For Blood And Country

Introduction

The vibration of Khalid's cell phone jerked him back to reality. He couldn't tell if he had fallen asleep in the short time he had been sitting on the bed with his back resting on the headboard. He picked up the phone.

"It is all ready, a car will pick you up shortly", the voice on the other end said. "Take care, dana."

Khalid got up. The room was scantily furnished and the curtain fluttered the fan blew a gust. The TV was on with the volume turned down. He picked up a bottle of prescription pills on the nightstand., and he went into the bathroom. He had just had the bad dream again and a bead of sweat had gathered on his forehead. The bad dream—or nightmare or whatever the shrink he was made to see when it all started called it—had become an integral part of his life since he was twelve. He went to the sink and turned on the tap. He took two pills from the bottle and swallowed, then splashed water on his face and closed his eyes as he listened to the water gush for a few more seconds before turning it off. The demons have to be kept at bay today, he thought as he looked at his reflection in the mirror over the sink. He looked a little worn to be twenty-seven but at that point, his looks were the least of his worries. When he got back to the room, he started to pick up his duffel when something caught his attention on the TV. He turned on the volume and saw that there was a news on the Cable News Network about a controversial attack on a town in Nigeria that occurred a while back which claimed the lives of many residents of the town. The anchor was saying that many people still believed it was the handiwork of the terrorist sect called Boko Haram while others thought it was the military, but the federal government who had promised to look into the matter since it happened had still not brought anyone to justice". She also mentioned that it was the second attack in a month; the first being an explosion in a market place that saw about thirty people dead and a lot more injured. "Goddamned terrorists", Khalid muttered with profound bitterness.

He turned off the TV and went to the window facing the road outside and saw a black SUV parked by the road side. He picked up his duffel and headed outside. A Middle-Eastern man who had the physique of someone's personal guard got out of the SUV as he approached and collected the keys to Khalid's car while he entered into the backseat of the SUV. After exchanging greetings, the car moved out and headed for a private hanger where he was to board a plane to Turkey.

Khalid's orders were clear, he knew what he had to do and would do it in a heartbeat without flinching but he needed to get his head straight - hopefully those pills would be strong enough to help him nap dreamlessly on the plane. "Every mistake has a price", he reminded himself - every mistake has a price. This time, though, he wasn't sure what to make of the price of his mistake; if it was a price that would destroy his whole plan or a blessing in disguise, hopefully, it was the latter.

About an hour and a half later, he was settled on the plane and ready to take off.