead. She had a right to be angry, suspicious, whatever emotion the situation called for. But he was getting irritated. Let it go, he thought. Let her do what she thinks she needs to do. It didn’t sit well with him, her being pushy and ordering him around, especially after they’d rescued her. He pressed his lips together. She can have her way until she can’t.

Niki hit the door with her fist and said something in Pashtun in an authoritative voice.

Someone inside moved to the door. “Seeta, is that you?”

Niki spoke in Pashtun in a louder and more authoritative tone.

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“Hello, who’s out there? Where’s Seeta?”

“Who’s in there? What’s your name?”

The man paused. “English?” He took a moment. “Finally.”

A sob penetrated the door.

Niki glanced back at Tom. He lifted his shoulders, telling her, you want to be in charge, you figure it out. He knew it was petty, but he was fed up.

Her face turned red. Her temper showed through the bruises.

“Thank you for coming. Are you here to rescue me?”

She turned back to the door. “What’s your name?”

“Yes, of course. My name is Colonel Randal D. Adams. Let me out of here, please.”

“Where’s the girl? The one you were traveling with?”

A choked back a sob.

“I don’t know. I don’t get to see her often. I don’t know where they have her. We only get minutes together.”

Niki stepped back, angry and frustrated at the answer. She waved her good arm for Tom to open the door, not paying attention to him. She was so intent on her thoughts.

He stared at her for a second. Clearly, he wasn’t even worth her noticing him. He glanced at Al, who waved his hand palm down, settle down he signed. He did as she had instructed and opened the door.

The man backed up. Surprise was all over his face.

Tom watched the emotions comically change from one extreme to the next: glee, fear, confusion, and fear, all in a matter of a few seconds.

Randall backed up. A large man wearing a vest, no shirt, and a shaggy blond encrusted beard surveyed him.

Tom grinned. “Who’d you expect, Delta Force?”

“Well, yeah,” he stuttered.

Randall Adams was average height and skinny, with salt and pepper hair and beard and black glasses. The green surgical scrubs he wore were too big and hung off of him. He was an unassuming man who looked the part of an intellectual out of his element.

Niki limped into the room, her mouth set in a tight grimace. She screwed up her eyes, trying to see through Randall’s beard and long hair.

Randall stepped back. His first sight was a man with no shirt who obviously wasn’t a soldier from an elite military unit sent to rescue him. Next, a woman scowled at him for no apparent reason. She didn't appear to be from an elite group either. She'd also recently suffered an accident or worse.

“What?” Randall said.

“Don’t worry,” Tom said. “She treats everyone like that.”

She looked up at Tom, frowning. “We need to find his girlfriend.”

Randall moved forward, confused by his rescuer's attitude, attire, and last statement. “Yes.” He looked at Niki uncertainly as she walked away from him. “Yes, we need to find her before we leave.”

“We’re not leaving yet,” Tom said.

“And she’s not your girlfriend.” Niki walked out the door.

“What are you talking about?” he said to an empty doorway. Randall looked at Tom.

“I have no idea what that was about.” He slapped Randall on the shoulder, pushing him toward the door. “Let’s go.”