Chapter 15
869 Words
Chapter 15: The Desert Ambush
The sun rose like a blazing eye over the dunes, painting the sand in hues of fire and gold. Lina zipped up her jacket as the chill of the desert morning slowly gave way to scorching heat. Alexander had barely slept, eyes fixed on the horizon long after the fire had died out.
Jonas, map in hand, stood near the jeep.
“There’s a route leading east. If your mother boarded that plane, there’s a high chance she was headed toward a hidden border crossing. It’s not official, but aid workers used it for fast movement.”
Lina nodded. “Then that’s where we go.”
They packed up camp quickly. Jonas took the wheel, Alexander sat up front, and Lina rested in the back seat, journal still in her lap. She had memorized her mother’s handwriting, her fears etched into every line.
Just as they approached the rocky pass, the first shot rang out.
Glass shattered.
Jonas cried out, slamming the brakes.
“AMBUSH!” Alexander shouted, grabbing Lina and dragging her to the ground behind the vehicle. Dust kicked up all around them. Another bullet whizzed past, barely missing her head.
Jonas was bleeding from his arm, trying to reload a small pistol with shaking hands. “They were waiting. Someone followed us.”
Alexander drew his own weapon—sleek, black, military grade. He returned fire without hesitation.
“Three shooters at two o’clock. Stay low!” he barked, scanning the ridge.
Lina’s heart pounded, but she didn’t freeze. “There’s a ridge to the right,” she whispered. “We can flank them if we crawl under that ledge.”
Alexander hesitated, then nodded. “Clever girl. Move.”
Together, they made their way to the ledge, crawling over rocks and hot sand. Shots kept raining down, but less accurately now. The enemy didn’t expect movement.
Lina reached the top first.
She saw one of the shooters—a man in desert camo, dark glasses, radio clipped to his shoulder. She picked up a rock. Held her breath. Threw it far to the left.
He turned.
And Alexander pounced.
The fight was swift—brutal. Two bodies down. One escaped.
“We need to go. Now,” Alexander said, sweat dripping down his temple. “More could be coming.”
Lina rushed to Jonas. His arm was bad, but not fatal. “Can you drive?”
He grimaced. “I’ll try.”
They sped through the desert, silence thick and heavy.
“They knew,” Lina said. “They knew where we’d be.”
Alexander’s jaw clenched. “There’s a leak. Maybe someone in the relief network. Or…”
“Or someone pretending to help us,” Jonas said bitterly.
⸻
They stopped at a desert safe house hours later—an old UN communications station long abandoned. Inside, it smelled of rust and memory.
Lina helped clean Jonas’s wound while Alexander stood near the door, ever watchful.
“She was close,” Jonas murmured. “Your mother. She must have known this place too.”
Lina nodded. “And if she’s still alive… she’s hiding for a reason.”
Alexander knelt beside her. “Which means we’re not just chasing answers anymore. We’re targets.”
“For what?”
He reached into his pack and pulled out the USB they’d found. “This. Project Orion isn’t just a scam. It’s a cover-up. Trafficking. Military corruption. Billions hidden.”
“And Amara knew.”
“She didn’t just know,” Jonas said, eyes sharp. “She tried to bring it down.”
⸻
That night, Lina couldn’t sleep.
She stood on the roof of the safe house, watching the moon glow over the dunes. The silence was deafening. Her mind ran with memories—her mother’s smile, her father’s death, the cold contract she signed in desperation.
“Couldn’t sleep?” Alexander’s voice was low, cautious.
She turned. “How could I?”
He stepped closer. “You were brave today.”
“I was terrified.”
“That’s what makes you brave.”
They stood in silence, side by side.
“I never thanked you,” she said at last.
“For what?”
“For staying. For not abandoning me when things got real.”
Alexander looked at her, a rare softness in his eyes. “I’ve done many things I’m not proud of, Lina. But I never lied to you. Not about this. Not about how I feel now.”
Her breath caught. “And how do you feel now?”
He reached for her hand. “Like maybe… you’re not just a contract anymore.”
She held his gaze, the distance between them disappearing.
“Then maybe,” she whispered, “you aren’t either.”
⸻
Just as their lips met for the first time—gentle, cautious, electric—Jonas burst onto the roof.
“We have a signal.”
They pulled apart, breathless.
“What kind of signal?” Alexander asked.
Jonas held up the tablet. “A beacon. Emergency distress frequency—encrypted. It’s coming from the Atlas Mountains.”
Lina stared.
“That’s her,” she whispered.
“My mother’s alive.”
- Writer
